Ninger is not a dirty word.

Ning, I never thought I'd see you filling these computer parts of mine again, its been ages since I saw you, August 5th 2009 to be precise. So this little adventure into the nings of other institutions is a good chance to rejuvenate the little bit of turf some of my fellow contemporaries have staked out.

1st stop is the Mosman ning, can they do no wrong? but I really like their embedded vimeo videos and collaborative forum section for book reviews that anyone can participate in. with good presence on their website (part of their reading lounge seamlessly inserted for their borrowers convenience). it offers a greater chance of interaction than what you would get with book reviews simply embedded into a catalogue via Librarything for instance, making it more akin to a book club online (though Librarything also offers this). It all depends on what level you want to engage at.

Next stop is the boldly stated Museum 3.0 not to be confused with web 3.0 (the push from sites to services if you need a catchphrase). Good to see that its pushing 2k members and they encompass the globe. Also it is comforting to see the existence of such a group that understands the need to think about pushing their collections to the user from beyond the confines of the traditional building, much like the Powerhouse Museum has.

Bibliotheek 2.0 tested my language skills and I deduced its Dutch. But even if I fail at languages, they do not fail in their efforts to comprehend the web as we know it, no matter how many upgrades it receives.

The final stop was the Library 2.0 Ning, where I was delighted to see some of my very own handy work on display via some of the images I had uploaded to flickr via widget action! Spurred on by this tangible thread of 2.0 communal togetherness pouring from my monitor to my digital heart I hastily applied for membership, but noes! the failure to encapsulate my digital persona with a picture has ruined all hope of becoming a member. True, I could have simply uploaded an image of a pen to suffice, but I will ponder how I want to be represented when words are no longer enough to capture the minds of my ningers.

Still, all in all a useful location that ties in to a lot of different social networks that may be associated with your institution, or even something of your own interest.