23 Things – Conclusion

One of the good things with a project like this is that it makes you try new web tools. I’m fortunate in that I like doing so anyway, but it’s always good to be forced into new territory.

I believe that one of the reasons this program works is that the emphasis is on discovery and basic familiarity, rather than mastery. It encourages play, so that people can find out which tools could be useful for them.

The latter is important. With so many tools out there, none of them will suit all people. And for some the preference might simply be branding. I use google reader and google docs because I use google mail, so it’s easier to keep stuff together. On the other hand, I prefer wordpress for this blog rather than blogger, and Flickr to Picasa.

In a work context, so much good information comes from these sources. While our patrons don’t always scrutinise the value of something online, those same people will not I think apply any greater level of scrutiny to the printed word. There have always been words printed that are not worth the paper that they’re written on. Works put out by reputable academic presses can be error-ridden. I do not believe that we can, or should,  exhalt the printed word an an inherently better source of information than the digital.

We can point teaching staff to blogs, wikis and twitter streams for good, professional information. We can help students with concerns over privacy, and how to decide what to share and what not to share.  There has been much food for thought, and some good tips (note: err on the keep-it-short-sunshine when you write…). The main one, I think is to keep exploring. You may find something you’ll use for life.

23 Things – Podcasts

I listened to podcasts a lot when I first stumbled across them. I wonder whether, given the ease of posting video online whether these will decline in popularity over time?

For me, the decline has simply been accessibility. I used to listen to a number of hobby podcasts (RPGs and boardgamers) and still subscribe. The reason that I rarely listen is that they are long (typically 60 – 90 minutes) and my mp3 player (being of the cheap variety) won’t bookmark the spot that I was up to. Any interruption and I need to start again.

I think that suggests to me that, ideally a good podcast should in general be relatively short, pithey pieces. Radio works like this. Apart from special performances or the odd long interview a piece is typically 10-15 minutes at the outside. Too long and people will start to tune out.

23 Things – Library Wikis

I’ve had a small amount of experience in using a wiki (the Edayz Planning Committee uses one, for example). What I like about them is that it’s easier to keep information up-to-date without having to e-mail documents to people (or indeed worrying about e-mail at all).

One of the things that I also like about it is that it is could be an easy tool for your library community to have input. For example, a public library looking to organise a children’s program could create a wiki in which ideas are tossed around, volunteers organised and so on.

23 Things: Topic 20 – Second Life

I rather suspect that Second Life is not going to be suitable as a library tool for most of us in the near future. The technical specifications required to run it and the expertise to put it together are still relatively high. There are certainly library staff like Kate Sinclair (who I mentioned in an earlier post) who are involved in SL projects. But how to run a library presence?

It will, I suspect remain the preserve of the the academic/national-type library. Carrie Pennell of Harvard University wrote about her experiences in setting up a presence in SL here. The British Library also seems set to enter LindedLand.

23 Things: Topic 16 – Image Generators

Not something that I use a whole lot, but I recently found one that I rather like for my current RPG (that’s role-playing campaign) which one can use for generating images of their characters. Called Heromachine, it was easy to use (I didn’t explore the options for colourising it) and it took 5 minutes. So if my next character bites the dust, my next one will be:

 

23 Things: Topic 22 – Online Tools

For this section of 23T, we were directed to the seomoz 2008 web 2.0 awards page and directed to try one of the tools there.  A few, like Facebook we’ve already looked at. I’ve been increasingly disatisfied with iGoogle for a while. It’s rather clunky, and I stopped using it at home. And I’ve been looking for an easy way to keep track of my Facebook, Twitter and gmail accounts without tabbing between the two. Tweetdeck is good, but is basically Twitter, Facebook and Myspace (and I don’t use the latter). So when I saw Netvibes I thought that I’d give it a try. It feels less clunky than iG, and I’ve had no problems with the widgets so far. I can minimise and maximise, it all looks rather easy.

 

Below is a screen dump of my page:

First Zoho document

I use Google docs frequently. I have a Microsoft Live account (though I’ve not yet made use of it). I store copies of my photos and other important files online using Skydrive. Web-based applications won’t be for everyone, for example because people are (understandably) concerned with the privacy implications. The trick then is only share online within your comfort zone. If in doubt, don’t do it. Once it’s out there, it’s there to stay.

Anyway, back to web applications. I suspect that these will be used more and more frequently. I no longer use a desktop e-mail program. I simply use gmail and store my e-mails there. I no longer see any point in doing so. If that is the case with e-mail, can word processing, spreadsheets and other documents be heading the same way? So much work takes place within the web browser today. It makes sense that our tools are made around and inside our browsers.

I’m using Zoho to write this and hopefully publish it to my blog. if you can read it, then it’s been successful…..

23 Things – Twitter

I am on Twitter and Yammer all the time at work. I love them! Yes, they can be inane. Yes, they can be distracting. But they are invaluable network and research tools.

I found Yammer easier to get into, in part because your network is already made for you (because it’s your colleagues in your workplace). Twitter takes time and effort to build up networks, so the adoption curve is that much greater. It too me a couple years (and a lot of Yammer use) to get tweeting. At this stage, I find that while I post prolifically on Yammer, I’m still tend towards lurking in Twitter.

So why do I like them so much?

1. Because they are micro-blogging sites they are excellent at capturing the immediacy of a moment. A blog post is good for reflection and analysis.
2. It’s an excellent search tool. If I want information on a subject I will often go to Twitter before Google. Twitter searches turn up more recent information. It is also filtered by the best form of intelligence – people. In Twitter, the cream really does rise. Good posts are tweeted and re-tweeted, and the fact that tweets can include URLs mean that you can find blog posts, images, podcasts, etc.
3. Twitter helps improve your writing. Trying to pack in 140 characters means that you sometimes have to carefully edit before you post.
4. It’s a great way to ask for information. I’ve had a number of queries answered via both Twitter and Yammer. It’s often quicker and more efficient than sending e-mails to lists of people.
5. Twitter has a lot of really cool tools. Twitpics allows you to post photos to Twitter. Tweetdeck can help you manage your Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts from the one application. Echofon is a nice Firefox app that sits quietly in the corner of your browser and pops up when you receive a new tweet.
6. It enables you to be helpful. Building a network is as much about giving as getting. The more you give time and help to your networks, the more you’ll get back.

Twitter has recently added lists to its bag of tricks. Now you can sort the twits that you follow into lists, which seems to be a popuilar activity amongst people that I follow.

Applications for libraries? Again, organising a community around you, which you can use for promotion is one obvious use. Another is Reference Queries by Tweet. Or check out this ning site for more ideas.

23 Things – Facebook

Topic 18 is Online Communities, with the emphasis on Facebook. I have had a FB account for a couple of years. I dip into it periodically, and it’s been a great way to catch up with old school friends. I see why people find it addictive, but I have trouble enough finding time to keep up with my friends within geographic proximity, let alone those scattered far and wide.

Nevertheless, it has some tools that I quite like. For example, I’ve recently used the events tool to start organising the Thursday night dinner for eDayz 09. I can see that as a way for libraries to build communities around themselves and to promote events. It’s also useful for research. Search results inside FB will pull up results from FB groups, posts by one’s friends as well as web results. For a person with a good network, the results from friends’ posts will yield good results.

23 Things – LibraryThing

I’ve had a LibraryThing account since 2007, and while I love it, I confess that my use is sporadic. That’s mostly because I look at that towering stacks on my built-in shelves and get giddy at the thought of hoisting myself upon my step-ladder to get tiles off the shelves for cataloging. So my new method is: add new titles immediately and add five more.

Now I don’t buy a whole lot of books anymore (particularly fiction). I use my local public library. It saves me money, and helps the circulation statistics of the library. Everybody wins! But, I hear you cry, then you’ll never add anything to your LT collection?

SO I have recently started to add titles that I’ve borrowed (from the library, from friends and family, or wherever), and simply added a notation ‘borrowed copy’ to indicate that I don’t personally own a copy. Now, for those who don’t know what LT is, it’s a site that allows to to catalog your books, write reviews and connect with readers who share your reading interests. It can be a good way to discover new titles. For example, I discovered a nice piece of historical fiction (one of my favoured genres) called Warrior of Rome through LT (which my local library happily also had on the shelves). Reviews, rating etc help you decide whether that unknown book might be worth trying.

LibraryThing offers budding reviewers the chance to receive free advance copies of titles for review. The selection for reviewers in Australia tends to be limited, and I’ve not yet been lucky enough to be selected, but I remain hopeful In short, LT offers the bibliophile the chance with with like-minded readers regardless of geographical location. membership is free for libraries of 200 titles or less. I suspect that I will at some point pay for lifetime membership ($25 U.S, which entitles you to catalogue 5000 volumes).

Organisations pay the same price, so a small, specialist library might well consider using LT as its catalogue. Aside from price, the specialist may benefit from the LT network in building its collection.