Blog Post:6 Web Design "Women In Business"

My Website: Women In Business. Please link to
http://domin.dom.edu/students/harralli/webdesign753/WomenInBusiness.html

Blog Post 5: Video Blogs

To cap off my internet fundamentals class, I wanted to experiment with videoblogging. It seems many are creating vlogs in all types of vlog genres to express their story and personality. Much like writing, topic, tone, and audience are the key points to remember when deciding on a videoblog. The creator of videoblog can decide on what is newsworthy by determining the subject and content of the videoblog. They are also used as personal journals, vlog shows, journalism, and experimental vlogs. Most importantly, in order to create a video blog one must feel comfortable in front of a camera.

Is this a market that will replace more sophisticated media productions? Is the audience going to be other vlog creators or will vlogs be an effective source of news and entertainment? It is hard to know where the future of vlogs is going. They are different than blogs, because many can write effectively, but it may be difficult to pull off a more sophisticated vlog with everyday tools. But if one wants to try there, and many have, there are tools available.
Windows Media , QuickTime , Flash are the three main formats for viewing videos. One this is achieved you can begin making your own vlog you can download videos from, YouTube, IFilm Metacafe or create your own.

If you want to just vlog browse, there are several places to help you with that too. You can start by looking at The 2006 Weblog Awards: Best Video Blog. There are a few thousand vlogs out there and difficult to know where or how to start searching for a favorite vlog. VlogRolls help their audience to start a search for vlogs that may be of interest to them. Steve Garfield’s videosoup is an example of a vlogroll. By going to this videoblog, one can link to Garfield’s featured vlogs.

Directories also link users to different types of vlogs for different types of interest by cataloging vlogs. For example, Videobloggers and podcasters that is using Mefeedia, a directory that takes you through the catalog alphabetically, ranking or tags.
VlogDir at http://vlogdir.com/ catalogs the latest and most popular vlogs.
Google VlogMap displays videobloggers all over the world. Just click on the map and the number of vlogers in that specific area will come up.
Comment sections on vlogs allow the viewer to give feeback.

Blog Post 4: Trading card, flickr, privacy, wiki, and web 2.0

I have a blog, I have a Flickr account, I opened a del.icio.us account, let’s see, a pbwiki, and oh yeah, I have a Web page. Now I have a trading card.




It is no secret that I have privacy issues, (I’m not photogenic) so it is a little of a vanity problem, but I am posting my trading card. Have a look and let me know what you think. I decided this would be great to hand out to students in my library user instruction class. I know there is lots of discussion going on in class about connecting to students. I think it is a great idea. Thanks, Michael Stephens , for the challenge of creating a place for myself in library 2.0.






As I said earlier, I opened up a flickr account and decided to share a picture or two. Ok, this is sort of a joke, but I thought with all the privacy issues, we could make library websites fun with pictures like these. "Like who are we." or "Where are we" and still maintain our privacy for those of us who lose sleep over this sort of thing. Do you have any privacy pictures you would like to post on my blog. I would love to see them. Thanks Allison

Snow Day February 13, 2007

Library Blog 3: As It Goes with Wikis

Creating a digital library in 759 was challenging enough, but using the Open source software, Greenstone was especially difficult for various reasons. It is a great alternative to proprietary software, free to download, view, and implement, and like wiki, users can modify its source code. Students encountered many problems with the installation and interface design. In order to make it easier for the next group of digital library students, a wiki was created to document problems, solutions and experiences.

Wiki has become a powerful social networking tool for public, academic, school and business libraries. Participants value wiki as a place to share content, notes, communicate problems, eliminate, and add information. Wikis are described as a sketch pad, and a place to brainstorm.

How do librarians use wikis?

Librarians can visit Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki, a site that allows librarians from all over the world to contribute suggestions, innovations of programs, and provide a link to other information that is useful to librarians. As it goes with wikis, librarians may also edit the information on the site as well as create it. For example, the wiki WebJunction just recently featured the topic, Online Communities, where librarians contribute on the success of programs in their libraries.


LISWiki a Library Information Science Wiki links to articles on the definition and use of Digitization and Vanity publisher. From this wiki, I discovered that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a Book cage at her Sunnydale High School library. This is vital information. Where else could a librarian find this, but a wiki. How do you deal with cell phones in a library? Just look at the wiki and see what other librarians are doing.

Open editing allows any user to create and edit content.

Brian Lamb in his article Wide Open Space: Wikis, Ready or Not , compares the openness of wiki to a person leaving the front door of their home open with friendly neighbors outside gossiping and keeping an eye on things. The term “SoftSecurity” is used to describe the ethics of the Wiki, meaning the community enforces a code of ethics.

MeatballWiki compares“SoftSecurity” to water. It bends under attack, only to rush in from all directions to fill the gaps. It's strong over time yet adaptable to any shape. It seeks to influence and encourage, not control and enforce. Whereas "hard security" functions by restricting access or hiding pages.” Another term used by Meatball Wiki, BarnRaising instills a picture of an Amish community literally raising a barn together, and living life as one family.

The blog Library Voice , by Chad, seems to be an expert on wikis and many other library 2.0 subjects. He posted slides from a colleague on how libraries use wikis. Have a look at the site, Wikis: A Beginner's Look.

The following wikis are free for open source projects.
MediaWiki
SocialText
TWiki
Wikispaces
My favorite, the peanut butter wiki, as easy as a peanut butter sandwich.

Of course I have to end with a quote. Charles Mingus may not be a role model for temperament or wikis, but he was an advocate for change and creativity. This describes the concept behind a wiki perfectly.

“ Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

Blog Post 2 : Librarians in Second Life

After just popping into Second Life, I have to admit it is just a little scary, although I do maintain the right to change my opinions (and I often do) on just about anything, especially Web 2.0.
Wagner James Au, a real life journalist was hired to become Second Life’s embedded journalist. Besides his blog, New World Notes article, “Taking New World Notes” can also be found in first monday. He claims that Second Life “can understand the conflicts and values of our own material world and for good and ill begin to shape them.” He takes this journalistic role very seriously and sets ethical guidelines in his reporting of Second Life. For examples, he gives no real identities, names, or faces, but does report Second Life experiences impacted by the real world. This includes property disputes, political party coverage, and campaign headquarters. This may be interesting for the next presidential election, Hillary, Obama and John McCain transporting and campaigning in Second Life. I wonder if they will have a virtual election.
Authoritarian governments and battles against terrorist activities are also present in Second Life, and I must say it gets confusing reading about underground terrorist in a virtual society using virtual communications to plot virtual terrorist activities. I just wonder, isn’t the real life world bad enough.
Second Life Herald blogs on news worthy subjects such as world meetings, political ideology of SL residents. Gwyneth Llewelyn blogs from a cultural perspective, while Torley's Second Life & techno music Blog, reports on personal experiences. Tabloid gossip blogs report on the social scene along with the size of female avatar’s feet. Architectural style blogs, Metaverse Architecture and Virtual Suburbia, review designs of virtual buildings.
This is all fascinating, but what does this have to do with Library 2.0?
Book discussions, historical research and reenactments, and even health literacy are now participating in Second Life. Steve Abrams believes SL can help with information literacy. Students creating avatar characters and their environments help them learn to read, understand setting, plot, conflict and character development in novels. Older students have the chance to build an entire native village, fort, historical places of battles. Libraries are reporting more books are checked out that identify the SL back ground stories of the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths of the avatars. He claims as long as it is fun, kids will do research (MultiMedia & Internet @ Schools, 2006).
Alliance Library System in Peoria, Illinois is involved in the creation of a Second Life Library in Second Life and Teen Second Life: a Virtual World for Teens. Even a virtual Academic Second Life Library is being created by the University in Pennsylvania. The Second Life Library owns seven islands of virtual property. Volunteer opportunities are available, librarians wear tags and teleport in Second Life offering to help find resources, answer reference
questions, and give directions. These are not Linded Lab employees, but volunteer librarians from all over the world. I’m not sure how it all operates, but it is encouraging that at least Second Life librarians are teleporting around with Hillary, the fashion police, Homeland Security and terrorist. I still don’t know what to think about all of this, but I will continue to have an open mind.
More information on Second Life Libraries.
Cybrary City - Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki.
Talis Opens Cybrary City in SecondLife - KnowProSE.com

Blogpost # 1 Library 2.0

As I question the significance of Library 2.0 and its affect on serving young adults in libraries, I remember Open Content Alliance, Chet Grycz during A Conversation with the Follett Chair: Ed Valauskas, making a profound comment on librarian’s involvement on the web. I believe these are his exact words.

“We need to immerse ourselves into the digital environment; if we are absent we are totally irrelevant altogether.”

I can’t help but wonder why more libraries have yet to take advantage of Web 2.0 and communicate with teens in their library district. Creating a sense of community through MySpace, Flickr, YouTube and Blogs on a library website can transfer that same community into the physical library. If a library meets the needs of the community, in this case a young adult community, by accommodating their needs, broadening their range of information and adding value to their content, then the library can become a place, a physical place and a virtual place to share, learn, and engage in-group discussions, both on and off the web.
Teens participating in teen advisory boards, focus groups, and library board meetings seems to work for some libraries according to article, “Web, Library, and Teen Services 2.0” by Kimberly Bolan, Meg Canada, and Rob Cullin, although “radical trust” is required in order to allow young adults to “shape and create the library.” Many libraries are now recognizing gaming, vodcasting, and podcasting as a “literacy activity.” ALA also addresses this topic in a press release, “Libraries go where teens are: Online,” and announces that YALSA will be leading a session on this topic at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a reality for many libraries; my village library doesn’t even have a good space for teens much less an appealing website. One Library that is embracing Library 2.0 is the ImaginOn - The Loft at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg Country in North Carolina. There teens have also made a commercial about their library on You Tube, another great example of teen participation. Just a few more activities off their Teen Loft Page.

Teen Second Life: Get One
Take Photos for Your Webpage
Be Smart Wired
Video Gaming Club
Make MySpace Photos Come to Life Google Page
CreatorDance Dance Revolution Tournament (ok, this isn’t web 2.0, is it? It stills seems like a great idea.)

I love great quotes, so here is one more by David Penniman of the University of Buffalo, NY, “In order for the library to remain what it is, it must change. If it doesn’t change it will not remain what it is.” What do you think?

IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU AT MY BLOG

Today, September 14, 2007, I blog for the first time. I will let you know how it goes. So far I am discovering the benefits of using second world, my space, wicki , flickr, and youtube. I have a feeling I will be dreaming of 753 tonight.