Conference Discussion Nuggets 2007

The following are some ideas/opinions that seemed to particularly reflect the themes and discussions occurring at this year’s conference:

From keynote by the Director of Pew Internet and American Life Project “2.0 and the Internet World”:

• Internet has penetrated about 93% of US households.
• 77% of college students play games online.

From “Online Outreach: Marketing for Libraries” presentation:

• Library web sites need to be marketing something worthwhile.
• Interaction is needed on library web sites. The rest of the Internet is interactive; users expect this on web sites.
• There is a blurring of jurisdictions on the Web. Basically, online, everyone’s customers are your customers, too.

From “New Rules of Web Design” presentation:

• Content is king on web sites….but design matters a lot!
  • Professional design = credibility
• The 3 click rule is dead. Users will happily click, as long as they feel they are on the right path.
• Scrolling is not bad…as long as there is some sort of clue that there is content below the top half of the web page (i.e. above the fold).

From “Cranky? Boomers & Older Adults Are Greying the Internet” presentation:

• With the increase in the older population, libraries need to teach Web 2.0 technologies in their customer classes. Move beyond just intro to email and intro to computers.

Reviewed by:
Polly (SDCL Online)