Reflections of... the way web's gonna be
Reflections of... the stuff you're teaching me...
OK! OK! Deadline tomorrow! Did I do everything?
Blog! That would be this thing!
Flickr, mashups, and image generators! Way too much fun to be work!
Blog readers and RSS feeds! A dizzying amount of news in 20 seconds!
Facebook! Now suddenly a new essential part of my life!
Ning! Well, I looked at it.
The IM monster has eaten my laptop! I have now taken an advanced class on Twitter at the NTRLS conference so I can learn more on how to use it effectively!
Tagging - electronic subject headings for folks.
Delicious - favorites follow you everywhere.
DIGGing for treasure and finding fool's gold.
Librarything - free school library catalog.
LibWorm - interesting information about the library profession I am not actually allowed to read at work. But I can Twitter and Facebook. Really silly.
Wikis - A Wikid encyclopedia and I can do it, too!
GoogleDocs - free word processing and powerpoint for everybody!
Itube, Wetube, we all scream for self-expression on Youtube!
Podcasts - beats a tape recorder any day. Now teenagers can be sillier for a much larger audience.
And the crux of the matter - developing the 23 things at my library. Well, now let's think about practical applications for the future. What am I going to use professionally, what am I going to use personally, and what am I going to ignore?
Our profession is changing, dramatically, and the way people access information is changing dramatically, too. There was a time when librarians were the only people who could find any information about XYZ topic, hidden away in a huge tome that most people did not even know about. We read books. We listened to albums, but the chances of publishing content ourselves for the enjoyment or edification of others were slim.
Well, the question is no longer about finding information for people. They can Google it. Now, the question is about finding the RIGHT information for people, for sifting through the mounds and mounds of twaddle and yammering and scams to determine what is accurate, what is pertinent, and what is valuable. It's also about empowering our patrons to use the Web to their fullest advantage, rather than just playing games or checking out dates on Myspace. It's about publicizing our own services in way that people might be more likely to see them. The possibilities that arise from this exercise:
I could make a blog for my library in which I have inserted links to the NYT Bestseller List on the side. On that blog might be a podcast in which I tell a story. In the meat of the blog we might show a youtube video of the performer who came to the library last week - or will be coming next week! Then we advertise the class we will be giving on writing your own resume using GoogleDocs next month, and we add that we've got a twitter account and will be passing along updates on all these events as they come up, so follow it! I've got tags to all these things linking them to my own library, and I tell all my professional colleagues using Facebook and Ning. Then, just to insert some humor, we have the Mashup of the Day, featuring a tongue-in-cheek "motivational" poster or a funny photo doctored like my Attack of the Rogue Mutant Hair.
Librarianship. It's not just about book circulation anymore. Once we were miners, searching for a rare substance - information. Now we are trying to tame a valuable beast - information run rampant. We've got to either learn and use the new tools to harness this power, or risk becoming obsolete.
Thanks for the new saddle and bit.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
IMs
So I tried downloading Google Talk. Twice. It told me I had downloaded it, but it would not let me run it. Then I tried Yahoo messenger, and that worked. It completely took over my computer, actually. It changed my home page, it tried to add every person I've ever emailed as a chat budddy, and my computer firewalls tried desperately to remove it several times. It's an extremely aggressive application for a function I see as minimally important, and I am not very happy with the results. I succeeded in placing chat contact requests only to those work collegues that I know are doing this same workshop as I am. However, it also send a chat message to my own yahoo address.
As I type, I am getting regular popup messages saying that there's an application that is still arguing - by the minute - with yahoo over what my home page is going to be and it's getting very distracting. I think it is becoming extremely clear to me why the Fort Worth Public Library system would not allow us to download this mess on our work computers.
I did get to sign my own home yahoo address up as my own chat buddy, so while it might be kind of a dull conversation, at least I have now experienced what it looks like at both ends.
Like I have said, I've used chat before. I think it's a tedious, slow way of saying unimportant things in an inarticulate manner. I can't think of any work-related thing I do that would not be better served by a phone call or email, and I can't think of any personal thing that would not be better served by Facebook.
And I now can no longer control Yahoo on my laptop. Grrrr. I'm going to delete this once I've finished the course.
Edited: I talked to my husband about IMS, and he says yahoo's just an aggressive one. They use IMs a lot in his office because they feel it's a less disruptive way to send somebody immediate information than a phone call. He's a programmer. Two people have now added me to their contact lists and I think I can honestly say I have completed this application. I have one Thing left.
As I type, I am getting regular popup messages saying that there's an application that is still arguing - by the minute - with yahoo over what my home page is going to be and it's getting very distracting. I think it is becoming extremely clear to me why the Fort Worth Public Library system would not allow us to download this mess on our work computers.
I did get to sign my own home yahoo address up as my own chat buddy, so while it might be kind of a dull conversation, at least I have now experienced what it looks like at both ends.
Like I have said, I've used chat before. I think it's a tedious, slow way of saying unimportant things in an inarticulate manner. I can't think of any work-related thing I do that would not be better served by a phone call or email, and I can't think of any personal thing that would not be better served by Facebook.
And I now can no longer control Yahoo on my laptop. Grrrr. I'm going to delete this once I've finished the course.
Edited: I talked to my husband about IMS, and he says yahoo's just an aggressive one. They use IMs a lot in his office because they feel it's a less disruptive way to send somebody immediate information than a phone call. He's a programmer. Two people have now added me to their contact lists and I think I can honestly say I have completed this application. I have one Thing left.
Catching up with Podcasts and IMs
Today I took a day off and spent some time working with applications that were either impoIssible or impractical at work. I listened to several podcasts. Denver Public Library uses podcasts to retell folktales; I found a folktale I was able to hear it very clearly as I cleaned house. Cheshire Public Library has a podcast that is a teen culture magazine. Loading it was time-consuming and quite difficult. I had to try to do it twice. Once I got in, I discovered it was run by the teenagers with that library. The young hosts introduced a girl who interviewed C. Leight Purtill. I had to play the podcast back three times before I was able to understand the name of the author or the book being discussed. This was followed by a chorus of tone- deaf teenaged boys who have apparently been Rick-Rolled one time too many, and a satirical piece in which several boys argued the existence of ankles. A girl gave a book review, and then a young man read an original story. Then came original poetry, and some fairly creative credits.
I think this is a creative use of podcasts, in that it gives the young people an opportunity to contribute to the website of their library system. While the quality of the contributions was understandably inconsistent, it sounds like a good and easy way to provide programming for teenagers. It sounds more work-intensive than expensive, too. This can be duplicated.
Podcasts from the Infopeople Project in California give a forum for Michael Cart, who has several pods about graphic novels (will girls ever discover them?) and for George and Joan, two librarians who give lectures on various different topics. The one I listened to was called "One for the Heart", in which they talked about what their professional code was an what they valued in the profession and the tasks they see ahead in providing services for the future.
Podcasts seem to be pretty interesting. How to get people to listen to them?
And now, there is only one application I have not tried: IMs.
I think this is a creative use of podcasts, in that it gives the young people an opportunity to contribute to the website of their library system. While the quality of the contributions was understandably inconsistent, it sounds like a good and easy way to provide programming for teenagers. It sounds more work-intensive than expensive, too. This can be duplicated.
Podcasts from the Infopeople Project in California give a forum for Michael Cart, who has several pods about graphic novels (will girls ever discover them?) and for George and Joan, two librarians who give lectures on various different topics. The one I listened to was called "One for the Heart", in which they talked about what their professional code was an what they valued in the profession and the tasks they see ahead in providing services for the future.
Podcasts seem to be pretty interesting. How to get people to listen to them?
And now, there is only one application I have not tried: IMs.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Developing 23 things
Well, I see how close I am to being done, and I feel a bit frustrated because I am not sure it will be professionally feasible for me to make the August 15 deadline; I can't IM and I am not willing to do podcasts at the reference desk. Too loud. So I guess I'll have to try to do these on my own time, like libworm.
On to the next question: how might I develop the 23 things in my own library?
There are a number of things I could see doing if we had the resources and legal permission.
- We can use Flickr to keep photos of library events.
- We can teach public classes on how to make mashups and image generators. Teens might find it quite fun. We could even have contests. It might be something we could teach other youth services librarians at a staff meeting and turn into a system-wide competition.
- I think the potential for turning GoogleDocs into a program for both teenagers and adults is extremely good. I see this being a potential required job skill in the foreseeable future.
- I took a workshop on digitial storytelling a year ago, and I see that dovetail into the use of youtube to create an interesting literacy event for older kids. This could end up using several of our things. How would it be if we had the kids register for bubbleshare, or Joggle? Then we had them open up a Flickr account. They go off on their own with their little cell phones and digital cameras and come back with photos for their Flickr account, and then create a story based on the pictures. Some of the pictures might include mashups, lolz, and other manipulated images. They create the videos, and upload them onto youtube. We then publish the results on our library blog.
The possiblities are endless - but unfortunately, the resources are not. It might be hard to reserve that many computers for so long anywhere but at the Intel computer center at Central Library. Maybe I will try it on my own kids.
On to the next question: how might I develop the 23 things in my own library?
There are a number of things I could see doing if we had the resources and legal permission.
- We can use Flickr to keep photos of library events.
- We can teach public classes on how to make mashups and image generators. Teens might find it quite fun. We could even have contests. It might be something we could teach other youth services librarians at a staff meeting and turn into a system-wide competition.
- I think the potential for turning GoogleDocs into a program for both teenagers and adults is extremely good. I see this being a potential required job skill in the foreseeable future.
- I took a workshop on digitial storytelling a year ago, and I see that dovetail into the use of youtube to create an interesting literacy event for older kids. This could end up using several of our things. How would it be if we had the kids register for bubbleshare, or Joggle? Then we had them open up a Flickr account. They go off on their own with their little cell phones and digital cameras and come back with photos for their Flickr account, and then create a story based on the pictures. Some of the pictures might include mashups, lolz, and other manipulated images. They create the videos, and upload them onto youtube. We then publish the results on our library blog.
The possiblities are endless - but unfortunately, the resources are not. It might be hard to reserve that many computers for so long anywhere but at the Intel computer center at Central Library. Maybe I will try it on my own kids.
Youtube
Wow. You mean there are still folks out there who don't know how to use Youtube? Blink. Maybe I'm not as old as I thought. I've been a user of Youtube for years, although I've only made one video and uploaded it in my entire life. I made a little presentation using a song, pictures, a digital storytelling software - can't remember which one - and the text from a poem. It was very labor intensive and I wasn't all that pleased with the resolution of the result, but at least I tried something new.
I go to youtube to preview music all the time. However, for this exercise I put in the search term "public library" and was suddenly hit with the uncomfortable spectacle of a public rally in Cincinnati. "Save our libraries!" Apparently budget crunches are wrecking havoc across our profession all over the country. In more pleasant news, Allen County had a video contest and Seattle Public Library put their library tour on Youtube. There was even a video touting their new RFID book sorting system. Under the search term "Library Events" I found several videos on hosting gaming events for teens.
I am seeing several functions in youtube use for libraries. Youtube can be used as an advertising method; I can see how a young person looking up Guitar Hero might see a video about the gaming at his local library under "related videos." Ohio has evidently attempted to use it as a means to raise public support for their library system. It is also a means to publish instruction to and from library professionals; as I recall, this entire workshop began with a video from Stephen Abram. How effective is it?
With so much white noise and tripe on youtube... I don't know. I certainly think it is likely we are not using it as effectively as we could. This, however, is totally adorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgrQ4NNoq6M&feature=related
A Salute to librarians!
Also, I just noticed that ALA has put out an interesting channel. I might look at that a bit more.
I go to youtube to preview music all the time. However, for this exercise I put in the search term "public library" and was suddenly hit with the uncomfortable spectacle of a public rally in Cincinnati. "Save our libraries!" Apparently budget crunches are wrecking havoc across our profession all over the country. In more pleasant news, Allen County had a video contest and Seattle Public Library put their library tour on Youtube. There was even a video touting their new RFID book sorting system. Under the search term "Library Events" I found several videos on hosting gaming events for teens.
I am seeing several functions in youtube use for libraries. Youtube can be used as an advertising method; I can see how a young person looking up Guitar Hero might see a video about the gaming at his local library under "related videos." Ohio has evidently attempted to use it as a means to raise public support for their library system. It is also a means to publish instruction to and from library professionals; as I recall, this entire workshop began with a video from Stephen Abram. How effective is it?
With so much white noise and tripe on youtube... I don't know. I certainly think it is likely we are not using it as effectively as we could. This, however, is totally adorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgrQ4NNoq6M&feature=related
A Salute to librarians!
Also, I just noticed that ALA has put out an interesting channel. I might look at that a bit more.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Google Docs
The very first thing that I discovered as I began to explore Google Docs was an outstanding example of its potential. Carol L. Row created a document called Google Historical Voyages and Events in which schools are invited to submit school projects that use Google Tools. The idea is to make excellent local curriculum available to a larger audience. It made me wonder how the teachers at my own school could use that website.
The upshot of this is that this seems to be a way for a person to publish a document online that another person may then edit if that person is listed as a collaborator. It seems to bear some resemblance to a wiki in that respect, but the hierarchical structure is different.
I went into the applications and was quite excited by some of the templates I saw there. They've got resume templates. Earlier this week, I had a reference question from a man who had gone to a website that offered a resume template - but when it came time to print, required him to pay in order for him to get a resume that was not marred with text relating to the website. Google Docs would solve this problem for him and he could work on his resume in more than one sitting without losing his work, having to save it to a disc, or having to pay the website for his own intellectual content. I also found a school calendar that I might be able to use to keep track of my children's progress.
I then tried a few other applications. Google docs has made buying Powerpoint unnecessary. I'm especially impressed with the ability to translate it into any kind of word processing document; many times I have run into problems because I have gotten a document my computer can't open because the format's too old, or it's open source ware and I'm using Word.
One problem. Google Docs makes my work computer freeze.
The upshot of this is that this seems to be a way for a person to publish a document online that another person may then edit if that person is listed as a collaborator. It seems to bear some resemblance to a wiki in that respect, but the hierarchical structure is different.
I went into the applications and was quite excited by some of the templates I saw there. They've got resume templates. Earlier this week, I had a reference question from a man who had gone to a website that offered a resume template - but when it came time to print, required him to pay in order for him to get a resume that was not marred with text relating to the website. Google Docs would solve this problem for him and he could work on his resume in more than one sitting without losing his work, having to save it to a disc, or having to pay the website for his own intellectual content. I also found a school calendar that I might be able to use to keep track of my children's progress.
I then tried a few other applications. Google docs has made buying Powerpoint unnecessary. I'm especially impressed with the ability to translate it into any kind of word processing document; many times I have run into problems because I have gotten a document my computer can't open because the format's too old, or it's open source ware and I'm using Word.
One problem. Google Docs makes my work computer freeze.
wikis
Wikipedia: it's the place you might surreptitiously check to get some very basic information on a topic you know absolutely nothing about so that you can have enough data to research more reliable sources. Wikipedia - information roulette. It MIGHT be right! Good enough to relieve a nagging piece of curiousity, not good enough to use for your research paper, as I find myself anxiously explaining to children in the library quite often.
I see that wikipedia has a built - in understanding of its own limitations. I read an article about the assassination of President Lincoln. The article itself was heavily cited and seemed to be fairly accurate on the surface. However, when I opened the tab on "discussion" I saw that it had at one time been on a list of "history good articles" and then got removed. Some of the information about John Wilkes Booth seems to be disputed, and has not be adaquately cited. Wikipedia states baldly in one place that it does not allow any original research, and in another place insists that ignorance of the rules should not in any way prevent a novice participant from editing an article.
Democracy in information is a messy place - that's one of the problems I am seeing with Twitter, too. At least with Wikipedia, if you post nonsense, somebody else is likely to call it nonsense and edit it. There's even a place where you can see all the revisions an article has gone through - and this is on a fairly serious article!
The discussion page on an article about Julie Andrews led to quite a lively argument about what was and was not appropriate source material for wikipedia.
I then went into Wet Paint and made a little page. I think I was lucky; by choosing a slightly off-kilter set of subtopics, I managed to avoid the subtopic duplication woes some other people had. I found the templates to be potentially intriguing. You can post meeting room schedules and the like.
I see that wikipedia has a built - in understanding of its own limitations. I read an article about the assassination of President Lincoln. The article itself was heavily cited and seemed to be fairly accurate on the surface. However, when I opened the tab on "discussion" I saw that it had at one time been on a list of "history good articles" and then got removed. Some of the information about John Wilkes Booth seems to be disputed, and has not be adaquately cited. Wikipedia states baldly in one place that it does not allow any original research, and in another place insists that ignorance of the rules should not in any way prevent a novice participant from editing an article.
Democracy in information is a messy place - that's one of the problems I am seeing with Twitter, too. At least with Wikipedia, if you post nonsense, somebody else is likely to call it nonsense and edit it. There's even a place where you can see all the revisions an article has gone through - and this is on a fairly serious article!
The discussion page on an article about Julie Andrews led to quite a lively argument about what was and was not appropriate source material for wikipedia.
I then went into Wet Paint and made a little page. I think I was lucky; by choosing a slightly off-kilter set of subtopics, I managed to avoid the subtopic duplication woes some other people had. I found the templates to be potentially intriguing. You can post meeting room schedules and the like.
Libworm, updated
I looked at libworm a little bit at home last night, since I am still completely unable to access it from work. I tried using a search term - "story time" and "story telling" to see what came up. I got some nice articles on story time programs being advertised for Summer Reading Club at various places around the nation and quite a number of articles about different books. Then I tried searching through the categories, settling on "humor" as the topic that most appealed to me at the moment, and ran into a blog that had me in stitches called "A Librarian's Guide to Ettiquette." Among the pearls of wisdom:
Labeling a shelf the "popular" reading shelf does not make it popular.
It is never appropriate to come to work in a Star Trek uniform.
I noticed that libworm also has places where library jobs may be researched, although I did not explore that last night. This looks like it might be quite an interesting work tool. Too bad I can't use it.
Labeling a shelf the "popular" reading shelf does not make it popular.
It is never appropriate to come to work in a Star Trek uniform.
I noticed that libworm also has places where library jobs may be researched, although I did not explore that last night. This looks like it might be quite an interesting work tool. Too bad I can't use it.
Friday, August 7, 2009
libworm
Well, nuts. This is one of the applications I am actually genuinely interested in, and think would be quite beneficial to me professionally, but every time I go in I get the message that the DNS server is down and it won't let me enter. I am beginning to wonder if it's barring the staff of my library system, or something of the sort. If I can remember to work on this at home, I may yet be able to finish, but this appears to be an impossible assignment at work, at least for the moment.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Librarything
Ah, Librarything. This little tool is helping me send my kids to a better school. You see, I got completely fed up with the horrific public schools in my area last year and my father introduced me to a tiny private school that needed somebody who could set up their school library. They had no budget for library automation whatsoever, but I discovered that I could inventory the books the school owned by using Librarything. Here's the link to the page I set up for the school.
http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?view=StPetersClassical
As you can see, we've got 878 books in our collection right now. I can instruct the teachers and students to open up "your library" and they will see a database that shows a shelflist they can manipulate. I've got the Dewey numbers in the comments section, and I've done a little half-hearted tagging; while tagging must serve as our subject search, for the moment, the collection is so small it's often easier just to go straight to the shelf, and I've focused my efforts on other things more. It's not the best possible catalog we can have, but it might be the best we can have for free. I find the recommended books to be tantalizing; sometimes I see books we could really use, but we rely most on donations from parents and I don't really have a book budget.
In terms of this Web 2.0 workshop - yes, I know Librarything really well. A little tidbit - don't rely on the Dewey call numbers that go with some of the book hits you get when you go to add a book. Sometimes they are right and sometimes they are vague at best or completely unreliable - that's when I have to go to WorldCat. Among the cool things - it's really interesting to see the author clouds to determine who we have the most of. It's also kind of interesting - albeit a little unsettling - to see which of my authors are living and which are dead.
http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?view=StPetersClassical
As you can see, we've got 878 books in our collection right now. I can instruct the teachers and students to open up "your library" and they will see a database that shows a shelflist they can manipulate. I've got the Dewey numbers in the comments section, and I've done a little half-hearted tagging; while tagging must serve as our subject search, for the moment, the collection is so small it's often easier just to go straight to the shelf, and I've focused my efforts on other things more. It's not the best possible catalog we can have, but it might be the best we can have for free. I find the recommended books to be tantalizing; sometimes I see books we could really use, but we rely most on donations from parents and I don't really have a book budget.
In terms of this Web 2.0 workshop - yes, I know Librarything really well. A little tidbit - don't rely on the Dewey call numbers that go with some of the book hits you get when you go to add a book. Sometimes they are right and sometimes they are vague at best or completely unreliable - that's when I have to go to WorldCat. Among the cool things - it's really interesting to see the author clouds to determine who we have the most of. It's also kind of interesting - albeit a little unsettling - to see which of my authors are living and which are dead.
Digg
My husband introduced me to Digg some months ago at the same time he introduced me to Reddit, so what I'm doing here is taking a little more focused look at something I'm already familiar with. The plus side of it is that it is useful in seeing what topics are generating buzz and what the hot topics of the moment are. The negative side of it is that it appears to put us into a situation where news deemed the most important and significant news stories of the day are determined by popular vote rather by, you know, whether they were actually important.
Plus side - I see that the Sims 3 will have a new expansion pack! And I can read about people who are both enthusiastic about sending their Sim to Egypt and disdainful about plunking down yet MORE money for this franchise. Hey, this is more important to me than Paula Abdul sulking about her American Idol salary and quitting. Entertainment information is not supposed to be earth-shattering.
Negative side - Star Wars vs. Star Trek: which is better? This is the fourth most important news topic in entertainment? Let's try World and Business instead...OK, the first three stories are about health care protesters, the murder of a Taliban leaders' wife, and a killer's racist diary. Story number four: Should BMW sell Ketchup? In the meantime, CNN reports that Squeaky Fromm is being released from jail, the Sotomayor confirmation hearings continue, and two journalists pardoned by North Korea after intervention from Clinton arrive home.
Ketchup, huh?
Digg is pretty amusing, and I can see why it's popular - it gives people a way to vent about the events they see around them; the watercooler has gone electric. I am a little wary about sites that proport to deliver news, but are not primarily written or vetted by journalists; I think we are headed more and more towards a world where all news of every kind is presented without any attempt at objectivity whatsoever. I first read Digg and Reddit at my husband's suggestion, and eventually put them mostly aside simply for being a bit too juvenile. I like my news a bit more thoughtful.
Plus side - I see that the Sims 3 will have a new expansion pack! And I can read about people who are both enthusiastic about sending their Sim to Egypt and disdainful about plunking down yet MORE money for this franchise. Hey, this is more important to me than Paula Abdul sulking about her American Idol salary and quitting. Entertainment information is not supposed to be earth-shattering.
Negative side - Star Wars vs. Star Trek: which is better? This is the fourth most important news topic in entertainment? Let's try World and Business instead...OK, the first three stories are about health care protesters, the murder of a Taliban leaders' wife, and a killer's racist diary. Story number four: Should BMW sell Ketchup? In the meantime, CNN reports that Squeaky Fromm is being released from jail, the Sotomayor confirmation hearings continue, and two journalists pardoned by North Korea after intervention from Clinton arrive home.
Ketchup, huh?
Digg is pretty amusing, and I can see why it's popular - it gives people a way to vent about the events they see around them; the watercooler has gone electric. I am a little wary about sites that proport to deliver news, but are not primarily written or vetted by journalists; I think we are headed more and more towards a world where all news of every kind is presented without any attempt at objectivity whatsoever. I first read Digg and Reddit at my husband's suggestion, and eventually put them mostly aside simply for being a bit too juvenile. I like my news a bit more thoughtful.
de.li.cious
This is a handy little tool I've been needing to learn for a very long time. There are three different places I use the computer - work, home, and at the desk of the little school library where I am helping them build a school library. There are a LOT of websites I use at all three places, most notably news sources and cataloging information, and that will be handy and save me from trying to make duplicate favorites lists everywhere I go. I suspect I'll be spending some time picking and choosing among my favorites at the three different places to make a final master list; what I've done today will just get me started for this exercise. I do see very definite practical library use for this; sometimes we are called upon to work at different computers, or at different branches, and our most important work-related websites can follow us. What you are seeing here are the downloaded favorites from my workstation.
Here's the link for my de.li.cious page with bookmarks.
http://delicious.com/fabergegg
Here's the link for my de.li.cious page with bookmarks.
http://delicious.com/fabergegg
OK, I've got feedback for the 23 Things program. Summer is an INSANE time to do this. I have not lost interest, I am not slacking off, I've just been overwhelmingly busy and I've been putting out fires left right and sideways for two weeks. Finally caught up enough to soldier on. I don't think there's any chance I'm going to finish this before the fifteenth, sorry.
Back to the matter at hand. I've found a genuine work-based use for twitter. Various civic organizations, work organizations and tourist places around town use twitter to promote their programs. So does the Fort Worth ISD. This makes twitter a potentially helpful way to keep up with community events. If your local neighborhood associations twitter, it might be a way to keep up with them. Ditto schools, youth programs, and the like. If twitter turns out to be a tool rather than a fad (and I think the jury is still very much out on this) and it becomes more ubiquitous, it may be a more powerful tool than the blog.
Back to the matter at hand. I've found a genuine work-based use for twitter. Various civic organizations, work organizations and tourist places around town use twitter to promote their programs. So does the Fort Worth ISD. This makes twitter a potentially helpful way to keep up with community events. If your local neighborhood associations twitter, it might be a way to keep up with them. Ditto schools, youth programs, and the like. If twitter turns out to be a tool rather than a fad (and I think the jury is still very much out on this) and it becomes more ubiquitous, it may be a more powerful tool than the blog.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tagging
Tagging is a concept I'm pretty familiar with. I have used it in photobucket to differentiate between family photos, different vacations and events, and photos I used for my myspace page, for profile pictures, and for various web 2.0 projects like lolcats. I've also used it in Librarything as a substitute for subject headings. I have created a small school library using librarything and the tags help people search by subject.
I know that tagging probably makes catalogers retch and want to run for the hills. However, I think google has pretty much changed the way people look at subject searches. Folks don't really want to take the effort to learn controlled vocabulary anymore; they want to put in a search term that comes to them naturally that leads to their desired result. To some degree, I understand that. I can understand why a lay person would want to be able to find information on the Civil War by typing in The Civil War rather than having to say United States - History - Civil War - 1861 - 1865. The latter is more technically precise, but less accessible. One of the things the Web has done is turn everybody into an online researcher; a skill once reserved for academics is now universal. Tagging allows subject search with more universal language. Since we are dealing with instant electronic searches through cyberspace rather than time-intensive manual searches through card catalogs, this can be effective.
I know that tagging probably makes catalogers retch and want to run for the hills. However, I think google has pretty much changed the way people look at subject searches. Folks don't really want to take the effort to learn controlled vocabulary anymore; they want to put in a search term that comes to them naturally that leads to their desired result. To some degree, I understand that. I can understand why a lay person would want to be able to find information on the Civil War by typing in The Civil War rather than having to say United States - History - Civil War - 1861 - 1865. The latter is more technically precise, but less accessible. One of the things the Web has done is turn everybody into an online researcher; a skill once reserved for academics is now universal. Tagging allows subject search with more universal language. Since we are dealing with instant electronic searches through cyberspace rather than time-intensive manual searches through card catalogs, this can be effective.
This one's easy. I'm already doing it. I began twittering (tweeting?) earlier this year when some of my favorite entertainers began twittering messages. I actually learned about twitter from their myspace pages. It's been an interesting way to keep up with concert information and the like.
Pros: Pithy comments, to the point, but not abbreviated grammarless messes.
Good for communicating very basic, urgent information.
Easy to protect yourself from weirdos. And I've already met some of those.
By looking at people your people are following, you can meet other interesting people. However, it's also got its limitations.
Recent news events have established the potential of twitter to shape the world; we now have an army of amateur reporters who are capable of making the atrocities in Iran obvious before official news organizations have the opportunity to bowlderize reality into something acceptable and palatable.
Cons: I don't see using this for people I know in real life. I don't think it's a very articulate or effective form of communication for any message of any real depth. If I need to tell my husband that he needs to pick up some bread or my daughter that she needs to remember her swimsuit, I think a phone call, or even a voicemail, is more likely to be effective.
I have seen twitters where people tell their legion of followers these earthshattering bits of information: Going out to eat. Went to see a Mets game. Baked some cookies. Is it really necessary for us to share the minutae of our lives with the world? I don't know that my day to day stuff is all that interesting and I can't think of a good reason why anybody would follow me for that kind of information. However, I've been a very conservative tweeter - I think I've sent six whole messages in my entire life. Twitter sounds like a good way to attract a stalker, if you are not careful. I think I'll stick to finding out concert information, for now. Also - The Onion on Twitter is good for a laugh.
Pros: Pithy comments, to the point, but not abbreviated grammarless messes.
Good for communicating very basic, urgent information.
Easy to protect yourself from weirdos. And I've already met some of those.
By looking at people your people are following, you can meet other interesting people. However, it's also got its limitations.
Recent news events have established the potential of twitter to shape the world; we now have an army of amateur reporters who are capable of making the atrocities in Iran obvious before official news organizations have the opportunity to bowlderize reality into something acceptable and palatable.
Cons: I don't see using this for people I know in real life. I don't think it's a very articulate or effective form of communication for any message of any real depth. If I need to tell my husband that he needs to pick up some bread or my daughter that she needs to remember her swimsuit, I think a phone call, or even a voicemail, is more likely to be effective.
I have seen twitters where people tell their legion of followers these earthshattering bits of information: Going out to eat. Went to see a Mets game. Baked some cookies. Is it really necessary for us to share the minutae of our lives with the world? I don't know that my day to day stuff is all that interesting and I can't think of a good reason why anybody would follow me for that kind of information. However, I've been a very conservative tweeter - I think I've sent six whole messages in my entire life. Twitter sounds like a good way to attract a stalker, if you are not careful. I think I'll stick to finding out concert information, for now. Also - The Onion on Twitter is good for a laugh.
IM
I'm kind of uneasy about this one for several reasons.
1. It requires that I download software onto my computer. If I understand my IT rules correctly, I am not supposed to do that with my workstation. I could probably do it from home without feeling like I am violating a policy.
2. Hasn't texting pretty much made this obsolete? There are several types of communication I understand:
a. I am very comfortable sending emails on my workstation to professional coworkers.
b. Realtime communication by telephone works quite well in a work setting.
c. Texting is a convenient way to send somebody a message when you are on the go, you are in a hurry, and you just need to communicate a pithy message quickly.
However, IMs seem to be, well, so 2000. Besides which I have never enjoyed chat mode. It seems to promote inane conversation at a snail's pace. I am not going to do this application on my work computer. I will see if I can remember to do it from home - but even then, who would I IM? Most of the folks I'd like to talk to, I can Facebook. Facebook also promotes complete thoughts spelled correctly in a cohesive manner. I am not a big fan of applications that promote bad literacy habits.
1. It requires that I download software onto my computer. If I understand my IT rules correctly, I am not supposed to do that with my workstation. I could probably do it from home without feeling like I am violating a policy.
2. Hasn't texting pretty much made this obsolete? There are several types of communication I understand:
a. I am very comfortable sending emails on my workstation to professional coworkers.
b. Realtime communication by telephone works quite well in a work setting.
c. Texting is a convenient way to send somebody a message when you are on the go, you are in a hurry, and you just need to communicate a pithy message quickly.
However, IMs seem to be, well, so 2000. Besides which I have never enjoyed chat mode. It seems to promote inane conversation at a snail's pace. I am not going to do this application on my work computer. I will see if I can remember to do it from home - but even then, who would I IM? Most of the folks I'd like to talk to, I can Facebook. Facebook also promotes complete thoughts spelled correctly in a cohesive manner. I am not a big fan of applications that promote bad literacy habits.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Ning, Ning, Ning went the bell...
I signed up for Ning today and sniffed around it a bit. It does remind me very much of MySpace, but it seems to be a lot cleaner; I think maybe the emphasis on shared interests and activities promotes a more civilized level of dialog. I made a Myspace page a couple of years ago just to learn how to do it, but I don't really like Myspace much. One of the things I like about Ning is that I don't have to create a detailed, involved page; I can just have an account and discuss things with others. I did sign up for one group - Work Literacy, which is exploring Web 2.0 with some additional emphasis on LinkedIn. I looked at other things as diverse as Walt Disney World, Sims 3, Dallas Cowboys Fans and even one group dedicated to mourning Michael Jackson. One frustration: I found a group for employees of my library system, but it was invitation only and I did not know the last name of the contact person.
Today I also checked my Google Reader and discovered how fast I could go through the daily headlines. It really is faster than Favorites. I think I may set up some of these things at home, too. I want to reserve my Web 2.0 work stuff for professional contacts only. (Hey, I may enjoy Sims 3 but I feel no need to have it intrude in my professional life, indeed, I'd rather set aside the distraction.)
Today I also checked my Google Reader and discovered how fast I could go through the daily headlines. It really is faster than Favorites. I think I may set up some of these things at home, too. I want to reserve my Web 2.0 work stuff for professional contacts only. (Hey, I may enjoy Sims 3 but I feel no need to have it intrude in my professional life, indeed, I'd rather set aside the distraction.)
More Facebook
Today I got down to the meaty part of the exercise - finding Friends. Previously, I had created content by adding a comment and then posting a link to ALA. Today, I asked about 10 people, mostly co-workers, to friend me. It's amazing how fast this can work - I had two people add me within half an hour! And I've already responded to one comic picture sent by one of them.
Tuesday - By morning I had seven friends. I commented on a few walls, and one of my cohorts gave me a cute idea: Make a post asking people to recall a memory of the two of you together. It's a way to spark conversation. I took a few quizzes, and learned, among other things, that I am a cross between Mrs. Frizzle and Hermione Granger. Then I decided I was having WAY too much fun with this. It could get downright addicting! Much nicer than Myspace! I very much prefer knowing the people I talk to! I also became a fan of the Log Cabin Village, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Smithsonian. I like the intellectual level of the messages I am receiving. This could end up being very educational. I really need to apply some of this at home when I have time to be more frivolous with it.
Tuesday - By morning I had seven friends. I commented on a few walls, and one of my cohorts gave me a cute idea: Make a post asking people to recall a memory of the two of you together. It's a way to spark conversation. I took a few quizzes, and learned, among other things, that I am a cross between Mrs. Frizzle and Hermione Granger. Then I decided I was having WAY too much fun with this. It could get downright addicting! Much nicer than Myspace! I very much prefer knowing the people I talk to! I also became a fan of the Log Cabin Village, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Smithsonian. I like the intellectual level of the messages I am receiving. This could end up being very educational. I really need to apply some of this at home when I have time to be more frivolous with it.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
I have created an account on Facebook. I had to use my real name. I have to say this made me a bit nervous; I've been around the internet enough times to know there are some very unpleasant people out there. However, when I realized I could hide my profile so that only people I'd friended could see it, I felt a bit better. I did not have any trouble with IT restrictions in setting up the website, but I carefully blogged that this account was set up for the North Texas 23 exercise, anyway.
Since Facebook is set up for individuals, rather than for places, I would not be able to use this application to promote the library. However, I've got the blog for that. I think Facebook might be an effective way of keeping up with professional colleagues.
I have successfully uploaded a profile picture of myself and I've created two posts on the wall - one links to the ALA website.
Since Facebook is set up for individuals, rather than for places, I would not be able to use this application to promote the library. However, I've got the blog for that. I think Facebook might be an effective way of keeping up with professional colleagues.
I have successfully uploaded a profile picture of myself and I've created two posts on the wall - one links to the ALA website.
Google Reader - Two days in
A few days ago I posted regarding Google Reader; I wasn't sure how it differed from a list of Favorites. Today, I'm seeing it; since most of the RSS feeds I've put into my Google Reader are news sites, I am getting a lot of headlines from several different sources that I can screen through very quickly. It seems to be a fast way of having a superficial knowledge of what's going on everywhere - from the current debate on Health Care to Tom Watson's lead at the British Open. Since we are supposed to keep up to date on current events, this is an efficient way of doing that.
Friday, July 17, 2009
RSS Feeds
I explored RSS feeds by following Vidya Krishnaswamy's instructions on how to set up a gadget on my blog that links RSS feeds to the blog. I now have links to five episodes of "Unshelved" on my blog. Maybe this is a way of sharing information that you find valuable with the people who are following your blog. I guess it might also be a way to find it easily, but then again, if that's the case I am not quite sure why it's faster than the Favorites button.
Blog Readers
OK, I have tried out the Google Blog Reader. I subscribed to msnbc, cnn, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Unshelved, Librarian.net, and, of course, North Texas 23. My first reaction to this is that I have not yet figured out how it differs from using the Favorites button to bookmark and retrieve favorite websites. Indeed, since you have to log into a website to get to the information, it seems like it adds extra steps. It does not seem to be a good way to search for library blogs. I found an article called "50 Best Library Blogs" but found it easier to Google it to read the article than to use Blog Reader. Maybe I'll play around with this some more to see if it has any advantages; I haven't found them yet.
Edited to add: OK, I think I've found something valuable in this. The Google Reader page itself offers us ideas of what to look at. I've discovered some interesting things I've never seen before, like WebUrbanist. What's Hot in Google Reader reminds me a bit of Reddit and Digg.
At what point is there simply too much information for a human brain to process? When do we sacrifice depth of knowledge for a wide, shallow and cursory knowledge of basic headlines? On the other hand, might it not be part of our job to know where all these headlines are so we can help people find them?
Edited to add: OK, I think I've found something valuable in this. The Google Reader page itself offers us ideas of what to look at. I've discovered some interesting things I've never seen before, like WebUrbanist. What's Hot in Google Reader reminds me a bit of Reddit and Digg.
At what point is there simply too much information for a human brain to process? When do we sacrifice depth of knowledge for a wide, shallow and cursory knowledge of basic headlines? On the other hand, might it not be part of our job to know where all these headlines are so we can help people find them?
Curiosity
This is a redo. I am editing a file that I misspelled two days ago. Well, at least it gave me the opportunity to learn how to edit! I got to redo my motivational poster, edit my blog and redo my post. Knowing how to fix mistakes is every inch as important as knowing how to create the file.
I think this kitty is going to end up being my mascot.
I think this kitty is going to end up being my mascot.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
This image comes from the assignment for "Image Generators." This is becoming too much fun to seem like work. Maybe that's why these applications are valuable to be able to share with others. I suspect my son might find it interesting, too - and more useful than video games.
Here's the trick, though. It isn't just about dabbling in the different applications - we are going to need to find practical long-term uses for them. So far, Blogger is the application that seems to be most practical. However, I can see how using captions and other mashups on photos for library functions might lend some humor to a blog and make it more readable.
Attack of the rogue mutant hair
Just having a little fun with Captioner. My hair gets wild during storytimes.
Mashup practice
I am playing with mashups today. This is from bighugelabs.com and it shows every country I have visited. The last new place was added in 1990. I need to get out more.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mashups
I began attempting to use mashups today. Here is my first attempt to do something on Captioner.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Flickr
I have created a Flickr account and downloaded a few photos. This is very familiar to me. It appears to be much like Photobucket. http://www.flickr.com/photos/msalearns20/
I've used photobucket to house my own digital images for a few years now. Applications in the workplace: Flickr might be the place we put the pictures we take on activities like the storytime I've got posted. If this were a live blog recording the activities of the branch, such pictures might be turned into a blogging advertisement for the storytime - possibly even with a podcast attached.
I've used photobucket to house my own digital images for a few years now. Applications in the workplace: Flickr might be the place we put the pictures we take on activities like the storytime I've got posted. If this were a live blog recording the activities of the branch, such pictures might be turned into a blogging advertisement for the storytime - possibly even with a podcast attached.
My Next Step: Required reading
Blyberg - Why 2.0 exists and matters
Goal: To make the library relevant - a destination rather than an afterthought.
Co-existing in a post-Google world.
There's a shift in library mission; the millenials want new services.
If we do not make ourselves relevant in an increasingly wired world, we will be obsolete as a profession.
An additional observation from me: In many neighborhoods, particularly lower income ones, it will be the information professionals who become the people who help new users get access to the wired world and show them how to use it effectively. Otherwise, the technological revolution will make the gap between haves and have-nots even larger. This is why we need to have updated skills - we are the teachers. My own branch is filled with people whose primary interest is in using computers. We have to learn how to make the most of the resources we provide for them.
Also Stephen Abram discusses 2.0. His tip - take 15 minutes of my day to accomplish this task and it will be manageable.
Goal: To make the library relevant - a destination rather than an afterthought.
Co-existing in a post-Google world.
There's a shift in library mission; the millenials want new services.
If we do not make ourselves relevant in an increasingly wired world, we will be obsolete as a profession.
An additional observation from me: In many neighborhoods, particularly lower income ones, it will be the information professionals who become the people who help new users get access to the wired world and show them how to use it effectively. Otherwise, the technological revolution will make the gap between haves and have-nots even larger. This is why we need to have updated skills - we are the teachers. My own branch is filled with people whose primary interest is in using computers. We have to learn how to make the most of the resources we provide for them.
Also Stephen Abram discusses 2.0. His tip - take 15 minutes of my day to accomplish this task and it will be manageable.
Starting Over
I am starting my web training 2.0 over. Summer Reading Program 2009 is quite hectic. This blog is for the express purpose of keeping track of my progress in the North Texas 23 things program.
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