Chapter 19: In which the Pirates explore the unknown!

The final task this week is to explore the aspects of Web 2.0 that we haven't already discovered, and wouldn't be without this opportunity. By browsing through the Web 2.0 Awards list, we were asked to find an interesting site or two to blog about, especially in relation to Library 2.0.

While we've been doing Learning 2.0, I usually struggle in the beginning to see how these Web 2.0 apps would affect or help libraries. With many of them, I've been able to figure it out in the end, but in a few instances I still don't see the point. So this exercise was a little difficult, because its hard to look at brief descriptions of web apps and be able to find one that is both interesting and relevant to libraries! Some of the sites listed would be interesting to point patrons toward through our website, but that doesn't really benefit the library in the way some of our Web 2.0 sites have.

One interesting site I saw, but didn't explore, was Last.fm, a custom streaming 'station'. My first thought was that, through a website like this, libraries could provide samples of the music available through their catalog, or give library patrons something to listen to while they browse the other available services in the system. At present, however, there are probably a thousand different reasons you can trace back to the RIAA as to why this wouldn't work. I could see the headlines now: "Library System gives kids free pirating tools, everything but a boat". As if Pirating is a bad thing!

Continuing through the list, the only other site I saw that I felt might benefit the library system is a site I'm already familiar with: Threadless, a shirt design site thats been around for a long time. Featuring such classics as The Loch Ness Imposter, Pandamonium, The Diabolical Hot Dog, You Are What You Eat (my personal favorite), and The Communist Party, the site is all about user submission and participation. Artists submit an idea for a shirt, and users can vote on it. If a design gets a high enough score, its submitted to be made into a shirt! Users can also comment on designs, voicing approval or disapproval, asking for revisions, or just generally commenting. Over the years the site has become more and more popular, and popular fashion trends tend to show up early on the site. If you want to look hip and cool, the latest shirts on Threadless are a great place to go.

How would Threadless help out libraries? How many aspiring artists out there wouldn't love to have a say in what their Summer Reading Program artwork looks like? How about those plastic bags we hand out that are actually pretty popular (well, they are!)? Why not give patrons a chance to design what our bags look like? Threadless even has a few 'competitions' going on through their site. Entitled "Loves Threadless", many groups (such as bands, movie studios, and websites) sponsor design competitions. Usually involving some sort of prize, each group asks for designs around a particular theme. How cool would it be to see "KCLS Loves Threadless"? It would be yet another way for patrons to contribute to their library system and get something back.

Perhaps this way I can get my STUF THIS SI LIBARY shirt!