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June 18, 2007
Ten Major Types of Technology Users
I actually read my American Libraries magazine for June/July this weekend and found some interesting information. The latest issue isn't available online at the library yet. There's a fourteen day wait period so everyone has to read the paper version for now.
One of the Tech Briefs in AL mentioned The Pew Internet and American Life Project came up with ten different types of technology users in a report released in May . The project released the results of a survey on internet usage and categorized technology users into ten types. You can take a quiz on the project site to find out where you fit in the technology continuum. Depending on how high you score, you may be classified as an omnivore, a connector, a lackluster veteran, a productivity enhancer, a mobile centric user, a connected but hassled user, an inexperienced experimenter, light but satisfied, indifferent, or off the network. It's all for fun and not very reliable because I scored as a connector. I would think I'm more lie an inexperience experimenter, instead.
Here are some other brief tidbits from American Libraries
April 18 issue of PC Magazine has an article 11 Ways to Search Without Google, including Ms. Dewey. Check her out if you haven't seen her yet.
By the Numbers feature offers two interesting statistics for Academic Libraries.
1. 29% of U.S. homes are "without internet access [and] do not plan to get online in the next year, according to a Park Associates study." I think this is the study.
2. 1.1 million is the "number of pages of historical government documents, some more than a century old, removed from public view since the September 2001 attacks under the National Archives and Records Administration's 'records of concern' program." Here's a link to the original story.
3. Also a tip from Meredith Farkas to keep in mind as we pursue Library 2.0, "Avoid technolust." Basically, make sure you're not so excited about new technology that you use it just to use it. Make sure it's helping your library users and improving your library.
Posted by swortman at June 18, 2007 03:30 PM