Thing 8

Oh boy where do I start....

I treid ICQ chat with family when it first came out and was not impressed (remember I can't spell). After 3 or 4 tries we all gave up on it. Later, I used AOL IM with a friend in another state. We ended up using plain old email too.

I have not tried texting before because it appears even worse: I have to learn a whole new language. I know, you'd think the lack of spelling rules would make this great but it doesn't -- it confuses me because I don't know what all the abbreviations mean. (I feel like Bones "What's that mean?")

Yes, I confess I am not a native to the online environment, I am an Immigrant. This gets me debating with myself, however. While I realize that languare is fluid and evolves(we don't speak Shakespearean english anymore), I still worry about the loss of spelling and grammer (and manners). Have you ever tried to read a letter or document written before spelling and grammer were standardized? No punctuation, the words and sentences running together and idiosyncratic spelling make it almost impossible. The speed at which technology has language (& us) evloving is getting faster and faster (remember Futureshock?). If the new evolution of writing is texting and chat then I am being left behind. Not a happy thought.

Manners is another thing -- is it really necessary to text someone else while you are attending a presentation, play, or whatever? How much can you possibly be taking in from the event you are supposed to be participating in if you are texting someone? (Of course I can't figure out why anyone would want screen on screen TV -- how on earth can you watch two or more shows at the same time?) I went to lunch the other day and saw two people sitting in a booth, each talking on their cell phones. They were not interacting with each other so why were they even bothering to have lunch "together?" If I am texting while (theoretically) doing something else, then I am not expericing the present moment of that something else and I not doing either task well.

I accept that texting and chat are very real and essential tools in our constantly evolving world and I am doing my best to Immigrate into this world to continue serving the people of my worldwide community well. Ask-A-Librarian is a fantastic and wonderful and important part of serving our community. I'll do my best.....

Webinars are wonderful tools for meetings and education, etc. I love these and use them as often as I can for continuing education. i have no reservations on this great invention!