I've been remiss in not blogging this until now, but the folks at NEASIST have put together a fascinating program for May 3 at Providence College in Rhode Island. And I'm not just saying that because I'm on the panel. I'm more interesting in hearing Megan Fox and Michael Stephens talk!

Syndicate, Aggregate, Communicate: New Web Tools in Real Applications for Libraries, Companies and Regular Folk

The Tools We Hear About: Blogs, Wikis, RSS, Instant Messenging (IM), Chat, Browser add-ons, Bookmarklets, Folksonomies

The Questions We Ask Ourselves: How and when do these tools work together? How can I use them in my environment? How do I convince my boss that they are worth implementing?

2005 opens with an avalanche of new and maturing technologies. Free tools currently available can be configured and integrated to radically improve communication and simplify information retrieval, storage and sharing. These technologies, however, are currently being developed and presented incrementally and individually, and it is up to the user to keep track, download, install, configure, integrate, learn and determine which combinations will best serve a given individual, project, or organization.

NEASIST is pleased to present another timely event designed to make sense of this frenzy of technology and turn the chaos into practical tools for harnessing information and connecting people. Three recognized, early-adopter, information specialists have been exploring and experimenting with these tools in different environments. They will be sharing examples of how you can use these tools for:

• Personal Information Management


• Internal Staff or Project Communication


• Web site Content Development


• Making your Content Findable on the Internet at large

Individual presentations and a panel session will include case studies and techniques for enlightening others about the diverse value and application of social software and information management tools.

And in fine, syndicate-aggregate-communicate style, they've already started a Flickr account with other channels of communication to come soon!