Assignment #7: Web 2.0 & You

Part 1: After reading the article, I'm still not entirely sure what Library 2.0 is compared to Web 2.0 but I'm going with an assumption that it is the new model for how libraries should be represented on the web. I agree with Meredith's perspective that it could be used to assess how library patrons want to interact with their library and what kind of information they are looking for. She makes a good point about not just using the technology for the sake of using it. On the other hand she may have given up too fast and been too negative about some of the technology that they tried to implement. If patrons aren't aware of what you have implemented, they won't know to use it. Meredith seems to be positive about using Library 2.0 for assessment but not for other interactions, but if it is working for assesments it can be used to communicate back to them as well.

Part 2: The three articles I read were "What Does Web 2.0 Mean for your Non-Profit?", "To More Powerful Ways to Cooperate", and "Away from Icebergs".

Part 3:

The first article I read was 'What Does Web 2.0 Mean for Your Non-Profit?'. The ideas were good, but didn't really anything I didn't know or how to actually implement any of them. I know we should be doing more of this, but we need to figure out what is realistic to implement. Tiffany Meyer might be an interesting resource for us to check out in relation to our marketing plan and how we can better incorporate Web 2.0.

The second article I read was "To More Powerful Ways to Cooperate". I found this article full of confusing jargon relating to library use and had trouble seeing the relevance to our organization.

The third article I read was "Power from the People". We could use a blog to tell some of the experiences we've had when touring our United Way funded agencies, and to share some of the day to day activities and successes that we have. That way our donors and potential donors would get a better feel for what we do all year, as opposed to just during campaign time when we're asking them to donate. It's important to keep a blog up to date and if this isn't a reality, then we're better off not doing one. We could post our campaign video (currently on our website) on You Tube to get more exposure and interest. If we stay up to date with our website, we could consider setting up an RSS feed of our website content so users will know when we have updated content to view. We actually created a Facebook event for a fundraising event we ran. An interesting idea could be for us to use a web interface to gather stories from people who have been touched by one of our United Way funded agencies, although we would have to monitor it to make the content is appropriate. Overall, we have to consider our mission and communications goals, what tools and strategies are likely to be worth the effort.