Mashed up (and no, it's not a potato...)

Interact, merge, mingle, coalesce, amalgamate and intermix - we all know the pulling power of the Web and its ability to draw us together from across the street and across the world. But did you realise that as many Web-based technologies improve in speed and accessibility that they too are being brought together to improve many of the sites that we all love? Many sites are now festooned with with maps, photos, video and audio and pop-out information bars - all to improve the quality and quantity of information we can access. This amalgamation of technologies is called mashing, and sites which utilise it are known as mashups.

A personal favourite of mine is Digg. As a bit of a newshound myself, I love seeing what other people think is hot and not in news. But there's a lot more than news on Digg - diggers can submit links to anything on the Net they think is fun, cool, or important: it can be video, links, stories, even music and audio. Voting stories up (digging) and down (burying) is what makes Digg unique. I have to say that with the advent of YouTube, a lot of humorous clips seem to be appearing as top Digg stories, which I find a bit frivolous and annoying, but I guess it's a matter of out-digging the video diggers with "real" news to overcome this trend!

Another very cool site I discovered today is VoiceThread. How cool is this?? As a university lecturer, tutor, and library assistant, I can just see so many applications for this technology! VoiceThread takes the concept of video conferencing and webcam chatting to a whole new level. Group discussions can be facilitated, shared, saved, and downloaded from anywhere in the world and - the best bit - there's no software to install! And it's so much more than just voice - you can add images, documents, sound, or video, and participants can participate through voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). So no matter who you are and how you like to be involved - talk, text, or picture - there's a place for you in VoiceThread!


Library Mash:

I've already referred to VoiceThread and how it could (and should) grab educators by storm. Education is a big part of what we do in libraries. Mashups give us so much scope to broaden our the quality and quantity of our delivery. Here's a few examples and ideas:

• Lost your library? New in town? Library services such as the Riverina Regional Library network could tempt new borrowers using mashups to display local library locations. Maps, driving directions, pictures and virtual tours can all be incorporated into existing websites. American public libraries already have a similar service: take a look at: http://www.libraries411.com/glibrarymaps.php?lat=34.040511&lng=-118.180628&dls=6295&dsp=4&dtype=BR
• To come back to my favourite,VoiceThread, there's huge potential here for online staff training, group story-telling, oral history, tutoring or interactive research services.

Issues:

PamL made a very salient point last September on the Mashups discussion board. Copyright and intellectual property are issues to be wary of when drawing on mixed sources on the net. Remember - someone had to create it, and that someone should be properly acknowledge before you add their material or application to your personal or professional website!