Cracking article by John, which discusses why Web2.0 ain't no flash in the pan.
This is a good read for those who still struggling to understand Talis's research investment in Web2.0 and the Talis Platform over the last 18months. Bottom line for me is that the philosophies of Web2.0 are so closely aligned to the philosophies of libraries - community, social networks, content, information, standards, openness, participation, innovation, sharing.
Why does that matter? Well, I've worked for/with various software vendors, and its always been the same. You have some librarians who "believe in libraries", and a mix of others who (and I hope this isn't harsh) don't just quite "get it". They may passionate about their job, but its rare they are as passionate about libraries.
After this week's Talis conference, it hit me. We've changed. We're different. Staff across the company are becoming believers too, and as a librarian that excites me so much more. I think its because for the first time we have a "technology" in Web2.0 which is as philosophical as it is technical. Developers can't just develop - they have to believe in the principles of Web2.0. And these principles are the very foundations of what it means to be a librarian. Suddenly they do "get it" - and this results in a re-evaluation of libraries, our profession and our social responsibility.
At the conference, you could feel the attendees struggling to understand the shift in attitude and belief - its such a fundamental change for a library vendor. I think the problem is that the ideas are so new and the philosophy in such stark contrast to how traditional vendors act. For us, it's been an 18month journey and we've had time to take a close look at ourselves and our business and what it actually MEANS to be a library/information vendor. What is a dramatic change externally, is now a way of life, of talking, of doing, of belief, for the staff.
A theme for the conference was "Libraries matter", and there were some of those plastic bracelets with this embossed on in the delegate packs. The cynical would see that as marketing speil. It's not. Its a message that's steadily infusing the company. Why do I say this? Well, taking an isolated example, when I went for drinks with a few of the developers this week, every one of them was still wearing their bracelet proudly. Not because they had to. Not becuase they were too lazy to take them off (I'm hoping!). But because they wanted to. Because for them, like for me, libraries matter.
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