I should really have a bad reputation for disparate metaphores. In the past I’ve compared the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ e-branch sites to SUVs with all the options, and at another time I’ve claimed an HTML document is like a box of presents shipped by mail in a larger box. And now, without explaining my previous transgressions further (you’ll have to ask me about them next time you see me at a conference), I’m going to throw another one out there:
The experience of using a Web 1.0 site of decent proportions (such as the current Idaho Commission for Libraries site) is much like reading Dante’s Inferno. Basically, one is taken by - perhaps overwhelmed by - the weight and comprehensiveness of the catalog-like treatment of the subject. Everything has a hierarchical position and relates somehow to its neighbors close and far. And it can be daunting (pun intended).
A Web 2.0 site, on the other hand, offers more of a modern, “light” approach. The blog on the front page of a 2.0 site provides a stream of consciousness that allows the user to immediately tune in to what’s most current/relevant/available, etc.
Tags on posts or pages, or presented via a tag cloud, offer the user a quick-and-easy way to make associations between pieces of content, much like the way the subtext in a modern novel allows the reader to find hidden treasures in the text - thereby achieving the complexity of an Inferno, but without the cumbersome trappings.
And the overall experience is one of lightness - getting the relevant info at the right time. There’s no need to keep the entire structure of the universe at hand when considering where to go from here, the opportune options are available at just the right time and that’s all that matters.
That’s the ideal I hold forth during this process to rework the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ web presence.
Note: This post is somewhat inspired by the years-ago memory of reading Italo Calvino’s essay on “Lightness” in Six Memos for the Next Millenium.
Filed under: Recent News | Tagged: web 2.0
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Ha ha! Sounds like I have a personality disorder.
I’ve read blogs and wikis and I don’t feel like I’m “getting the right info at the right time.” I feel like I’m wallowing around in some sea of information that takes way too much time. For my age, I am computer literate and I generally can see the application of new ideas. For instance, I can see a blog/wiki, whichever, would be excellent for our dynamic procedures manual for the library. As soon as we gain our independence, ILS-wise, we’re going to set one up.
I guess I view a great portion of the web like I do television: people with way too much time on their hands surfing the Net or watching TV when there are many, many more construction activities in which they could be engaged.
Speaking of literature, has anyone read “Fahrenheit 451″ recently. It’s scary how Ray Bradbury has predicted the times in which we live: walls of television, people always talking but never saying anything of worth, people who just plain don’t think.
That being said, here I am, in a sense, doing exactly what I’m complaining about. Oh well, ‘nuf said.
Forgot to say that I really like those tags that show what you’re going to find if you click on the link. Now that’s helpful and time-saving.
Nice Judy! One difficulty I have, even with this very little blog site, is finding what I want. When I logged into blog, I saw your comment, but when I went back to the website it was tough to find–I was looking for your Dante reference. The problem I think you will find (I’m finding it out now) is that this blogging thing is pretty addicting! I did notice your post was made at 2:04 a.m. Sign in a bone fide blogger on this website so I can find your astute remarks! Please! Let me know if you need help–we’ll learn together!