Ning's place in the online world

I think Nings have an important place in the "long tail" section of the online social networking arena. It's easy for someone to either find or create an online social network for any particular niche. (Here are just some examples.)

Personally, as one who is still a bit uncomfortable using sites like myspace and facebook, I feel that the option of creating a private networking site is one of the greatest advantages of Ning. The privacy and control features might be especially useful in a school setting where the use of any kind of social software tools is generally looked down upon. Even in a public library setting, I think many customers might feel more comfortable participating in a smaller, private online community, and they can be a great thing to use for book clubs, discussion groups and teen advisory boards.

But not all Nings are "small" and "private". Joyce Valenza's TeacherLibrarian Ning has over 2,000 members and anyone can register to join. Joining (or even just visiting) a ning such as this allows one to quickly connect with people who share common interests more efficiently, I think, than they could on the more "social" social networking sites.

boyd on board

I really enjoyed reading Danah Boyd's account of the history of social networking sites. Reading about the rise (and, in some cases, fall) of different sites reminds us that, as with most social software applications, social networking sites are just a means to an end (and not an end in and of themselves.) A library can't set up a myspace or facebook account and then pat him/herself on the back and think, "There. I am now on the cutting edge of technology and am where my users are so we can connect online." Boyd's articles clearly show that all these applications will continue to evolve and that we need to keep abreast of the changes.

I also found her explanation about how the different sites appeal to different "class divisions" a bit troubling, but can clearly see the points she makes. (I also respect how she repeatedly admitted to being uncomfortable even broaching the topic.) Just as libraries have different collections and items that appeal to different users, it's essential that we are aware of the differences in social networking sites and can understand how each may appeal to different groups of people for different reasons.

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name..."

I was never really a diehard Cheers fan, but I think the whole concept behind its theme song, the fact that we all need a "place" to go "hang out" and connect with others, is the reason why social networking sites like Facebook and myspace are so "sticky".

Running into people we know and getting a chance to catch up with them is a very fulfilling experience. Sadly, our hectic, modern day lives don't usually allow this to happen enough in the "real" world on a regular basis (unless, of course, we're lucky enough to live by a corner pub or coffeehouse!) Social networking sites, though, allow us the opportunity to do this very easily and conveniently in the virtual, online world. I think this is why they have become immensely appealing and addictive to so many people over the past few years.

How to make a profile badge in Facebook

Click here to learn how to make a profile badge in Facebook and insert it into your blog.

Favorite Class Videos

Oh, this is so hard to pick "favorites" because I really enjoyed viewing everyone's videos the past couple of weeks!

To mention only a few,

I thought Jenna's "Do you want a treat?" was particularly hysterical.

Heather's "Strong Female Characters for Girls" was both informative and enjoyable to watch. (The Paper Bag Princess is one of my favorite picture books and I'm looking forward to checking out the other books too now!)

Renee's "How to make crabby patty cookies" was fun, and demonstrates how "seeing" something being made is much more effective and appealing than merely reading a recipe.

And Gabrielle's "Entertainment Video" was such a clever idea and shows how using the various effects in Windows Movie Maker can be utilized to easily (well, somewhat "easily") create interesting and professional looking videos.

But, again, I think everyone did such a great job. I also think using video can be a very effective and enjoyable educational tool for students in a school setting. (Though I doubt schools would condone the use of YouTube and blip.tv for hosting them.)

Can you recommend a good book?

When I first decided to become a librarian I used to envision myself skillfully helping people find the "perfect" next book to read. But I was shocked to discover how difficult providing readers' advisory services actually is, since the concept of what makes a "good book" is such an abstract, individual and personal thing. I've come to rely on resources such as Novelist to help with the task and feel that anyone who loves to read would enjoy using it too to explore the universe of books.

Because of this, my screencast is an introductory look on how to use the Novelist database:
http://www.screencast.com/t/36kqkOm5kj

I need to add that making a screencast was much harder than I ever imagined it could be. (Once again, Steve makes things look so easy and looks can be deceiving!) I apologize in advance for the quality/length of mine. My mouse is dying, I think, and kept "sticking" when I wanted to click and scroll on different parts of the screen. Can't tell you how many recordings I ditched prior to finally settling on this less-than-perfect final project. I can see how useful screencasts can be in the library world, but I also understand now that it takes a lot of time and effort to produce quality results.

Educational vs. Entertainment Videos

This question about whether educational videos stand a chance against entertainment videos is kind of like asking whether vegetables can ever prevail over dessert. While one might be "better for you", both are necessary in their own way. And, depending on how they're "made" or "prepared", both can actually be enjoyable.

As Mary Madden's Pew Internet report clearly shows, watching videos online (both for entertainment and for educational purposes) is a growing trend. Producing and uploading videos is also increasing (especially with the younger, 18-29 year old generation.) I would love to see more schools embrace this vastly popular medium and use it more for educational purposes. Even more so than having students watch educational videos, producing their own can be a very effective learning experience. Also, as more people turn to the Web for their informational needs, I believe there will be a greater demand for better produced educational videos. For all the aforementioned reasons, I think educational videos will always have a place on the Web alongside the more fun & entertaining ones.

SCILS598f08 flickr pools

Looking at the tag clouds of both our "about us" pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/scils598f08/pool/tags/
and our "ed-experience" pool:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/scils598f08-edexperience/pool/tags/

shows that (besides the obvious connection of this class!) we have many things in common. We all seem to have very crazy lives, but still are somehow able to make time to be with the people (and pets!) we care about and to do the things we enjoy. The different interests attest to the fact that one can no longer stereotype what a "typical librarian is like"!

I'd also like to add that I really enjoyed seeing what the scils mlis experience is like on-campus through the pictures those of you who take classes on campus shared.

Disney in December

While Disney World can sometimes be a little chilly in December, it's a very festive time to visit. My entertainment video shows some scenes from our family's trip there a few years ago:



This can also be viewed in YouTube

How to clean your house in a minute or less

Although I hate to clean, over the years I have perfected a quick method for getting it done. Step-by-step directions can be seen in my instructional video here:



You can also view this video on blip.tv

Can we utilize the "long tail" of our collections?

The Anderson book initially started losing me this week as I felt it was getting deeper and deeper into economics. I, personally, hated taking economics in college (and hoped I'd find an industry to work in where I never had to deal with it.) The more of Anderson I read as the week progressed, however, the more I realized how economics really plays a huge role in libraries (as I know now, alas, it does in almost all fields. I guess this is even more evident in harder economic times.)

Anderson's discussion about all hits eventually losing their "hit status" and becoming a part of the tail made me think of the carts and carts of library materials we weed from our collections on a regular basis. Because most libraries are still brick and mortar institutions, this is inevitable (physical limitations prevent them from being able to "carry everything.") Individually, I don't think libraries can truly be effective Long Tail organizations because of these limitations. If they work together with other libraries, though, both to ensure that they can collectively cover all niche markets, and to build their digital collections (promoting the "libraries without walls" concept), they can, as a whole, be long tail information providers. I think we can most effectively make this happening by focusing our collection development efforts on the "tails within tails" that Anderson discusses (pp. 139-141.) I don't think all libraries can really be everything for everyone. But if they combine their efforts and each works to fill a certain niche (library A, for example, builds a solid business collection; another library in the area, library B, focuses on medicine, etc.) they will be better prepared to meet everyone's needs and wants.

podcasting vs. text-based blogging

I definitely think that people's preferences of listening to podcasts or reading blogs stems from whether they are mostly auditory or visual learners. I, personally, prefer reading to listening (for example, I'm not a big audiobook fan and not a big phone person, but I love to read print books and communicate via email or even old fashioned "letters".) But there are pros and cons inherent to each medium as well.

Good podcasts (ie, those that are well-produced and delivered) can oftentimes be more engaging and entertaining. The fact that they are portable is another big plus. And they (literally) give a human voice to their message which can oftentimes help listeners feel more connected to their authors.

While the podcasts we've listened to in this class have all been very well produced, I can imagine how painful poorly produced ones would be to listen to. I think people may have more of a tendency to ramble on when speaking (as opposed to writing...though I guess they can ramble there too!) Another detraction is that podcasts can't be skimmed through as a blog post can be. (That's another reason why I prefer print books to audiobooks....if something is boring or irrelevant, it can be skimmed and parts can be skipped over. One might miss "important stuff" by doing this in either an audiobook or a podcast.)

On top of everything else, I killed the hermit crab

I don't really like hermit crabs. I wasn't all too thrilled when my parents bought a couple of them for my daughter this past summer. I was even less thrilled when I was the one who ended up getting stuck taking care of them.

But I really feel horrible about what happened to one of them the day before Halloween.

The whole sad story is here:

http://www.switchpod.com/users/jgscils598f08/crabs.mp3


Or, you can listen to it with this player: