Four women in swimming bathers on the riverbank at Charleville, ca. 1910-1920
State Library of Queensland
Image from Picture Australia
State Library of Queensland
Image from Picture Australia
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Task 1: Review 'User collaboration in websites' by Judith Pearce. In a posting of about 600 words, explain what is meant by the term Web 2.0?
User collaboration in websites is a paper presented by Judith Pearce at the ARLIS/ANZ Conference in 2006 (Pearce 2006). This paper discusses the use of Web 2.0 applications in three projects that originate from the National Library of Australia; PictureAustralia, Australia Dancing and People Australia.
The term Web 2.0 was conceived in 2004 by web pioneers Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty (O’Reilly, 2005) to describe a dynamic user centred web environment that encouraged participation as a key part of its design. New technologies enabled web developers to design programs that collaborated with each other and was a natural progression away from the static collection of text and images that characterised Web 1.0.
Examples cited by O’Reilly to compare how the web was evolving into an interactive platform are Britannica online v Wikipedia, content managaement systems v wikis and personal websites v blogging. Three years on, some further examples of Web 2.0 are utube, ebay, Amazon, video streaming and podcasting. Google Earth gave us an aerial view of our world, and now Google Street View enables us to tour our neighbourhood at street level.
Library services are now beginning to use Web 2.0 applications and concepts to expand their collections and promote their services. It is not uncommon for libraries to feature blogs, wikis and RSS feeds on their websites. Users are able to log into their library home page and from there use multiple data bases containing multimedia, reserve items, add a book review or listen to a podcast of the most recent visiting author.
Pearce (2006, p. 1) expands on the original O’Reilly definition, describing the shared characteristics of Web 2.0 applications as having massive data repositories, which are continuously uploaded by users. These users can be commercial as in the case of Google Maps or individual users adding to flikr, the application NLA chose to facilitate data collection for PictureAustralia.
The development of interactive websites to access collections and services such as offered by the NLA and the concept of user collaboration in the content of these websites arise from the expectations of users as they grow more accustomed to using Web 2.0 applications online. The NLA took this expectation under consideration when reviewing its strategies for collecting data and enhancing its viability (Pearce 2006, p.1). This article describes how each of these applications works, and how the NLA was able to encourage participants to add to its vast collection of images and information.
Pearce provides an overview of how Picture Australia collaborated with flikr (2008) to encourage users to add to its vast collection of historical images. This project has proved beneficial to all stakeholders in the project. However issues of continuing reliance on the user skill set has set some limitations on search capability. Solutions to these issues that have posed by the NLA provide a balanced view to this article.
A more cautious approach to the collection of biographical and killer data is needed by the Australia Dancing and People Australia service. Pearce argues well for a stand alone biographical tool rather than a wiki model for Australia Dancing as the issues of user sourced biographical accuracy are evident. However the comparison that Pearce draws between accuracy of entry on Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica in her article (2005, p. 5) do not so much as justify this caution; rather it highlights the pitfalls of accurate collection of any data.
Pearce’s article highlights a very positive and usable aspect of Web 2.0 technology, and gives a good example of how the NLA is leading the way in innovative data collection. Despite the challenges of sifting through proposed data entries for all three projects, the end product is enriched by user collaboration.
References
Flickr 2008, home page, Yahoo!7, viewed 2 August 2008,
The term Web 2.0 was conceived in 2004 by web pioneers Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty (O’Reilly, 2005) to describe a dynamic user centred web environment that encouraged participation as a key part of its design. New technologies enabled web developers to design programs that collaborated with each other and was a natural progression away from the static collection of text and images that characterised Web 1.0.
Examples cited by O’Reilly to compare how the web was evolving into an interactive platform are Britannica online v Wikipedia, content managaement systems v wikis and personal websites v blogging. Three years on, some further examples of Web 2.0 are utube, ebay, Amazon, video streaming and podcasting. Google Earth gave us an aerial view of our world, and now Google Street View enables us to tour our neighbourhood at street level.
Library services are now beginning to use Web 2.0 applications and concepts to expand their collections and promote their services. It is not uncommon for libraries to feature blogs, wikis and RSS feeds on their websites. Users are able to log into their library home page and from there use multiple data bases containing multimedia, reserve items, add a book review or listen to a podcast of the most recent visiting author.
Pearce (2006, p. 1) expands on the original O’Reilly definition, describing the shared characteristics of Web 2.0 applications as having massive data repositories, which are continuously uploaded by users. These users can be commercial as in the case of Google Maps or individual users adding to flikr, the application NLA chose to facilitate data collection for PictureAustralia.
The development of interactive websites to access collections and services such as offered by the NLA and the concept of user collaboration in the content of these websites arise from the expectations of users as they grow more accustomed to using Web 2.0 applications online. The NLA took this expectation under consideration when reviewing its strategies for collecting data and enhancing its viability (Pearce 2006, p.1). This article describes how each of these applications works, and how the NLA was able to encourage participants to add to its vast collection of images and information.
Pearce provides an overview of how Picture Australia collaborated with flikr (2008) to encourage users to add to its vast collection of historical images. This project has proved beneficial to all stakeholders in the project. However issues of continuing reliance on the user skill set has set some limitations on search capability. Solutions to these issues that have posed by the NLA provide a balanced view to this article.
A more cautious approach to the collection of biographical and killer data is needed by the Australia Dancing and People Australia service. Pearce argues well for a stand alone biographical tool rather than a wiki model for Australia Dancing as the issues of user sourced biographical accuracy are evident. However the comparison that Pearce draws between accuracy of entry on Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica in her article (2005, p. 5) do not so much as justify this caution; rather it highlights the pitfalls of accurate collection of any data.
Pearce’s article highlights a very positive and usable aspect of Web 2.0 technology, and gives a good example of how the NLA is leading the way in innovative data collection. Despite the challenges of sifting through proposed data entries for all three projects, the end product is enriched by user collaboration.
References
Flickr 2008, home page, Yahoo!7, viewed 2 August 2008,
<http://www.flickr.com/>.
O’Reilly, T 2005, What is Web 2.0: design patterns and business models for the next generation of software, O’Reilly Media, California, viewed 2 August 2008, <http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228>.
Pearce, J 2006, User collaboration in websites, staff paper, National Library of Australia, Canberra, viewed 29 June 2008,
<http://www.nla.gov.au/staffpaper/2006/jpearce1.html>.
O’Reilly, T 2005, What is Web 2.0: design patterns and business models for the next generation of software, O’Reilly Media, California, viewed 2 August 2008, <http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228>.
Pearce, J 2006, User collaboration in websites, staff paper, National Library of Australia, Canberra, viewed 29 June 2008,
<http://www.nla.gov.au/staffpaper/2006/jpearce1.html>.
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