Friday, March 28, 2008

Thing 12 - Social Media Sites

I just successfully "dugg" an article to Digg! I feel so empowered! (she said, a little sarcastically)

After visiting all four of the social media sites listed in this Thing, I registered with Digg. I liked the looks of the Digg website; the site seemed well-designed, and visually appealing to me.

Once registered, I decided to give this "digging" a try. I read an article on the npr.org website called "Beyond Recycling: Getting to 'Zero Waste'". I chose the "share" icon provided on the site, and then, after providing some direction to Digg about how to present the article (and assuring them that this was a new article, and hadn't already been "dugg"), voila! The article was posted. I doubt the article will ever get more than my vote, but I consider that the exercise was a success.

As interesting as the exercise was, I just don't think that I'll use this much, either personally, or in the library. In the first place, it seems to me that variety in reading material is lost when you get this focused in on what you want to see. Would you ever read an article that challenged your thinking, or that gave you a new way to look at something if you rely on a social media site?

One of the "Blog Prompts" for this Thing was to decide if social media sites enhanced, or detracted from, productivity. I guess it would depend on your definition of productivity. On the one hand, from what I could tell, you would see articles from a variety of sources. Other people have done the selection, so that's one less thing for you to do. You could just read the most popular articles, and probably feel that you were increasing your knowledge of the world around you.

On the other hand, I think you'd lose the sense of self-discovery; there's almost a feeling of group-think going on here. I'm not sure who benefits from sites like Digg. I think that you could use up a lot of time messing around with it.

Thing 11 - Tagging and Del.icio.us

I think tagging is a great idea. I have been tagging my posts and photos all along, and I can really see the benefit of doing so, especially in a social setting, where the labels can help others understand what you think your post/photos/bookmarked sites are about, and why you think they are important.

I had been aware of del.icio.us for quite a while, and I always thought it was pretty cool as a place to save one's bookmarked sites--a really nifty little tool. It was great to learn more about the concept of using tagging to make it a powerful search tool, as well.

I set up my del.icio.us (by the way, I find the spelling of the name quite a little irritating) account and proceeded to mark and tag some of my currently bookmarked sites. I ran into a technical difficulty of some kind, maybe due to the enhanced security of IE 7.0 (which I recently started running). The glitch prevents me from simply tapping on the "tag" button to mark a site; all that happens when I do so is that a "zip" kind of sound is produced. The only way I found to bookmark a site was to check the "del.icio.us" button menu for "more about this page." In addition to getting the bookmarking history of that particular page, I'm offered the chance to bookmark it for myself. If no one has bookmarked the page, I'm out of luck--I can't bookmark it, either.

I tried adjusting my security settings, allowing pop-up windows from del.icio.us, etc., all to no avail. I read all of the help pages and FAQs at del.icio.us, and then finally sent their support people a note requesting advice. I just received a very nice automated response, and I am to hear back from them within 24 hours. I will post again when I do.

Despite my initial difficulties using the product, I am excited about really using it. On a personal level, it will allow even greater organization of my bookmarked sites as well as insight into other sites that might be useful to me.

I like what libraries are doing with del.icio.us. I think that the tagging ability can be very helpful to reference librarians and patrons alike. Once the initial learning takes place, del.icio.us seems to be an easy and quick way to locate sites that have been scrutinized for accuracy, authority, and applicability to the need of the user.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thing 10 - Wikis

I think that wikis could be an invaluable part of the sharing of knowledge in a library. And they're a lot of fun!

I went a little crazy at the 23 Things wiki. I added a response on the FrontPage regarding how to "market" books. Then I saw that there was a PLA 2008 page, so I added a comment there, since that conference is going on right now. Finally, I wanted to create a new page, so I started one for "Ramsey County," the system that I work for. I started the page because I have wondered if any of my compadres are participating in the program, but, once I started writing, I started thinking that a wiki would be an excellent tool for sharing information from different people, within and among the different branches of a system.

We receive emails from supervisors in the different branches, but the scenario is a lot like the Common Craft video - it's messy, emails flying in from all over. A wiki would provide a central place for that information to be kept. The information wouldn't be just top-down, but those on the front lines could communicate to each other, and also back to their supervisors. Finally, I think a wiki would support "best practices" kind of procedures. Wiki-ers could find out what their counterparts in other branches are doing, if they are doing anything differently, and what their thoughts are on the topic. It's a "win" for everyone, I think.

Thing 9 - Online Collaborative Tools

It was interesting (and frustrating) to use both of the collaborative tools - Google Docs and Zoho. I found Google Docs easy to use, with familiar-to-me options and toolbars. I could see where others had had success editing the document. This was some very entertaining editing!

I was able to use Google Docs right away. Zoho was another story - yikes! The only way I could figure out to edit the Zoho document was to sign up for a Zoho account, and then import in the URL that had been mailed to me. I have no idea if that is what I was supposed to do, or if my editing would be accessible to anyone else.

The Zoho edit screen is cluttered and much too busy. To be sure, there seem to be more options available for editing (I added an emoticon - an "Undecided" smiley face - to my version of the document), but I don't know how many of those options would be important in a shared context.

To my mind, ease of use is much more important. Perhaps once I gained more familiarity with the product, I would feel more certain that I could access the correct document, and share it with my collaborators after editing. There seems to be a large learning curve with use of Zoho.

My vote is for Google Docs!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Thing 8 - Share Your Creations

I really enjoyed Thing 8. This Web 2.0 knowledge that we're learning about is intellectually interesting, but unless we use it to disseminate information, it is little more than a cool gadget.

I enjoyed the slideshow and photo tools, but thought I'd try my hand at a database. I was able to use Lazybase to build a simple database of the branches of my library system, and I've included the "read only" link in the "Links of Interest" section of my blog.

Once I figured out the mechanics of Lazybase, it was easy to use. I like that Lazybase doesn't require a logon, or the setting up of an account, but lets the owner of the database control the editing access of the database by URL specification.

I can visualize TONS of uses for a database generator like Lazybase in the library environment. I'd recommend it to others, but I wish that the website had a little more introductory text to explain how the website works, how databases are designed, and any special functionality that can be used.

I was impressed also by the eFolio program and website. This looks like an amazing tool for creating an online portfolio. I'm thinking of generating an eFolio for myself.

The link to "50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story" also looked very helpful, chockful of helpful tools. I've got it bookmarked. I think I'll put that link in my link list as well.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Thing 7 - Online Communication Tools

This "thing" certainly had a lot of ground to cover! It introduced me to a few new tools, and a few new uses of old tools, for communication in Library 2.0.

Email. I have used email for a long time. I thought that the productivity hints in task 1 were very helpful: (1) shut off auto-check; (2) pick off the easy ones; (3) write less ("just smack it over the net"); (4) cheat (use templates); (5) be honest (just deal with the email). I wrote down these words of wisdom: "Stop letting your email poke you with a stick. It's just not worth it." Personally, I've been thrilled to discover a "quick read" feature in AOL that lets me get through list-serve emails a lot more rapidly than fully opening each email. The key thing is to make email serve you, and not the other way around.

Email for libraries? Yes! This format of communication is familiar to lots of people, and can be adopted easily.

IM. I have used AOL AIM for a few years. I've found it personally useful when a friend is online, and we can chat a little more quickly than via email. I watched the task 2A video, and thought it was clever, but I really wonder if substantive information can be sent back and forth. The 2B article "IM Me" was interesting; I appreciated the idea that IM "aligns library services with the preferred technology of this target population of users." I think IM could be very useful for interoffice communications; my husband's work group has started using it internally. Here is a list of "Best Practices for IM" that I pulled from the article: (1) use a multi-network IM program (like Meeb0?); (2) send descriptive links rather than URLs; (3) employ away messages; (4) create a profile; (5) accept imperfection (!); (6) use abbreviations; (7) never panic; (8) try to use only online sources; and (9) load IM software on public PCs. They all seem like great suggestions for using IM in the library.

For task 2C, I had to find my own buddy to practice IM with, since I'm doing the Things on my own, on my own time. Luckily, my husband was willing to let me practice on him. I am glad to say that I'm a convert to the use of IM. I was able to converse intelligently with DH, and sent him pictures and documents very easily. As a library circulation worker, I think IM would be wonderful for dealing with the questions like "How late are you open tonight?" or "Can you renew my items for me?" I imagine that the reference folks would also find it useful. I find the written format of the communication helpful, and I know that IM would be a big benefit to hearing-impaired individuals.

Text Messaging. Text messaging, or SMS (Short Message Service), is a different story, to my mind. I understand the advantages: it can be done discreetly; don't have to be at your computer to use it; it's convenient for the deaf and hearing-impaired. However, I think that the disadvantages outweight the benefits: you have to pay for the service; it's not speedy (!); and you are limited to 160 characters, of text only.

I didn't understand the task 3A video. It looked like the test messagers were having fun, but I couldn't see any real information being distributed. The task 3B article was interesting; I can see that SMS for library notification of requested materials being in, or other messages of the type might be one potential use. For task 3C, we were to practice SMS with another person; here, I took a short cut and just texted myself! My first text messages! I would need a lot of work on this item. I couldn't figure out how to type a message, but managed to send myself, and then respond to myself, with a "Hi" message. Pretty lame.

Web Conferencing. I think that the tool of web conferencing definitely has some promise for the library. The little podcast on Opal was interesting and made a good point, that a web conference is a lot like a telephone conference on steroids! The task 4A article had some very useful information on the benefits and challenges of web conferencing, along with tips for putting them together. For my task 4B, I watched a Minitex Webinar (an archived one) called "Podcasting 1: What's All the Buzz About?" that was quite interesting. I didn't pick the webinar because the topic necessarily fit with this "thing," but it really seemed to fit. Podcasts would be a great communication tool for the library to use. I plan to get myself set up on a podcast reader and see what's out there. (Note: I see that Podcasts are covered in a later "thing"; so maybe I'll be in better shape to get that "thing" done)

Now, my time to summarize and analyze my thoughts about these web communication tools. Email is a proven and easily adopted tool for the library; a few of the branches where I work use email extensively, and it helps with communication between staff. Many of our patrons choose email notification for their requests. I think that IM has a strong potential, but maybe more for the "front lines" than the deep reference needs. I am still dragging my feet about SMS; it just seems too cumbersome, to me, but that could just be because of my unfamiliarity with it. I think that library use of web conferencing is great! So much information (author presentations, book reviews, book club meetings, board meetings) could be put archived webinars or podcasts. I participated in a live web conference at the U a year or so ago, and even though I was physically in the room at the U, the conference was being shared remotely across the country. The potential for communication and efficiency was terrific!

This was an interesting "thing," and I learned a lot.

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