Connect With Your Users:Communicate Using Social Software Tools

113th Vermont Library Conference

May 15, 2007

Rob Favini NELINET, Inc

An Hour and 15 WITH Questions??!!!

• Blogs• Wikis• RSS

The Blog Defined

A blog (short for web log) is a website where entries are made and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog viewed 5/9/07

What’s Blog-y?

• Text• Images• Links• Comments in response to a posting• Subscription• Audio (podcasts)• Video (vlogs or vodcasts)• No code skills needed

Blog v Static Web site

• Blog– easy to add content– no FTP required– Ability to subscribe

(content goes to users automatically)

• Web site– go through

gatekeeper to add content

– need special software or skills (Dreamwever, FrontPage, or hand-code)

– users have to come to site

State of the Blogosphere Technorati, April 2007

• Over 70 million blogs• 1.4 blogs per second• 100 times bigger than 3 years ago• 1.4 million postings per day; 17 posts

per second• 100 most popular sites: 22 are blogs

http://technorati.com/weblog/blogosphere/

The Library Big Picture

• Large number of our users look to blogs for information

• Blogs are, in practice, communities of interest

• Blogging helps to change the perception of the library

How Are Libraries Using Blogs?

• Links and commentary about subject resources

• Links to articles/announcements: newspapers, journals, publications, reviews, Web sites…

• Communicate library/community news

• Access the OPAC!

Library Blog Examples

• Darien Library– www.darienlibrary.org/

• HPER Librarian, Springfield College– www.babsonlibrary.org/hper

• Plymouth State Univ., NH– http://www.plymouth.edu/library/opac/

• Uthink: Blogs at the University of Minnesota– http://blog.lib.umn.edu/

Independent Librarian Voices(One Day @ ALA Seattle)

• Tame The Web (Michael Stephens)– http://tametheweb.com/

• David Lee King– http://www.davidleeking.com/

• Shifted Librarian (Jenny Levine)– http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/

• Library Man (Michael Porter)– http://www.libraryman.com/blog

Blog Software: Youth Oriented

• LiveJournal – http://www.livejournal.com– Free!

• MySpace– http://myspace.com– Free!

• Bebo– http://www.bebo.com– Free!

Blog Software: In Between

• Vox– http://www.vox.com/– Free!

• Blogger– http://www.blogger.com– Free!

Blog Software: Professional

• WordPress– http://wordpress.org/– http://wordpress.com/

• MovableType– http://www.movabletype.com/

• TypePad– http://www.typepad.com/

What is a Wiki?

• Collaborative Web publishing• Collection of never-finished documents• Uses simplified hypertext markup

– Requires no knowledge of Web languages– Users have to learn a handful of software-

specific codes

• Anyone can add/delete/modify– Can be restricted (login required)

What’s Wiki-y?• Wiki is…

– collaborative– Community oriented– A way to create documents– a knowledge base– always in flux– infinitely editable– internally linked– a bit chaotic

If it walks like a wiki…

• Articles• Edit• Talk/Discussion• History• Search• Categories

The Most Famous Wiki of All

Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org)

Goal: “…to put the sum of all human knowledge in the form of an encyclopedia in the hands of every single person on the planet for free.”

— Jimmy Wales, cofounder and chief executive; http://www.bizreport.com/print/7945

The Wiki Philosophy

• Trust always works• One has to trust to

collaborate• People trust works

produced by people they don’t know

• Neighbors on the stoop

• Soft security—rely on the community

Objections

• Perception that anyone can edit anything• No copyright, no control, no authoritative

guidance– Soft security—community values– History revision– Require users to log in

• It’s a disorganized mess– Recent changes– Search– Categories– RSS feeds

Wikipedia Put to the Test

Stephen Colbert And Wikiality

Problems Solved by Wikis!

• Internal communication (intranet)• Subject guides/pathfinders• Reference how-to guides• Local topic guides• Project management• Policies and procedures• Meeting minutes repository• Library Web site – multiple authors

Library Applications

• Subject/research guides• Project planning• Policy manuals• Resource listings• Training resources• Web content management system• Professional development• To-do lists

Partial listing from Library Technology Reports, Vol 42, No. 4 (July/August 2006)

Examples: Staff Wiki

• University of Minnesota Libraries– http://wiki.lib.umn.edu/Staff/HomePage

• Antioch University Staff Training & Support– http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/

antioch_university_new_england_library_staff_training_and_support_wiki/

• UConn Libraries’ Staff Wiki– http://wiki.lib.uconn.edu/wiki/Main_Page

Examples: Subject Specific

• Princeton Public Library Summer Reading Club– http://booklovers.pbwiki.com/

• Oregon Libraries Library Instruction – http://instructionwiki.org/Main_Page

• New England Music Libraries Association (NEMLA)– http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/nemla_directory_of_music

_libraries_draft/

• Ohio University Library Business Subject Guide– http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/

Main_Page

Examples: Fun

• Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Wiki– http://booklust.wetpaint.com/

• Tupperwiki– http://tupperwiki.pbwiki.com

Wiki Software

• There’s A LOT of wiki software available…A LOT!

Compare different software packages

http://www.wikimatrix.org/

Wiki Software• PMWiki http://www.pmwiki.org/

• MediaWiki http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

• EditMe http://www.editme.com/

• Seedwiki http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/seed_wiki/seed_wiki

• PBWiki http://pbwiki.com/

RSS: A Simple Definition

A way to feed content to a large number of people from an online publisher, i.e. the Wall Street Journal, a blog, library acquisition department

RSS Terminology

• RSS feed• RSS aggregator

– Centralized aggregator

– Personal aggregator– Readers

• RSS syndication

XML Makes it Possible

• XML – Extensible Markup Language• Describes what content is, not what

it looks like (HTML)• Enables RSS aggregators to

categorize and deliver content

The Basic Concept

Web-basedContent

Aggregator/Reader

Desktop:Email or Browser

Producer and Consumer

Getting Library Information Out to Users

Managing PersonalInformation Intake

What are People Doing With this in Library Land?

• University of Reno, Nevada– www.library.unr.edu/new/newbooks.html

• Innovative Announces New RSS Feed Capabilities for Millennium– www.iii.com/news/pr_template.php?id=256

• ExLibris: ALEPH 500 create custom RSS feeds – www.exlibrisgroup.com/newsdetails.htm?

nid=456)

• NELINET– www.nelinet.net/edserv/index.htm

RSS Readers

• Bloglines– http://bloglines.com/

• Google Reader– Need a gmail account– http://www.google.com/reader

• FireFox LiveBookmarks– http://www.mozilla.com/

firefox/livebookmarks.html

Like We Have Time for Questions!

Contact Information

Rob FaviniProgram Director

Educational Services NELINET, Inc

www.nelinet.netfavini@nelinet.net

508.597.1938800.635.4638 x1938