Tame the Web: Libraries and Technology

IM Network Springs Up in Social Software Session

As Jessamyn is speaking more and more people are appearing in my chat list....

Steve from Colorado just shared this flickr site he's using for his library:

http://flickr.com/photos/tuttlibrary and his blog: http://library.coloradocollege.edu/steve/

Tags & Folksonomy Links

Thoughts about Tags:

"...the key is to tag sparingly and with focus, using words that are highly descriptive." WIRED

Reverse Thinking as well...

Tips from Top Taggers

http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Keywords/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/

TAGFIGHT! http://www.netomer.de/flickrtagfight/fight

http://www.last.fm/user/mstephens7

Embrace & Experience Web 2.0

I was so happy to see Sherri post about Meebo and include this little phrase: "Hello Web 2.0!" with a link to wikipedia as a definition. (And WOWZA is that some good reading!)

So yes, greetings to Web 2.0! Are you ready for it? Has your library looked at blogs? IM? Flickr?

And while we are saying hello, take a look at: http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=11257 for WebJunction's overview of public libraries and online community, brought about by new social tools:

A new generation of "social software" tools is coming on the scene, and they're making it easier than ever for people to come together online to share, exchange ideas and build community. And libraries have a natural and important place in this new world. Whether your library's current Web site is nonexistent or pretty darn fancy, consider some of the resources below as you plot the next steps in cultivating a more potent and effective online presence for your library.

More Web 2.0 to follow!

Will Richardson on New Tools

More from the Librarians-better-get-it-before-our-users-pass-us-by Dept.

Will Richardson writes three things schools should do to get on the social tools bandwagon and he speaks volumes to librarians as well - if we choose to listen.

1. Schools need to start blogging and inviting the community into conversations about what's going on. We need to tell parents and students and community members that we will entertain and respond to any comment or idea they contribute provided they do so in a way that respects the civil exchange of ideas and the people involved.

Libraries should too.. AADL anyone?

2. We need to in-service teachers, hold courses and community nights for parents, and teach every student the acceptable uses of these new technologies, and we need to model their appropriate use. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but half the problem is that kids are making the rules up as they go along.

To those associations, groups, federstions, divisions, etc that have created an in service day on these topics and brought in folks to talk about new tools - my hat is off to you. It saddens me to hear of the "what's a wiki" response at BlogJunction. We need to learn and teach others: staff and users. Tell me, when was the last time you updated your Internet/Web class content. Are you still just teaching the same tired stuff you were doing 2 years ago? It's time to add blogs, RSS and more. We are doing our users a disservice if we are not offering information about new technologies.

3. Stop blocking, start teaching.

Will urges us to let go of worrying that some stray bit of content might slip through in the classroom. Instead of being afraid of it -- whatever it might be: a racy picture on flickr, for example -- let's instead focus on teaching kids to understand what it all is and what it all means.

Wow. Take a look at that post...it's great!

Interesting Photos

New option at flickr: my most interesting photos...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/popular-interesting/

Here's a page that explains "interestingness" There are lots of things that make a photo 'interesting' (or not) in the Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic photos and stories are added to Flickr.

I like that...we are telling our stories at flickr. Librarians..libraries...please ponder jumping into the flickr pool!

Out into the Community...and a Dunking Booth

Nice flickr set from The Loud Librarian: what a neat idea to have a Summer Reading Program Luau and put folks in a dunk tank. And to use flickr to share the images! Well Done!

TLL writes: "Saturday (once again the hottest day in all of creation) was our end of Summer Reading Program luau block party. It was hours of work, but everyone had a good time, and Becca got some really great photos from the event. My first task was to man the dunking booth while Jessy (our fearless YA librarian) took the fall over and over and over... I also worked a couple of other booths in the tent, and generally helped take stuff down afterwards. I work with such great people. :-)"

Traverse Area District library PRESENCE on flickr

I heart my home away from home library. Look at this cool set by a flickr user who works there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbeery/sets/479802/

Learn All About Flickr

Thanks Jenny!

http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2005/05/18/learn_all_about_flickr.html

TADL: My Library card

Here's the big library in TC courtesy of Jeff, my library chum up there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jefoto/13733201/

The Power of Social Software

Megan wrote this at the NEASIST Blog, leading me to this which lead to this:

Behold: the flickrverse

WOWZA. Suddenly I want to study flickr and all of its implications!

NEASIST Blog

http://www.metametadata.net/neasist/

I cannot wait for this one. It's going to be blogged, flickr'ed, podcasted, de.licio.us'ed and maybe even wiki'ed! Check out the fledging blog and maybe subscribe to the feed if you can't be there in person.

Thanks to Beatrice who rocks setting this stuff up!

Playlists and Music

Sherri also has a post about playlists and music, and I downloaded the article she pointed to for my growing collection of social software citations. Hot! Anyway, here are my musical links:

Michael's iTunes Library: Allows you to see some of my favorites, guilty pleasures and clicks through to ITMS!

Michael's AudioScrobbler Page

Flickr Down?

Is it my connection via Comcast or what? I cannot get to flickr! I am having photo withdrawl....

Yahoo! 360' - Thanks Robin!

Thanks to Robin!!!

http://360.yahoo.com/tametheweb

So I set "My Page" up real quick and will return to mess with the features soon. Right now I use flickr, Audio Scrobbler, etc... will these sites or sites like them be absorbed into virtual community clearinghouse. Is Yahoo! 360' the next stop for Flickr? (I think it will be - "Share Photos" was all over in 360')

Yahoo 360'

Anyone joined Yahoo! 360'? I'm intrigued by yet another virtual community being offered for folks. If you are in and have an invite, I'd be grateful!

More Presence: AudioScrobbler

Wondering what music I'm playing in iTunes while I'm preparing for three workshops at CIL? (Three workshops???)

http://www.audioscrobbler.com/user/mstephens7

I Heart FLICKR

I cannot get enough of flickr, even though I am home today watching the snowstorm and a little under the weather.

I heart the feed of London images I subscribed too.

I heart participating in the Feet Perspective Group.

I heart the interaction and finding out where something is via commenting and choosing favorites.

Check it out...

A Social Network Graphed: FlickrGraph

Via Weblogs in Education http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2005/02/10#a3121

I love the visual representation of who I'm connected to within flickr. Most cool.

Online Social Networks Conference has begun

The conference began yesterday with a bunch of folks from all over the world logging in, introducing themselves and pulling up a chair -- an avatar chair! Howard Rheingold, Joi Ito and Lisa Kimball did an audio keynote that was most cool to listen to:

LISTEN TO IT HERE!!!

Some points I made notes on: (and these are rough! Please listen to the 16min file!)

What do we call online social networks? Early on it was more social and less technology. These days it's focused more on the technology (blogs, wikis). Has the quality of social networking improved in the last 20 years?

Things are moving very quickly in the realm of online social networks -- new stuff such as blogs, wikis and social networking software. People are making new kinds of social arrangements.

Blogs create positive feedback but have negative feedback as well. Conversations can occur across blogs that can include or ignore people. How do we include folks adn exclude unwanted elements.

Presence: How do i become a part of an online community? How do we make people know we are here -- online -- and participating in communities? We share photos at flickr. We create anmd diseminate mutimedia content. We find new and different ways to let people know where we are. (SMS, etc)

The internet really improved the way OSS is diseminated... and now we are seeing similar improvements in create social environments for people to visit. We are now exchanging information, developing tools and interacting on a global level.

Messaging over mobile phones has changed social networks yet again... the behaviors of the social networks chanmge when folks can participate from anywhere.

I have been spending time in the meeting space and the presenters "Green Room" (which has a lovely green backgroiund :-) ) as well as loads of reading the introductions from various particpants.

Aaron and I present our work next week. I look forward to the interaction, questions and new avenues of thought that come from this experience!

Social Software and Conferences

THANK YOU STEVEN!

http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm05/erm0513.asp

It’s a bit ironic to attend a conference on deeper learning and the improvement of teaching and to find oneself sitting in a large auditorium, watching PowerPoint slides, and listening to someone deliver a traditional-style lecture. Even if the presentation is thought-provoking, even if the presenter is charged with enthusiasm, even if the slides are animated, even if the podium is shared with a panel of highly respected thought leaders in learning theory, even if . . . , one is left with the feeling that a grand opportunity has been missed, that gathering together so many creative and talented people could have resulted in an experience with a very different quality—or at least different from that of sitting in a lecture hall.

Must digest... this is good stuff.

Daily Zeitgeist

This should be my photos but it's everyone's...

hurumph! It works for Hidden Peanuts!

A Year in Cell Snaps

Here's an archive... it seems like the snippets of a dream...

http://www.tametheweb.com/galleries/cellphonesnaps/

Back to our regular program...

Metatagging for the Masses

Are we ready folks?

Check out Jessamyn's cool post:

http://www.librarian.net/stacks/001094.html

Look at this at flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/3369844/

I tagged it and then Nate added 'waterfall' because I had just added falls. I need to think more meta!

Tagging my Musings (Images)

Chad at Hidden Peanuts just posted this:

http://www.hiddenpeanuts.com/index.php?p=53

..where he ponders the tagging of images. Guess what? I've been doing the same thing at Flickr. I didn't realive the text string I was using "Posted via Michael's Treo 600.." was becoming tags. So I have been going through and tagging some photos.

It's kind of fun -- sort of like "Metadata for Dummies" -- which is me as I dip my toe in the python pool...

My flickr stuff:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/

AND I have to say I really get sucked in to flickr and all the different folks posting there...