OPAL: Social Software: A Survey of Web 2.0
notes by Starr Hoffman
6.15.2006
"Web 2.0"
- term coined by Tim O'Reilly
- other names: social web, 2-way web, read/write web, social software
- users interact, create content, participate
- Michael Casey: "Library 2.0"
- web as platform / OS (Google Spreadsheets)
- harnassing collective intelligence -- the group is smarter than one person
- rich user experience
- openness
- decentralization
- participation
- mashups
- "Gen C" (C for content)
- 12-17 year-olds, middle-class and higher
- what is the library's role in the future?
- build collaborative spaces for teens & others for content creation
Podcasting
- like a radio program (just in digital format)
- open source tools
- enhances library's web presence with multimedia
- downsides:
- time-consuming to create
- limited linking/feedback/indexing
- add podcast about the library & its services
- could be used as a training tool for databases & other library tools
- good for late hours when there isn't a librarian at the reference desk
- interviews with library guests
- booktalks
- lectures/presentations at a university
- example library podcast site
- podcasts are syndicated in RSS
- search for library podcasts on iTunes to see current presence
- perhaps offer patrons a space to record their own podcasts
RSS
- Really Simple Syndication
- means publishing content, delivering
- content you're interested in comes to you
- aka "automating web surfing"
When people ask me what RSS is, I say it's automated web surfing. We took something lots of people do, visiting sites looking for new stuff, and automated it. It's a very predictable thing, that's what computers do -- automate repetitive things.
-- David Winer
Ideas for Library RSS Feeds
- news
- local community events
- new book lists
- images
- assignment alerts
- new resources
- podcasts
- personal RSS feeds
Things To Do
- promote your feeds
- teach staff about Bloglines & RSS
- train them to use it
Use RSS to Create Personalized Webpage
- Netvibes
- it's an RSS portal
- build a page with news, images, weather reports, blog posts, etc.
- recent Flickr uploads
Wikis
Photo-Blogging
Folksonomy
- people are learning they can tag things their own way
- homegrown keywords, instead of formal subject headings
Use Appropriate Format
- wikis good for nonlinear publication
- also track changes to a document over time
- blogs are chronological, good for time-related content
- would make great business cards / marketing tools
Social Networking Sites
- MySpace
- has had 270,000 new additions in a single day
- library account: add its age
- promote events, link to catalog
- Facebook
- Second Life Library
- use API (application program interface)
- pull two sites' info together
- sharing their database content
- example: combine info from Google & Amazon
- Superpatron combined Amazon
All of these services are FREE (except a pro Flickr account, which is $25).
Questions We Need to Ask of Technology (from David King)
- What does your library plan to offer using this new service?
- What are the library’s goals for establishing this new service?
- Can the advertising be minimized by paying a fee or by choosing certain categories?
- Does the service meet the library’s strategic goals?
- Who’s going to maintain this new service?
- And most important: if it's successful - what’s next?
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