Mashups, Mobile Knowledge Networks... Future Models for Youth Services

Not my favorite session so far.  Some very interesting ideas densely packed into a rather dry presentation (although the accompanying PowerPoint was quite striking).  The presenter is advocating open mobile platforms, open networking, and creative uses of technology.  It seems a key point of the presenter is that the local network is the global network.  She is implementing a new open network called B3OK that is going live May 1. Most interesting to me was the concept of QR codes which are cell-phone/computer readable digital codes that can be printed on a sticker and then applied to a physical object.  So you could stick one of these things on a building, and then someone could scan it and it would direct them to a web page describing the history of the building, etc.  It can be kind of a subversive technology, depending on its implementation.  She has had a lot of difficulty getting libraries to adopt her ideas and consequently has created her network independently.