Category: Web 2.0

Lock those virtual doors

What would happen if your library closed up at night and purposefully left the front door unlocked?  Every night? Eventually, some unscrupulous individual would figure it out.  He/she would have the run of the library at night, and could easily cause damage or property loss at an astounding rate.  The reputation of your library would… Continue reading Lock those virtual doors

What’s this TokBox thing?

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak about teens, tweens and social networking at the NEO-RLS Youth   Services Symposium.  One of the newer tools that I mentioned had everyone puzzled–no one had heard of it.  That tool is rising in popularity with teens, and it’s called TokBox. Many of you are probably familiar with… Continue reading What’s this TokBox thing?

Figuring out Foursquare

Physical locations in combination with the web are starting to hit it big, and is predicted to seriously take off this year.  One example of an application that is rapidly heading that way is Foursquare. From Wikipedia: Foursquare is a location-based social networking website, software for mobile devices, and game. Users “check-in” at venues using… Continue reading Figuring out Foursquare

[GUEST POST] Can you see me now? (Or, how transparent are you?)

Today’s guest post is by Bobbi Galvin, Customer Relations and Support at OPLIN. The Global Language Monitor  has released its list of Top Words 2009.  Coming in at #10 is TRANSPARENCY. Transparency in this instance means putting all you do (at least all of the interesting stuff) out for users to see…then welcoming the comments,… Continue reading [GUEST POST] Can you see me now? (Or, how transparent are you?)

Social Media in 20 Bite-Sized Pieces

“Winners take imperfect action while others are sitting around perfecting their plans.” –Kevin Nation Be the voice that is remembered, not just heard. Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Be willing to put yourself a bit “out there.” Be human.  Corporate speak is unacceptable. Don’t be schizophrenic.  Either talk from the perspective of your organization or… Continue reading Social Media in 20 Bite-Sized Pieces

Why it’s time to kill off Internet Explorer 6

(Don’t know if you’re using IE6? You can check by opening up IE and going to Help–>About Internet Explorer. If you’re using anything less than 7 (and really, you ought to be on 8 by now), you need to upgrade. You MUST (yes, I’m yelling) upgrade. You can get the latest version of Internet Explorer… Continue reading Why it’s time to kill off Internet Explorer 6

Intermediate Twitter: #hashtags

(Thanks to Don Yarman for suggesting this topic–I’m always on the lookout for new fodder.  Send your ideas to meanlaura@oplin.org.) I have to assume that, by now, your library has finally jumped on the Twitter wagon.  (See here for additional info about Twitter for libraries.)  If your library is doing Twitter correctly, then you are… Continue reading Intermediate Twitter: #hashtags

Sharing your slides

Whether you do presentations in Powerpoint, OpenOffice or something else, making your slides publicly available can sometimes be a headache.  Enter Slideshare, which could arguably be considered the YouTube of presentation slides. Slideshare allows you to create a (free) account, then upload slide presentations easily.  You can choose to make the presentations private or public,… Continue reading Sharing your slides

Getting buy-in

I am often asked about how to get buy-in for new web-based initiatives.  I ran across this slideshow today, which is fabulous material for demonstrating the usual roadblocks one can run into. Web Tech Guy and Angry Staff Person View more presentations from edsonm. (tags: strategy web)

Signing in with ONE account

One of the most common complaints I’ve heard about using various web services and social networking sites is the need for multiple accounts; multiple user names, multiple passwords, multiple things to forget.  Who hasn’t used those handy “Forgot your password?” links at least once (or fifty) times? The dream of many web users is the… Continue reading Signing in with ONE account

I can haz internet meme?

It’s the day after Turkey Day. Obviously, not a day for deep thoughts or complex topics, since most of us are probably still zoned out from large quantities of comestibles. Therefore, LOLcats are the perfect subject for today’s post. To understand the LOLcat phenomena, you first have to understand the idea of the internet meme.… Continue reading I can haz internet meme?

Hulu: TV on demand

If you’ve ever seen my Facebook profile, you already know that I basically don’t watch television (much to the chagrin of anyone who attempts to engage me in conversation about the latest programs). My husband and I used to say that the only reason we had cable TV at all was to watch The Daily… Continue reading Hulu: TV on demand

Firefly: every page a chat room?

Lately, I’ve been checking out a newish web app called Firefly.  It’s a simple chat script that enables people to chat with each other directly on a web page, rather than in a separate instant messaging client or Meebo-like widget.  You literally can click anywhere on a web page and just start chatting, once you’ve… Continue reading Firefly: every page a chat room?

[GUEST POST] Listening & the pattern

Dan Rockwell is a User Experience Researcher at Lextant. [BACK STORY: I met Dan at BarCamp Ohio and started following him on Twitter. Then I started listening to his soundbytes on Utterli. One of his messages really resonated with me, and I asked him to guest post here on the topic of “getting” social media.… Continue reading [GUEST POST] Listening & the pattern

Short and sweet…URLs

Sometimes, URLs can be insanely long.  For example: http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch.com/ Or: http://www.microsoft.com/events/EventDetails.aspx?CMTYSvcSource=MSCOMMedia&Params=%7eCMTYDataSvcParams%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22ID%22+Value%3d%221032301951%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22ProviderID%22+Value%3d%22A6B43178-497C-4225-BA42-DF595171F04C%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22lang%22+Value%3d%22en%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22cr%22+Value%3d%22US%22%2f%5e%7esParams%5e%7e%2fsParams%5e%7e%2fCMTYDataSvcParams%5e Yes, both real.  Both annoying.  And, if you try to email these, they will not display properly in some email clients.  Some people won’t be able to click them at all.  But, never fear…URL shortening services are here! There are many free URL shortening… Continue reading Short and sweet…URLs

Lifestreaming, the next social act

I currently know more about the lives and interests of many of my professional contacts than I do about some family members.  This isn’t really on purpose, but it is a direct result of the choice many people I know have made, to keep people constantly abreast of what they’re doing via web services such… Continue reading Lifestreaming, the next social act

The sins of library web sites

Ah, Twitter is a wonderful thing.  I asked members of the Twitterverse to catalog the problems of library web sites, and my followers (as friends on Twitter are called) did not disappoint.  I got responses not only from both library and non-library folks, but even a bit of international participation with a comment or two… Continue reading The sins of library web sites

[GUEST POST] Is your library search bar friendly?

Don Yarman is the Deputy Director of Delaware County Public Library. Probably by now, you’re using a web browser that has a search box in the upper right-hand corner. Do you use it? You should; it’s handy and it’s awesome. I used to hate it. I already had the Google toolbar and Google is my… Continue reading [GUEST POST] Is your library search bar friendly?

The web as social playground: Weblin

For the past several months, I have been experimenting with a little-known web application called Weblin. In effect, it allows you to have a little avatar (Weblin) that appears on any web site you visit. This avatar can then see and communicate with other Weblins it encounters on that site. In essence, Weblin turns your… Continue reading The web as social playground: Weblin

Facebook and public libraries

“Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.” (Official definition.) I think most people have some idea of… Continue reading Facebook and public libraries

Why link collections are dead…sort of

I am hoping, nay, I’m practically praying, that your library does not have either of the following: A collection of links to external websites (often called “Links” or the “Link Library” on the library’s web site, or Bunches of sites bookmarked at the Reference Desk that staff use to find information for patrons. Why do… Continue reading Why link collections are dead…sort of