Social Media - Far from Trivial

I was recently sent this video through Twitter, it's a presentation from Clay Shirky, author of "Here Comes Everybody: Organisation without Organisations" from the TED network.

Clay makes the point that Social Media is changing the world. And is changing the world from a grass roots level up.

He is very easy to listen to, and makes some valid points about how social media is far from trivial.

Twitter workshop

Hi all,

Its been a little while since I have been on here, but I recently found this introduction workshop from slideshare while undertaking the State Librarys' version of 23 things and thought I would share it with you. It has been interesting going back over what I learnt doing 23 things and discovering new information along the way. Twitter is becoming more widely known and used - hope you enjoy the slideshow (one of many readily available online).

Twitter Workshop

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Finding Information - The New Wave

An awe-inspiring presentation from the TED talks this year (Technology, Entertainment Design) about how we may be obtaining entertainment in the very near future.



For more fascinating talks from the best across technology, entertainment and design, go to www.ted.com

What Libraries Can Learn from Facebook

From the Library Garden blog, comes this thought provoking article about what libraries can learn from Facebook.

Click here for article.

Privacy Settings in Facebook

I was sent this very easy to read and understand blog article today called "Ten Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know."

It reiterates the message that it is the user's responsibility to set the levels of privacy on social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc.

But also gives very simple and clear instructions on just how to do that.

Librarians In the 21st Century

I found this wonderful news video piece from the New York Times, which is about librarians of the new age. Click on the link:

21st Century Librarian

It is essentially about a school librarian, but many of the principles and philosophies are relevent to ALL libraries.

Enjoy!

Edit: For a companion article, Click here.

Librarian's Manifesto

Over on Sue's News blog, Sue has posted this wonderful "Librarians Manifesto" video from YouTube.



A wonderful presentation and message.

Clay Shirky - Here Comes Everbody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations

Over the Christmas break I read Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations by Clay Shirky. (ISBN: 978-1-84614-137-9)

In his book, Shirky investigates the effect of technology on our culture and social behaviour, with a look to past technology innovations that have shifted how the world communicates and behaves (in particular the printing press). In particular he focuses on social networking and Web2.0 technology as well as the proliferation of mobile phones.

On the surface it seems like a bit of a dry topic, but his easy to read writing style and plentiful anecdotes keep it moving and kept me interested in the points he was making. It would be easy to write off the internet and Web2.0 technology as the latest fad, but with this book he draws the comparison of previous technological advances that we take for granted today (printing press, telephone, radio, television) and how they affected our culture when they were new, to those technologies that we are seeing take off now, like mobile phones and laptops.

I enjoyed reading this book as well as having a few lightbulb moments go off as I read, where I understood the power of social networking, the difference in methods of broadcasting vs communication over time and the ease of access to information we enjoy today.

As someone in the library industry, I can highly recommend this book for a thought provoking and discussion raising read for all library staff. It's an excellent companion piece for 23 Things and we have it in our collection!

Merry Christmas!

We have one week of 23 Things left to go, and it's almost Christmas, so I thought I would do a bit of a fun post with some of the tools we've learned through 23 Things.

Let's start with an online photograph (one I took myself)...



And follow it with a YouTube video...



What about a mashup...



So there you have it. Christmas from a Web2.0 perspective. Now your challenge is to go and make your own Christmas blog post, using your newly learned skills.

For those of you still going, keep at it! For those of you who are finished, congratulations and thank you! And to you all...

Merry Christmas!

What do YOU want and need?

The days are ticking by and we're getting closer and closer to the end of the 23 Things project. I can see lots of activity happening out there in library land, and more and more people are tipping into the "completed" zone, which is fabulous to see.

My questions for you are:

What else at this point do YOU need to help you complete?

Please don't tell me time, I've just given you another 11 days. *smile* But is there any technical help, further explanations or demonstrations or assistance in that level that I can offer? Does anything not really make sense to you even though you've done that module? Do you need something shown to you in context of how to apply it? Please leave a comment on this blog to let me know if yes.

Also, what applications do you see Web2.0 technology to be useful to us as librarians in our day to day lives?

Are there things that you think could be useful to us to streamline our work, our communication, and even add a little fun to how we work. Again, please leave comments on thos post.

Wonderful Wiki Work

Another fantastic example of how a wiki can be used is Sandgate's entry.

http://bcclssupport.wetpaint.com/page/Sandgate+Library

It's fun, it's informative, it's attractive, and it's easy to do.

Well done Sandgate!

Innovation at it's Best

I want to share a link with you all. It's a page from our BCCLS Wiki that Kelli Morris has created...

http://bcclssupport.wetpaint.com/page/How+To+Documents

Be aware that you do need to have membership to see this wiki, so if you've not already emailed me to join up, please do so.

Kelli has done an awesome job at using some innovation (and networking with her colleagues) to share some of the things she's learned while doing 23 Things. She's found a simple, effective way to get her info in a place that any of us can go to, share and use. That's what it's all about!

If you have anything you can share, either add on to the page above, or if it doesn't fit, create your own area in the wiki. Don't worry if you're not sure where to put it or it's not perfect, we can always move it later, and it will grow as it is used. Just have a go.

Happy collaborating!
Kath

Two Weeks Notice

Well, we have two weeks left before 23 Things closes. Is this the expression on your face right now:



Well two weeks is a long time in the blogosphere. You can get through this without it being a high pressure thing. Just keep going at it, a little each day. It's been wonderful to see people plugging away who've not really been sure about Web2.0 technology and then something clicks and:



They get it! They understand that it's not about playing with fads, but learning what the tools are and how they can apply certain ones to their daily life. What ones are fun, interesting, informative, useful, efficient things that you can use.

Before long, you've saved so much time by using these tools, you can be like this:

Congratulations Mitchelton!!

I'd like to congratulate Mitchelton, who are our third library to have all of their staff fully registered and active in 23 things.

Wiki Wisdom

Since a lot of people are getting up to the wiki module, and are joining the BCCLS wiki, some help is probably needed with how to use the Wetpaint wiki format and what you can do with the wiki.

Rather than re-inventing the wheel, here are some links to instructions and information on Wetpaint Wikis:

http://www.wetpaint.com/page/Wetpaint-Videos - videos on what Wetpaint wikis can do, as well as tutorials on how to do certain things.

http://www.wetpaintcentral.com/ - all the help information you could possibly need for Wetpaint wikis.

If you haven't already joined the wiki and are up to (or beyond) that module, please send me an email and I'll send you the invite key. Or if you have joined and haven't really had a go at using it yet, jump in and have a go. You can't break it, everything can be undone or moved or edited. It's YOUR wiki and you create the content for it.

Happy wiki-ing!
Kath

Congratulations to Banyo Library!

Well done to Banyo Library who are our SECOND library to have the whole team registered and up and running in 23 Things.

How to Map Your Progress

Want to check your progress in 23 Things? Here are the key indicators that we are using:

• Ticks in the left hand lime green menu beside each of the modules. (You do this by clicking on the small square on the bottom right of each page of the modules).
  
• Done the first "quick self assessment checklist" (can be found on the first page of "Getting Started")
  
• Registered your blog in the "register your blog" form on the second page of the "Blogs" module
  
• And at the end, done the "feedback" survey which you will find on the last page of the "Social Networking" module. This is what marks you as completed.
  

Those are the main indicators that you have finished the modules. Don't be concerned about the course/module completion or status sections under "Accessories" - they're not what we are following progress from.

Tag Galaxy

Roberto found this really, really cool tag search engine.

http://www.taggalaxy.de/

Select from the most popular tags on the left or do your own search.

I could play with this for HOURS!

Why LibraryThing and Tagging

Bronwyn at ASH found these two wonderful videos on tagging in LibraryThing (below). They are well worth watching as they give a simple, clear perspective on why LibraryThing and subject tagging can be really useful tools for librarians and our customers.

There are lots of other book/reading tagging (social cataloguing and databases for readers and libraries) tools out there, LibraryThing seems to be the one that is taking off the most, but if you are interested, take a look at:

Shelfari

Good Reads

Bookmooch

Bookcrossing

A Moment of Acknowledgement

A quick post to congratulate Coopers Plains library on being the first team to all be started and registered for 23 Things. Keep up the good work, you'll be across the finish line together before long!