Boyd reading

If this were a strict question, the lesson that libraries should take away from the boyd reading is that libraries should be cognizant of where they advertise online, because certain networks appeal to certain audiences. If a library is in a lower-class area, it should advertise on MySpace, where it would receive the most attention. If a library is in an upper-class area, it should advertise on Facebook, where its users are likely to be members.

What propels this disparity? How many times has MySpace been on the news as a vehicle for pedophiles and stalkers? Many. How many times has Facebook gotten the same bad rap? None that I can recall. I don't believe that either service is inherently bad or for one class only, but because it's a social networking site, users will gravitate towards the site their friends are using. Because Facebook started out as a ".edu" only site, they naturally have more college-educated users. MySpace is open to all, and doesn't require any kind of credentials, making it accessible for the working class and beyond.

Ning

Overall, Ning seems like it would be great for use in a work environment, if you work with people who are accepting of new technologies and willing to participate. For the comparison, I love pros and cons, so here we go:

Pros:
- can be set to be totally private, including a member log-in and new member approval
- because of privacy settings, would be good for office/school setting
- nice templates, easy to customize
- easy to set up, add/drop features
- allows personalized domain name (for a fee)
- if used in business, allows for younger employees to keep Facebook/MySpace accounts separate from work

Cons:
- hefty price for ad removal, extra storage
- if used in business, must educate users on how to use Ning
- has potential for being a timewaster ala Facebook/MySpace
- may be automatically blocked by some business networks

Facebook screencast

I was totally new to Facebook, so I made myself a little tutorial on how to upload and change your profile picture.

Watch it here: how to change your Facebook picture

MySpace and Facebook stickiness

So when I first looked at this question, I interpreted "sticky" to mean difficult or awkward. I had to dig a little deeper to understand that "sticky" means what keeps people coming back. The obvious draw is the social aspect of it - if all your friends are doing it, you should be too. It's easy to keep tabs on your friends this way. Aside from being a personal, customizable web space, Facebook and MySpace have a kind of built-in Twitter aspect, your "status." Your status is basically like a tweet on Twitter - it's your mood, what you're doing, how you're feeling. Aside from that, there's the popularity contest side - the more "friends" you have, the more popular you are.

I never used Facebook or MySpace before this class (before this Monday, actually). Friends of mine who use Facebook and MySpace on a regular basis say they're a good way to keep in touch with people and to coordinate group activities. I always shunned them, because I wasn't interested in being "found;" I would rather see my friends in real life than virtually. But I can see the advantages - keeping in touch quickly and easily, sharing photos and videos.

If all else fails, both of these sites would make a great interface for stalkers.

How to make a pie graph in Excel

For my screencast, I decided to create something that I could show to the 598 class as well as my students. Students in 3-5th grade use Excel to create graphs, so I thought I'd demonstrate how to create a pie graph using Excel 2007. Enjoy!

Please click here to view - http://screencast.com/t/BVV6jdla

YouTube

I've never been a huge fan of YouTube, save for looking up funny videos of animals. In fact, the whole video week was new to me overall. I was surprised at how professional some of the videos looked (and how amateur mine were in comparison). However, there were many that I enjoyed.

My favorites:

Librarians must have cardigans - I have a deep and abiding love of cardigans

Bah humbug! - my sentiments exactly

How to clean your house in a minute or less - love the use of baskets!

Addicted to the net - cause I am, too.

Thanks to those who enjoyed my videos!

Education vs. entertainment

Ah, educational videos. When they're done well, they're great. When they're done poorly, students know it. The best educational videos that I've seen are also entertaining (edutainment?). For example, Bill Nye the Science Guy videos are fantastic. Bill Nye presents with a lot of enthusiasm and science content, and simplifies science topics without dumbing them down. These videos have their place in the classroom and in the home, as both education and entertainment.

At my school, we subscribe to a service called United Streaming, which is owned by Discovery. It offers thousands of educational videos on a range of subjects for all grades. Many of the videos are dull and difficult for young students to sit through. However, the nice thing about United Streaming is that the movies are available to download as clips, so instead of watching a full 20-minute video on the history of Thanksgiving, teachers can pick a specific 5-minute clip that pertains to their lesson. United Streaming also offers Weston Woods books on video, which are fantastic video productions of books. The illustrations are animated and the books are nicely narrated. These clips and video books are educational in the content, but entertaining in the way they're presented.

My entertainment video

This is what happens when you ask the same question to a ferret and a cat...
do you want a treat?

Watch it here:


or here.

Enjoy!

My educational video

How to make great coffee. It all starts with a French press pot.

Watch it here:


or here.

Enjoy!

Flickr project - bringing us all together

In this post about our Flickr project, I'd like to get mushy and focus on what brings us together as MLIS online students (why yes, I have had a brandy alexander in celebration of Obama's early lead).

In the scils598f08 group, it seems that family, home, and pets are important to all of us. Nearly everyone posted at least one picture from one of these categories. Personally, I posted a picture of my "second home" in VT (the home of close family friends), and a picture of my darling cat. It was nice to see that family and home are important across the board. I also think it's kind of funny how nearly none of us posted pictures of ourselves, but we've gladly posted pictures of our children/pets/homes.

In the ed experience group, there were lots of computers, books, and modes of transportation. It seems like there is a mix of strictly online and on-campus/online students in the class. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who spends nearly as much time getting to class as I am in class. There were also some good pictures of distractions, including various drinks, pets, and toys. It's nice to see that even though we work hard, we can play hard, too.

Overall, seeing these pictures made me feel a better connection with my online classmates, only a few of whom I've met before in person, in other classes. The project was a good introduction to Flickr, which I've never used before, and also a good introduction to our classmates.

Can librarians utilize the Long Tail?

Short answer: sort of.

Long answer: I think the only way librarians can effectively utilize the Long Tail effect is by guiding patrons to the Long Tail by the power of suggestion. As I mentioned in an earlier post, librarians hold some power as "new tastemakers." If a patron is looking for a "hit" that's unavailable, the librarian can guide the patron to a "nonhit" that's similar, but part of the Long Tail, rather than the mainstream.

I do this all the time in my work. Kids will ask me for the latest, greatest book, and if it's not in, I try to guide them to something similar but less popular. I'm sure that I say "if you like [book x], then you might like [book y]" a dozen times a day. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to me that I at least introduce the students to a new book or series.