podcasting and citizen journalism
I haven’t yet jumped on the podcasting/vidblog bandwagon - originally I thought it was because I couldn’t see a clear or immediate application for online library services. But I just ran across the idea of placeblogging as a podcasted presentation - ‘here’s a topic I can get my head around’ I thought as I joyfully clicked through. My enthusiasm quickly faltered and then vanished as I pulled out a pen and paper to record my thoughts. To me, the joy of the social internet is freedom from pen, paper, and notetaking - it’s all already in print, I just have to refer to it. In short, this type of podcast did nothing for me… perhaps more of a casual topic or something narrative would turn me on more.
All, however, is not lost because in the doomed podcast, Lisa Williams introduces (to me, anyway) the idea of “placeblogging”. This is what we’ve been doing - it’s the bridge between the geographic community libraries traditionally serve and the remote, online community they might serve through social tools. Someone (feel free to raise your hand, you barbequeing fool) recently challenged me on the value of libraries blogging - I wish I’d had this term to pull out of my back pocket.
She’s been doing it for Watertown, MA, and Brian Sawyer does an excellent job with Westford, MA (Welcome, Bill). I’m devoted to the NH library blogs of Dover, Freedom, and Madison because they invite me and include me into a community that I can’t be part of otherwise.
UPDATE: Barbequeing fool = Tim, Tim Spaulding.
Tags: andy carvin, brian sawyer, community, dover, freedom, lisa williams, ma, madison, massachusetts, new hampshire, place blogging, podcast, social software, social tools, tim spaulding, watertown, westford
August 14th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Thanks for the kind mention of Blogging Westford (and for a new word to describe what it is I’m doing there). Nice to see it’s reaching someone.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Hi! It’s Lisa Williams.
To be honest, I prefer text for the ability to scan, too. But I think that at some point in the future, podcasts and videoblogs will be linkable entities in the way that text and photoblogs are now. I do really appreciate that Andy Carvin was nice enough to actually record the talk just so people who didn’t happen to be there could get whatever benefit they could glean from it. That’s good.
I like podcasts for the ability to escape from crappy radio in my car, or when I’m doing some repetitive task.
The good news is that I’ll be launching a site in mid-sept that will have a large directory of placeblogs along with a companion aggregator and linkblog to point you to good stuff. And thanks for letting me know about Westborough.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Oops, Westford, not Westborough!
August 14th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
I agree with Lisa. And with accessibility-conscious bloggers like Mark Pilgrim getting into video blogging, progress might be quicker than I’d otherwise expect.
August 15th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
No fair! How am I supposed to know I’m being talked about when you don’t use my name? (I can’t very well vanity Google “barbequeing fool.”) Beware, Abby and I are going to slip in references to dilly-bean caning fools!
On libraries blogging, I guess it just feels to me like a media mismatch. I might want a feed of events at my library, but I just can’t work up that much enthusiasm for my local library blogging. (Ditto the art museum, ballet, etc. These also have more “content” and the content is less diverse. After all *my* local library isn’t other people’s, and never will be.) I might be interested in what a particular *librarian* has to say, if I liked her slant on books, but institutions are boring things, and of necessity so.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Holly Madison…
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….