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Blurbing myself
According to Amazon.com I'm quoted as thinking my book's wonderful on the front cover. In reality, Stephen Abram is quoted on the cover's front, while Bill Drew and Susan Johns-Smith are on the back cover.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Three recent screengrabs
I keep my eyes open for oddities while surfing when it comes to Web site design and usability. Here's three finds from the past three days:
Best viewed in 10 year old technology
My desired username is too long
BlogThis! asked me to perform word verification
Last.fm
I'm up and running on Last.fm. I generally only listed to music on my laptop when I'm on the road so it'll be a little while before what I listen to starts to appear. However, I know some of you have Last.fm accounts so log in and make me a friend. I'm always looking for new tunes.
Repairman Jack gets Unshelved
As if F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack novels didn't kick A** enough, here's Unshelved's introduction to the books.
blogorwiki
During one discussion at Internet Librarian, I determined that there is a new Web 2.0 term out there being used by many librarians: "blogorwiki". This term is often used when a librarian has heard of both blogs and wikis but is not sure which one they should be using in their library. Here's a (very) basic set of guidelines for helping to solve your problem when you hear yourself saying "blogorwiki":
- A blog is generally used to publish static content in reverse chronological order. You may have multiple people contributing this content and you may also allow for others to comment on this content, but generally said content does not change once it has been published.
- A wiki is generally used for creation and constant updating of many linked documents by many people. Wikis do keep copies of previous versions of documents since documents are expected to change.
I hope this helps to solve the "blogorwiki" problem. As always all constructive comments are appreciated.
Labels: wikis
Friday, October 27, 2006
Flickr: A paying gig!
I was just contacted by someone from Livres Hebdo [English translation] "which is more or less the equivalent of Publishers Weekly" and they want to publish a copy of my photo of the BSU Library Sign. The total coolness is that they're going to pay me €80 (about US$100) for it! See folks, yet another reason to post your photos on flickr.
Blogging and RSS in LibraryThing
Blogging and Rss: A Librarian's Guide is listed in LibraryThing and is currently "owned" by five people including myself. I thought I'd be fist but I guess the other four put it into their accounts before actually receiving their copies. One question for librarywebchic: What's the tag "book prop" mean?
Labels: rss
Amazon Feed Generator
My Blogging/RSS book didn't include a service that creates custom feeds from Amazon.com searches because the one I originally wrote about disappeared prior to publication. However, thanks to Steven M. Cohen I now know about the Amazon Feed Generator from onfocus.com. Thanks Steven!
Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Handbook (Eratta)
The eratta page for Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Handbook is now available. Yes, there's already an update; found by Steven M. Cohen.
Labels: rss
Thursday, October 26, 2006
IL2006: OCLC Social Software Interview
I can't say too much since I don't know who else is being interviewed (I don't want to influence what they say if they read this blog,) but OCLC is interested in researching libraries and librarians in relation to Social Software. I ended up as one of seven "experts" that OCLC is interviewing in preparing for a full survey that they'll be doing (I assume) early next year. We had a great discussion covering a number of issues which lasted 1.5 hours. I must say that OCLC sounds very interested in this topic and the issues that surround it. I look forward to the results.
IL2006: Day Three Wrap-up
Last day of the conference and I woke up tired. That's not necessarily a bad sign as it was not unexpected. Plumes for coffee, by myself this morning as others decided to sleep in. (This also was not unexpected.) Morning keynote then off to the wikis souble-session. Lunch somewhere; I honestly don't remember where. (Oh yeah, it was the free lunch that I rushed through before doing my book signing at the Information Today booth. Duh!) Then back to the conference center for "social softwr" and blogging tools. Liz Lawley's closing keynote was on gaming and I did ask her a question about her thoughts on what we're doing at the Second Life Library 2.0. I didn't blog it at the time as I didn't want to be typing as she was answering my question. What she said was somewhat unexpected yet thought provoking. Basically, she doesn't feel that SL is a game at all (I agree) as there's no "point" or "goals" for the "players". The more interesting point she made was that she feels that SL is "the AOL of virtual worlds". In other words, it's where companies and people will get used to things before moving on to the next stage, as may did with AOL before moving on to the Internet. Thanks Liz! I enjoyed your response very much and I'll be thinking about what you said for a while. I then went back to my room for two hours to relax and watch the first two eipsodes of Torchwood(!). At 6:30 eleven of us met in the Marriott lobby and headed off for some great Sushi at Ko-To. (If you want spectacular sushi at reasonable prices without all the "fru fru" atsmophere, Ko-To is the place to go in Monterey!) $265 dollars later (plus tip) we were all stuffed and looking to head back to the Crown & Anchor. There more merryment was had, "goodbyes" and "see you in March"es were shared and I finally succumbed to the exhaustion, leaving about 10:15. This morning I'm waiting to meet up with an OCLC researcher to talk about social software for an hour or so before heading back to San Francisco for a 2:30pm flight. I'm assuming that I'll blog about the meeting when I get a chance and will definitely post some final conference thoughts in the next 48 hours.
Labels: comicbooks, second life, sushi
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
IL2006: Closing Keynote
Social Computing and the Information Professional Elizabeth Lane Lawley, Rochester Institute of Technology, Lab for Social Computing
- New title: Girls Just Want to Have Fun!
- New New Title: All work and no play makes jack a dull boy
- Final Title: All the world's a game... and all the men and women are marely players
- my blogs
- mamamusings
- many2many
- misbehaving.net
- terra nova (blog on virtual worlds)
- all blog posts from the week got deleted by hosting provider
- rescued them via bloglines
- Gaming is shaping an entire generation of computer users and communicators
- ulatmac.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/8/
- World of Warcraft for use in libraries?
- Galataea, Level 60 Troll Priestess (Ms. Lawley)
- Played WoW with real-world collegues
- Then moved to playing with a group that researches virtual worlds
- "It's all about play, as well. Learn from the gamers." -Michael Stephens
- Gaming isn't always computer games
- OOF!
- O'Reiley FOO camp
- Reverse scavenger hunt
- got gather 10 items
- then get list of things you're supposed to find
- justify how thier items match what's on the list
- search flickr for "OOF"
- Villager or Werewolf?
- each person has a card: villager, seer, wherewolf
- one ww, one seer, reat villagers
- close eyes & hum
- go to sleep
- werewolves open eyes so get to see who they are
- werewolves pick someone to kill
- (can't speak)
- werewolves close eyes
- seer open eyes
- who's the werewolf
- wake up & see who dies
- discussion
- figure out who's the werewolf
- what is a game?
- a form of play with goals and structure
- players make decisissions in order to manage resources
- an activity with some rules engaged in for an outcome
- it takes so little to motivate people
- What are the incentives for people? What makes it fun?
- "I love bees" game
- "Cruel 2 B Kind" game
- helps to reclaim public spaces that aren't being used
- "All in"
- toombstone hold'em poker
- summer reading programs are games
- Stephen Abram
- context is king, not content
- it's about unfettered experience
- what's the immersive experience we're creating in public libraries?
- www.42entertainment.com/see.html
- Levels of participation
- casual (level 1)
- active (level 2)
- enthusiastic (level 3)
- gaming blogs & Web sites
- fletcher library game project
- bibliographic gaming
- game on: gaming in libraries
- gaming in libraries
- Macarthur Foundation
- Digital Media, Learning & Education
Labels: rochester
IL2006: Blogging Update - Applications & Tips
Syndication and Website Content: Suggestions for Blogs, RSS and Internal Syndication Walter Nelson, RAND Library Webmaster
- RSS: The I don't get it factor
- very few peopel understand RSS
- you have to meet your users where they are
- not where you want them to be
- Symplifying RSS
- embed into web pages
- people get web pages
- use RSS w/o downloading anything
- ....
- The Tools
- Blog: Moveable Type
- RSS Parser: Feed2JS
- There are others in the market but I won't be talking about them
- Mooveable Type setup
- installation is the hard part
- insatlled on your server
- use "canned formats" or can be customized
- can be formatted to look like your site
- can be formatted to be your site
- Moveable Type Features
- easy to use
- adminsitrator has controll over authors
- web interface to add content
- generates static HTML pages
- automatically generates RSS feed
- Think outside the blog
- blog is a tech with many features
- database publishing tool which sorts by chronology and category
- you don't have to use a blog for blogging
- corp announcements, event calendar, image database, online newspaper, etc.
- Feed2JS
- second piece of the puzzle
- free from feed2js.org
- use theris site or install on their server
- generates JavScript to republish RSS feed content
- as bulleted list of links on your site
- hosted vs. installed
- no charge without special prep
- really easy to do
- pitfall: slows down load time
- moral: install on your server if at all possible
- "anncouncements" on RAND intranet is an RSS feed
- click headline to get the blog entry
- creates searchable archive
- [data entry screenshot]
- Feed2JS creates RSS driven content
- [Feed2JS interface screenshot]
- Additional uses
- external newsfeeds
- statis links list
- resource list for menus
- customers can subscribe to our links
- [example library news page screenshot]
- Category feeds
- parse feeds by category
- one blog creates multiple feeds
- Uses
- branch specific headings
- all announcements homepage
- Empower your users but not all the users use the power
- why blogs
- existing tech infrastructure was not well not used
- easy for staff to create and maintain content
- space for staff to provide feedback
- good for positioning news-type information
- how it began
- development of library's strategic directions
- web management committee
- many different blogs
- committees
- service points
- Circ
- Reference
- working groups
- instruction team
- science librarians
- blogs for committees
- make announcements
- post minnutes and other docs
- gather on what the committee is doing
- [web management committee blog screenshot]
- service point blogs
- maintained by desk staff
- announcements
- new resources
- problems
- questions
- display on all computers at desk
- [Ref blog screenshot]
- workgroup blogs
- allow people to share info
- post items of note or interest
- reading materials for discussion
- [library instruction blog screenshot]
- unresolved issues
- feed subscription issues
- how does it fit with the current intranet
- integration with existing authentication systems
- keeping up with changes to blog permission
- old version of PHP needed for what we're doing but other software needes current version of PHP
- No one cares that you have a blog
- it isn't about the technology for the patrons
- it is about connecting
- Lamson Library WPOPAC
- Thomas Ford Memorial Library - Films on the Ford DVD list
- opac link
- imdb link
- commenting
- WesternSpringsHistory.org
- flickr tools
- flickr uploadr
- Blog this
- flickr badge
- new materials on flickr
- westmont library
- Firefox 2.0
- built in spellcheck
- meebo me
- blog elsewhere
- follow through
IL2006: What's Hot in Social Softwr
Stephen M. Cohen, Senior Librarian, Law Library Management, Inc.
- AJAX
- Beta Browster
- CoComment Cohen Family Recipies (.blogspot.com)
- Digg
- Econsultant (Web 2.0 directory)
- flickr
- gmail (chat)
- "Hype"
- Image Editors
- resizr.lord-lance.com
- pxn8.com
- snipshot.com
- Jenny Levine
- LibraryThing
- (Babes with Books)
- Moo Meebo Media Convert Mojeek Muppets Wiki
- Netvibes
- OCLC
- Pandora Purevideo (Video metasearch)
- RSS
- Stephens, Michael Snapper Slideshare
- Trackback? Type of the Day
- utube.com
- Wikis
- YouTube
- Zoho
- Gmail Space Firefox Extension
- Twingine
- Flock
- Gliffy
- i-am-bored.com?
- qumana.com
- last.fm
- citeulike.org
- Xanga
- Picasa
- Odeo
Labels: beta, firefox, muppets, rss, slideshare, video, wikis, youtube
Book signing afterword
I've done the signing for the book and signed 17 copies; 15 new sales and 2 books for those that bought it yesterday.
IL2006: Wikis in Libraries
Introduction to Wikis
Nicole C. Engard
- What is a wiki
- editable website that doesn require HTML.
- records changes
- allows for reversion
- A colleciton of web pages
- wiki pages look like web pages
- anyone with a browser can read
- anyone with the proper permissions can edit
- collaborative spaces
- brainstorming
- draft policies
- share secratary responsibilities in a meeting
- empowers the user
- Wikipedia
- the free encyclopedia
- millions of articles
- why ise a wiki
- easy to learn
- easy to share knowledge
- easy to collaborate across borders
- ability to revert
- ability to track changes
- fosters collaboration
- Examples
- ALA Chicago Wiki
- mediawiki
- LISWiki
- Library Success wiki
- IL2006 wiki
- pbwiki
- Wiki software
- pbwiki
- hosted
- twiki
- jotspot
- socialtext.com
- list @ http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiEngines
Fostering Collaboration: Nicole's story of the Jenkins Intranet
- Jenkins Intranet Timeline
- 2001: Intranet 1.0
- 2005: Computers in Libraries & Startegic Plan
- 2006: Intranet 2.0!!
- Problems to solve
- no easy way to collaborate between departments
- poor navigation on old intranet
- important data locked in word docs
- centralized control of content with Web team
- Enter Intranet v2
- Totally written by Nicole
- Task centric orgainzation
- WYSIWYGPro (not free but discounted for non-profits)
Darren Chase: An Agreeable Wiki
- We had a woodpile
- scenario
- large staff
- diverse nowledge & expertise
- wide variety of projects
- communication is compartmentalized
- original intranet was a woodpile
- shared windowd folders on network drives
- woodpile: knew where the wood was but finding a specific piece was dificult
- our needs, desires and secret wished
- collaboration
- documentation/policies
- troubleshooting FAQs
- in-house control
- web accessible
- organization
- ease of use
- kaleidoscope of options
- keep the woodpile
- static HTML pages
- CMS
- blog
- wiki
- and the winner is...
- phpwiki
- dokuwiki
- kwiki
- wikiwikiweb
- mediawiki
- twiki (the winner)
- compare software @ wikimatrix.org
- Twiki
- easy editing
- access control
- file locking
- webs (multiple wikis)
- revision control
- plug-ins
- building Twiki
- linux
- apache
- perl 5.8
- perl modules (instead of SQL databases)
- plug-ins
- refreshing wiki
- implementation is done
- training and buy-in depends on staff support
- support builders
- make it easy to join & use
- keep it simple
- must be real world
- hands-on training
- continuing wiki refleshment
- fear, love, the fear of love, the love of fear
- [showed the live wiki]
IL2006: Wednesday Keynote
Shari Thurow, Webmaster & Marketing Director, Grantastic Designs, Inc. Web Presence for Internet Librarians
- Goals
- define a search-engine friendly Web site desing
- what it is and is NOT
- why it is important
- search engine optimization essentials
- text component
- link component
- popularity component
- other design considerations
- home page desing
- Why care about the search engines
- people use them
- [showed slide of number of searches of day per engine]
- [number of searches by adults]
- [how adults use search engines i.e. search for what]
- Search engine friendly design is NOT
- design to obtain top search engine position
- [example of a doorway page]
- SE friends deisng is
- user-friendly that can be found on both crawler-based and human-bases search engines (directories)
- Importance of site design
- end users/site visitors/target audience (primary)
- human-based search engines (secondary)
- crawler-based search engines (secondary)
- how you place words, graphics, etc communicates the content that you feel is imortant to both engines and visitors
- 5 basic rules of Web design
- easy to read
- easy to navigate
- "sense of place"
- "scent of information"
- easy to find
- internal
- external
- consistent in layout and design
- quick to download
- 30 seconds or less on a 56k modem
- EASY TO USE
- Easy to find
- search engines, directories, industry-related sites
- go directly to the relevant page
- within 708 clicks, preferrable less, as long as...
- "scent of information"
- most importnat information "above the fold"
- contact information
- search engines:
- index text (all)
- follow links (all)
- measure popularity
- if you dont' place text on the web pages and create a site navigation scheme that crawlers can follow, your site will not rank well in the search engines
- do your pages:
- match what target audience uses to search
- provide easy access to keyword-focused text
- contain enough high-quality content so that objective, 3rd party sites will link to it
- bring in a search engine specalist during the design/redesign process, not after the fact
- successful SE optomization depends on:
- text component (index text)
- link component (follow links)
- popularity component (measure popularity)
- Text component
- give people easy acess to your keywords
- does the content appear to be focused
- HTML title
- breadcrumb link
- headings
- intro paragraph
- calls-to-action
- conclusion paragraph
- graphic images
- examples...
- primary vs. secondary text
- primary (all SE)
- title
- visible body copy
- text at the top of the page
- in & around hyperlinks
- secondary (some SE)
- meta tags
- alt text
- doman and file names
- text component summary
- use words that people search on
- place keywords well
- focus on primary text
- place keywords prominently
- use keywords frequently enough
- link component / site & page architecture (follow links)
- link component
- site navigation
- cross-linking
- type of web page
- page layout and structure
- URL
- SE friendly (most to least)
- text links
- navigation buttons
- image maps
- menus (form and DHTML)
- flash
- if navigation scheme is not friendly, should you avoid using it in your deisgn
- no
- design is for the users not for the SE
- always have two forms of navigation
- target audience
- search engines
- they often compliment each other
- types of text links
- navigation scheme
- contextual links
- embedded links
- site map
- MPABS
- most people are basically stupid
- marketing term
- informational pages
- contain infor for target audience
- do not contain a lot of sales hype or jargon
- spider-friendly
- often have simpler layout
- visually match the rest of your site
- information vs. doorway pages
- [too much here for me to transcribe]
- example info pages
- FAQs
- press releases
- tips/how-to
- glossary & reference pages
- location
- category/gallery
- product
- crosslinking
- must have related cross links
- hierarchical
- breadcrumb
- contextual
- category > sub cat
- parent > child
- red flags
- doorway pages
- hallways
- envelope
- mini/micro sites
- sattelite sites
- many more...
- summary
- 2 forms of navigation
- know to use text links
- graphic links ok
- usability counts!
- popularity component
- nubmer and quality of links to your site
- clickthrough popularity
- how long on users on your site
- do they?
- continue to use
- link to you
- return to you
- [rushed through the last slides as she was over time. Sorry, I couldn't keep up any more]
IL2006: Day 2 wrapup
Yesterday was just as fun as the rest of the conference. I started with my usual coffee and WiFi at Plumes followed quickly by the credit card crisis. The opening keynote with Clifford Lynch was not nearly as entertaining as the one with J.A. Jance was but, despite some people finding him predictable and boring, I enjoyed it. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Two sessions later I was off to a very quick lunch fish & chips at Britannia Arms with Karen and Michelle. The rush was due to the fact that I needed to be back for my Flickr presentation with Michael Porter. Turns out that our three non-US co-presenters were not just from out of the country but were actually out of the country. They all had sent in pre-recorded talks during which Michael changed the slides at pre-determined times. Yes folks, this was a surprise even to me! However, it all worked out great and, since I was the last in line for actually presenting, it did make sure that three of the five of us didn't go over their allotted time. ;-)
Michael and the others did the high-level stuff about flickr and I did the "fluff". But all my stuff wasn't total fluff. There was an audible "wow" when I showed what the Westmont Public Library was doing with flickr and their new acquisitions.
I then attended the MySpace & Facebook session in which I learned a few new things that I'll be checking out when I get back. (Maybe I'll even get a Facebook account...) I had my power strip with me today and at one point there were eleven laptops in the room's front row with seven of them plugged into my powerstrip. I was planning on attending Meridith's RSS & Javascript Cookbook session but it turned out that most of what she was covering I'd done in my pre-conference so I decided to go back and collapse in my room for a while.
From 6-8pm was the speaker's reception up on the top floor of the Marriott. Great nibbles and conversation were had by (I assume) all. I did get a short vid of the Monterey Bay while the sun was still up. (The narration turned out horribly but I didn't want to bother to redo it.)
After the reception many of us ended up back at the Crown & Anchor for dinner, libations, and conversation. I finally gave up at about 11:30 and crashed back in the room about 12:30am.
As exhausted as I am this morning, I can't stress how much I enjoy going out with everyone. On one level, networking with everyone here and meeting new people makes the conference more worthwhile than the official sessions. For those of you that are here through tonight and haven't gone out with others yet, please do so. Despite how tired you'll be tomorrow, it is definitely worth it.
Labels: comicbooks, rss, youtube
Great news!
It's late and I'm exhausted but I need to share something too cool to wait for the morning. It seems that all 50 copies of Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Guide that Information Today brought to the conference have sold out in less than 24 hours! So, since I'm still scheduled to do a signing tomorrow (uh, today I guess) they're overnighting another 50 copies for the event. I'm totally excited by this news and so is Information Today.
Labels: rss
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
IL206: MySpace & Facebook
Aaron SchmidtCliff Landis, Valdosta State Library Aaron: MySpace Invaders
- Owned by NewsCorp
- Not the best web site ever. can be hard to use
- All about eyeballs & selling ads
- Bad design rules
- Examples
- Thomas Ford Memorial Library
- Denver PL Teen Department
- UIUC Undergraduate Library
- Liberty Librarian
- Searched for MySpace on YouTube for what teens think about MySpace
- MySpace Commercial
- MySpace Addicts
- MySpace angles
- taking photos of your self looking down at yourself
- Opprotunities
- "tips & tricks" class
- class for parrents
- historic figure / book character project
- Make friends
- MySpace Bulletins
- Your LIbrary MySpace
- be authentic
- give up control
- ave fun
- consider who you want to be
- include a song and video
- MeeboMe widget
- MySpace in your library
- do you censor it?
- resistant admin
- "Decoding myspace" article
- mroe danger @ home than on myspace
- is it a fad?
- yes
- but learn and experiment
- MyOwnCafe
- SE MA Lib Sys
- Less than threes
- <3
- what questions should we be asking
- what is the nature of this technology
- how are my patrons using this technology
- how and I use this tech to benefit my patrons
- traditional services
- innovative services
- how will this tech improve my service
- how should we represent ourselves
- what is the nature of the beast
- profiles as identity performance
- dynamic and static
- social netowrking
- connections between individuals create a network
- groups and identity
- 4th floor Odum library bathroom users (active)
- Odum library is only good for one thing and that thing is facebook (group identitiy)
- I like to hang out in the library after hours (failed)
- Some people only join a group to identify with that group
- Image representation (the profile)
- 1-on-1 communication
- communication in groups
- writing on walls
- sharing pictures
- linking to other social networks and web sites
- how to use to benefit students/patrons
- traditional services
- reference
- consultations
- groups
- marketing
- photos
- flyers
- events
- instruction
- groups
- link to traditional resources
- innovative services
- acquistions
- ask the students what they want in the library
- "ubiquitous librarianship"
- using students public info to meet their information needs
- Improve services
- the user-centric approach
- "the user is not broken"
- Point of need service
- effective marketing
- using the market that is already in place
- Choosing your identity
- how should we represent ourselves
- the living library
- Kresge library
- Tisch library
- the librarian collective
- UIUC undergrad Library
- Maryland Engineering Library
- the librarians ourselves
- david free, micharl stephens, brian matthers
- Ask a librarian group
- Institutional profiles are being closed down so represent yourself as an individual
- what if your identity is chosen for you?
- profiles
- groups
- events
- Hide and seek in the Odum library
- Who "owns the library"
- we think of it as "mine" since we work there
- the university likes to this it's theirs since it's part of the institution
- the students think it's theirs since it's for their use
- take the compliment and work with the students to get the word out about the library
IL2006: Podacsting & Videocasting
Greg Schwartz, Louisville Free Public LibrarySean Cordes, Iowa State University
Jeff Humphrey, INCOLSA
David Free, Georgia Perimeter College
David King, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
10:30am-12:15pm Greg: Podcasting & Videocasting
- distribute audio content via RSS
- allows users to subscribe and automaticall get your content
- about regularly updated content
- why?
- to understand the technology and explore the possibilities
- to fit in the organizational goals
- if it's the right things for your patrons
- if you're already creating audio content
- NOT because I tell you to
- Warning
- not a one time deal
- takes time
- plan
- record
- edit
- publish
- promote
- recognize time commentment before doing it
- what to podcast?
- programming (get permission)
- upcoming events & library news
- bib instruction
- services for the visually impaired
- staf training & communication
- whatever you imagine
- 9 easy steps to podcasting
- determine content and format
- assemble equipment and people
- record
- edit and export to mp3
- listen!
- upload file to the server
- generate your RSS feed
- publish feed URL
- promote, respond and repeat
- has a 10 year archive of stock video footage
- why, what, had in place, need to do, production tips
- Why
- because we can
- natural progression of existing services
- started with videotape and satellite dish
- died due to hail this year
- looking for a different delivery solution
- current streaming conract ending
- most videos too long for flash
- What have we done?
- old school solution
- converting existing content
- stored on out Web server
- write RSS feed from scratch [!!!]
- put up a web page
- partneres with IUPUI SLIS Class
- Obtained administrative support
- What we had in place
- experience
- video end
- IT end
- Workshp end
- equipment
- space
- physical
- virtual
- content
- What we need to do
- find a better space for videos
- convert to a blog format
- continue production on a regular basis
- foster more partnerships
- more content pipelines
- showcase what libraries are doing
- Production Tips
- have a reason to include video
- invest in a good microphone
- frame shots properly
- enhance production with graphics
- have fun
- Podcasting 1.0
- Library News
- gpcdecaturlrc.blogspot.com/2005/02/audio-news-2.html
- every few weeks, 10-12min
- database news, events, acquistions
- audio format of blog
- 8 things I learned about podcasting
- make sure it feeds (right mime type)
- promote, then promote some more
- keep it short
- use music sparringly
- multiple voices rock
- podcast events
- consider your web presence
- listen to your listeners
- Podcast 2.0
- Listen Up!
- gpcdecaturlrc.blogspot.com/2005/06/listen-up-4.html
- more of an online radio show
- abt once a month
- 20-30min
- lib news & connection of lib to campus
- Under the hood
- UB mic
- audacity
- 96/kbps MP3
- liberated syndication (external hosting service)
- feedburner
- Podcast 3.0
- www.gpc.edu/~declib/podcasts.htm
- podcast directory
- subscription instructions
- asks for suggestions
- The future
- ROI is good
- more direct downloads, less subscriptions
- thinking of screencasting and videocasting
- Generally Speaking
- engagement
- interaction
- reflection
- Some points to consider
- build a point of information
- point to something some else has built
- Build, boradcast and bolster
- build community on student experiences
- promote the library through podcasts
- podcasts as a professional development tool
- Using student experiences to share learning
- HigherEd BlogCon
- other examples & links
- Student government
- student-led tours
- podcasts and library promotion
- Omnibus - Downling College Library
- Longshots - North Suburban LIbrary System, Illinois
- Podcasting for Professional Development
- Syndication for HigherEd podcasting
- ALA library 2.0 podcasts
- search for "lecture" on itunes & get more than 40 education podcasts
- davidleeking.com/etc
- Rocketboom
- what to call it
- vlogs
- videoblog
- video podcast
- vodcast
- v-log
- videocart
- what is it?
- video on a blog
- stevegarfiled.com
- drumming lessons
- Orlando Public Library
- why is it getting big?
- storage, bandwidth, fast web
- cheap easy mobile video
- video ipods
- 2005 it really took off
- people discovering great uses that are "just right" for video
- how do you watch them
- just click...
- computer w/ broadband
- video player
- WMV
- quicktime
- flash
- video aggregator would be nice
- fireant
- iTunes
- medfeedia
- coolest way to watch
- iPod
- or a clone
- or a PSP
- watch at your convienence
- how do you create them?
- needs
- computer
- video camera
- video editing software
- a blog
- formats
- you also need an idea
- storage
- store yourself
- server
- bandwidth
- store elsewhere
- ourmedia
- blip.tv
- Internet Archive
- YouTube
- YouTube
- very popular right now
- they store the video
- they keep stats
- allows for comments
- don't allow downloading
- is that a problem for you?
- what can libraries do with them
- traditional
- book talk
- bib instruction & tutorials
- film your events
- more interesting ideas
- cultural memory
- collaborative
- environments
- behind the scenes
- wacked ideas
- travel / local attractions
- political
- hobbies / lifestyles
- For more info
- books via amazon
- groups.yahoo.com/group/videoblogging
- vloggercon
Credit Card Update
My business manager has come through and upped the limit on by credit card. Thanks Darrell! (I can eat now.)
IL2006: Tuesday Keynote
Clifford Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition of Networked InformationChallenges of Cyberinfrastructure & Choices for Libraries
9:00-9:45am
- Will not be doing a musical performance this morning
- Observations about scholarship/teaching/learning are changing & implications of policy changes
- What do these changes open up for librarians?
- Cyberinfrastructure
- most of rest of the world you can talk to people about e-science
- practice of science has been transformed by
- high performance computation
- high performance networking
- large scalle management/org/reuse of data
- 2002 report, Atkins commission, how is science & engineering in the US changing
- what changes need to be made?
- "cyberinfrastructure"
- data management
- data visualization
- people!
- National Virtual Observatories
- People not interested in IP issues w/ astronomy
- metadata is free/bulit-in to observational equipment
- enormous sky sruveys patch together from many different sources
- no longer about getting observational time
- algorhythms are being written to analyze data instead of needing more observational data
- opens up astronomy to school kids
- [I read about the democratization of astronomy in The Long Tail last night...]
- how do we get data resued and preserved?
- how do we assist the scientists to mark this data consistently?
- first focused on engineering
- all of this technology can also be applied to the humanities and the social sciences
- american council of learned societies report coming out soon on this issue
- these approaches need to be used in not just the hard sciences
- there are controversies about whether these technologies are changing the way humanites are studied
- "phisics changes one funeral at a time"
- questions
- human subjects
- privacy
- intellectual property
- access to evidence
- Could we digitize all the literature of all the cultures that have ever existed? Images?
- Mass digitization projects
- Microsoft
- European Digital Library
- What about the "non-published" stuff? (Museums)
- what are the roles and responsibilites of museums of publically stored materials?
- Most stuff is pre-1923 / out of copyright
- they're monitizing those items
- seems inappropriate to some
- "public trust"
- digitize materials to make them available to the society at large
- Special collections
- papers of persons and institutions
- important to researchers
- collections are changing in character / going digital
- Salman Rushdie's papers & e-mail
- items are being created in digital form
- Problem of scale
- study of older times, there's a paucity of evidence
- modern times, too much information
- What's coming out of this
- needs are shifting from getting the tech to work to informatics
- organize data
- backup data
- confidentiality
- tend to focus on big projects
- large projects
- large teams
- highly organized
- big $
- what about the projects with small groups working on small issues
- small staff
- small $
- how we support these people
- deal with on a diciplinary basis or institutional basis?
- Will end up with a patchwork of solutions to this problem
- will be dynamic not static
- fashions, interests and budgets wax & wane
- Roles of libraries in all this
- big research universities & info tech workforce 15yrs ago vs now
- then: worked for central IT
- now: more than half now in departments, schools, labs, etc. / closer to researchers & teachers
- facing demands for data curration
- more want to share & reuse data
- shifting norms re: information sxchange
- retiring faculty / what to do with all this data i've accumulated?
- institutions finding that there's "value" to the data
- data mgt & sharing plan in grant proposals
- how will it be preserved
- how will it be shared
- institutions making sure that these rules are adhered to
- data lost in gulf disasters of last year
- was there backups?
- ACRL report on all this due out soon
- who's supposed to be doing the work?
- new professional
- mythological
- "data scientist"
- what do these people need to know
- general?
- diciplinary?
- can we do this for each dicipline or more generalists or hybrid
- major workforce issues
- sale of problem is large
- we're going to need a lot of people to work on this
- are these people librarians?
- libraries as institutions
- big research libraries
- most profoundly changed already
- strugging to keep up w/ amount of data via budgets
- access issues
- main role has been to apy for journals
- journals now electronic
- access has shifted out of the library
- some people therefore believe access to these sources is free
- policy choices?
- already overstressed, can't deal with it
- humanities strategy, hard sciences are on their own
- need to move resource away from published lit & into more active engagement with the scholarly process
- three very different pathways
- different institutions will take different paths
- movement into more inter-institutional collaboration
- rapid rise of virtual organizations
- cross multiple boundaries
- other libraries
- huge demand for access
- will see in many different areas
- undergrads
- k-12
- will effect many libraries
- Nature of personal history is changing
- issue for any cultural memory orgainzation, not just libraries
- scope of those interests are getting broader
- rise of amature observational science
- bottany
- astronomy
- biology
- geology
- libraries of all types need to be mindful of all the changes this type of research is bringing
- will force strategic change
Credit Card Update
Turns out my credit car's maxed out. I've got a call in to my business manager but he's in Minnesota for a meeting the whole week.
IL2006: Day 1 Recap
It was a totally full day as expected. I started by waking at 5:30am and heading down to Plumes for coffee & WiFi. Karen and Michelle met me there and then we all headed to the opening Keynote. J.A. Jance was an interesting choice but she told the moving story of her life and ended with singing. The standing ovation even had her get back up and sing another song! How's that for a totally unexpected keynote? I spent the morning attending sessions and those I've already blogged so I won't repeat them here. I caught up with Greg Schwartz for lunch at India's Clay Oven and headed back for another session or two. I finally caught up with Rachel Singer-Gordon and got her to let me into the yet-to-be-opened exhibitors area to get me a copy of my Blog/RSS book. It looked great! Information Today was now down to just 49 copies at the conference. At 3:15pm was my session with Lori Bell and Tom Peters on the Alliance Second Life Library 2.0 project. The room totally filled with folks standing in the back. The presentation went great and I almost lost it on stage laughing so hard when Lori started talking about the "sex and gambling" in Second Life and how InfoIsland was a haven from "all that" for some. We did have time to take a few questions and I believe we answered them to the audience's satisfaction. I then relaxed, checked my e-mail and headed off to the evening exhibitors reception. I caught up with too many people to name beyond the usual suspects. I also finally met Amy Reeve from IT who got my book through the final post-editing stages of publication. During the reception I saw at least five copies of my book sold and I'm sure they sold more than that while I wasn't looking. If everything goes well, they'll all be sold and everyone will come back for the book signing on Wednesday. Then I was of to Isabella's for dinner with the Second Life crowd. A few of the regulars showed up along with some newbies. One of them was Rowan who said she'd signed up for SL right after our talk and was interested in helping as soon as she gets off Welcome Island. Jenny Levine was also at the dinner and filled some of us in on many of the "quirks" of working at ALA. Then we crashed the gathering of the "Five Weeks to a Social Library" gathering down at the Crown & Anchor. There ended up being about 20 people there and I met many more new people. I finally ended up back at the hotel about 10pm to crash. (This morning my company credit card doesn't seem to be working. I need to make a phone call.)
Labels: comicbooks, rss, second life
Monday, October 23, 2006
IL2006: The Social Web
Jesse Andrews, creator of BookBurro & lead developer of Flock 1:15-2pm Beyond Browsing
- About me
- programmer
- theoretical quantum computation
- web deveopment
- browser development
- not a librarian
- Greasemonkey & userscripts
- the web as your playgound
- Book Burro
- userscripts grow into extensions
- Flock
- extensions grow into browsers
- Browser 101: What are URLs
- www.infotoday.com resolves to IP address
- document returned bu that server is (not valid) HTML 4.01 transitional
- IP address might have information about the URL
- Google has info abt URL
- wayback machine may have info
- technorati may have info
- browsers use these resources to show render a representation of the url
- HTML has a recommendation
- Greasemonkey
- you provide the information about the URL
- created bu Aaron Boodman (now @ Google)
- simple idea
- update pages
- fix sites
- add relevancy (link to Yahoo from Google results)
- hide ads
- remove myspace music/backgrounds/styles
- new functionality
- new ideas
- Amazon Music Helper
- Free legal music
- lnk directly to the free downloadable MP3s
- de-xeni
- Boing Boing
- removes risque posts
- userscripts.org
- greasemonkey repository
- built in 2 nights in ruby on rails
- thousands of scripts
- millions of page views
- The day greasemonkey changed the internet
- make requests outside yor domain
- Book Burro
- remixing books
- open data - web services
- screen scraping for ISBN
- 300 (horrible) lines of JavaScript
- unintended uses - acquisitions
- Book Burro + Libraries
- Book Burro + World Cat
- Book Burro + Library Lookup
- John Udell
- Book Burro + Talis
- Silkworm Directory
- Book Burro + Book Mooch
- Find in online swap sites
- Future
- Side project
- ideas/requests? tell me.
- Flock
- open source social web browser built on firefox
- flickr
- advanced search
- rss reader
- blog editor
- full text search of history/bookmarks
- del.icio.us intergration
Labels: del.icio.us, firefox, rss
IL2006: Innovative Uses of Web 2.0 Technologies
Karen Coombs, University of Houston Jason Clark, Montana State University Karen: Incorporating Web 2.0 into Library Web Sites
- What is Web 2.0
- Services to collaborate & share
- movement toward more dynamic & interactice web
- examples
- social software
- blogs
- del.icio.is
- wikis
- folksonomies
- rss
- APIs
- AJAX
- Radical Decentralization
- Web site updated and created by many different people
- wikis & blogs
- librariy web site allows any staff to update any content
- Small Pieces Loosely Joined
- Combination of different technologies
- wikis
- blogs
- CMS
- Library's CMS made up of modules for different content types
- content is resuable throughout the site
- any piece of the CMS can be replaced as needed
- Perpetual Beta
- deploy systems early and make constant improvements
- users are part of the development process
- deploy new systems to a small group of staff to test and help us refine
- gather constant input and make continuous improvements
- Remixable Content
- APIs allow content to be incorporated into other systems
- library web site can incorporate content from external sources
- content which is part of the library's site can be used on multiple pages
- AJAX to add database link to any page, blog, wiki
- User as contributor
- allows users to add and update content
- class wikis
- wiki model for CMS
- instutitional repositories for scholarly content from faculty, students and staff
- library hosts blogs
- user tagging and review content in catalog
- Rich User Experience
- multimedia, interactivity, GUI-style application experience
- video
- sound
- screencasts
- personalization and customization
- space for collaboration and interaction
- chat
- VoIP
- Demo of UofH's CMS
- Agenda
- examples
- define
- suggest applications
- pros & cons
- where can you learn more
- Examples
- del.icio.is
- amazon
- flickr
- technorati
- Definitions
- Tagging
- assigning descriptive metadata
- Tag
- The descriptive metadata
- Folksonomies
- taxonomy created by folks
- Library use cases
- find additional access points in library catalogs
- assign friendly terms to indexes and databases
- create communities of practice around library articles
- organize a series of web pahes for a library guide
- give users opportunities to label library web pages
- Library applications
- tags.library.upenn.edu
- WPOPAC
- Social Tagging: Why does it work?
- embracessocal nature of the web
- curency
- scales to large datasets
- offers a broader discovery model
- adaptable
- maps and displays simple relationships between items
- What's the Hitch?
- lack of precision
- lack of true hierarchy
- vulnerable to "gaming" of the system
- lack of a controlled vocabulary
- users can be wrong
- When to use it?
- establish an architecture of participation
- organize resources for a company intranet
- allow a class to collaborate and buils a reference guide
- build and refine library controlled vocabulary
- anytime there is a browse or search function
- Reference list...
- ZoomCloud
- TagCloud
- tagsonomy.com (blog)
- FreeTag
- unalog
- Final thoughts
- design matters
- scale matters
- a new source of data
IL2006: The Web 2.0 Challenge to Libraries
Paul Miller Technology Evangelist Talis Information Ltd 10:15-11:00am Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and more: Tansforming Libraries the 2.0 way
- What is Library 2.0
- Only a year old topic
- www.talis.com/resources
- Do Libraries Matter?: The Rise of Library 2.0
- Library 2.0: The Challenge of Disruptive Innovation
- Fundamental shift in how libraries can engage with their users
- You need to be where your users are
- A link to the library OPAC isn't integration
- There is controversey; is it just hype?
- 1.52 million hits on "library 2.0" in Google
- Library 2.0
- open th elibrary
- push the library everywhere
- engage with actual and potential user communities
- disaggregate library systems, and bring the together
- shared innovation
- Mashing up the Library competition
- www.talis.com/tdn/competition
- John Blyberg won
- Library data on Google home pages
- Second Life Library 2.0
- The competition goes on
- Innovation Directory
- www.talis.com/tdn/innovationdir
- Talking with Talis
- talk.talis.com
- What makes Library 2.0 possible?
- falling cost of storage
- falling cost of computing power
- growing connectivity
- camera 2.0 (camera phone)
- commoditisation
- aws.amazon.com/ec2/
- buy the computing power (servers) as you need it
- rented computing power
- scaling
- The Three 'O's
- Open source
- Not necessarily free
- Open data
- Open APIs
- Essence of Library 2.0
- An architecture of participation
- www.aadl.org/catalog
- are the vendors participating?
- A platform for patricipation
- Open Source ILS
- Pines in Georgia
- Revolution
- Talis Keystone
- www.talis.com/tdn/keystone
- ILS modules
- Evolution
- Open Data
- Tim O'reily quote
- Software is increasingly open sourse but the data is more important and continues to be locked down. this is a problem that must be addressed.
- In the library...
- current model is broken
- pay to contribute
- limited data mobility
- lipstick on a silo
- contribution can and should be free
- shared data shoul dbe mobile and accessible, whilst adequately protected
- guarantee freedom to access and share but preserve the quality
- creative commons doesn't work on data since it's an extension on copyright, not database right
- Open Systems
- project cenote
- cenote.talis.com
- Silkworm Directory
- directory.talis.com
- Like OpenWorldCar but with Web services
- API Refernce
- www.talis.com/tdn/platofrm
- Biigfoot Data Stores
- UK Bibliographic Store
- api.talis.com/bf/stores/ukbib/items
- stores/holdings/items
- stores/holdings/services/augment
- So what becomes possible?
- Greasemonkey scripts into the library
- Amazon
- LibraryThing
- AdHoc groups of only the libraries you're interested in
- Aquabrowser
- clarecounty.aquabrowser.com
- Conclusions
- Liberate data
- and some more systems
- get the data to the user, not the user to the data
- open, open, opwn
- shared innovation
Labels: second life
IL2006: Monday Keynote
Grabbing Attention J.A. Jance 9:00-9:45am (Masters of Education in Library Science)
- "Edge of Evil" written with a lot of blog posts
- Wizard of Oz books in school
- Wanted to be a writer so she signed up as an English major
- "you're a girl" so wasn't let into the creative writing class
- Girls who wanted to be doctor's grew up to be nurses
- Married a guy in the creative writing class
- Husband: "there's only going to be one writer in our family and it's me"
- He was a chronic alcholholic
- 18 years of loving him hadnt fixed him
- Divorced him
- He wanted her back
- Left Phoenix for Seattle in 1981
- Kept her fear from the kids
- Sold life insurance for 10 years
- Took Dale Carnegie course
- Class about giving a talk on something that changed the course of your life
- Previously her life crossed the path of a serial killer
- Her family was scheduled to be the next victim but he was caught
- That had sown the seeds of her divorce
- After talk classmate said that the story should be written as a book
- Started the book in March 1982
- 4am-7am every morning was the only time she had to write
- Writing felt comforatble and what she was always meant to do
- Finished in three months
- Referred to an agent
- Brought first mms which was 1200 pages long
- "Cut it in half"
- Fiction was fine, real stuff was unbeliveable
- Suggested she write something completely fictional
- Still has the same agent 35 books later
- Got life insrance from husband's death
- Used 10% of insurance to buy and computer
- dual floppies
- 128k RAM
- Daisy wheel printer
- Now has a Porsche and a private jet
- Where do I get my ideas
- Gather them as I travel around
- Read UofA alumni magazine from cover to cover to get past writer's block
- Newly reconsitituted creative writing program
- Could she come be the writer in residence?
- "We don't do anything with genre fiction, only literary fiction"
- Healed of writer's block instantly!
- In 2000 they gave her an honorary doctorate
- UofA just got her archive (including the computer)
- What does the Internet do for me?
- Allows her to hear from people in an immediate way
- Even the people who think she's ugly and feels she should know their opinion
- Wrote that person into her book
- "87 words I didnt' have to write."
- 6ft tall by the time she was in 7th grade
- Also wore thick glasses and was smart
- Jr. High and Highschool were not her favorite years
- Moving from one series to another helps her stay fresh
- Write whatever you want in fiction because no one will ever recoginze themselves
Presentation files
The PPT file for my RSS pre-conference is up on my presentations page. The files for my flickr and Second Life presentations will be up after they've been presented. (Once I have copies of the final versions too.)
Labels: rss, second life
Internet Librarian: Day -1
Sunday was wonderful. Up a little early due to the time change and off to Bay Books across the street for coffee and free WiFi. (The connection in my room, still wouldn't work.) Caught up with Karen Coombs for some breakfast at the Bagel place up the street and then some more coffee at Cafe Noir next to the theatre. (They've got 54Mbps WiFi but don't take credit cards so bring cash.) Back to the conference center to pick up my registration materials and badge. A quick check of the Internet connection in the room for my pre-conference worked first try so I could relax and have some lunch with the workshop attendees. There I met up with Karen Burns of the South-West Iowa Library Service Area, and two of her librarian/board members.) Of course, I'm in my white RSS polo shirt and we has mannicotti with red sauce for lunch. Back to my room to change my shirt and I was off the my pre-conference. On the way I caught up with Frank Cervone, Darlene Fichter, and Jane Dysart for a few minutes.
My RSS session went almost flawlessly. Right at the start the bulb in the projector decided it was too old but Bill Spence came to my rescue and replaced the bulb. I ended up with an almost full room of about 30 students and they all asked an amazing number of high quality questions. Finally, one gentleman in the front row raised his hand and said "since you've only got ten minutes left, could you just cover the highlights of the last five tools you still have to show?" I've never had a workshop go as quickly as this one did. Thanks to everyone who attended. (I'll post the PowerPoint later but the (ugly) test page that was created to demo many of the tools I covered can be found @ http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/rsstest.html.)
After the session I caught back up with Karen Coombs and Michelle a coworker of Kren's from University of Houston. A brief hi and chat with Jenny Levine and Karen, Michelle and I caught back up with Karen Burns and her crew for a Greek dinner at Epsilon. I was actually back to my room by 8pm, finished reading Bob Woodward's State of Denial and off to sleep. (Yep, that's why I'm up and blogging at 6:30am.
Photos are up-to-date in flickr and the opening keynote's at 9. cu l8r.
Labels: comicbooks, rss
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Way cool speaker's gift
The folks at Information Today have given speakers 128MB flash drives this year. Not to berate the umbrellas from CIL but, this is much cooler.
Internet Librarian, Day -2
It's Sunday morning in Monterey, CA and I've found my way across the street from the Portola Plaza Hotel for some free WiFi so I can finally uplaod some photos, a video, and make this post. Yesterday was an interesting day...
I woke up to snow in Denver and didn't notice it until I opened up my back door to head out to the car. The plane taking me from Denver to San Francisco had been sitting all night at DIA so a total de-icing was required. Somehow we let Denver 30 minutes late but got to San Francisco only ten minutes late. (Don't tell me those "estimated flight times" aren't being manipulated by the airlines to make them look good.) Anyway, I got my rental car quickly (thank you National Car Rental for giving me executive level in our program as I was totally able skip the long line @ SFO) and hit the road down to Monterey.
I decided to take the scenic route so I headed down US280 and cut over to Half Moon Bay on CA92 to take CA1 south to Monterey. Well, as the computer in the car told me when I got to Monterey, I'd averages 31.5 mph the whole trip. 100 miles took me about four hours. The two worst spots were CA92 where I never put my foot on the gas pedal, and Santa Cruz where everything was backed up again. The problem on CA92 was a large pumpkin patch and fall festival in Half Moon Bay that had traffic backed up for miles. In Santa Cruz, your guess is as good as mine.
The speed of the traffic did allow me to get some good pictures on the way (in the flickr photoset of this trip) and I did stop at Pescadero State Beech and got some great photos of the coast and a video of some waves coming in. (Posted to my YouTube account. Links at the end.)
I check into the hotel, got to my room, logged on to their DSL connection and agreed to pay the $9.95/day fee. I did a search, downloaded a file, typed in the URL to upload my vid to YouTube and everything stopped. Their system would no longer give me a valid IP address and despite a tech coming to help me try to fix the problem for 30 minutes, nothing was to be done. I don't believe it's my laptop (as that it's working here but not in my hotel room) and I desperately hoping that it'll work in the room where my pre-conference is this afternoon. I'll be getting to the room 1.5hrs early and meeting the tech there to see what happens. Cross your fingers everyone.
I then went to dinner with Karen Coombs (University of Houston) and Jason (Montana State University, Bozeman) for some Sushi, a great walk down to Cannery Row, coffee, and some spectacular conversation about conference politics, wikis, blogs, servers, and book writing. I wasn't up as late as I could have been but later than I should have been.
A full eight hours of solid sleep later, I'm up and taking it easy for the morning, catching up on the uploading and e-mail, and waiting to see what'll happen when I try to use my laptop for my session.
As promised earlier in this post, here are the links to my YouTube videos and to my flickr photoset for the conference.
Labels: comicbooks, sushi, video, youtube
Friday, October 20, 2006
dead.licious
dead.licious is a tool for verifying that all of your bookmarks in your del.icio.us accounts are still valid and gives you the option of removing those dead links. Unfortunately, it's only available for the Mac. (Michael Stephens, let me know how well it works.) Someone please make a PC version of this.
Labels: del.icio.us
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Internet Explorer 7 Screenshots
I've upgraded to IE7 and grabbed 132 screenshots. They can all be seen in a flickr set in my account. Hopefully this will turn into a full-blown review article in the near future but with the IL conference next week, please be patient.
Internet Explorer 7 released
For those that don't want to wait for IE7 to show up via Windows Update, you can now download it directly from the Microsoft site. (You've been warned in the past but now it's cofirmed: It won't work on anything less than XPsp2.)
What is RSS an acronym for?
Received this in my e-mail last night. Thanks Sara!
Title
Detection of rotaviruses and intestinal lesions in broiler chicks from flocks with runting and stunting syndrome (RSS).Source
Avian Diseases. 50(3):411-8, 2006 Sep.Abstract
The intestinal tract and intestinal contents were collected from 34 stunted, 5-to-14-day-old broiler chicks from eight flocks with runting and stunting syndrome (RSS) in Northern Germany to investigate intestinal lesions and the presence of enteric pathogens with a special focus on rotaviruses (RVs). Seven chicks from a healthy flock were used as controls. Severe villous atrophy was seen in chicks from six flocks with RSS but not in the control flock. Lesions were often "regionally" distributed in the middle-to-distal small intestine. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (PAGE), reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and seminested RT-PCR were used for detection and characterization of RVs. The PAGE allows discrimination of different RV groups, and the RT-PCR was used to verify the presence of group (gp) A RVs. RVs were detected (by all methods) in 32 of 34 chicks from the flocks with RSS. By TEM (negative staining), RV particles were observed in intestinal contents of 28 chicks from the flocks with RSS. PAGE analysis showed four RV groups: gpA, gpD, gpF, and gpG. Group A RVs were detected in four chicks from two flocks with RSS, without intestinal lesions. GpD RVs were detected in 12 chicks of five flocks with RSS, 10 of them with severe villous atrophy. GpF RVs were confirmed in four chicks from three flocks with RSS and in two birds in the control flock. GpG RVs were verified in two chicks from two flocks with RSS, one with, and one without, intestinal lesions. At present, PCR methods are only available for detection of gpA RVs. Using RT-PCR, gpA RVs were identified in samples from 22 chicks including samples of two chicks from the control flock. Statistical analysis revealed a positive correlation between presence of gpD RV and severe villous atrophy in flocks with RSS. The results suggest that gpD RV plays a major role in the pathogenesis of RSS.
Labels: rss
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
No games on these computers
Will someone please explain to me the following equation as illustrated by the sign shown here?
game ≠ education
I'd say Magic Schoolbus is an educational game.
Get ready for Internet Explorer 7
I just got this from Microsoft in my e-mail. I'm reproducing it for the benefit of others. (Hopefully Microsoft won't sure me for it.)
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| This message from Microsoft is an important part of a program, service or product which you or your company purchased or participate in.
Legal Information.
To sign up for Microsoft newsletters, receive information about our products or services, or review information you've given us, visit the Microsoft.com Web site.
This communication was sent by the Microsoft Corporation
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington, USA
98052 |
The Net at Risk
Tonight's episode of Moyers on America is all about Net neutrality. Check your local listings for your PBS station's air time. Here's a preview:
Labels: youtube
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Computer Plugs & Outlets
I'm working on a full-day tech support class (it's been a 1/2-day workshop in the past) and so I'm including more on hardware. I've started a flickr set of plugs @ outlets.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Quality Control
Here's a way to test to see if people are actually reading your survey questions. Check out the third question...
More of me in print
A section of my WebJunction article "Don't Doesn't Work" is quoted on page 134 of Technology Made Simple: An Improvement Guide for Small and Medium Libraries by Kimberly Bolan and Robert Cullin. Thanks to both of you for doing so and for a wonderful book full of much-needed advice and reassurance for small libraries.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Who Killed The Electric Car?
This limited-release documentary is now available in its complete form on Google Video.
Labels: video
Saturday, October 14, 2006
I need your help
I'm looking for the artist & lyrics for a song. I've heard it on the radio twice now and neither time did the dj say the name of the artist or the album. The key line is "breakin' in my new wrong shoes". Anyone?
Amazon.com suggestions goodness
Look what Stephen M. Cohen got in his e-mail. It seems that people who have purchased Naked Conversations (a book I highly recommend) should also purchase my book (which I recommend more highly ;-)
Friday, October 13, 2006
Airport Security Makes No Sense
The current rules regarding how to get your liquids and gels through security are basically this: You're allowed 3oz or less of each item and all items must be able to fit into a single resealable clear quart-sized plastic bag. This bag must be removed from your carry-on luggage and run through the screening process separately from the rest of your bags. This makes a minimal amount of sense I guess. However, here's what I witnessed at the Lincoln, NE airport last night:
A gentleman come through security and one of the TSA agents pulled his carry-on bag aside. I heard her mention that he had some liquids and/or gels in his bag and she had to find them. I assumed that she would find them and dispose of them as he had not followed the rules. What she actually did is pull out five items from his toiletries kit and said "let me get you a bog for those." She then proceeded to place four of the five items into a regulation-sized clear plastic bag and set the bag aside. She next too the fifth item which, she claimed, had more than three ounces of whatever it was in the container and said "I'll be right back." Did she check, dispose or destroy this item? No! She went to another room, emptied the bottle of some of its content so there was 3oz (or less) remaining in the container, returned to the clear bag, placed it in the bag, and handed everything back to the passenger!
Will someone please explain to me the purpose of all the rules that a passenger is supposed to follow prior to going through screening if the TSA folks are just going to do it for passengers after going through security? And, just how is any of this supposed to make any of us even feel safer, let alone actually be safer?
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Guide (Order your copy today!)
For those of you not coming to IL2006 the book is now available for ordering from both Informatin Today, Inc. and Amazon.com. (Buy it through Amazon and I get an extra cut as an associate.) Heck, at only $29.50, buy two and give one to a co-worker.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Torchwood Photos
Ah, the joy of blogs! It seems that the cast and crew of Torchwood were using hintofsarcasm's office as a set the other day. So, he got out his handy camera, posted pics to flickr and blogged about the experience. (Sorry, Captian Jack wasn't on set.)
Audioblogger to go dark
On 1 November 2006, Audioblogger will stop taking your call. The company says it will "continue to host and serve all MP3s made with the service, indefinitely" but that you'll need to look for a replacement service4. In the free category (always my favorite) they suggest Gabcast which I will check out an report on in the near future.
SlideShare
Labels: beta, slideshare, youtube
Friday, October 06, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
You're Invited! Grand Opening of Second Life Library/Info Island
Alliance Library System and Second Life Library/Info Island Pleased to Announce Official Opening.
The Alliance Library System and the Second Life Library/Info Island collaborative group of librarians are pleased to announce the grand opening and a host of activities planned for Second Life residents scheduled October 12-14, 2007. All events will be held in Second Life and are free to residents.
“We have been working on this project with partners from around the world for six months,” stated Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. “We are grateful to all the librarians and others who have put in huge amounts of time to make this happen and we are pleased with the reception the library has received in Second Life.”
Gonzo Mandelbrot, Coordinator of Grand Opening Activities said, “We have a variety of activities, events and tours that people can pick and choose from or they may attend everything. The goal is to highlight all the different aspects of the library and Info Island and all that is available there.”
A detailed schedule of events is provided below. If attendees have questions about specific locations, come to Info Island. We will have tour guides there who can show people to the event location.
- Thursday, October 12 – Virtual Worlds and Education: The Cutting Edge – 4 pm sl – 6 pm sl – Speakers: Pathfinder Linden, Kitty Paul, Puglet Dancer, Professor Beliveau, Lorelei Junot and Maxito Ricardo – Puglet Dancer and Kitty Paul will cut the ribbon to begin grand opening ceremonies at Info Island open air auditorium (Info Island 143, 82, 34)
- Friday, October 13 - Virtual Worlds and Alternate Realities – Where Do Libraries Fit In? – 7:30 a.m. sl – 1:30 pm. sl – A variety of wonderful speakers with keynote by Pathfinder Linden - Info Island open air auditorium(Info Island 143, 82, 34)
- Friday, October 13 – 5:00-6:00 p.m. sl – Scary Movies at Second Life Pantheon Picture House (Info Island II, 98,71,24)
- 6:00-8:00 p.m. sl – Costume Ball at Info Island Mystery Manor – prizes for best costumes! (Info Island, 214, 163,33)
- Saturday October 14 – 8:00 a.m. sl – Opening of Caledon Branch – 19th century library (Caledon Tamrannoch (211,31,22)
- 9:30 a.m. sl – Grand Opening of Second Life Library Medical Library – special events (Info Island 165, 204, 33) – Bioterrorism demonstration
Speakers: Moriz Gupta and Sojourner Truth - 12:00 p.m. sl – Second Ribbon Cutting and special speaker – Info island Open Air Auditorium (Info Island 143, 82, 34) – Katt Kongo, editor, Metaverse Messenger
- 3:00 p.m. sl – Talis SciFi & Fantasy Portal Opening – special events (Info Island 29, 62, 33)
- 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. sl – TX950 Beach party and celebration – dancing refreshments, fun (Info Island 85, 33, 23)
- Throughout the day – Tours, scavenger hunts, information kiosks – come and have fun!
For further information, please contact Gonzo Mandelbrot or Lorelei Junot. (I'll be a greeter and tour guide during the day.)
Labels: second life
Practicing with SecondLife
All the ILA folks have been at a luncheon so I've been able to sit at the booth and caught up on some work. One thing I've been trying to figure out is the mechanics of presenting in SecondLife. Well, it looks like I've finally pulled off using a whiteboard tool and being able to script my slides so when I clidk on the board, the next slide is automatically loaded. I'm pretty sure that my first presentation will not be on USB (shown below) but thse are the slides I had loaded in to play with.
Labels: second life
Blacklisted
I've got WiFi in at the conference hotel but this range of IP addresses seems to be on a blacklist or two. I've been unable to send e-mail to three different people so far.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Idaho Library Association Conference
I'm in Moscow, ID for the 2006 Idaho Library Association Conference. I'm here to present my Firefox Search Plugins and Tech Terms sessions and to man the BCR booth. I'll blog more as things happen but know that you can keep an eye on the flickr set that I'll be adding to over the next two days.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Sushi Etiquette
I'm not totally new to sushi but it's becoming something I eat on a semi-regular basis. I thought I had most of it down but The Sushi FAQ - How to Eat Sushi taught me a few things. For example I didn't know that "gari (ginger) is considered a palate cleanser and eaten between bites or different types of sushi. It is not meant to be eaten in the same bite as a piece of sushi."
Labels: sushi
Lyrics Plugin
If you use Windows Media Player or WinAmp to play your tunes, install the Lyrics Plugin and the lyrics of the song being played will be automatically displayed for you. Now, if they'd only make an iTunes version.
2006 Arizona Breast Cancer 3-Day
From my best friend. Please help.
Hi, all. It's the time of year again where I start walking my little size 5 sneakers off at dawn. I'm participating in the 3-day walk to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For those of you who remember from last year (and those of you who don't), this is a 3-day, 60-mile total walk through the Phoenix area with thousands of other participants. Each walker commits to a minimum fundraising goal, then walks the 60 miles (an average of 20 miles per day over 3 days, for the math-phobic set) to show support for this cause. It's a heck of walk, but last year was a great experience and my supporters raised over $2,100 for the foundation!
Please join me in the fight against breast cancer by supporting my fundraising efforts. You can click on the link below to find my 3-day homepage and see Gwynneth's rendition of me as a Lego 3-day walker! Please donate anything you can. Even a little bit helps. (For the supporters who know me from MathCounts, that's 21 donations of $100 each, or 42 donations of $50 each, or 105 donations of $20 each....) !
Thank you! The Phoenix walk this year is November 3-5. Even if you can't donate, please come out and show your support for all the men and women giving their time (and their feet) to fight breast cancer. !
Follow this link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support The Breast Cancer 3-Day.
Labels: lego
USB Hamster Wheel
With the speed my office laptop has been running at this morning, I think my hamster is getting a bit tired...
An interesting view of home
The space shuttle took a picture of the International Space Station recently and at that time it happened to be orbiting above both Rochester (my home town) and Buffalo, NY.
Thanks Matt!
Labels: rochester
