September 9, 2008 to be exact. Listen here.
Many of us use it every day and have trouble remembering life without it. The usefulness and ubiquity of the Internet has made looking for information as easy as pushing a button. The personal computer created an Internet where anyone with a keyboard could be master and commander of the World Wide Web. Now,Internet-centered products — such as iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos — can’t be easily modified by anyone except their vendors and are killing the innovation of the once-open Internet according Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
In a new book titled The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It, Zittrain argues that the Internet’s current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Zittrain reasons that the seemingly endless Internet is on a path to tighter security— such as car GPS systems reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on occupants.
Today Michael Sauers, the “Travelin’ Librarian” from the Nebraska Library Commission talks with guest host Stephen Steigman about how the salvation of the Internet lies in the hands of the users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, we’ll discuss how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, and participate in solutions. We’ll look at the role technology is playing in library services (both good and bad) and we’ll examine search engines and how to use the latest Web 2.0 – from improving basic search skills and evaluating search results to making the best use of search engines. We’ll also discuss digital rights management, creative commons, and other copyright issues.
