Web 2.0 and YOU as the person of the year

I just read an article in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Public Libraries magazine. Unfortunately, it is not available full text online (and I can make copies if anyone wants) but the majority of the article is available on one of the author's blog (cool, huh?) found here: David King's Web 2.0 Article.


Basically, the authors argue that the Web is now more about participation than dissemination (hence the reference to Time's naming of YOU as person of the year for 2006) and they offer strategies for public libraries to improve their blogs. Here are some of the ideas that I think are useful for us:

Write in a manner which invites participation. This is called a passive invitation and could be simply providing compelling content, a catchy or action oriented title, or web speak. All these strategies will increase the likelihood that someone will respond and start a dialog.

Allow commenting. If you moderate comments, do so in a very timely fashion. If patrons ask questions respond quickly! Use RSS feeds.

Post active invitations. These could be direct questions for public discussion, a broad based wiki about the best books of all time, or even services available via link clicking (which could be counted.)

Allow innovative user participation. One example listed involved patrons creating and filming their own stories, then posting them to the library's YouTube site.


Again, here are more ideas without solid, concrete directions, but I thought they were a worthwhile topic of discussion!