Social Networking

Isn't it ironic that a technology that allows you to anonymously peer into your friend's and acquaintance's lives uses the words "social" and "networking"? If I remember correctly, in the past one had to actually mix with others to be social and to network. But I digress, this post is devoted to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, the three headed god of the new interconnetedness religion that is saving the planet.
You need to look no further than the wave of pro-democracy regime changes in the Middle East and North Africa to come to grips with the power of the tweet.
FaceBook allows us to keep an eye on our old high school chums and to organize play dates for our children.
LinkedIn has the potential to give us a leg up on that perfect job that will allow us to purchase a "smart phone" that will, in turn, let us to stay connected to our social networks sans computer. Then we will be one step closer to the glorious day when we are connected to the omninet via the chip implanted in our cerebral cortex.

Don't Mess with the Google

Google is a life support system for those library patrons who are not familiar with how the interweb operates. I always explain it as a sort of "phone book" for the Internet where you can find the website that fits your needs.

Maps is clearly very helpful and utilized quite often (I spit upon Mapquest).

For those without a flash drive, Docs can be a great tool but I recommend a level of computer expertise at least slightly above the "how do you make this mouse move" patron.

Books and scholar are wonderful research tools for our high school and college students who need to finish that paper yesterday.

All-in-all I will still maintain that Google is not yet an evil corporation but rather a company offering services that I am happy to help our patrons utilize.