"Generation shifts" and technology

[Sloan, Bernie]

I think Karen is right when she talks about not being sure that
chronological age is as significant in terms of identifying technology
"generations".

There are some who, rather than being "born with the chip", have "grown
up" with computers. I've worked with information technology in libraries
for almost 28 years now. I've been using various forms of
computer-mediated communication for 25 years, starting with IBM's old
Telecommunications Access Method (TCAM) which was a rough analog to
today's instant messaging. I began using e-mail maybe 23 years ago,
first using an IBM internal e-mail package and then gravitating to
BITNET e-mail. And being at the U of Illinois I was exposed to graphical
Web browsers in the early stages. I still remember a demo where people
ooohed and aaahed when somebody used Mosaic to bring up a picture of a
dinosaur.  :-)

In some ways I think those who "grew up" with computers have an
advantage over those who never knew a time when there weren't computers
everywhere.

Bernie Sloan

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of K.G. Schneider
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 2:26 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: 

> This is not intended to imply that the experiences, outlook, and
> values of GenX and GenY librarians don't anywhere intersect that of
> over-40 librarians, especially those of new grads for whom
> librarianship may be a second or third career. 

That was more my point; I am not sure that age of the respondent is as
significant in terms of identifying generations. By building two surveys
around an age-based assumption, to some extent you lost the opportunity
to
tease out what the significant generational lines really are--age, date
of
MLS, previous career experience, length of time on Internet, etc. 

Regarding Wikipedia being fascinating et al., what I find most
fascinating
is that for almost thirty years we have been developing social software
with
the same pernicious limitations because the software developers have to
learn the same lessons over and over again. Sanger (finally I get that
right...) was making that point, as was Clay Shirky in the article I
cited.
I'm also not so sure that for Wikipedia per se the barn door can now be
closed. But it certainly could with a future, similar application.  

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com