The Web According to Google #88: Wave, Buzz, and Mobile

1) How do you think you could use Google Wave or Buzz for collaboration? Do you currently use any online collaboration tools?

The only collaboration tools I have tried are wikis and Google Docs. Google Wave offers a wealth of possibilities, but you have to have people to collaborate with who are rather tech savvy. I don't see this being useful for my relatives, or even most of my friends for just social purposes. It could be useful in a work environment where everybody can be trained and on the "same page", so to speak.

These days I get lots of videos, photos, and websites "shared" with me via e-mail. There are so many I can hardly keep up. With Buzz I see this sharing becoming even easier, and I see myself drowning in information.

What all these tools make clear is that reading and being able to assimilate information will be even a more highly valued skill in the future. Surely the library's success in turning young children on to reading should be even more important in the future. How can we capitalize on this aspect of our role in the community?

2) Read a little about one or two of the Google Mobile apps available for mobile phones. Which ones do you think you would use the most and how?
The best thing I found while searching for this module was the free Mobile Google app. Previously I had been searching Google indirectly through the Safari App. It was OK, but not very easy to use. The print was often very tiny. The Mobile App is great. It has a voice recognition feature so I can just speak what I am looking for and it gives me a screen of choices that look great! Why did I wait so long to get my iPhone?! It surprises me with something cool all the time.