As all social institutions undergo the transformations that new media technologies will facilitate, social forecasters predict sweeping changes in traditional institutions and their modes of operation. For example, the electronic library's usage will soon eclipse conventional library use and the Dewey Decimal system (relatively unchanged since 1963) will likely give way to tagging. Thus, the institution reflects an evolution and its traditional operations are transformed as well.
The Church, as a social institution, has an opportunity to embrace new technologies and capitalize on their services and benefits. It just takes a bit of forward thinking by Christians and technological breakthroughs become valuable chances to "connect" with individuals, groups and whole cultures. The use of RFID technology is just such an example.
In what could be a model for RFID usage and ubiquitous computing, a network of 10,000 RFID tags is being piloted in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, allowing shoppers with prototype readers to get information about stores and restaurants electronically. In an InfoWorld article (Dec '06), the Tokyo RFID program is noted for heralding the beginning of the newest applications of information distribution and retrieval.
The Tokyo network will aid in navigation, providing users the ability to locate establishments and get details about them (for instance, being able to see a menu and daily specials of a restaurant one is walking past). The system will provide information in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. The Japanese pilot program paves the way for RFID developments worldwide. It means that users can access basic navigation details and rich layers of information on the spot.
Apply this technology to the Church and it is not hard to imagine "users" passing by a Church establishment and having access to all the services it provides. The interested have options to podcast the latest message, text message members, receive details about the week's offerings, meetings, seminars, download archived documents on key topics, and view current services to children, youth, the elderly, etc.
I’m not yet convinced that tags offer the functionality of a cataloging system like Dewey or Library of Congress. Either they’re too general (e.g. “iPod”) and cover too much data, or they’re too narrow (e.g. “some-thoughts-I-had-on-iPods-last-night-while-listening-in-the-bath”). The necessary granularity is not there, nor the consistency of tag names etc.
I do think they’re useful for managing things like personal or group photo collections and other user generated content on a single or several sites, just not for organizing information that requires a more disciplined categorisation. Hence, the odd post/comment you see where people request that others posting on the topic use certain specified tags for it. And if you start doing that, then you end up moving toward some sort of bureaucracy and hence back toward Dewey etc.
What might be interesting (esp. for researchers and analysts) would be a web plug-in that would let you pick or generate a tag and then also provide related Dewey or Lib. Congress. So I take a theological posting with “image-of-God’ and the Dewey 233.5 and LoC BT701 get added too.
Saw a satirical piece on churches using RFID a while back. All members have an RFID chip implanted so that the offering can be done by scanning at the door, as well as purchasing coffee after church similarly (etc.). It was so well written you could imagine it happening. If I find the link I’ll post it.
Stephen, please do and thanks for the comments. Good to hear from you post-dissertation.
As tagging and other forms of categorization evolve one of the questions is will it force us into more sophisticated forms of communication and/or will it require/force a uniformity of acceptable electronic language.
Your idea about a plug-in marrying generated tags with DDS or LoC data is a great one. I feel an application coming on – TagTail….
As an aside, in the satirical piece you mentioned, the implanted chip wasn’t in the forehead was it?
No, implanted in the hand/arm, so that when there was a call from the pulpit for money, people could raise their hands to donate on the spot.
This satirical article does the implanted microchip thing, but I don’t think it’s the one I’m thinking of:
http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1299/chip.html
I went to that link and for a moment almost got converted…. but then I read those rotating scriptures on the side and now I’m re-evaluating.