Notes from NECC

I saw Doug Johnson walking through the halls this morning... Way more cool than seeing, say, Johnny Depp. Well, maybe not Johnny Depp. He's the best. But certainly more cool than seeing Brad Pitt! - Bib 2.0 blog

I was a little disappointed that the comment above did not inspire immediate, vehement and passionate jealousy in the LWW when she learned of it. I think there was instead, some cruel question about whether I was allowed to pet the commenter's seeing eye dog. But personally, I will treasure the comment until my senility registers 99%

Day Two of NECC for me, and after a busy Sunday with two workshops, a new members' meeting, opening keynote attendance, dinner and President's Reception, I am spending a couple hours in the motel catching up on e-mail and planning the rest of my conference. Whew.

For anyone interested, the Days Inn, while not exactly luxurious, is a nice enough place. Friendly staff, clean rooms, and good location. Maybe user-reviews do skew negative or else the management took them to heart and cleaned up its act.  Thanks to Mary Johnson who found the citation for the study on negative vs positive experiences. (It's in one of the comments in the last post.)

It is fun to see old friends in person. The best part of any conference as far as I am concerned. Never enough time, however, to just sit down and have a really good conversation it too often seems.

The Kindle has been a source of much interest. Glad I bought it and brought it. I am liking it - mostly.

During yesterday's keynote, Suriwiki (Wisdom of the Crowds) made me feel better about the sometimes contentious tech meetings we have at MPOW. To get full benefit of group decision-making, he argues, there needs to be some genuine head-butting. We do have that and we do make good decisions. (And I need to appreciate my contrarians on staff a bit more.) I also need to read his book. 

I got a ribbon for my name badge that says "Trouble Maker." I'd like to think the ISTE staff ordered it specially for me. But everyone here seems to want one. 

Heading back to the conference site where I hope not too many people swoon when they see me.

Do consumer reviews skew negative?

A hot discussion topic among librarians (and others, of course) is the "wisdom of the masses" theory of information authority. Does the expertise of 100 (1,000, 10,000) amateurs or a single credentialed specialist provide the greatest authority?

The topic came up in yesterday's workshops for ALA in Anaheim. (Wonderful groups, BTW.)  I related how my views have moderated on the issue since I have been using the "authoritative" Frommers and Fodors guides for travel planning less and relying on user-review sites like TripAdvisor more. And feeling sort of cool and modern about it.

Then Laura Pearle raised an interesting question. She wondered if those who contributed to consumer review sites are more likely to be the ones who have had negative experiences. Good question.

I remember seeing a study showing that if a person has a positive experience with a business, he is likely to tell one person; if he has a negative experience, he is likely to tell eight other people. Does the same hold true for online communications?

Is the grouser more vocal than the satisfied?

I certainly hope so considering the reviews of the cheap hotel (Days Inn Riverwalk) in San Antonio I've booked. It has received less than, uh, stellar reviews. Headings like  "too scary for words,"  "never again," and "dump is too nice a word for this place."

Laura, I sure hope you're right. I guess I'll find out tonight!

See you ALA and NECC

In the airport on my way to San Antonio via Anaheim. I'll gone 11 days. I actually had to check a  bag. I didn't much like the shirts I packed anyway...

Here are somethings I'll be participating in at these overlapping ;-( conferences:

Friday, June  27 at ALA, preconference workshops:
Eating Elephant 2.0 One Bite at a Time: Using the Read-Write Web in Classrooms and Libraries 8:00 am – 12 Noon E-Books, E-Kids, E-Flat! 3 Trends Schools and Libraries Will Ignore at Their Peril 1:00-5:00

At NECC
Sunday, June 29, preconference workshops:
E-Books, E-Kids, E-Flat! Three Trends Schools Ignore at Their Peril 8:30am–11:30am
Are You Punishing or Preventing Plagiarism in Your School? 12:30pm–3:30pm

Membership meeting, 4:15 

Tuesday, July 1
ISTE SIG MS Membership Breakfast, sponsored by Linworth Publishing, Inc. and ProQuest 7:00-8:30am
SIGMS Forum: NETS or AASL Standards for 21st-Century Learners?—A Standards Debate 10:30am–12:30pm
Tech directors panel at the Bloggers Cafe, 2-3

Wednesday, July 2
Session: Policies 2.0:  Safety and Ethics for the Social Web, 12-1

I am not sure where the locations of these events all are. I am hoping people will point ME in the right direction.

Oh, if I promised to do something at a public event for you that is not on my list, please let me know.

Hope to see lots of you there.