So, what kind of use can we make of these 'Web 2.0 techniques'? We could do worse than look at the things we do offline and how we could move these online. Hardly groundbreaking I know but that has been the success of things like Flickr, taking an 'offline need', servicing it online and extending the possibilities. The design is critical, it has to take into account the foibles of human action and thought.
The Uni generates a lot of information. It also requires that information is discovered, read, shared and tracked. This happens on multiple levels, from keeping track of meeting appointments to analysing huge amounts of complex data for research.
Instead of building huge systems that reuire vast amounts of money and have no guarantee of success perhaps we need to look at existing systems, especially those of high use, and look at how we can build on them to provide not only extra functionality but to provide a closer fit between online and offline actions. This could be done incrementally, no need for big show-stoppers.
So any ideas? A quick brainstorm here has revealed:
- Desktop widgets (for PC and MAc) that allow searching of the phonebook and/or library catalogue
- Podcasting of lectures that could be distributed through feeds on UoS websites
- Wikis for information sharing
- Resource sharing among researchers through the use of a system like CiteULike, complete with RSS feeds for easy monitoring and portability to other systems
- Opening up a local intranet to a tagging system
- A catalogue that incorporates tags
- CMS approval notification through RSS
Note that some of these things are already happening.
Something to think about over the Christmas break then. (If you think I'm going to be thinking about the web you are sorely mistaken...it's beach and REAL books for me ladies and gentlemen).
Have a wonderful break.
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