Alright, first off, a little bit on the elections before we get into the nitty-gritty library stuff. I promise I won’t get too into politics (but Rock on Obama!); I just wanted to share this great xkcd cartoon with you today. Seriously, go check out Election.

Now that you are back, let’s just admit it–everything we do is to further collaboration and connection. Humans are social creatures, no matter what people claim about being introverted. Yes, we differ on the level of social networking and interaction we want, but we are at our base social creatures. We want to connect and collaborate and this is where Web 2.0 tools come in so handy.

I found this blog post through Tame the Web and I too am hearting this post. Really, go check it out. Technology is just the means to connect and to reach out to others. We are using technology to recreate and re-invent public meeting spaces that are rapidly disappearing.

And last, but not least, here is an article from Educause about a phenomenon that fanfic writers have known about for years–collaborative work. These stories live online and many people contribute to them, respond, and comment on these stories. Storytelling is no longer limited to a few authors, but expanded to anyone who has an idea. Anyone can create something and post it on the web. And, no, I am not against everyone having a voice and I don’t think it is a crisis of quality of writing, reading, or any of that other stuff. Remixing, creativity, and passion live in this new world and if educators could harness the work that students do in this environment and transfer it to lessons and assignments in school, I think the results would be amazing.

Yes, I am unrepentant in my optimism about Web 2.0 applications, teaching and creative work. I believe that we can collaborate and connect online and in person because that is what we do. And as librarians, educators and blog readers we can all take part in these creative endeavors. Happy November 5th and rock on!