Reading Notes for Week 1

My Thoughts on: OCLC Report: Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers

Let me first start off by saying that, when it comes to all of this new age technology and terminology that is mentioned in this article, I would consider myself at about an intermediate level in terms of my understanding of it. By that statement, I mean that I am familiar with a lot of terminology/technology that is mentioned in the article, but I don't use it a lot. For example, I know what blogging is, but I don't like to do it unless I have to. I know what a smartphone is, but I don't have one. I know what Wikis are, but I don't use Wikipedia for anything other than looking up information. I think you get my point.

But nonetheless,  I did learn some new terminology from this article that I had never seen before but that directly applies to my life. One example was "Snam". Until reading this article, I had no idea that "Snam" was unwanted advertisements solicited through e-mail. However, I have been getting "snams" all the time in my inbox lately, so I'm glad I finally have a name to go with  the annoying e-mails I've been getting.

Another term I becamse acquainted with for the first time when I read this article was the term "Moblog". With cell phone technology constantly expanding, it makes sense that new terminology is developing to address this new trend, so I'm happy to be learning some of these new terms.

All in all, this was a fun article that re-introduced me to some terms I was already familiar with and introduced me to some new terms I had never seen before. Good stuff!

My Thoughts on Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture by Clifford Lynch

I thought the recurring themes of "information literacy" and "information technology literacy" were interesting. In the work force, I have known many people that simply refused to become literate with information technology. In many fields, this is career suicide. Technology is now embedded to so many careers that people need to become literate with the new trends or face losing their jobs. I am glad that Lynch's article explains to people specific ways to go about being literate with technology because, in this day and age, it's more relevant than ever.

My Thoughts on Lied Library

I really felt like Lied Library simply reinforced a lot of the themes that Lynch's article focused on. It basically talked about how important it is for employees of the IT field to have an understanding of their craft. This may seem like common sense but, as I stated in my response to Lynch's article, I think a lot of people work in fields that they don't have a clear understanding of. Therefore, it is important for us, as prospective employees in the IT field, to have a clear understanding of what our job description will be before we start to work full time. The last thing any of us wants is to start our first day of work only to find out that we have no clue what we are doing.