LibraryCrunch Visual Archive

Google Base launched today. It's not exciting some people, but it's getting a lot of coverage. It's also much more than a classified ad clearinghouse, as the Times said. I suspect that librarians may be drawn to the simple way information can be added to the web via Google Base. Since any information can be cataloged, including images, it will be fun to watch the database grow. We may see personal collections such as music, artwork, poetry, recipes, etc., being added. I am reminded of the long tail theory here, with Google Base being the platform for cataloging everything that does not fit within eBay's sale pages, or Craig's List, or Flickr, but instead falls within that long and very diverse tail that is sure to be out there.