Week 9

Let me lead with this...I admire Google. Google technology is incredible. The maps, the Froogle, the cute thematic way they do the name, all of it. I also admire the massive data mining venture that Google has turned into, which in turn, has turned into a monstrous money machine. I find it creepy as all get out, but impressive. That said...I'm a YAHOO! librarian. I recognize that data is mined every time I click around in amazon.com, too, but that is a commercial site and I view it as the price of doing business. Plus, I'm not always logged into my own account when I'm checking on materials. Additionally, I often look up materials for work and if I am logged into my account, the data amazon.com has mined is quite diverse. Back to Google...CREEPY...I attended the SWFLN workshop offered by Google on all of the fabulous features of Google. Fabulous, yes, and CREEPY. The targeted marketing that means I'm not bombarded with junk also means that the algorithm that has been developed to profile me is pretty spot on. I search Disney World and they know it, keep it, and work with it. Google also scans gmail and targets ads to that. I can see the logistical upside to online office apps, but the creepy privacy issues really bother me. I also don't like not storing the originals on a computer I don't control. How is that different from work and our shared drives or our H: drives? Maybe because at least here IT, such as it is, is local and ostensibly is on our team. For me, creepy does not outweigh convenience and I don't have any needs that make me want to give give Google any more information than I already do. I will, however, give Google a big thumbs up for MyMap and to public radio station KPBS in San Diego for their innovative use of it during its recent fire coverage. Read the NPR story here.


Web 2.0 - I chose to play with Pandora , "Radio from the Music Genome Project." This Web site won 1st place in the music category. I have been using Last.fm (2nd place) for some time and like it very much so I thought I'd check out the the winner. I like Last.fm and now Pandora because the music I enjoy is a little more specialized that what something like Yahoo's Launchcast would typically play. While Pandora was determining my preferences, one of the songs presented was from an album I actually own. I felt right at home.