Let's beat Portland!

This isn't for everyone yet, because I don't have details squared away, but you'll hear more about the event in the next few weeks. The positive thing is that we get to partner with a terrific group in the community that is instrumental, in my book, to making/keeping Tulsa cool, smart, and technologically progressive. I'm really thankful that we can still do wild, crazy, new ideas that involve a bit of risk, a bit of play, and quite a bit of "letting go". This isn't always the case, but this is a big re-energizer to me. (March 5)

The good thing I can think of is seeing individuals in the community and individuals at the library pulling together to promote open source, open data, and to beat Portland, OR at something. (March 20)
Lily, librarian

Technology is awesome...when it works. I'm fully behind the notion that technology should do what technology does best while people should do what people do best. I guess the issue is that I trust technology better when there are people behind it, making sure it, you know, works.

At any rate. (That might be better saved for another blog entry.)

Lily is referring to an awesome new community initiative that the library is involved with -- the Tulsa Wiki. (You can find it here: www.tulsawiki.org.) It's hosted by the library but not limited to the library: there are geeks and techno-geniuses across our city and county eager involved with "populating" the site with usable information about Tulsa.

In fact, we're involved with bringing those people together into a "National Day of Hacking" -- in June, I think -- to make it a really robust online tool.

Wikis aren't new, exactly -- at least how "new" is defined in the tech world. (Twitter is newer than wikis, for example.) The notion that we can harness the knowledge and experience of lots of people is an exciting one, and, like technology in general, it can be awesome... when it works.

I think this is going to work, in part because of Lily's leadership and vision. And also her contacts and enthusiasm and knowledge of technology... a pretty heady combination.

P.S. I love Portland, Oregon, but there's something about the place -- all of that great public transportation, independent bookstores, beautiful weather (in the summer, at least), organic coffee -- that makes you want to "beat them at something." Sure, we're just the second-largest city in a state that thinks it's a good idea to arm schoolteachers with guns and consistently ignores the truth of global warming, but we still have something to offer... even if it's just online.