No, this is not about the young. Nor is it really about the restless, although in middle age, I am definitely as restless as ever. But stay tuned. First, this note is about a video on YouTube called "Social Networking in Plain English." This is a great little video that gets the points across about social networking in Web 2.0 very nicely. And second, this note is about -- well, read on.
When I was watching the graphics about social networking, it reminded me of a classic example of networking that took place in my life years ago. You start with me, a freshman in college, and I meet a guy named Rex in the reference room of the college library -- and no, I didn't hang around the library much; I was usually practicing piano in practice rooms -- and Rex and I became great friends and still are. We found we enjoyed music, movies, and that when we were young teens, we were both hooked on Dark Shadows. Because of that show, he told me his great dream was to be a writer for daytime drama.
Fast forward to graduate school where every Saturday evening Florence, PhD candidate in music theory, and me, musicology student, ate pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese at Joe Bologna's in Lexington. One evening I learned Florence had a cousin named Kay and Kay was not a musician but -- head writer for The Young and the Restless.
Hm.
So I passed along the information to Rex, and he was not too fond of that soap, and was doing work with autistic children anyway, and some time passed, and then one day he called me and asked how to get in touch with Florence (now moved from Lexington) because maybe, just maybe, she would give him Kay's address and Kay and he could talk. So I said sure, and gave him Flo's address.
Well, he now has two or three Emmys from those years on Y&R, and now works for Bold & Beautiful, where he has been nominated for several Emmys. It's hard work, with nearly endless deadlines, but he loves it.
So that real life example of social networking popped into my head when watching the neat little video. I wonder, at least where work is concerned, if social networks such as Facebook can forge these kinds of networks? Certainly I can see how easy it would be to develop some great friendships through these cool tools. Does it help careers? I can see that the potential is there for many interesting relationships to develop. One drawback though -- you can't network socially in a virtual world and still have that wonderful pizza with sausage, pepperoini, and extra cheese.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Thoreau and Web 2.0
Moving away in this post from Celtic themes because today, July 12, is the birthday of American writer Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862). Thoreau is known in popular imagination as the hermit living in a tiny cabin by Walden Pond and writing his book, Walden. Not quite an accurate portrait. Sure, Henry lived there for a little over 2 years (1845-1847), and his journal passages written there formed the nucleus of Walden -- but his real reason for living there? He needed to get away from it all to write his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. He was being socialized to death in the little town of Concord, and so decided to go on a kind of sabbatical. He didn't just sit there all day long either; he hoed beans, visited friends, took a trip to Maine. Book draft completed, he moved back to town. A Week was published in 1849.
Now Thoreau was not a hermit, but he was not the most social guy in town either. He had family and he had a few close friends, such as the Emersons, the Hawthornes, and the Alcotts (Louisa based a character in her novel Moods after Thoreau). There were a few others as well whose company he enjoyed. He was choosy, though. in his social dealings. So -- if Thoreau had had the social networking tools we have today, what would this quiet philosopher have chosen to use? My guess is text messaging, instant messaging, and twitter. Why? Because, in the 1850s Thoreau was very much engaged in assisting runaway slaves to freedom. A cryptic IM message or twitter post such as "Let's have tea at Fairhaven Hill at 7 p.m." would really mean, "Meet me there; I'll hide you overnight, and help you on to Canada."
As a librarian, I'd like to close with this passage from Walden:
" . . . . A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated from every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself . . . . Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible artistocracy in every society, and more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind."
In these days of instant this and that, of quick electronic messages, of information that comes and goes, these words should be remembered and pondered.
Want to know more about Thoreau? You should read his works. Want to discuss Thoreaus and his writing? Well, there's the Thoreau Society:
http://www.thoreausociety.org/
"Only that day dawns to which we are awake."
Now Thoreau was not a hermit, but he was not the most social guy in town either. He had family and he had a few close friends, such as the Emersons, the Hawthornes, and the Alcotts (Louisa based a character in her novel Moods after Thoreau). There were a few others as well whose company he enjoyed. He was choosy, though. in his social dealings. So -- if Thoreau had had the social networking tools we have today, what would this quiet philosopher have chosen to use? My guess is text messaging, instant messaging, and twitter. Why? Because, in the 1850s Thoreau was very much engaged in assisting runaway slaves to freedom. A cryptic IM message or twitter post such as "Let's have tea at Fairhaven Hill at 7 p.m." would really mean, "Meet me there; I'll hide you overnight, and help you on to Canada."
As a librarian, I'd like to close with this passage from Walden:
" . . . . A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated from every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself . . . . Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible artistocracy in every society, and more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind."
In these days of instant this and that, of quick electronic messages, of information that comes and goes, these words should be remembered and pondered.
Want to know more about Thoreau? You should read his works. Want to discuss Thoreaus and his writing? Well, there's the Thoreau Society:
http://www.thoreausociety.org/
"Only that day dawns to which we are awake."
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Of an Ancient Scottish House and Information Organization
Since 1107 -- yes, 900 years ago -- Traquair House has stood near Quair Burn, a stream leading to the River Tweed. This castle-like dwelling for centuries has been continuously owned by a member of the Stuart family; we are now to the 21st lady, Catherine Maxwell Stuart.
I mention Traquair House here because I read an article about this ancient manor in the most recent issue of Scottish Life (v. 12, no. 2; Summer 2007) and was fascinated by its history, its brewery -- and the organization of one of its libraries. To quote the article by Richenda Miers, "There are two libraries, the first with an ingenious method of cataloguing the books. Each bookcase is named after a philosopher or writer, with the man's image painted just above in the ceiling cornice. On the spine of each book is an abbreviation of the name -- Pyth for Pythagoras, for example -- and two numbers, the first being the shelf number and the second, the position of the book on the shelf. The second library is an overflow, with examples of archive materials that is kept separately. Created between 1700 and 1740, the Library's collection numbers about 3,000 books and has remained almost intact ever since it was assembled." (p. 30)
Forget the second library -- I was quite taken with the organization of the first library! I imagined building a library in my house using these organizational principles. The library would be octagonal, with rich paneling, and furnished with comfortable sofas to stretch out upon. (For more details, take a look at Keith Richard's library in At Home with Books.) The collection would consist of American literature, and each wall but one (you need an entryway) would consist of a built-in bookcase with a painted portrait overhead of the author. Authors? Emerson (the quintessential American philosopher, who, I've noticed, is never quoted by conservative American patriots and religious leaders), Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau, Twain, and Wharton. The seventh shelf is for strictly Appalachian authors. (Instead of a portrait, a splendid scene of the Blue Ridge mountains would be painted over this bookcase.) And all of these books would be organized by an abbreviation of the name or topic, a number for the shelf, and the positin of the book on the shelf. So, The House of the Seven Gables could be Haw 1 3. That means the Hawthorne bookcase, shelf 1, book 3.
My American literature library is all a pipe dream, of course, but the library at Traquair House is not. I mention this organization of the Traquair House library because of recently watching The Machine is us/ing us" by Michael Wensch, his fascinating video on Web 2.0. A theme of the video that leaped out at me (and others I have learned) is the question "Who will organize all of this data?" Good question! We've been dealing with this problem since at least Babylonia if not before. How many ways are there to organize information? There's Dewey. There's LC. There's the Traquair House method. And that's just books. What about other kinds of data? What tools are out there to do this?
But enough organizational talk. If you're tired of libraries and of organization, then raise a virtual glass of Traquair House Ale -- a brewery from the 18th century now back in business -- and salute the long-lasting Traquair House, 900 years old. And if you dare ponder how information will be organized 900 years from now -- then I recommend you drink several bottles of real, not virtual, ale, and stop such deep thoughts. Now.
If you're more interested in the house then Web 2.0, here's their addreess: http://www.traquair.co.uk/visit.html
If you want to go ahead and take a tour of the house, including the library, here's that address:
http://www.traquair.co.uk/tour.html
I mention Traquair House here because I read an article about this ancient manor in the most recent issue of Scottish Life (v. 12, no. 2; Summer 2007) and was fascinated by its history, its brewery -- and the organization of one of its libraries. To quote the article by Richenda Miers, "There are two libraries, the first with an ingenious method of cataloguing the books. Each bookcase is named after a philosopher or writer, with the man's image painted just above in the ceiling cornice. On the spine of each book is an abbreviation of the name -- Pyth for Pythagoras, for example -- and two numbers, the first being the shelf number and the second, the position of the book on the shelf. The second library is an overflow, with examples of archive materials that is kept separately. Created between 1700 and 1740, the Library's collection numbers about 3,000 books and has remained almost intact ever since it was assembled." (p. 30)
Forget the second library -- I was quite taken with the organization of the first library! I imagined building a library in my house using these organizational principles. The library would be octagonal, with rich paneling, and furnished with comfortable sofas to stretch out upon. (For more details, take a look at Keith Richard's library in At Home with Books.) The collection would consist of American literature, and each wall but one (you need an entryway) would consist of a built-in bookcase with a painted portrait overhead of the author. Authors? Emerson (the quintessential American philosopher, who, I've noticed, is never quoted by conservative American patriots and religious leaders), Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau, Twain, and Wharton. The seventh shelf is for strictly Appalachian authors. (Instead of a portrait, a splendid scene of the Blue Ridge mountains would be painted over this bookcase.) And all of these books would be organized by an abbreviation of the name or topic, a number for the shelf, and the positin of the book on the shelf. So, The House of the Seven Gables could be Haw 1 3. That means the Hawthorne bookcase, shelf 1, book 3.
My American literature library is all a pipe dream, of course, but the library at Traquair House is not. I mention this organization of the Traquair House library because of recently watching The Machine is us/ing us" by Michael Wensch, his fascinating video on Web 2.0. A theme of the video that leaped out at me (and others I have learned) is the question "Who will organize all of this data?" Good question! We've been dealing with this problem since at least Babylonia if not before. How many ways are there to organize information? There's Dewey. There's LC. There's the Traquair House method. And that's just books. What about other kinds of data? What tools are out there to do this?
But enough organizational talk. If you're tired of libraries and of organization, then raise a virtual glass of Traquair House Ale -- a brewery from the 18th century now back in business -- and salute the long-lasting Traquair House, 900 years old. And if you dare ponder how information will be organized 900 years from now -- then I recommend you drink several bottles of real, not virtual, ale, and stop such deep thoughts. Now.
If you're more interested in the house then Web 2.0, here's their addreess: http://www.traquair.co.uk/visit.html
If you want to go ahead and take a tour of the house, including the library, here's that address:
http://www.traquair.co.uk/tour.html
Monday, July 9, 2007
The Celtic Musician/Librarian on Web 2.0
I have entered the portals of Web 2.0 -- may this be an interesting journey full of fantasy and fun and may the perils be minimal.
For those who wish to know more, there is a video that I have now watched twice entitled "Web 2.0: the machine is us/ing us," created by by Michael Wensch, an anthropologist at Kansas State University. I find that anthropologist as author of this video, instead of a techie, quite fascinating.
One may wonder why I mention Celtic musician here -- well, I have recently immersed myself in Scottish, Irish, and Welsh music, and thought I would celebrate that fact on this blog. I hope to add a link or two later this week.
For those who wish to know more, there is a video that I have now watched twice entitled "Web 2.0: the machine is us/ing us," created by by Michael Wensch, an anthropologist at Kansas State University. I find that anthropologist as author of this video, instead of a techie, quite fascinating.
One may wonder why I mention Celtic musician here -- well, I have recently immersed myself in Scottish, Irish, and Welsh music, and thought I would celebrate that fact on this blog. I hope to add a link or two later this week.
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