anything technology related... are you SURE you want to hear this again?

I really wanted to think of something else to talk about for this post... to the point where I put it off for several days. I really could have just written a quick blurb about something fun I found on the internet! But no, I have a dead horse handy, and it apparently needs to be beaten again.

Technology is all well and good, but it had better be appropriate technology. There, I said it.

By appropriate technology I mean the next step, not ten steps ahead just because it's there. In fact, ahead isn't even the right word - perhaps what I really mean is we should resist taking ten steps to the left just because we can. Does that make sense? I'm definitely not the first one to talk about this, let alone think about it - and yes, I'm probably using it a bit differently than some people. (See here for a Wikipedia article on appropriate technology - it's a good jumping-off point if you want to read more.)

In short, technology is not a band-aid for those who feel behind the times. It's a tool, and we just need to keep a cool head about when to use which tool, which tool is the most cost-effective, least stress-inducing, and most likely to actually be useful to our patrons and ourselves.

Don't get me wrong... experimentation is remarkably important. Valuing experimentation and learning from experimental folks is one of the most important parts of being a part of a community or an organization. Some of us are the experimental sort, and some of us are the talented implementers of well seasoned tools. Some of us are one or the other at different times in our lives or in different venues.

I think IUL 2.0 certainly has a lot of potential for helping IUL staff discover their hidden experimental side. Encouraging all of us to try to actually use new online tools is a great idea - I know I'm one of those semi-up-to-date people who thought I knew enough about things like Flickr and RSS and del.icio.us... until I actually tried to use them! Rather than resting on my laurels feeling glad that I know what a Flickr mashup is, I can now say that I've taken the time to explore and would be able to use it as a tool later on in my career.

So now I've spent all my IUL 2.0 time for the day on one Thing, just because I felt the need to beat that old dead horse. I hope the next few Things don't make me think so hard. ;)