Item 1: Welcome - Getting Started

Welcome one and all to the FVRL Discover 2.0 program!

Over the next few months, you'll have the opportunity to spend some time looking at and working with a wide variety of new and interesting Internet tools and programs, and telling us what you think about them along the way. Once you've completed the program, you will get something for your efforts!

First of all - what is Discover 2.0 about?

Well, in the last few years, the Internet has seen incredible growth in the use of something called "social software." These are programs that allow you to easily collaborate with other people online, build connections with them, and share with others of similar interests. There are a variety of terms used to describe this phenomenon - Web 2.0 is the main one, and in libraries we tend to call it Library 2.0. It's still not a very well-defined area, and that's what makes it so exciting - we get to be a part of the way the Internet evolves!

Now, there are literally thousands of social software programs out there, and more are being developed all the time. Sorting through them all and figuring out which ones are useful is something that no one has any time for. Yet there is a growing understanding that if we don't take advantage of some of these tools and understand how they work and how they change the Internet, libraries won't be able to keep up with the way their community develops. Now, there are some really famous social software programs out there - they've been on the news, and you've probably heard people talk about them - MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and flickr are some of the big ones. We'll learn all about them as part of this program. But there are so many other great tools out there that can help libraries work better, both internally and in their relationship with the community. So there are a few people out there in libraryland that spend a good amount of their time exploring different social software tools, trying them out, and reporting on what works and what doesn't. We try out the things they recommend and try to figure out if they would be useful to our library and community.

And that's where the Discover 2.0 Program comes in!

There are a lot of interesting tools out there to learn about. People in our community are using these tools, so it's a good idea for use to know about them. Also, there are some interesting ways to provide service through these tools, and do outreach and marketing as well.

To familiarize yourself with this project, be sure to read the About This Program (FAQ) page. These FAQs should answer most of your questions about this program. And if you don't see your question answered just add it to the FAQ page as a blog comment.

Each post in this blog is an "Item" with some activities that should take around 30 minutes to an hour to complete. We're hoping that you'll work on this once or twice per week until you've gotten through the program.

Part of each Item will be exploration, and part will be letting us know that you've completed the tasks. We'll explain how that works in the next few posts.

If you have questions about the program, you can comment here or send an email to discover20@fvrl.org. If you have questions about a site, as to how to navigate, find things, or do things, we really encourage everyone to experiment and also to ask your co-workers for help.

So, are you ready to start? Send an email to discover20@fvrl.org and let us know!