IL2008

LOL @ Your Library: Live Online Learning: IL 2008

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LOL @ Your Library: Live Online Learning
Paul DeVillo, Tom Cole and Dale Musselman
(all from PLCMC–Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenbury County)

Tool to meet changing needs of staff and customers

Demands of training and costs of training increasing. Always something new for technology, but patrons want us to show them everything and it is becoming impossible to keep up. New channel of communication needed. Librarians have to wear many hats and have many skills–reference, instruction, access, systems, etc.

If you have to go to different venues to train, it takes a lot of time and money. So if you learn online then less driving and we help the environment.

Videoconferencing and the library
Easy to see benefits
Reduced travel time, fuel use, and emissions, could reach out to people who didn’t use the library or couldn’t come to training that was far away
Costs: telepresence was out of their league, IT staff time, and bandwidth

Online conferencing was the solution for their library: space to share ideas, best for informing, little additional hardware needed. They bought software, but remember you can use free open source that Connie Crosby talked about yesterday. Got to love open source. 🙂

How you can use online conferencing:
Staff training, then meetings, then roll out to public offerings

Requirements:
Need high bandwidth
Need headsets with headphones and mic
Need a space that is fairly quiet for presenters
Recommended: VoIP enabled telephones

Always need to consider the needs of your audience! If you are pushing this to the public, do the patrons have the bandwidth to use the service? Do you make different presentations for different bandwidths? There will always be issues with any service, no matter how well you test and plan.

Consider the needs of your trainers and presenters
Hardware and software needs–sometimes different than for the audience
Needed versus actual skills–how do you overcome the skills gap
Producer role–handles technology, helps attendees, frees up trainer/presenter: aka the troubleshooter

Audio
VoIP: for webinars, large audience and low interaction
Phone Conference: meetings, small group, high interaction
VoIP & phone: flexible for webinars or training, beware of expense for large groups

Have people check out technology configuration before the session

Yes! Finally someone mentioned Section 508 compliance! Everyone should try to be 508 compliant–it is horrible to have library services and resources that are not accessible to everyone. (I am stepping off my soapbox now)

Remember to market your new online training services.

Take Home Message:
Online training can save travel time and cost, plus get to people that can’t physically get to a training site. But you need people (trainers, presenters and producers) that understand and have the skills to be training in the online environment.

Keynote: Search Engine Land: What's Happening Out There?: IL2008

/ dwakimoto

Keynote: Search Engine Land: What’s Happening Out There?
by Danny Sullivan
Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Land, former journalist for LA Times

Themes:
There ain’t no Google Killer: Google is going to remain dominant search engine for at least 5 years. Very difficult for anyone to challenge them.

Cuil.com said would have largest index of the web earlier this year in order to get media coverage. But bigger isn’t always better in search engine land. Internet lifetime= 5 years. But it came out and it was horrible. Not the challenger that would knock Google off its perch. Relevancy was horrible especially compared to Google. You didn’t get stuff you expected–could tell there was no relevancy to search results.

Other Google Killers?
Powerset: proved natural language isn’t a natural killer, proved not to be a great search engine, Microsoft acquired it for not much money. Interesting because reading pages and understanding the ideas, which is cool–more like how humans read a page (get aboutness of the page) but not great for searching

Microsoft: announced search engine in 1998, gone nowhere

Pax Googlecana
the benevolent dictatorship
60-70% of the share of searches in the US
80-90% of website owners get traffic from Google
Some countries Google has 90% share, but not in China, Russia, Japan

Google Killerettes
Not quite death by 1,000 cuts and more like let 1,000 flowers bloom
Other search engines, niche and vertical search engines might be more attention
Google doesn’t dominate in all areas

Example: Twitter
Microblogging, hyper real-time tool to see the buzz
http://search.twitter.com
can get news before major news networks (China earthquake, etc.)
Google doesn’t do this

Urbanspoon
iPhone application–knows where you are and finds you a random restaurant or can input limiters (like type of food, price, etc.)
Can use it online too: http://www.urbanspoon.com
Also, Chowhound http://www.chowhound.com
Fun tools, very customer-centric, for mobile devices

Eventful (iPhone event and also on web)
http://eventful.com
What’s going on, from music to events
Upcoming another tool that does the same kind of thing
Google doesn’t have event searching

Yelp
local reviews of all types
http://yelp.com
Note: I love this site, great reviews and definitely get your library in there!
Lots of people are using Yelp
Google is growing its map community that can also host reviews

Trulia/Zillow
both offer homes for sale, local real estate values, etc.
Great for everyone finding real estate information
Google doesn’t have this service, maybe acquire one of these?

Kayak, multisite search
http://kayak.com
Farecast is similar, Microsoft acquired it
Google doesn’t have this feature

Craiglist
http://craiglist.org
buy, sell related to local areas
Lots of poeple use this
Google Base is attempt to challenge Craiglist
And Craiglist is doing well even though looks so Web 1.0

Jobs: Indeed.com
People: Pipl.com, Spock.com
News: Digg.com
Video: Blinkx.com, VideoSurf.com (note: I love VideoSurf, I got in on beta and it is fabulous, so interesting and great interface)
Gas Prices: GasBuddy.com

Killerette Challenges
Hard to remember all the ones out there: hard to remember to go back to the applications/service instead of Google, hard to change habits

Bigger Challengers: Yahoo!
Innovation, mobile
BOSS: build your own search service
Search Monkey: search results, way for publishers to blend information of their own into their listings (enhanced listings)
Biggest problem: Yahoo! continues to face uncertainty, investors don’t have faith in Yahoo! and Uncertainty leads to brain drain

Microsoft
Bailed out of “non-consumer” search, act like they are the heir-apparent, focused on ads first for ad money, search is second. Google started as a search engine, then looked into ads. Microsoft has major branding problems, trying out SearchPerks latest in giveaway attempt to get people to search on Microsoft’s Live Search

Google Master Plan?
Some planning: Chrome, Google Checkout, Google Shopping
BUT: lots of Google’s progress comes naturally, through a “hive mind” mentality
http://searchengineland.com/the-google-hive-mind-14832.php for article on hive mind
Hard to predict what Google will do. Increase advertising on Google applications

Googlettes
Google video is now video metasearch, been that way for about a year
Universal search mixing continues: blend results from many vertical search engines
Google Trends: continues to grow, data about website traffic
Community editing on maps growing, has spam problems
Google Blog Search: get top stories too, blog search clustering

Big Trends for Google
Personalized results: reshaping results based on where you are, what you are searching for, where you’ve been on the web
Search Customization: tailoring results based on geographic location, previous query, web history, start ramping up this customization
Now telling you that it is happening, explicit when changing query for you

Conclusion:
Google will continue to dominate, but mobile searching offers new opportunities

Take Home Message: Google is here to stay but is not the best service/application for everything. Branch out and try some of the Google Killerettes. Have fun.

Day 1 Wrap-up:IL 2008

/ dwakimoto

Overall, great presentations and great ideas for using Web 2.0 widgets on library website

Most ironic part of the day: horrible wireless access and we are at Internet Librarian! Wireless connection kept dropping, would not work in some places and basically was incredibly disappointing as I wanted to blog live from the conference sessions.

Best presentation: Tie: Search Widgets & Gadgets for Libraries–great ideas for making Google gadgets for the library in order to get library resources out into the environments that our users are comfortable in. Audio & Video for Libraryes–great presentation, awesome slides and examples, plus the wireless was finally working and I was able to upload all my notes to the blog! Yahoo!

Worst Presentation: I’m not a negative person and props to everyone to presenting. But please, please, please test your PowerPoint Slides before the presentation because it is so annoying to not be able to see the writing or images on the slides. Oh, and try to be dynamic when you are speaking or at least sound like you are confident ’cause you know your stuff! 🙂

Can’t wait for Day 2! And I have so much stuff to do when I get back to work!

Instant Audio & Video: IL2008

/ dwakimoto / 1 Comment

Instant Audio & Video: Tools Igniting the Digital World

Connie Crosby

Barrier has dropped for creating audio and video on the web

“there is no better time to create a community of friends who can come together and execute on your brilliant idea” co-founder of 12seconds.tv (oct 2008)

Lots of these technologies are available on the web, open source

Not a lot of libraries are using these technologies yet

Need to build communities with these tools, be part of a group

Audio creates intimacy, creates connection–voice in your head through the headphones

Video connects to humanity, seeing a face is powerful

Important part of the technology is how you will talk to your community and engage to your community

Who are you going to engage with these tools?

Talkshoe www.talkshoe.com create, manage and host your own audio, like radio talkshow, several people call in at once, can record for downloading and pod casting, free recording, storage and bandwidth hosting, creating a show is easy, all you need is a computer and headphones with mic, give you widgets and badges to add to your blog (very cool) and other platforms

Ideally, you want to host stuff yourself, you will own the content

However, these tools allow you to do this stuff for free, low cost to entry and a way around dealing with IT

Uncontrolled Vocabulary–show on Talkshoe on library industry (http://uncontrolled vocabulary.com)

Utterli (www.utterli.com) a little Twitter-like, can use text, photos, video and audio, can call in from your cellphone, formerly known as Utterz, cross-post to many other platforms
Ex. Andycaster

Seesmic (www.seesmic.com) almost exclusive video, video conversation as of September 30,000 users, talking back and forth through video, has ability to see all video discussion in the stream
12seconds: Twitter for video, be succinct, watch on web or via mobile, only get 12 seconds to tell your story

ooVoo (www.loovoo.com) made for business video conferencing, up to 6 people on the screen at once, high resolution, records video chats, proprietary software, now has paid levels with more features

Tokbox (www.toxbox.com): opensource, web-based, large numbers of video chatting, confusion because so many people are talking at once, 6 is a nice number, 18 is too many

Ustream (ustream.tv): live interactive broadcasting, stream from events, chat, recorded for viewing later, camera and Internet access needed

Qik (qik.com): mobile live video, broadcast events, spontaneous, check for supported phones, chaotic

Phreadz (phreadz.com): in alpha right now, social multimedia conversation network, video audio and photo blogging, create via desktop or mobile, keep your eye out for this

These are tools for building community, information communication, unscripted, let your clients/patrons participate (getting students involved)

Creating content=engagement

We can support each other through these communities

Take home message: Build communities, get comfortable with using audio and video, and figure out how people are using these tools.

www.crosbygroup.ca/blog (she will be posting the slides–great slides and presentation)

Mashing Up and Remixing the Library Website

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Mashing up and Remixing the Library Website

Karen Coombs

Theory and demo system from University of Houston

Problems with traditional content management systems:
Different skill levels which leads to problems
Many different systems
Problems of repetition of information
Patrons just want to get into information quickly
Need to integrate into classroom CMS/curriculum

Traditional Solutions:
Used database system
Install CMS (proprietary or open source)
Distribute content creation throughout the library= shared responsibility

New Solution:
Build your own system or use mash-ups
Need easy to use system
Have remixable site
Incorporate other systems

Inspirations:
Drupal: can be complicated with tons of modules
iGoogle: customize with gadgets, widgets
Wordpress: blogging software

Web 2.0 Pillars
Radical decentralized control of information
Modularity
Perpetual beta: some people have a problem with this, but I love it!
Remixable
User as Contributer
Rich user experience (interactivity)

Systems that University of Houston is using:
LibraryFind
Archon
WorldCat
SerialsSolution
Wordpress
flickr
All systems working together

Microformat: way to encode part of a webpage as an event
Make content portable
Embedable code to put on different sites

API: interface that is programmable, use object metadata into other places, using OpenSearch, outputs different formats

Take Home Message:
You want to give power to more than a small group of people for creating content and editing the website. It is important to have remixable content and modules. Web 2.0 rocks!

Cool Tools for Library Webmasters: IL2008

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Cool Tools for Library Webmasters

Frank Cervone and Darlene Fichter

Tools for everyone: free tools

VisCheck: simulation of human vision, shows what things look like to someone who is color blind, online services and downloadable version (very similar to Vizu)

Links to presentation up on ITI website, on slideshare.net too

Thumbalizer: takes an image and makes a thumbnail for you

ImageFlow: can imbed in website, very like Cooliris, same look, but one stream and not a moving wall of images

DeGraeve.com: color palette generator, takes an image and suggests colors to use for design

Widgenie: creates widgets, connect to data, charts created, creates online charts

Call graph: records skype calls

Freemind: mind-mapping software, export in a number of formats

Firefox tools:
SafeCache– defends cache-based techniques, protects your privacy, safe browsing
SafeHistory– protects your browsing history, can’t have different sites looking at each other’s data
FoxMarks–automatically synchronizes bookmarks, access my.foxmarks.com (use this if you still insist on using Firefox’s bookmark function instead of just bookmarking everything to del.icio.us)
FEBE– Firefox Environment Backup Extension, backups your Firefox extension, synchs your office and home browsers, may specify user defined items, can backup other parts of your browser and browser history

LinkBunch: put multiple links into one small link, good for Twitter, Firefox extension creates a bunch from your open tabs

DocSyncer (don’t need if Google docs) automatically finds and syncs your documents to Google Docs, automatically backup everything

TrueCrypt– can encrypt your flash drive, part of your hard drive

File Hamster: real-time backup and archiving of your files while you work, monitors files or directories

Synchback Freeware: backup all files, good for server-level, open source product

FreeUndelete: puts directory entry back in so you can recover the file you deleted

Usability:
Browsershots: creates screenshots in different browsers, sends requests to machine running that browser, online tool, lots of browser platforms

Feng GUI: automatic alternative to eye-tracking, creates heat maps based on an algorithm that predicts what a real human would be most likely to look at
www.feng-gui.com

FavIcon from Pics: icon for the URL box, creates it from your logo, picture, etc.

SuggestionBox: link to your site, manage your suggestions

DamnIT: JavaScript, put on your webpage, captures errors and sends you an email about what happened

.htaccess password generator: cut and paste code

Cropper in C#: crops images, screenshots and captures screenshots

Steal from the best:
For best web design: web design, free layouts, open source web design, open web design, themesbase (all free sources of layouts, CSS, templates)

ZUG: missing page fun/404 error page, create funny error pages

Take Home Message: Tons of great open source stuff that you can use in the library and for your own personal use.

Search Widgets adn Gadgets for Libraries: IL 2008

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Search Widgets and Gadgets for Libraries

Jason Clark and Tim Donahue

Wiki.sla.org= able to do 23 things learn web 2.0 technologies in 15 minutes a day

Networked research environment and search-push technologies

New technologies, widget, gadget, and Flash animated finding tools

Where are Users are: personal-learning environment (PLE), users in all types of areas on the web, work in flickr, facebook, blogs

How to do research through: iGoogle, and other portals

Want users to use our resources, stuff moves quickly, technology moves quickly

What do we do/play?
“broadcast our signals” more widely, need to work in distributed environments

OpenSearch browser plugins–widgets
Google Gadgets–JavaScript applications, can link into library resources/catalog
Hook people and bring back to library resources

Montana State University: has page that has widget page to promote them to users

Examples:
Widget to enter library catalog through the browser, very cool application, don’t have to come into the library catalog, can do it for databases too, very easy to set up, very small XML file to create this widget

Google Gadgets: can build, quick search functionality, allow people to search in their own environment, users can drop this gadget into iGoogle page, Google has text editors (Google Gadget Editor) and can copy and paste code so not difficult to do, gives you the embed code after you make the gadget

Google Gadgets: there is the ability to have tabbed widgets–how cool is that?

All is done to allow users access to library resources through the environment they are comfortable with

Multiple Endpoints:
Facebook, MySpace, web portals, etc.
Can have library widgets that work in many different environments

What’s  next?
Promotion of the widgets and gadgets through education, videos, marketing
Figure out more opportunities–go where the users are instead of forcing one size fits all way of searching the library

Interplay between physical and digital resources/services in libraries

Apply new technology to books

Flash–animate the web! J
Example: library map, animate a map, mouse over the stacks to see what subjects/call number ranges in the stacks

Simplicity is key in visual design

Flash works through frames: drawing, animating through time and space, way to get around doing coding (ex. Took about 200 hours to create the example map)

Trying to integrate the map into the catalog, nice idea ex. Search catalog, find record, click link to see where it is in the library through the map

Flash is scalable so it is possible to work it into a widget, you don’t use resolution and can maximize widget/gadget to see larger version of the map

Arizona State University and Montana State University moving towards Google Application platform, have students use iGoogle pages as home portal and access resources through there

Take home message:
Widgets and Gadgets have the ability to bring the library to the users’ environment and push people to the library’s online resources/services, great ideas!

Digital Marketing: IL 2008

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Digital Marketing: Session 2

Sarah Houghtan-Jan & Aaron Schmidt

Links will be on the blogs: librarianinblack.com

Digital outreach–connecting users with library services, connecting users with librarians
OCLC study: number 1 thing people care about is transforming lives, need to connect users with librarians

Ex. Librarian Trading cards

What is online outreach:
Tons of ways to outreach

Online: no barriers (I would disagree with this on a basic access level) but we are serving global audience now

What are we marketing?

Have to have an interact library website! Web 2.0 interaction

Must have good content online, must have quality, be relevant

Everything in this presentation is free!

Library directory listing: check if the library listing is correct: LibDex, MapMuse, Libraries411, PublicLibraries.com, Libraries on the Web

Blog search engines: submit rss feeds to search engines, Feed Submitter site–goes to 15 different sites, great way to get out the word, easy marketing

Blog geo-search engines: frapper, feedmap, blogwise, gFeedMap–lots of people use these

Wikimapia–like wikipedia but a map–cool! Draw a box around where your library is on the map–put in information and a link

Search Enging Findability: search for variations of your library’s name, expand beyond Google, can buy AdWorks from Google–could use for special programming or hire a search engine optimizer (SEO)

Wifi–people expect it, and they expect it to work, list your library in wifi directories: wififreespot, wifi411, wifinder, jwire, wi-fi zone, wifihotspotlist gets people in the door

Community websites: American towns.com, canadaeventscalendar, booksalescout.com, artsopolia, eventful, librarythinglocal–take ownership of your library’s listings

Google: link: URL and you will know who is linking to the library website, blog, etc. see who is talking about your library

Social Review Websites: yelp, city search, etc. use the flattering comments in your marketing material (how cool is that!), can also see problems and work to change it

Directory Information: look online for phone numbers, addresses, make sure listed correctly, Google Maps, yahoo!local, ask city, can claim your library, upload photos, etc.

A/V content Findable: you tube, google video, blip.tv, blinkx, singing fish, yahoo pod casts, pod cast.net, podcast alley, get some subscribers

Social networking Sites: can create a profile for your library, ex. MySpace, Facebook, flickr, ning (note: some studies show students do not like libraries in their social networking space, other studies show the opposite, just an FYI)

Find Local Blogs: by city, lodger local, metro logging, feedmap, interact with local blogs, be available, find appropriate blogs, have authentic interactions, don’t be heavy handed, be friendly, takes time to be integrated into a community and have street cred

Blogs and Forums: tech boards, continuing education boards

Get out what you put in!

BookSpace (Huntington Library Minnesota): place to talk about books online, online community space, news, lists, etc. great design and space, get all information about books from disparate ploaces into one social networking site, no barriers to contributing to BookSpace

Expert Sites: list our staff on these sites: all experts.com, ziki, illumio, qunu, yedda, FAQQLY, Otavo, yahoo! Answers, SLAM the Boards (on the 10th of every month), identify themselves at the end that they are librarians

Ask Meta site: jump in and answer questions

Push the information out: have subscription services, rss/email updates (you can use feed burner), newsletter software, etc., don’t spam the inbox!

Make sure you are in Wikipedia! List on your city, create an entry

IM: free, easy, primary form of communication for many

Text messaging: send out notifications via SMS

Text a Librarian: combines IM and text messaging into one web-based platform, soon will have queue feature so many people can monitor one screen-name

Twitter: quick updates, be clear about what you will be sending so people know what they are subscribing to

SecondLife: time-sink, lots of time to set up for the investment, needs to mature

People are using this stuff. So no excuse to not do this! Be user centered!

Take home message:
Get out there and market online! It is well-worth it!

Designing the Digital Experience

/ dwakimoto

Hi, All. This is the first presentation session of the day that I am going to an Internet Librarian and we are trying blogging while in the conference. So we’ll see how it goes. I even got a cool little ribbon on my nametag that says blogger! How cool is that?!

This session’s speaker is David King.

We are having massive wifi problems here, so if it goes wonky during this post you know why.

Talk version of King’s book: Designing the Digital Experinece:

First defining:

Experiences Economy: tangible goods as props and untangible services as the way of providing an experience–example of restaurants: differences between Hard Rock Cafe versus McDonalds

Experience Design: Nathan Shedroff–“an approach to creating successful experiences for people in any medium”

Creating more than a service or goods–experience is more important now. people want great service, goods and an experience

3 paths to experience:

Structural Path: create a better experience by improving website easy of use, easy navigate site, well designed experience should stay out of the users’ way–focus on user not on cool features of the website:
1. Jesse James Garett Elements of User Experience book method–structure, usability testing, surface=visual design, focus on user experience always
2. Experience Map: uncover–customer needs, define–experience brief=story about what the user should get out of it, ideate–get the feel of the place, build/design–visual phase
3. 37signals, Getting Real (ebook, free at the website)–different way of designing, just start building, focus on experience brief for directional document, simplify features (ex. Google docs versus Word–not a lot of bells and whistles), being passionate about what you build! If you are passionate it will show (I completely agree)

Look at websites with critical eyes, remove what confuses people, figure out goals, big goal=making it easy for the user so not distracted

Community Path
providing memorable experience through experiencing community
Example: town hall meeting lots of discussions
Digital version: Amazon customer reviews, more reviews are powerful, community-driven experience
Types:
Real Conversation: commenting on blogs, IM, Twitter, online forum Goal: connect with you and with others, think about reviews of books in catalog!
Connecting with Others: social networking sites, friending, connections lead to conversation, lead to community building
Invitation: active invitation-ask a question, post on a blog and ask for response; passive invitation: allowing for comments, rss feeds
Participation: very important! Web2.0 need participation for community, comments goal is to participate, ex. comment box,
Sense of Familiarity: know about a person through flickr, subscribe to a blog= ways to get to know people a bit
Telling our Stories: people want to know about you (ie social networks), people want to participate in your story, want to continue the story, example: sharing stories about Katrina, clean-up, volunteering, etc

Twitter: great example of community

Customer Path: ex. Hotels focusing on beds in the last couple of years, then other hotels followed,
Ex. sports clip–haircutting place for men, experience
Digital version: Harley Davidson experience, Webkinz world: whole social world for kids, Starbucks website–figure out your coffee flavor, etc. working to extend physical presences into online world, having a pre/post-show

Library post-show: discussion of book on web after reading, extend book club

People want to connect to people, that is the point! Create connection through website

Site is not about the product, about the Experience! Share about your product, libraries need to do this. Provide great costomer experience

Improve through:
Customer Journey Mapping: mapping touchpoints of an interaction/experience, try to improve each touchpoint (each time a user is interacting with a company) can be used within the library
1. insight into user needs, how they feel
2. provide user-focus, center of organization should be user (ie patron for libraries)

Improve the Ordinary: figure out what ordinary means for your site–major features, services, resources and then improve them, compare your site with other websites in other industries–get outside of library land, look at what people are using (ex. facebook, amazon), match the feel/experience (such a great tip!)

What Do we Do with This?
1. Connect the user to the organization, the product, try to connect more library patrons to products other than the books–get out of the stereotypes of the library
2. Connect the user to other users–commenting, forums, etc.
3. Create an Experience Stage–think about experience that you want people to have, storyboard it, every part of customer contact is like performing a show–you are an actor, figure it out before taking the show on the road, connect with people, learn how to interact on the web–need to train for that

Work on Conversations
What is old is new–it is all about the art of conversation–you need to connect in order to be able to improve your services, resources and experiences

take home message:
It is all about the Experience and change in is the air!