I agree - did you catch the Chester Beatty Library in the castle http://www.cbl.ie/ - another treat for bibliophiles.NOt quite on ebook but Lindisfarne Gospels are here http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/lindisfarne/accessible/introduction.html#content

Why does it have to be either/or? In this ALT-C paper by Laura Czerniewicz et al highlight the use of mobile phones by South African students where their choice is determined to some extent by their circumstances. People/students will seize whatever opportunities present themselves to access information and services that attract them and are useful to their lives. Socio-economic factors will influence choice of access technology. Personally, when my darling iPhone does not shape up I resort to desktop - but I am lucky enough to have that choice. Not everyone does. == Frances - I do not think it is either/or, but may have given the impression that I think that it is. Indeed the quoted excerpt ends "Technological progress in devices and networks seems to have rendered the debate moot: the important thing is that internet access will be on its way to becoming as widespread as mobile phones", and the chart compares mobile internet access with fixed. Seb

Thanks very much for this nuanced, between good and evil, exploration of openness in a competitive environment.

What a great post inspiring some great comments. The conceptualisation of private/public, personal/professional is very challenging. I thought a lot about it and posted my first thoughts here http://francesbell.com/2009/07/23/moving-between-categories-in-online-identity/

Thanks for this Martin and Liam. I am working on an analogy between learning with and about social media and older craft technologies. I think that sharing can be simple even when artefacts are becoming more complex as long as the building blocks, patterns, ideas, whatever are discernible more simply.