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Photo Copyright Associated Press

Barack's presidential campaign famously used Facebook to garner support from voters. Check out Barack's current Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/barackobama

Save our libraries campaign UK

Anonymous Librarian highlighted the proposed library closures some weeks ago. Check out this excellent video response to this proposal. It takes the form of a direct message to a councillor in Somerset and was put together by some authors, Big Issue founder John Bird and local residents and the National Save Our Libraries campaign. Clever campaigning! Check out the video bar for more videos by save our libraries campaigners!

The Secret History of Social Networking

Photo copyright BBC Radio 4

BBC radio 4 are currently broadcasting a series exploring the history of social networking, stretching way back before the arrival of the Internet. The series is available on the BBC Radio 4 player @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00y5jgf

Google launch laptop for Web-based applications

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13362111

Twitter in the news...

Twitter is under scrutiny this week in relation to privacy issues and 'celebrities' -  BBC report.

Week 6: Library Thing and Creative Commons

Thing 12: Explore Library Thing and set up your own Library Thing account.


What is Library Thing?
Library Thing is an online application which allows you to create your own online catologue of books. It connects you to people who have similiar 'libraries' or reading tastes. Once you have set up your own library, you can ask for recommendations which will reflect the books in your 'library' by simply clicking on the recommendations tab. Users also post book reviews to the site - check out some recent reviews.
You can also see you books on a virtual shelf - just a bit of fun really!
Check out the very small Library Thing page for 23 Things SPD to give you an idea of what the application looks like.

Read this introduction to Library Thing.
Set up your own Library Thing account and add some of your favourite books to your virtual library and customise your home page. Check out the Library Thing ideas blog.
Read also about Library Anywhere and how libraries are using this application to create 'mobile' libraries.

graphic from creative www.commons.org

Thing 13: Read about Creative Commons
What exactly is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons is a new development in the field of copyright which enables the creator of a piece of work (music, writing etc.) to allow sharing of their work under certain circumstances. The Creative Commons  organisation has developed a set of licences which authors can use to tell the world how they are allowed to use their work.



Watch these videos about Creative Commons: - Video 1, Video 2, Video 3.
Read about Creative Commons in Wikipedia.
Read more about Creative Commons.
Check out the Creative Commons Wiki and blog.
Now that you are a blogger, you may be interested in reading about creative commons licensing for bloggers.

What do you think about the concept of creative commons? What do you think are the opportunities for this type of copyrighting? What do you see as the challenges? Write your thoughts in your blog.

Week 5 Social Networking

Week 5: April 26th - 29th, 2011 
Theme: Social Networking


Thing 10 Read about Social Networking 
So what is Social Networking?Social networking is an umbrella term referring to Web 2.0 applications in general, where these applications support collaboration and communication online. The focus for this week will be on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

Watch the Common Craft videos on Social Networking and Twitter.

Read about Facebook and Twitter  on Wikipedia.

Take a look at this video from Socialnomics and write a blog post discussing how the message made you feel about social media.  Do you agree that 'Social media is not a fad, it is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate."

It has been widely acknowledged that social media and networking contributed to recent events in Egypt and throughout the middle east.  Check out this New York Times article on the topic and also    comments from Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo on these claims. An Egyptian newborn was recently named 'Facebook',  in recognition of the contribution that social media made to recent events in the country.  Check the story out via Socialnomics.

Even the Pope is engaged with social networking.

Social Networking a has developed its own rules and standards. Check out this article on Social Media Etiquette.

Thing 11: Exploring Facebook
Check out the Cregan Library Facebook page and post a message to the page.  If you do not have a Facebook account,  you will need to set up an account to access the library page.  Guidelines on how to set up an account on Facebook FAQs.  Please note that this page is viewable only to the 23 Things participant group at the moment. It is not viewable by the general public.

Consider how you might use the Facebook page to communicate with library users and post a message about this to the page or write about it in your blog.

 

Helpful Facebook Terminology

Friending/Adding: Finding people you want to connect with on your network. You send a message to the person asking to be 'friends' and that person chooses to accept the request or not.
Status Updates: Where you describe what you’re doing, thinking, reading, feeling, or anything else you want to share with your network.
Facebook Groups: Groups you join eg. with shared interests - a library group. 

Pages: On Facebook, businesses and organisations create a profile & share events and information.
News Feed: A listing of your friends information, displayed in a running list. As people update their statuses, play a new game, share new pictures or videos you’ll see that information displayed in your news feed. The information comes to you. You don’t have to go to it.
Privacy Settings: The settings and preferences that you configure to determine how much information gets shared with others.
Chat/Messages/Comments: The power of online communities comes in the interaction your friends can have with you and your other friends through chatting, messages (like e-mail), and commenting.
Wall: The Wall is the center of your profile for adding new things, like photos, videos, notes and other  content. The Publisher at the top of your Wall allows you to update your status and share content through many different kinds of Wall posts. You can also add content to your friends’ Walls by using the Publisher box that appears at the top of their profiles.


Extra Activity
What is the relevance of social networking to libraries?  Library users are communicating through these networks and so it makes sense to learn something about how they work. Check out some library Facebook and twitter pages and comment in your blog on what you found interesting about the various uses of Facebook.

Facebook pages.
Jerwood Library, Trinity Hall, Cambridge
UCD Library
TCD Library
Glucksman Library, University of Limerick
National Library of Ireland
Tallaght Library

Twitter pages:
Twitter at Glucksman, UL
DCU Library
Bodleian Library, Oxford
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt





Picture by Jade Gordan - Stock Xchng