In my family, triumphs and tragedies seem to occur in waves and surges. All of the babies, recitals, graduations, weddings, illnesses, deaths, funerals seem to come in at least packs of 3 at a time. And as much as we like to save on dresses, shoes and airport trips, sometimes it's all a little too much at once.
When a surge of passings occurred around the time of the World Trade Center falling, all we (meaning my sisters and cousins) seemed to be able to do was clean out the next family member's belongings, assign them or donate them, and keep what we thought was important for our family legacy. And because I was the photographer and scribe, keeper of the family albums, a lot of the family archival photos were committed to my library cupboards.
This all occurred at a time of technological transition; a time when we thought the best thing we could do was to find an online geneology tree and fill it in as best we could, print it out and literally cut and paste photos onto it. But as time went on, we were able to build a Flickr site that was available to the entire national genepool, and they could help themselves to sacred photos of ancestors, family lines, immigration and census forms and anything else that was kept in a series of Jacobson's boxes in my grandparent's house.
This long story is the metaphor for why I have an interest in Web 2.0. For awhile it was enough to think that we could save valuable information in a safe place for posterity and legacy. Web 2.0 offers the option of not only saving, but managing information in a productive and synergistic way.
The way humans communicate is what make us different from the rest of the mammals. And that we can share information with each other that illuminates the past and impacts the future is the pay-off from good and thorough information management. I am already using Facebook, You Tube and Flickr, so I'll be curious to see how much more I think I need to communicate.
And in my professional life, a big part of my job has to do with sharing files, photos, information and schedules.
Looks like it's going to be a good thing for me.
Weezy
When a surge of passings occurred around the time of the World Trade Center falling, all we (meaning my sisters and cousins) seemed to be able to do was clean out the next family member's belongings, assign them or donate them, and keep what we thought was important for our family legacy. And because I was the photographer and scribe, keeper of the family albums, a lot of the family archival photos were committed to my library cupboards.
This all occurred at a time of technological transition; a time when we thought the best thing we could do was to find an online geneology tree and fill it in as best we could, print it out and literally cut and paste photos onto it. But as time went on, we were able to build a Flickr site that was available to the entire national genepool, and they could help themselves to sacred photos of ancestors, family lines, immigration and census forms and anything else that was kept in a series of Jacobson's boxes in my grandparent's house.
This long story is the metaphor for why I have an interest in Web 2.0. For awhile it was enough to think that we could save valuable information in a safe place for posterity and legacy. Web 2.0 offers the option of not only saving, but managing information in a productive and synergistic way.
The way humans communicate is what make us different from the rest of the mammals. And that we can share information with each other that illuminates the past and impacts the future is the pay-off from good and thorough information management. I am already using Facebook, You Tube and Flickr, so I'll be curious to see how much more I think I need to communicate.
And in my professional life, a big part of my job has to do with sharing files, photos, information and schedules.
Looks like it's going to be a good thing for me.
Weezy
Wow! This was really insightful about your reasonings for why this will be a meaningful experience for you. I enjoyed your adorable picture as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gayle! I think from now on I should just choose from the vintage albums of my youth. And in the words of Eeyore the donkey, Thanks for Noticin'!
ReplyDeleteYou are a compelling story teller. You are dabbling in Web 2.0 applications, I hope you discover some new gems.
ReplyDeleteMy only concern about Web 2.0 is that I may have to take time off work to catch up to the rest of the world....Ooooh! Maybe we'll get a snow day!
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