Chapter 24: In which the Pirates view the future!

Well, the end has come. And much like those movies where, at the end, we're shown where all of the characters go in the future (see: Mallrats), its time to look into the future of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 and see whats out there.

One of the technologies we didn't review, possibly because its not really available yet, is Google's much-attacked attempt to make books and articles available online. Like eBooks for academia, Google's been scanning college libraries into their system in the hopes of offering them online for everyone to use. The project keeps getting held back due to Copyright issues, but in time I think we'll see a large portion of the reference books currently kept by institutions available to the general public. Whats so good about that? As an example, Doogie Howser was not a very believable show, in part because its hard to believe a kid of his age had access to all the medical reference books he needed to get his MD. But with this sort of technology, who knows? The next great Tom Swift may be a kid who learned engineering at home on the web.

Games are another aspect of Web 2.0 we didn't explore. I realize not everyone would think of video games as being an important part of web culture, but statistics show increasing numbers of people are playing video games every year. With gaming consoles like the Wii, X-Box 360, and Playstation3 offering online content, and Flash and Java continuing to provide some wonderful single- and multi-player games through your web browser, the Community aspect of Web 2.0 is becoming more and more an important factor of a game's success. World of Warcraft, arguably one of the most popular video games available, is all about Community. Monthly contests are run for online comics. Fan sites, forums, scripting communities, wikis, and databases related to the game spring up regularly! Runescape is a free, Java-based MMORPG with a player-base that claims to beat World of Warcraft. Because its free, and due to how the game is run, its very popular with young teens and tweens. Much like WoW, it exemplifies the Community aspect of gaming by promoting teamwork as opposed to soloing.

Second Life was mentioned briefly back in Lesson #9, but the focus was on MySpace. One could argue that Second Life addresses my point about gaming, but Second Life is more about creating a 'world' in which people can live everyday lives online. Games like Runescape and World of Warcraft, on the other hand, are games in a much more traditional sense. There are quests go to on, players and enemies to interact with, and rewards for progression. Second Life, as a simulated 'real' world (hence the name) doesn't offer these kinds of things, because its not really a game.

I do think KCLS has done a great job with our 27 Things project, and even if neither of my recommendations make it into a similar sort of curiculum at any point, I'm happy to have been a part of it.