Well, I have now created two blogs and edited my profile which is still under construction. I am making my first post for "Cephius and 23 Things." Although this is my first time at blogging (correct term ?), this was not the first time I have seen "The Machine is Us/ing Us."
As a librarian I am very interested in making information as accessible as possible and see "Web 2.0" or "Social Media" as other means of disseminating information. However, I am also concerned about individual's ability to sift an ever-increasing stockpile of information and to critically review the information found for relevant and reliable information. Just because it exists does not make it real.
We have seen from professional studies on the habits of information users, that over 84% of people including college students begin their research by using a simple keyword search with an Internet search engine. Just as the concept of "research" has become watered down, I wonder as more and more people use social media, will we continue to be critical information users or see all information as factual. Will we consider everything we read as truth? Afterall, what is truth?
And what will become of the written word. When I was in graduate school, my professor asked how I got there because he felt I could not write. I have been very conscious of my writing and continually strive to write better, so now that we have such informal writing in e-mail messages and chat, I feel as if I am in a foreign world.
I also wonder what will become of the publishing industry - it is definitely changing. What will happen with intellectual property rights and copyright? Lots of stuff to consider.
