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

Week 4 Wikis

Thing 8: Read about Wikis and explore Wikipedia.
What is a Wiki?The term 'Wiki' was first coined by Ward Cunningham and it originates from the Haiwaiian word 'wiki wiki' meaning quick. Wikis are web-based application which allow people to edit content on a chosen topic online. Wikis are an easy tool for organising content and sharing ideas.
Read and watch more about Wikis below.
Take a look at Wikis in Plain English from Common Craft http://www.commoncraft.com/
7 Things you should know about Wikis
Check out the wiki leaks site @ Wiki leaks
Wikis Vs Blogs - A fictional debate between JFK and Richard Nixon on the propriety of using blogs vs. wikis.


Thing 9: Explore how libraries are using Wikis. Check out the 23 Things @ SPD Wiki and make a contribution to the Wiki.
Check out some library related Wikis.
Library Wikis is a wiki for sharing about how libraries are using wikis
Library Best Practices Wiki
National Library of Australia Wiki
Check out the http://twentythreethingsspd.wikispaces.com/ and make a contribution to the wiki. To do this you will first have to set up a wikipsaces account. You will have received an invitation by email to become a member today.
Don't forget to blog about your thoughts and experiences with Wikis.



Extra Activity (optional)
Check out some Wikis that are of interest to you personally.
See below links to wiki indexes.
Wiki Index
List of Wikis


Play Activitiy (optional)
Following from last week's exercise on comic strips, take a look at Comic Life. Comic life is available on a free trial basis for 30 days. Play around with the Comic Life application and blog about your experience. Check out the Comic Life Wiki for ideas.
If you created a comic strip last week, compare your experience of Comic Life with your experience of bitstrip last week.

Some library themed videos to enjoy

If you missed the original old spice advert - watch it here.
Check out the blog about making the library video

The Haunted Librarian

Week 3 RSS Feeds

Week 3: April 11th- 15th 2011 

Theme: RSS Feeds 



Thing 6: Read about RSS Feeds
What is an RSS?

Really Simple Syndication does what it says on the tin, it is simply 'Really Simple Syndication'. RSS Feeds allow you to connect with websites that you use or are interested in and receive automatic updates when new content is added to the site. To receive RSS Feeds you must sign up to an aggregator or RSS reader eg. Google Reader.  Once you have signed up for an RSS reader you can subscribe to an RSS Feed. Look out for the RSS logo as you browse the web. When you see the icon this means the site or blog has an RSS Feed.


So why use RSS Feeds?
Simple! Subscribing to an RSS Feed saves you time! Once you have signed up to an RSS feed you will receive automatic updates when the site/blog adds new content. For a library, RSS Feeds allow the organisation to provide a steady stream of up-to-date information from various websites.

Read more about RSS Feeds on Wikipedia. 
Watch this common craft video on RSS feeds - created by Common Craft details at www.commoncraft.com.


Thing 7: Set up a Google Reader Account and and subscribe to at least 3 RSS Feeds
First watch this video on how to set up a Google reader account

Alternatively, sign up for another RSS reader. This Wikipedia entry comparing various various RSS readers or 'aggregators' will be useful in helping you decide. 

Extra Activity (Optional): Explore how libraries are using RSS Feeds.
Take a look at this blog entry from Newcastle Library which discusses how libraries can use RSS Feeds. Consider how the Cregan Library could use RSS feeds and post your thoughts to your 23 Things blog. 


Play Activity: Make a comic strip about RSS Feeds
Make a comic strip on your experience of RSS Feeds, using Pixton or Bitstrip.
See the sample strip 'The Anonymous Librarian' created in Bitstrip and posted to the 23 Things blog These things are.... last week.

See also a sample from Pixton 

Week 2 Social Bookmarking

Thing 4  Read about Social Bookmarking

What is Social Bookmarking?

Social Bookmarking is an informal method of categorising using labels called 'tags' that allow users to associate keywords with online content (webpages, pictures etc.). Social Bookmarking is not like library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines. Social bookmarking is completely unstructured and allows you to create labels for data in any way you want. For instance, if you are exploring the term 'Web 2.0' you might feel as a participant of this programme that the term '23 Things' has more meaning for you.

How is Delicious different to bookmarking on my own PC?

Using a Delicious account allows you to access your favourite sites from any computer. You can also send bookmarks to friends or colleagues that you feel might interest them and you can check out their bookmarks too. Delicious focuses a lot on the community aspect of bookmarking and offers many opportunities for sharing bookmarks with others. For example, you can check out bookmarks in an area of interest to you - Library 2.0, Blogging etc. 

Some relevant terms

Taxonomy - refers to a structured method of categorisation (like a library catalogue). Read more on Wikipedia.
Folksonomy - refers to an unstructured method of categorisation which has developed from Social Bookmarking. Folksonomies develop from the tags or categories that users have applied. Read more on Wikipedia.

Still confused? This video about Social bookmarking created by Common Craft might help.

Thing 5: Explore Delicious, set up an account and share bookmarks with 23 Things participants 
Part 1: Set up a Delicious Account
Delicious is a free online social bookmarking application, please set up an account. Get started with Delicious.
Remember! Ensure you record your username and password in your 23 Things diary.

Part 2: Add some bookmarks to your Delicious Account.
Use your Delicious account to save some webpages and add tags based on your own meaning. For example, as you are currently participating in the 23 Things Programme and this relates to the world of Web 2.0, sites about Web 2.0 might be tagged as 23 Things.

Don't forget to blog about your experience! 

Extra Activities (Optional)

1. Exlplore the 23 Things SPD Delicious account. Check out the Delicious page created for this programme.

2. Sharing on Delicious.

Share your bookmarks with your fellow 23 Things participants by 'sharing' with the Delicious account 'twentythreethingsspd'. You can share with your bookmarks with others who have a Delicious account directly from the Delicious website. You can also share with others via twitter or email. For this exercise you will share bookmarks via Delicious.

To share a bookmark to the 23 Things Delicious account:

(i) Click the 'Share' link on your toolbar and select Delicious.

(ii)Enter 'twentythreethingsspd' in the address bar. 

Add a message in the message field stating what type of bookmarks you are sharing and add your blog name to identify your contribution. 

3. Use the subscribe tool to check out the bookmarks which are available under a particular topic eg. 'blogging'.

4. Check out another social bookmarking site Diigo. Compare your experience of this application with that of Delicious. Which application did you prefer using and why? Which was easier to use? Playtime! This week - Tag Clouds.Time to have a little fun with Web 2.0. Tag clouds are images generated from text or direct from a URL. You can make a tag cloud of your 23 Things blog. Read more are at Wikipedia. Make a tag cloud of your blog at one of the following sites: Wordle or Tagul.

Tag cloud of 23 Things @ SPD blog below. See also 23 Things @ SPD cloud at http://tagul.com/preview?id=23557@1

Don't forget to blog about your experience!