Filed under: Uncategorized
We will continue to accept blog posts through Wednesday. Don’t forget: Thing 23 involves a (very short) survey AND a blog post.
Adam and I will contact each of you to make sure that we’ve given you credit for each Thing you’ve completed.
Email either of us if you have any questions.
Filed under: Uncategorized
The final day we will accept blog post entries (and surveys) to count towards inclusion in the drawing for really cool prizes is Wednesday, May 19th. We hope that gives everyone time to finish (and still allow us time to finish reading your posts).
We’re excited that so many of you have completed (or will complete) the program. We’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts and ideas. We hope that some of you are invested enough in what you’ve learned that you’ll find ways to improve our library service by using social media on the job.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully reached the end of the Frisco Public Library 23 Things program. This week, we have a short (required) survey for you to complete – it will let us know how well we’ve done and help us improve future staff enrichment programs. Results will be shared at In Service Day, but only in aggregate. Survey responses will come to us anonymously.
For your final blog entry, we’d love to read your thoughts on the following questions (and anything else you wish to share with us and the rest of the online universe).
- What do you think about social media in libraries?
- What do you wish FPL was (or wasn’t) doing?
- Have you learned anything from the program?
- If so, what?
- If not, what could we do better?
“And remember, this is for posterity. So be honest.”
If you’re heart-broken that this program, such a dear part of your life, is ending, feel free to continue learning. David Lee King and Michael Porter have some interesting ideas that will keep you thinking and exploring. Click here if 101 (more) Things excite you!
Filed under: General Info, Uncategorized, Wiki | Tags: collaborate, group contributions, project management
Wikis are websites that use special software to enable users to create or edit linked hierarchical pages. They often take the form of a table of contents, with higher-level pages that lead to specific subpages. Wikipedia is the largest one, but there are thousands of them in existence, with new ones popping up every day. They have been around since 1995, and are still growing in popularity.
Wikipedia models itself after an encyclopedia, but that is not the only way that wikis can be used. Some libraries use internal wikis to manage their policies and procedures. Many companies are replacing their old Intranets with wikis. Some individuals use them as personal knowledge management software. Since most wikis allow discussion and comments on page changes, they can lead to dynamic, vibrant communities of users.
For Thing 21, we are going to take a look at wikis, and create some pages of our own.
Start out by watching yet another Common Craft video: Wikis in Plain English.
Now that you have some background, go to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia is a giant encyclopedia that anyone can add to or edit. It handles multiple languages, and is the largest wiki in existence.
In the search box, enter a subject of your choice. It can be anything that interests you.
You should get an article on that subject. Read through it, paying attention to how the information is organized. Do you agree with everything that is said there? Are there any warnings on the page relating to the quality of the information?
At the top of the article will be a tab called Discussion. Go to it to see comment people have left about various changes they (or others) have made to this page.
Now go to the History tab to see how the page has changed over time.
Let’s try out hand at using wiki pages! First go to
www.wiki23things.wiki.zoho.com
This site has been set up for us to practice making pages.
You have two options:
1. click on “add a sub-page” in the left hand navigation field to create an entry for a new resturant
2. choose a resturant and click on “edit” to add or change information
Filed under: Uncategorized
We’re almost done… only 3 more Things to go!
To make sure you’re rested up for the final weeks (or to give you time to catch up if necessary) this is our final Break Week.
Don’t forget that in addition to the cool factor of having learned so much about technology, participants who complete the program will be included in the drawing for some great prizes – to be awared on Staff In Service Day next month.
Filed under: Distributed Media | Tags: audio files, Distributed Media, library 2.0, podcasts, videos
Podcasts are audio files that are distributed using some form of web feed such as RSS, like blogs. Though the word “podcast” is a combination of the terms “iPod” and “broadcast,” it does not refer solely to feeds that are used by iPod owners. You can listen to podcasts on your computer, mp3 player, or other audio devices.
Most podcasts are distributed as MP3 files. Programs that are designed to receive podcasts are known as “podcatchers.” They are similar to the “aggregators” used with blog posts. You can find a list of common podcatchers at:
http://www.podcastplatform.com/links/podcatchers
Libraries use podcasts in a variety of ways. Some put out weekly news segments on new events and materials. Others use them to record booktalks, presentations, or storytimes. Some even create virtual tours of the library, so a patron can literally walk through the library while listening to descriptions of services or materials on his or her mp3 player.
The Library Success Wiki provides a good list of library podcasts on its podcasting page at
http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Podcasting
Other lists of podcasts can be found at:
Podcast Alley
http://www.podcastalley.com
and
The Education Podcast Network
http://epnweb.org/
For Thing 21, listen to a few library podcasts, and write about them in your blog. How was the audio quality? Were they interesting enough to make you want to subscribe to them? What sorts of topics did they cover? Do you think that podcasts would be useful to our customers? If so, what types of podcasts do you think would interest them? Post your thoughts to your blog.
If you decide to create a podcast, all you need is a microphone, a computer, and basic audio editing software. Audacity is a free, easy to use editor that works on Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, and other operating systems. You can read more about it and download it at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/*
The optional LAME plugin for Audacity allows you to save your recordings to the MP3 format. You can find more information on LAME in the Audacity FAQ at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq*
The Library Success Wiki page (listed above) lists some great tools for “publishing” podcasts under its “How to Podcast” section.
If you’re interested in cutting edge “casting”, check out this blog post from Librarian by Day on vodcasting!
*Currently the city is blocking access to this site, so if you’re interested, you’ll have to access it from home. We’ll send an update when access is allowed. And remember, if you can’t access a site required for a Thing from work, let us know. All required sites should be allowed.
With over 1 billion views a month, Hulu is now the second largest online video site. In March 2008 mega-media answered the YouTube online phenomenon with the Hulu website. As a joint venture by NBC and News Corp , it set out to be users first stop for television and movies online. Hulu makes use of an advertising model embedded into the content provided by the cable, broadcast, and other companies would contribute and then share in the revenue. A particularly interesting position for some of the PBS offerings.
Using streaming video and audio Hulu provides users access to many popular television and movies that they can select from and play on demand (and allows for some discussion and feedback by users). The most popular site referring users to Hulu content: Facebook.
What about the competition? On March 2, 2010 Viacom decided to pull some of its popular content from Hulu (see New York Times article). Viacom decided that the revenue potential for making their own websites (Comedy Central being the main focus in this case) the exclusive home for popular shows such as The Daily Show was too great. While users seem to prefer the consolidation that Hulu provided over a fragmented experience… the price of splitting advertising dollars may dictate otherwise. Other competition comes for Hulu comes in the form of Netflix and Blockbuster providing the same service (ad-free) behind a pay-wall.
Also in the news recently is the financial troubles studios such as MGM. What does MGM’s potential bankruptcy have to do with Hulu and streaming media? Check out the last paragraph of the story… this may be a sign of the decisions libraries will be making in the future. Click here to read (or listen) to the NPR story
A recent article from the Pew Research Center on the ever growing importance of online video and what types of videos our patrons consume online and the projected trend towards more professional content being streamed.
On a final tangent, there is an interesting commentary contrasting the experience of viewing illegally copied DVDs and those purchased legally here. One that is very similar to that of streaming vs. playing the disc. Would our users draw the same parrallel between accessing their libaries electronic resources and other online content providers?
.
For this Thing 19 you will need to:
- Find time OFF desk. 🙂
- Visit Hulu and select a show. You can search for your favorite or browse by genre.
- Browse the offerings. Take note of clips vs. full content.
- Watch some or all of it (taking note of the commercial break).
So where does this leave libraries and physical collections, like DVDs? Spend a few minutes thinking about the impact of streaming media on delivery models – and the impact this change may have on libraries: not just now, but also in the upcoming years down the road. Share your thoughts on digital delivery and libraries in your blog.
YouTube is the first and largest of the “tube” sites, all of which revolve around the idea of the general public uploading and sharing videos. It was created in 2005, and later purchased by Google. Users have watched videos on the site more than 6 BILLION times since it started. It is in the top 5 most visited websites, and shows no sign of slowing down.
Anything that can be put on video is likely to show up on YouTube – family videos, political statements, instructional videos, amateur news reports, music, film clips, animation, etc. YouTube recently added YouTube EDU as a “channel” it offers. Frequent uploaders can even establish their own “channels.” Some movie and television production companies have started uploading selections of their work, as well. In fact, many students turn to YouTube as their first choice in doing research (one of the early reports of this trend is in the New York Times).
User-submitted videos must be no longer than 10 minutes in length and 2 GB in size. YouTube uses Adobe Flash to display the videos, which can be played directly from a web browser.
Libraries are using YouTube in unique ways. Some create their own book trailers, while others use the website to promote their upcoming events. Some sponsor teen video-making contests. There are library videos centered around training, library use, storytimes, performances, and much more.
For Thing 18, spend some time watching library-produced videos on YouTube. A few we’ve found: The Adventures of Super Librarian, Super Librarian, A Librarian’s 2.0 Manifesto, Allen County Public Library Channel
Some good search terms to help you find more: Texas library, public library, school library, academic library, library event
On a side note, Cisco recently released their Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology which is not exciting reading, but did contain some startling statistics. Currently, one-third of consumer internet traffic is video. The paper goes on to forecast that by 2013 that video will account for over 60% of consumer internet traffic, and if you include internet video directly to your TV… a whopping 91% of all internet traffic.
In your blog, talk about the videos you saw. What were they trying to accomplish? How effective were they? Can you think of other uses of videos to help promote libraries or serve the public? How can we address “authoratative” in YouTube searching?
Filed under: Streaming | Tags: access, Cloud Computing, Music, pandora, Streaming
Access vs. Ownership.
Physical vs. Electronic.
Not just libraries, but the general public too, is wrestling with the same issues. And given improvements in streaming media, more and more are turning towards free electronic access.
What is streaming media? Instead of downloading and saving large media files to your computer’s hard drive and then watching… you experience those videos and audio files *as they are being sent* to your computer (where they don’t take any room on your harddrive)! You can’t save the music, movie, or television program like you could with broadcast television or radio–but you do control when you play it.
Sites like Pandora and Last.fm allow you to access music you would like, make suggestions based upon an analysis of the music you choose, and connects you with others with similar preferences. But there are some distinct differences between Pandora, Last.fm, and other streaming media competitors. Pandora allows you to build a customized radio station that plays songs that you like and suggests new artists with a similar style. Last.fm gives users more control, like the ability to play specific songs, and puts a bigger emphasis on connecting with others. Musicovery offers an interface with a visual relational map based upon mood, genre, and decade. Some of these sites even maintain their own billboard-style popularity charts.
This type of access is now popular enough that entertainment systems sold today allow buyers to access and play streaming content over their home stereo/entertainment system.
For Thing 17 you will need to:
- Choose either Last.fm, Pandora, or another music streaming site (Deezer, Slacker, Musicovery, iLike, etc.).
- Checkout the offerings and listen to some music (some sites require that you set up an account for all the features).
- For the sake of your coworkers, you will want to consider completing this “Thing” at home – or invest in a pair of earbuds (on sale in Circulation for $1).
- Blog about it: What did you think about the experience? What did you think of the suggestions of other artists? What role can this service play in our patrons lives? Will people still check out CDs in the future?
Optional for advanced users:
- Which ones allow for sharing your new found tunes on Facebook or your blog?
Filed under: Cloud Computing | Tags: access, Cloud Computing, documents, googledocs, office, online storage, spreadsheets
Google Docs resembles Microsoft Office in many ways. It allows users to create documents, spreadsheets, slideshow presentations, and data entry forms. These applications are similar to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but offer some unique features. They are designed to make full use of online collaboration and storage, bypassing the need to purchase software and load it on your computer. In fact, with online storage you will be able to access these files from any computer with internet access . This potentially makes portable storage only for when internet access isn’t available.
Best of all, all the Google Docs applications are free. They are a good example of “cloud computing,” and are being used by more and more people and businesses every day. For background on cloud computing, enjoy this video from Common Craft.
Start out by going to http://docs.google.com. Watch the short video on the main page for a brief introduction to the Google Docs applications. If you’d like more information, clicking on the “More Google Docs videos” will link you to “Google Docs in Plain English” by Common Craft.
To get started with Google Docs, you will need to set up a personal Google account. If you already have one, you can log in using your regular username and password (most of you will if you set up your Blog Reader for Thing 2). If you do not have one, it is free and easy to set one up. Simply click the Get started button on the right-hand side of the page and follow the instructions.
Once your account is set up, go to http://docs.google.com and log in (if you haven’t already). On the left hand side of the screen you should see a list of your current files and folders, if you have any. If you click on the New tab right above that, you will be offered the chance to create a new document, presentation, spreadsheet, form, or folder.
Let’s start by creating a basic document, like you would in Word or other word processing programs.
Click on the New tab, and select Document.
When your new document pops up, there will be a toolbar at the top, and a large blank area underneath that.
Put something in the blank area. It could be a statement about yourself, your shopping list, information from a website that you have cut and pasted, or anything else that strikes your fancy. Play around with the fonts and other items on the toolbar so that you can see the features it offers.
When you are done, click the Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Then click on the Share button. You will be presented with several options, including the ability to send the page as an email attachment or publish it as a web page. The real power of Google Docs comes into play when you share them with other people, so go ahead and select Share with others from the dropdown menu.
When you share your document with other people, you can set them up as collaborators (co-editors) or viewers. You do so by sending them an invitation to the document via email. Go ahead and send yourself an invitation as a collaborator, using one of your other email addresses. If you don’t have another email address, try sending it to a friend. You will be able to attach a message to the invitation. If you send it to a friend, that person will need to set up a Google account to be able to edit the document.
Now click on the File button. You have several options under there, including the ability to rename the document, see the history of revisions, and save the document as a web page. Select Download file as and look at the different file formats you can use. Did you notice that you can save in Word format, or as a PDF file?
Now try doing the same with a presentation, spreadsheet, and form.
How do they differ from the programs you generally use? Write about this and your thoughts on cloud computing in your blog post.
Want to learn more? Google Docs keeps an official blog at http://googledocs.blogspot.com . It is an excellent resource for keeping up with changes to the Google Docs software, new and interesting ways to use Google Docs, and more.
Filed under: 2.0 Tools | Tags: Flickr, Google, Maps, mashups, Twitter, videos
Using online maps is a great tool for driving directions, planning a trip route, and other everyday tasks. Google Maps takes online maps from interactive to a true Web 2.0 experience. It allows users to add content, mash-up maps with their own data, and customize maps to their needs.
Below is a video by the blog Google Maps Mania of some impressive projects completed by Google Maps users:
For Thing 15 you will need to:
- Search for a destination by name in Google Maps. Try a public library you would like to visit.
- Get the driving directions by supplying your starting address.
- Use some of the tools supplied such as “traffic” or the ones listed under “more” embeded at the top of the map.
- Try alterting the route by dragging the recommended route to a preferred street. This is where the “traffic” information (or your personal knowledge of the area) comes in handy.
- Use the link option embeded in the top of the map to either post the link to your blog or embed the map.
Option for Advanced Users:
Try adding content to a map!
-
Search in Google Maps for a specific place
-
Click on the marker pin on the map to bring up the details for that location
-
Click on more to edit those details (requires a Google account).
This week we will explore two things that help you meet the expectations of Web 2.0 users. Now that you have tried tweeting and communicating with friends on Facebook, you understand the expectation of brevity in these social media communities. You may have also noticed the expectation users have for interacting and consuming pictures, audio, and video as part of their online experience. Also….we might be looking at these because I geek tools.
TinyURL and YouSendIt are handy tools that can help you keep those web 2.0 expectations of working with multimedia files and keeping things brief.
TinyURL allows users to take impossibly long URLs and make them short. (This is handy if you only have 140 characters to get your point across.) Not only does TinyURL make it easy to shorten things, but allows you to make them more memorable. If I had to share with a friend the following URL:
http://www.friscolibrary.com/youth/kids/Collections_and_Services_for_Kids.htm#LittleKids
Would they ever remember it? Could I remember it? Would anyone actually type that into the address bar of their browser?! TinyURL also allows you to come up with something more memorable like:
For Thing 13 you will need to:
- Copy a long or confusing URL you wish to shorten.
- Go to TinyURL.com and paste the URL. (Enter the long URL under the “Welcome to TinyURL” paragraph.)
- Click “Make TinyURL.” The shorter URL will be http://tinyurl.com/ followed by a short series of numbers and letters. Short…but not memorable. –OR- Try making a custom TinyURL by entering a key phrase into the box labeled “custom alias” as in the example above. Short and memorable.
- Share it. You can blog it, tweet it, facebook it, text it… or all four!
On to our fourteenth thing: YouSendIt
Web 2.0 places a premium on graphics, audio, and video. Those multimedia files can be very large and hard to share with someone you are collaborating with online. Most email servers strictly limit file size making it hard to send someone a high quality file you are wanting to share. YouSendIt allows you to send up to a 2GB file of virtually any type. This makes collaborating with those bulky multimedia file much easier.
For Thing 14 you will need to:
- Go to YouSendIt.
- Upload and send a file to a friend using “Try Sending Now.” If you don’t have a friend…send it to yourself.
- Download the file to your desktop.
What are your impressions of these services?
Filed under: Uncategorized
No new “thing” this week. Take a break, catch up on “things” you haven’t had an opportunity to explore, or just have some fun with a favorite “thing” of the past.
Check back next week as we explore two useful web apps.
Facebook, according to founder Mark Zuckerberg, was created to map out—online– people’s existing real-life relationships. Although this article is ancient given the speed at which the Web evolves, it’s good background information on this social force du jour.
But you’re eager to get your hands on this phenomenon you’ve heard so much about, right? Since the whole premise (or marketing angle depending on how cynical you are) of Facebook is that it’s about mapping out your existing social networks, you’re going to have to take the plunge now. Yes, that’s right, the first task in this Thing is to…
Create a Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com/. If you need help with any aspects of Facebook, try the Facebook tutorials at Expert Village.
Once you have your Facebook account, you’ll need to…
Create a Facebook profile. Facebook profiles are for individuals. Facebook pages are for organizations.
One aspect of Facebook you should notice right away is that Facebook discourages anonymity. Scary? Maybe. You can blog the pros and cons of that later, but if you want the full Facebook experience, surrender to transparency. Or make up a name. Some of you may have full-fledged alter egos already—feel free to use those as well.
As you create your profile, Facebook will ask you if you want to find friends by using your email account. Facebook will ask you to provide your email account password. We strongly advise against this. There are other ways to add friends later. As a matter of fact, you can skip all of the steps in the profile setup if you want, as long as you enter your name and secret question. You can always go back and edit your profile information later.
Facebook is really not much fun without friends.
So go find some friends.
You can only see your friends’ profiles, and they’re the only people who can see yours. You can share as much or as little information about yourself as you want. When someone performs a search, only your name, photo (if you upload one) and the networks you belong to will appear in the search results.
The more information you enter about yourself in your profile, the more options Facebook gives you for finding friends. You can automatically find high school or college classmates, former co-workers, etc. — if you’ve entered your education and work history into your profile. Even if you don’t enter that information into your profile, you can still perform searches based on that information—the only difference is that you have to enter that information manually every time you search.
You can also search for people directly by their names.
Add some content for your friends to see on your Facebook Wall. Create one “What’s on your mind” statement without a link. Create one with a link to your favorite library website.
In addition to searching for people, you can search for organizations. If you simply type an organization name, like “Dallas Cowboys,” into the search box, and choose to search Facebook, you will get a list of all the different entities with that name in the title. You will find some people named “Dallas Cowboys,” even though this is technically a Facebook no-no. If you limit the search to “Pages,” you’ll find only organizations. Once you track down the organization you had in mind, you can become a fan of that organization.
Find at least one organization and become a fan. Hey, we’re all fans of Frisco Public Library, right? Right?
Assignments:
Novices: Write a blog about setting yourself up on Facebook. What’s your take?
Experts: We know that many of you are already knowledgeable Facebook users. For those of you who have coasted through this post so far since you already have a Facebook account, Friends, and fanship, your assignment is to think about Facebook pages. How well do the organizations you’re a fan of follow the suggestions that David Lee King puts forward in his recent blog post, “Humanizing your Facebook Pages“? Blog about Facebook pages. (You remember the difference between pages and profiles, right.) What would you like to see on the Frisco Public Library Facebook page?
Filed under: Social Networks | Tags: LinkedIn, professional, Social Networks, web 2.0
Linked In was created to give individuals a professional presence on the internet and a way to connect with others in the same industry for professional purposes. With over 48 million members, it has hit a critical mass.
Unlike other social networking sites that allow for members to customize and bring in any creative content for self-expression, Linked In has a clean uniform look for all members. The content and layout is limited to what you would find on the standard professional resume.
The professional social networking on Linked In provides a forum for very specific networking activities. The largest and most active users of Linked In are professional recruiters looking to find individuals with specific qualifications for open positions. Individual members also use Linked In to find that “friend of a friend” in the right industry for a personal introduction or recommendation when job hunting – or to make a business connection. Linked In also has a job posting service that allows members to search open positions.
Finally, Linked In goes beyond job hunting, recruiting, and business introductions: it has become a forum that allows professionals in the same industry to seek advice or find a mentor. It even functions as a tool for information gatherers, such as journalists, who need to get beyond receptionists and PR representatives.
What sets Linked In apart from other social networking sites is the verification done by Linked In when a group, company, or organization profile is created. You can be reasonably sure that any profile for an organization was created by that organization and not a fan or critic
Check out the video about LinkedIn:
For this thing you have the choice of creating a Linked In profile, searching for professionals in a particular industry or organization, finding an organization’s profile, or searching the job postings at : www.linkedin.com. In your blog post, let us know what you did and thought.
FPL's 23 Things 
