del.icio.us is certainly a tool for those who use more than one computer and want to be able to find that special site again. Trying these things out can be a challenge because I can never think of something I want to search until the middle of the night. So it takes a little practice and some patience. I can see the advantage intellectually but today had more problems with the application than the first time I wandered around on it. Of course I got completely different results than I did the first time. Since I didn't have an account and didn't have the time to set it up the first time I tried it, I couldn't tag the things that really interested me. It will be a treasure hunt to find some of them again, but it won't happen today. Still, I look forward to the adventure some day in the future. And at the end of the assignment, I understand the concept of the tag so now I will have to go back and try it again. However, right now I am intent on just finishing this part of things; I'll leave the exploring for later.
This is certainly a way to create a favorites list of your own instead of cluttering up the favorites on say a reference site. You get the added input of others who researched something as well. If you had sifted through twenty entries looking for just the right information, you could save yourself that trouble the next time if you tagged it. And I think if you were doing serious research, this would be a good way to compile the things that you had found most helpful. I think it will be a useful tool and I can't wait to get more time with it.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Widgets, Wiki's and All Manner of Words
One of my favorite old movies is a piece of fluff from 1963 with James Garner called the "Wheeler Dealers". In this movie Garner, who plays a irresistible conman, is involved in buying a factory that sells "widgets" but no one seems to know what they are. Who could have imagined in 1963 that a "widget" would have particular significance to a Wiki in 2008? Of course the "widget" of 1963 is not the "widget" of 2008, but still, it is one of those coincidences that tends to make my brain go in a different direction. You can't help but look at all the weaving the universe does as it moves us along helter-skelter.
But back to Wiki's. I found it interesting that the introductory video didn't address many concerns but instead was just this "It's great!" presentation. As I looked at the examples offered and more links, people started identifying possible short comings and how to address them; things like spam and security. For instance the ability for people to edit is a big selling point in the video, but what if you don't want them to edit what is there? I never really got a good answer to that but can extrapolate that in the details you address this factor when you set the Wiki up. I am assuming that if a teacher wants to use it as a means of communication and sharing, there are places on the Wiki where people can communicate, but you could also have your syllabus on the Wiki that only you, the teacher could edit. I may be wrong about all this though, because I never found a site where they answered these questions.
I could see where a Wiki might serve as a tool for pre-meeting brainstorming within an organization like ours. Instead of people traveling 50 or 60 miles, a lot of the groundwork could be done via the Wiki. For instance if you wanted to determine 10 positive steps to get teens to turn out for a program you could generate a list and people could add to the list and prioritize it. So this could be a helpful tool. You could enlist ideas from a larger sampling than just the group involved in the meeting by opening up the Wiki to all staff. But, someone has to take the time to maintain it, people have to have the time to use it and so you have to evaluate how useful it would really be. Like the My Space accounts, the blogs, and all the other tools we've been learning about, someone has to pay attention to these accounts and maintain them if you create them. How much time do we want to give to this and what are the trade offs?
But back to Wiki's. I found it interesting that the introductory video didn't address many concerns but instead was just this "It's great!" presentation. As I looked at the examples offered and more links, people started identifying possible short comings and how to address them; things like spam and security. For instance the ability for people to edit is a big selling point in the video, but what if you don't want them to edit what is there? I never really got a good answer to that but can extrapolate that in the details you address this factor when you set the Wiki up. I am assuming that if a teacher wants to use it as a means of communication and sharing, there are places on the Wiki where people can communicate, but you could also have your syllabus on the Wiki that only you, the teacher could edit. I may be wrong about all this though, because I never found a site where they answered these questions.
I could see where a Wiki might serve as a tool for pre-meeting brainstorming within an organization like ours. Instead of people traveling 50 or 60 miles, a lot of the groundwork could be done via the Wiki. For instance if you wanted to determine 10 positive steps to get teens to turn out for a program you could generate a list and people could add to the list and prioritize it. So this could be a helpful tool. You could enlist ideas from a larger sampling than just the group involved in the meeting by opening up the Wiki to all staff. But, someone has to take the time to maintain it, people have to have the time to use it and so you have to evaluate how useful it would really be. Like the My Space accounts, the blogs, and all the other tools we've been learning about, someone has to pay attention to these accounts and maintain them if you create them. How much time do we want to give to this and what are the trade offs?
Friday, June 6, 2008
Not For Shy People
Is the Internet a good tool for shy people? Looking at YouTube I wonder. There certainly are the folks out there who aren't shy; watching some of them I wonder if some day they will regret their willingness to do dumb things in front of a camera, when they want to run for president or something. That old view from my "wisdom" that comes with age. But then I think, times a changing. Pretty soon so many of them will have stuff out in cyberspace, that those of my generation might view as ill advised or compromising, that it just won't carry that impact that it does right now. So even shy people can be bold, brave, stupid, because the Internet is so impersonal that they feel safe in expressing themselves.
Libraries are no exception. A site like YouTube will change the way people perceive libraries. I'm pretty sure those perceptions will not always be positive, because you can find lots out there that may be in questionable taste, even though it is really funny. (I'm being purposely vague here.) But I do see the potential for a good PR opportunity too. Then I get mired in the proprietary questions. If a library wanted to post an event, would they need to get permission from all the people attending the event before they could post it? The would be screen writer in me can come up with all sorts of modern day scenarios that could play out. You could have a mom whose kids were snatched 5 years before, who goes to YouTube to check out other sites for her job. She comes across a library program posted on the Internet and sees her children attending a program. Drama and pursuit follows. They were just visiting. Hope dashed. The ideas are limitless.
Hulu and Fancast both offer the potential to help customers find things they want but that the library doesn't have. It is like a supplemental collection. They seem to carry a lot of less popular, some almost cultish selections. I could see suggesting to a patron that they might be a good place to look for something if it wasn't a part of the collection. If I didn't have dial up I could see suing either of these sites. I found Hulu much easier to use initially but I could see going to both if I didn't find what I was looking for on one. they certainly warrant more playing with if I have the time.
These three sites certainly highlight the advantages available to those people in our population who can afford high speed computers and high speed access. For the rest, the sites might not be so useful. They are "FREE" but only f you can afford the extraneous stuff, like a computer and high speed access to begin with. Yes, you can access them from your library but that access is limited. If you only have a limited amount of time, are you going to use that time to watch an old movie? Choices, choices, choices.
Libraries are no exception. A site like YouTube will change the way people perceive libraries. I'm pretty sure those perceptions will not always be positive, because you can find lots out there that may be in questionable taste, even though it is really funny. (I'm being purposely vague here.) But I do see the potential for a good PR opportunity too. Then I get mired in the proprietary questions. If a library wanted to post an event, would they need to get permission from all the people attending the event before they could post it? The would be screen writer in me can come up with all sorts of modern day scenarios that could play out. You could have a mom whose kids were snatched 5 years before, who goes to YouTube to check out other sites for her job. She comes across a library program posted on the Internet and sees her children attending a program. Drama and pursuit follows. They were just visiting. Hope dashed. The ideas are limitless.
Hulu and Fancast both offer the potential to help customers find things they want but that the library doesn't have. It is like a supplemental collection. They seem to carry a lot of less popular, some almost cultish selections. I could see suggesting to a patron that they might be a good place to look for something if it wasn't a part of the collection. If I didn't have dial up I could see suing either of these sites. I found Hulu much easier to use initially but I could see going to both if I didn't find what I was looking for on one. they certainly warrant more playing with if I have the time.
These three sites certainly highlight the advantages available to those people in our population who can afford high speed computers and high speed access. For the rest, the sites might not be so useful. They are "FREE" but only f you can afford the extraneous stuff, like a computer and high speed access to begin with. Yes, you can access them from your library but that access is limited. If you only have a limited amount of time, are you going to use that time to watch an old movie? Choices, choices, choices.
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