“Dès que nos instances auront validé le résultat [du] vote, (…) je veux dire à tous très simplement que je serai le premier secrétaire de tous les militants du parti socialiste car aucun militant ne doit manquer au parti” a déclaré Martine Aubry à l’issue du second tour qui la place en tête de l’élection du premier secrétaire du PS avec 42 voix d’avance. (et là j’apprends qu’on ne féminise pas “premier secrétaire” ?)

À lire sur LeMonde.fr :  PS : Royal reproche à Aubry de “s’autoproclamer” élue

 

On Friday, I asked a question:

Made with snapper.net

I wanted to see what type of response I might get putting it into the form above. Three events in three weeks lead to this post. This kind of synchronicity always makes my trendspotting radar go off.

First, I met some great folks from Pasco Libraries in Florida when I spoke at the TBLC Annual Meeting. They shared with me a promotion for their Battle of the Bands event: the intial announcement was made via a 2D code. Not a flier, not a blog post, not a Facebook alert —  but a two dimensional barcode. Take a look at the screenshot above: the library’s MySpace page displayed the 2D code for the young people to find and decodewith their phones.

So what is 2D code?  Snapper.com explains it well:

2D Codes are almost like 1D Barcodes - They identify an object uniquely. The big difference is that 2D Codes can be used to virtually identify anything!

Just create a 2D Code and put it on something - Like a shirt, a flyer or a business card.

You now have your own ‘barcode’! Anybody can scan this code and get to the information you decided to put in when you created the Code. If you registered with Snappr you can also come back to the site later and change the content of your Code to something completely different. So one day your T-Shirt links to a simple text and the other day directly to your Flickr profile. Just try creating a code on the ‘Create Code‘ site. It is really easy.

I asked the folks from Pasco to send me more details for TTW. I hope they do!

Second, right after my trip to Florida, TTW Contributor Lee LeBlanc went to DevLearn and found 2D Codes used to promote and share info about events as well. I’m hoping he’ll post about that conference here as well.

Third, just a few days later, I spoke to a group of librarian locally in Illinois and had an interesting response about the cell phone banning signs I use in my talks. I told the questioning librarian that I appreciated her feedback and candor. It was a little difficult to be called out like that in the Q & A but I am glad she did. The group responded with various ideas about friendly signage and policies and the message we send to our users.*

And I do understand that dealing with difficult patrons - loud, rude, etc - as she described, can be a daunting task. BUT. Banning cell phones (and the converged devices they’ve become) is no longer an option for libraries. That sign on your door with a cell phone and a red circle/line through it simply has got to go. Go take it down. I’ll wait.

I think both Michael Casey and I feel very strongly about this particular signpost toward transparency: “Focus on user-driven policy, not driving users away. Usage patterns, user needs, and the grim reality of tough economic times mean we must steadily reevaluate our mission, our services, and our policies.” This means trying to control your users and their technology might not be a good idea as we go forward with libraries in an uncertain and fluid age.

Why you ask?

We should be guiding user behavior in our spaces with simply stated codes of conduct (not unfriendly lists of rules) instead of focusing on banning technology to control behavior. Teens out of control? Block Facebook! Person talking too loud on phone? Ban the cellphone.

That’s broken.

I just downloaded the Snapper application and I can now access, scan and search for barcode information with my phone and you never know - I may want to scan materials in your library. Other people might want to do that too. People are already using these devices to find all sorts of things on their own, even while standing in your big beautiful library with lovely reference desk. The device connects me - us - them to the world.

So that’s a big reason to go to the table, re-do your “No Cell Phone” policy to something more friendly, and think about ways to incorporate these technologies into your own services. 

How about a 2D code scavenger hunt? How about library materials labeled with the codes sharing details and little known facts about the work or similar items? 

I was fiddling with the Snapper app while thinking about this post. To test the barcode finder, I keyed in the code on the new Shanachie Tour book. The shot above is what came up. It was that easy. I need to play more to find out if I can customize where the results come from - wouldn’t it be nice if it could be my local library?

(Here’s the rest of the story.)

(click to enlarge)

Age: 27
Hometown: a little city in the middle of the mountain called Belluno. North East of Italy
Where do you now live?: temporarily in Belluno
Where would you most like to live?: I am in love with NY
Who was your first "hero" in life?: I would say Indiana Jones as well
What is your favorite thing to do on your day off from work?: Have fun with friends
What is your favorite color?: Turquoise green / water green
Who (or what) do you love?: My girlfriend and all of my friends. I love to watch ice hockey on tv while eating pizza. I can finally do that in Italy!

Wooster: Who and/or what are some of your influences?

Barry Mc Gee, Clayton Bros, Yoshitomo Nara, Hyeronimus Bosch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Coil and most of everything Mother Nature and human being.

Wooster: What other artists do you most admire?

(Taylor McKimens)

Royal Art Lodge, Marcel Dzama, Taylor McKimens, Andre Either, Os Gemeos, Walton Ford and I could go on and on...

Wooster: How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it

I would say the topic I explore is the conflict at the meeting point of opposing forces: good and evil. life and death, light and shade, wonderful and terrifying. My work can be seen as translation of universal concept such as the harmony of nature and the struggle between good and evil into allegories. the figures are often metamorphic, they mimic the fascination with hybrid and tragicomic in the reconstruction of a personal mythology inspired from popular culture and nature. A critical mass which finds its own imagery, fears and fantasy, just like an ancestral culture regulated by nature's rhythm and determined by its laws.

Wooster: What other talent would most like to have?

I'd really like to DJ. I think it should be great to see all of the people in front of you to dance and have fun because of your music. It should be gratifying and a lot of fun.
I'd like also experiment doing my own music.

Wooster: What is your greatest ambition?

To be able to give something to think about to people and hopefully inspiration to something positive.

To see more of Davide's work, and to check out his new book 25 Drawings, go here.

Daniel Gross / Slate:
Why all those Great Depression analogies are wrong.  —  It's difficult to avoid the comparisons between the current sad state of financial affairs and the Great Depression.  “This is not like 1987 or 1998 or 2001,” Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain said at a conference on Nov. 11.

"Is there ONE painting, sticker, stencil, sculpture, or piece of architecture that truly inspires you in your daily work?"

"My wife and I currently live in St. Louis to raise our kids and take advantage of the affordable living/studio spaces this city has to offer artists. It may be very Cliché to the average STLien...but The Gateway Arch is seriously an amazing piece of architecture/public art. I think one of the most amazing things about this 630 foot stainless steel sculpture is that Architect Eero Saarinen convinced the city to spend $13 million to build this in first place back in 1947. I gotta give him props in creating this massive shiny piece of art for the STL!...I am just waiting for them to commission me to create the worlds largest stencil (bigger than Beardy McGreen pictured above)!"... Peat Wolleager

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Storm: the aftermath originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.