Library 2.0

With Web 2.0, the Web 1s a shared virtual space rather than a network of websites and search engines. It’s a platform on which programmers write constantly updated software that is loosely connected with other Web applications. Web 2.0 sites offer novel as well as remixed content. They embody simplicity, interactivity and self-service. Users are always online, constantly connected to one another and to the Web. How will libraries thrive in the Web 2.0 world, where customers expect easy access to virtually everything? They need to focus on providing everything and on eliminating barriers like clumsy search interfaces that exist between customers and their information needs. Librarians must educate their customers when necessary, but as Rick Anderson says, if a library’s services can’t be used without training, there’s something wrong with the services. Libraries need to find new ways to bring their services to customers. This means integrating library services into their customers’ daily life patterns.

Technorati — and Top Favorited Blogs

Technorati makes it easier and more intuitive to search, discover and organize the blogosphere. The interface is clean and uncluttered. The search results page is very readable and the results are easy to sort. I like the Discovery section, which organizes the blogosphere in much the same way a Sunday newspaper is organized. I like the fact that Dave Sifry said Technorati created this section to “make serendipitous discovery of interesting stuff easier and more intuitive.” It’s easy to organize your favorites on Technorati and to learn about your favorite bloggers and their blogs. I like the fact that there are two home pages — a signed-in version and a signed-out version. On the signed-out version I can see the Discover section, learn about bloggers, find out what people are searching for and tag my favorite blogs. On the signed-in version I can see the latest posts from my favorite blogs and search Technorati in blog posts, in blog tags or in the blog directory.

Tag You're It!

Now I think I can really cover some ground in my attempt to catch-up. I'm already somewhat familiar with de.licio.us. I have a personal de.licio.us account. I've tagged the bookmarks for my bank, credit card, 401(k) and other retirement plan account to make it easy to find and search them. I've done the same with my travel, cycling and German study bookmarks. The Information Services Division at the Central Library also has a de.licio.us account. The librarians add bookmarks to sites on which they find authoritative answers to customers' questions. They then tag the sites in whatever way makes it easy for them to retrieve them. We've had a link to the account put on the Telephone Reference computer toolbars. Now it's time to become familiar with technorati.

Roll Your Own

Select Search Engine...Cycles and CyclistsSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

I'm an avid cyclist, and riding is how I spend much of my free time when the temperature is above 29 degrees Fahrenheit and the streets are dry. Creating a customized metasearch engine that lets me search all my favorite cycling sites at the same time is really pretty great. I'm in a mad rush to finish the 23 1/2 things by the deadline (see yesterday's post) and I'm on a bit of a roll (no pun intended, so I can't take the time now to add all the sites I want to add, but I will return to it after December 24. Another really cool thing to do would be to add my blog to the search box, because this would allow be to search it. But I can't decide if I want to add it to the search box I already created or create a separate search box. Decisions. Decisions.

Image Generators

Chocolate is the best antidote for frustration. After an ounce or two, I'm ready to proceed.



OK. Image generators are pretty cool. So what's next? Actually, I had some difficulty with the Generator Blog. Don't know why, but I tried without success to customize the countdown timer and put it on my blog. A colleague then told me about blingyblob.com. I don't like the countdown timer from that site as much, but I had no trouble customizing it and putting it on my blog. Sure wish I could get rid of the ©BliggyBlob.com line though.

I always liked the story about the guy who named his blog "So Much Ego, So Little Time." When I first heard about blogs, I thought, "Who cares?" In many ways, I still think blogs are only another way to put more junk out there on the Internet, but now I'm beginning to perceive their worth. In a very democratic way bloggers, by copying and pasting URLs of other blogs into their own blogs and other means, are deciding which blogs are worth reading and which deserve to be ignored.

I don't expect my blog's url to be widely copied and pasted. If I haven't had much profound to say in 60 years, I don't believe I don't think I'll begin now. The more I work on it, the more I think I'm building it for myself. Posting to my blog will be like putting entries in a journal — a journal that's open for anyone to read. But pity those who decide to read it.

RSS Feeds and Readers

I think RSS Feeds and Readers are Things #8 and 9, but I began to become familiar with them out of order. Of all the 23 1/2 things, RSS Feeds and Readers are the things I am most interested in. I'm something of a news junkie, so I can appreciate how RSS Feeds and Readers allow me to keep up with the news. Having news brought to my attention as it becomes news is so much more efficient than having to to search my news sources to to see if there have been any new developments. My colleagues and I tried using Bloglines but had problems with it. One of them recommended Google Reader, and that's what most of us are using.

I get RSS feeds from the following library blogs:

http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/

http://freerangelibrarian.com/

http://annoyedlibrarian.blogspot.com/

http://www.resourceshelf.com/

Posting Photos from Flickr

DSC00011
Originally uploaded by bibliotechguy

This is the photo of my library management class.

Creating a blog post that describes how I posted photos from my Flickr account to my blog will, I hope, help me to learn better by reinforcing what I learned and maybe help others learn how to post photos from Flickr to their blogs.

To post photos from Flickr you have to give Flickr permission to access your blog. My blog is on Blogger, and Blogger is part of Google, so I logged on to Google and granted Flickr permission to access my blog. I had already put on Flickr the photo I wanted to upload. It is a photo of my library management class that Ron Wan had Jerry Nichols take before he left for Beijing. After I granted Flickr permission to access me blog, all I had to do was select the picture and click the Blog This link above the photo.