ALA has been pondering what to do about the organization’s environmental and culture issues, including its tradition of face-to-face meetings. Talking to LJ earlier this year, ALA executive director Keith Fiels minimized any move to mainstream virtual contact into ALA business. In part, this makes sense for a membership organization based on revenue from conferences and publications. But when members are increasingly comfortable with blending online and offline interaction, a revolution had to be brewing.
One of LITA’s traditional strengths has been its broad base of participation and multi-tiered presentations, from new librarians to éminence grises. Now, in viral mob style, Jason Griffey, Karen Coombs, and Michele Boule have extended their participation in the LITA BIGWIG (Blogs, Wikis, and Social Software) group to making something happen. Now.
The BIGWIG group will meet face to face on Saturday, June 23rd, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Mayflower Cabinet Room for a roundtable discussion. The impressive list of collaborators includes David Free, David Lee King, Casey Bisson (2007 Mover and Shaker), Lichen Rancourt, Michael Casey (The Transparent Library), Michael Porter, Tim Spalding (Chief Thingamabrarian), Tom Peters, Iris Jastram, Jessamyn West (Saving Digital History), Simon Spero, and Karen Schneider.
The showcase is using several social software tools to extend its audience and demonstrate capabilities, including:
BIGWIG Twitter Feed
BIGWIG Meebo Room
Meebo Me for each of the BIGWIG officers
Flickr feed for all photos tagged bigwigshowcase07
Social Software Showcase on Technorati
LITA BIGWIG Social Software Showcase on Facebook
And I’m pleasantly surprised to see one software tool missing: Second Life.
