What the internet is doing to you: Aleks Krotoski at AWRF 2013

"Techno-fundamentalism"! "Pseudo-anonymity"! I love it! Looks like my friend Alison from the Grey Lynn Library has a nose for finding cool sessions -- or maybe Aleks Krotoski's cat tweeted her cat about it!

Well folks, the good news is that there is solid evidence to suggest that in this new world of the web (are we at 3.0 yet?) people are “pretty much” behaving in the same ways as they were in the pre-web days. These are the findings of Dr Aleks Krotoski, broadcaster, journalist and academic who specializes in technology and interactivity. You will notice the phrase “pretty much”. This was how Aleks described the similarity of our behaviours both pre and post-web. If it sounds overly familiar of me to call Aleks by her first name and not Dr Krotoski, I think she would be okay with that. She is so down to earth, informal and engaging that I could easily imagine I was one of her girlfriends catching up for a coffee and a fascinating chat.

The session was chaired by Toby Manhire, who steered the conversation in a thoughtful, reasoned manner. This was necessary because Aleks is prone to embarking on the most exquisite and lengthy tangents.

Aleks spoke of falling into the traps of techno-fundamentalism and pseudo-anonymity. She also spoke of the joy of finding romance online (which she insists she hasn’t done). The concept that resonated with me was the serendipity of the web: those happy accidents traditionally associated with the act of browsing in a rich medium like a library. Aleks has designed a serendipity engine and it is producing surprising results. No wonder she was named one of the “Top Ten Girl Geeks” by CNET in 2006.

Oh, and her cat has a twitter account too. (@spartapuss)

-- Alison, Grey Lynn Library

Untangling the Web : what the virtual revolution is doing to you  by Aleks Krotoski.