Mashups

After reading the articles on mashups I now feel I have a keener grasp of the multifarious concept. As Lee LeFever has covered many Web 2.0 technologies, I thought he might have done a video for mashups, but I searched YouTube and couldn't find one. From what I can understand mashups appropriate web applications from various sources and use them to form a compound document. This pastiche of online technologies throws up all kinds of questions about intellectual property and authorship. Roland Barthe's seminal post-modernist essay 'The Death of the Author' explores the notion of the unity of text not lying in its origins or creators but in its destination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_author#Content).
The ideas implicit in this work are still as relevant today as when it was written in 1968.

I find that I can easily understand the theory of all the technologies we're learning about. The challenge lies in deciphering the technical syntax. When it comes to talk about APIs and JavaScript programming, I know I'm out of my depth.

I took a look at Gurulib. It looks to be the very poor man's LibraryThing. From advertisements on the site, I deduce that data is coming from Amazon and Google. There is a Facebook application and iGoogle module that allow you to put your book shelf online and you can also keep track of the books you've borrowed from various institutions, as Gurulib taps into data from public and university libraries.

When searching for mashups to do with information management I stumbled across a library mashup competition sponsored by the library vendor Talis. After looking at the top entries I was none too inspired, so I'm going to present a possible mashup myself, focusing on the information and services provided by Victorian public libraries. All the public library services in the state could be placemarked on a Google map incorporating basic information such as Melways reference, steet address and URL. The mashup could also provide information on services particular to certain libraries. This could include listings of all the libraries that offer a fax service or colour photocopying or specialist areas of interest such as LOTE and genealogy. Perhaps the library catologues could all be linked so that an item can be searched for across the entire state. Suburb and postcode boundaries could be used to arrive at localised search results.

Providing the public with access to such a mashup has the potential to streamline their search for information and services before they set foot into the library, if at all. This saves time all round and gives both parties, patrons and library staff, the chance to concentrate on other priorities. From our perspective, I suppose a downside resulting from providing such information online could be that fewer people come through the doors. This, however, is an increasing trend that is here to stay and we as a profession will have to adapt accordingly.

I did come across an interesting literary mashup published last month called 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies', a retelling of Austen's classic novel with umm...zombies! Check out a review.

I also discovered a great site called MapMyRun that allows you to search running routes or create your own using Google Map type maps. The ability to plot two points and calculate the distance between is a function that has proven particularly useful to me. The site also serves as a social network with the options to create a personal profile, form groups and share information with others. Unfortunately the site contains lots of advertisements, but is definitely worth a look if you're into running.