Congratulations! You are Time magazine’s Person of the Year!
You’ve become part of what they describe as a “revolution,” as contributors to the user-generated content that seems to have taken over the Web. You did it by adding photos to Flickr and videos to YouTube, creating a profile in MySpace and/or Facebook, adding titles to LibraryThing, adding and editing content on Wikipedia, blogging, tagging, IM’ing…The list goes on. You have taken what Time editors describe as “an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person.”
They felt that your contributions were so extraordinary that you deserved recognition for “wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.” That’s saying an awful lot in a year that had so many internationally important people and events: the escalating war in Iraq, nuclear testing in North Korea, record oil prices, mid-term elections, etc.
Although Time intended to feature users that create content, libraries should be very proud of the role they’ve played in making it possible for many to participate in this revolution. You’ve provided access to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it, and in many cases, taught them how to use it well.
We’ve talked a lot about user-centered services and content over the last few months, otherwise known in our community as Library 2.0, and I’m not sure we’ll get a better example of why we must embrace this new 2.0 world. I suspect that people will only crave more access, more ability to influence the media and the market, and libraries have an excellent opportunity to lead the charge on the ground. We have phenomenal access to the public, almost unlimited, but it will take a real committment and, perhaps, some tough choices in the next few years to give them what they want.
In the meantime, bask in the glory of your recognition! How often will you and I get to say that we made the cover of Time? Hey, you know, that sounds like a good blog post.
Felicia
If, like us, you are spending the last few days of 2006 frantically preparing for 2007, you will appreciate a little break. Here’s some holiday fun for snowless South Carolina, courtesy of the equally snow-free Orange County (Florida) public library.
