Archive for March 2010

I am very excited to announce that the book series that I’ve been working on for the past year+ has officially been published today! The Tech Set is a series of 10 practical technology books for libraries that’s been co-published by Neal-Schuman Publishers and LITA here in the US and Facet Publishing in the UK. We also have a companion Tech Set Wiki with extra content for each book and author podcast interviews.

Naomi Trower at the Social Media Examiner has pulled together a quick guide to 4 Unique Ways To Use Twitter Lists. I particularly like the idea about using HootSuite to view the lists you set up in order to make it easier to filter tweets and respond with retweets.

1. Follow @ListWatcher
2. Support Your Twitter Lists With Hootsuite
3. Ask Your Friends How They Want to Be Listed
4. Share Your Lists on Listorious

Gartner Inc. has identified 10 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2010 and 2011. Analysts predict that these technologies will evolve significantly and “should be on every organization’s radar screen”. Be sure to check out the full report for details on these technologies:

1. Bluetooth (3 and 4)
2. The Mobile Web
3. Mobile Widgets
4. Platform-Independent Mobile AD Tools
5. App Stores
6. Enhanced Location Awareness
7. Cellular Broadband
8. Touchscreens
9. M2M
10. Device-Independent Security

via ResourceShelf

This is the first installment in a 3-part series listing library-oriented iPhone applications – all links go to iTunes where you can download the apps. This first article features libraries that have created iPhone apps for their patrons, part two will cover databases and library vendors with iPhone apps, and part three will feature book-related apps. If you know of any other library iPhone apps, please list them in the comments below, and stay tuned next week for part-two!

Libraries with iPhone Apps

	DCPL The District of Columbia Public Library was the first library to create an application for the iPhone.  Their attractive application offers users a catalog search, library hours information, and the ability to place items on hold.  They have made their code open source so that other libraries can build their own iPhone apps.
	University of Houston Libraries This academic library app offers patrons the opportunity to search the library catalog by author, keyword and/or title, track their checked out items, bookmark search results, and check on library hours.
	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library The undergraduate library at the UIUC offers a video tour of the library for incoming students.
	New LIS Books The University of Illinois Library Urbana-Champaign also offers an app which announces new LIS acquistions to their collection.
	MLN Library The Minuteman Library Network in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts has created an iPhone apps which allows patrons to view their accounts, search the network’s catalog as well as individual libraries, andrenew items.
	Hong Kong Libraries The HK Libraries have built an app which lets patrons check on their borrowed books, and view library locations in their public library system.
	Library Navigator (South Kanto) Public library patrons in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa can search through the library’s collections, add bookmarks, and view locations of branches.
	Libraries: Australia Nearly every library in Australia is listed in this iPhone app encompassing 800 library locations for patrons to search through.
	Cornell University Library The Cornell University Library iPhone app enables patrons to search the library catalog, find library hours, manage their library accounts and ask questions of Cornell librarians.

Libraries included in University Apps

	Duke University Duke University Libraries offers the most comprehensive university digital image collection specifically formatted for the iPhone. Through DukeMobile, the University’s suite of iPhone applications, the libraries are sharing digital materials from 20 collections – nearly 32,000 images in all.
	In addition, the following libraries are included in their university’s iphone applications: Rice University Library
	Northwestern University Library
	iUsask (University of Saskatchewan)
	iTU Delft
	University of San Diego Library

Rosemary Hattersley, PC Advisor at PCWorld puts together 6 Steps to Protect Your Facebook Privacy. This helpful article addresses steps you can take to ensure your privacy from Facebook account and privacy settings to avoiding FB quizzes.

“There are plenty of straightforward ways to claw back some peace of mind. As we outlined in our in-depth look at the latest online security threats, the little bits of information with which we furnish web apps can be collectively turned against us.

A good example is the Facebook app that asks what single topped the charts the day you were born. I don’t mind admitting that my answer to this is one of those dated comedy tracks. But I’m not about to amuse Facebook’s entire London network (several million-strong and counting) with its details, particularly when doing so narrows down my date of birth to a seven-day period. How many guesses does a hacker need to correctly ascertain and make use of my date of birth (DOB) on an official form, such as applying for a credit card? Not many, given those odds.”

Adam Vincenzini at Social Media Today has gathered 40 Useful Social Media and PR Blog Posts. If that isn’t enough inspiration for you, check out his previous post, the 99 most useful social media posts of 2009. Here are the article categories:

• Tools
• Social Networks
• PR
• Blogging
• Content / Interaction
• General / Other

Cindy King at the Social Media Examiner blogs about 8 Easy Ways to Network on Twitter. If you’re wondering how to use this real-time communication tool to build a valuable online network be sure to check out this post. Here are the first four recommendations:

1. Show Others What You Want to Talk About
2. Get Your Actions Right
3. Retweet Others
4. Shout Out to Others

Peter Bromberg offers Five Tips For Successful Webinars at the ALA Learning Round Table. If you’re planning or presenting an upcoming webinar, you’ll want to check out these valuable tips:

1. Write for the medium
2. Know your platform
3. Test, Test Test
4. Practice, Practice, Practice
5. THE ACTUAL EVENT

The folks at Common Craft have created another of their “in plain English” videos, this time about Augmented Reality technology. The video is a great introduction and includes the following learning points:

• A high level introduction to the big idea
• Using it to find a restaurant
• Using it to compare products, be entertained
• A look at future possibilities of augmented reality

Taddy Hall at Advertising Age writes about 10 Essential Rules for Brands in Social Media. If you’re developing a social media marketing strategy you’ll want to check out this concise article. Here are the top five rules to follow:

1. The 1% Rule
2. The 2-4X Rule
3. The New Media/New Pipes Rule
4. The Martha Stewart Rule
5. The Power of “Weak Links” Rule

Kasia Grabowska guest posts at Tame the Web about Social Media Best Practices for Libraries. This brief article provides some excellent tips on library do’s and don’ts when it comes to successfully utilizing social media. Here are a few of the recommendations:

• Tip #1: Learn how to monitor your brand
• Tip #2: Learn from your brand community
• Tip #3: Have a game plan
• Tip #4: Promote, promote, promote
• Tip #5: Allow open, yet governed access for your employees

Online advertising network Chitika conducted a study exploring the interest areas of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Digg users by analyzing the sites that receive traffic from them. 47% of Twitter users are most interested in news while MySpace users prefer video game content.

Jay Baer at the Social Media Examiner posts about 5 Easy Steps to Creating Reusable Social Content. Learn how to cut down on the time you spend creating content for social media websites by cross-leveraging your creations. Here are his recommendations:

1. Understand Taxonomy
2. Seek Content Inspiration
3. Understand Your Frequency Ecosystem
4. Test and Track
5. Tweak and Repurpose

Alison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg have published an article in First Monday discussing How Today’s College Students use Wikipedia for Course-Related Research.

“Findings are reported from student focus groups and a large–scale survey about how and why students (enrolled at six different U.S. colleges) use Wikipedia during the course–related research process. A majority of respondents frequently used Wikipedia for background information, but less often than they used other common resources, such as course readings and Google. Architecture, engineering, and science majors were more likely to use Wikipedia for course–related research than respondents in other majors. The findings suggest Wikipedia is used in combination with other information resources. Wikipedia meets the needs of college students because it offers a mixture of coverage, currency, convenience, and comprehensibility in a world where credibility is less of a given or an expectation from today’s students.”

Want to learn how to set up goals to measure the success of your website in Google Analytics as well as how to track funnels, or paths users take to reach your goal pages? If so, you’ll want to check out Google Analytics in Depth: Goals and Funnels by Dave Sparks at Six Revisions. This step-by-step article is the first installment in a series of Google Analytics articles.