Archive for August 2010

Last night Facebook announced that it has launched a new feature called Places, adding location-based functionality along the same lines as FourSquare. Facebook users will now be able to check in at places and tag friends through their iPhone or through the Facebook touch mobile site on a browser that supports both HTML 5 and geolocation. (Applications for Android and BlackBerry phones are still to come). Here are a few places to read more:

• A Field Guide to Using Facebook Places
• Facebook Blog: Who, What, When, and Now…Where
• Facebook Places – A Newly Launched Location Service

Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff at Wired Magazine claim The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet.

“Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting. Chris Anderson explains how this new paradigm reflects the inevitable course of capitalism. And Michael Wolff explains why the new breed of media titan is forsaking the Web for more promising (and profitable) pastures.”

Paul Seys at UXBooth rounds up 10 recommended User Experience Books for Beginners. Head of User Experience at Redweb, a UK based digital agency, Seys briefly reviews each title in this handy list.

In response to HootSuite’s recent rollout of a paid plan structure, Shivendu Madhava at Twiteel rounds up the Top 5 Alternatives to HootSuite. If you’re a HootSuite user and would like to explore some alternative applications which offer similar functionality, you’ll want to check out this post.

The UK’s Observer asks about The internet: is it changing the way we think? John Naughton rounds up expert opinions in response to “Nicholas Carr’s claim that the internet is not only shaping our lives but physically altering our brains”.

“”Over the past few years,” Carr wrote, “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going – so far as I can tell – but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.”"

Kristi Hines at the Social Media Examiner writes about 9 Ways to Use Social Media to Inspire Your Writing. This article is jam-packed with great ideas. Here are her recommendations:

1. Use Twitter for Monitoring Discussions
2. Use Twitter for Monitoring Industry Leaders
3. Use LinkedIn Answers
4. Facebook for Monitoring Discussions
5. Niche Networks
6. Social Bookmarking Networks
7. Find Out What’s Most Popular on Twitter
8. Most Popular on Facebook
9. Most Popular on Authority Blogs

The folks at the Resources blog have gathered 12 Valuable WordPress Cheat Sheets. These quick visual charts provide valuable information for anyone working with a WordPress blog including theming and template information, installation and optimization shortcuts, and plugin API commands.

Dan Redding writes for Smashing Magazine about The Future of the Internet. This analytical article discusses current and emerging trends and their impact on tomorrow’s Web. Here’s a roundup of his major points of discussion:

• “Death of the Open Web”?
• Security Solutions
• Net Neutrality
• Browser-based Everything
• The Internet as a Collective Consciousness
• The ‘Web of Things’
• Interactive Landscapes
• The ‘Innerweb’
• Time Travel
• Responsible Evolution

The folks at Technology to Software have put together a helpful list of 25+ Useful Free E-books Every Blogger Should Read. If you’re a blogger, you’ll want to check out the entries here.

Clay McDaniel, principal and co-founder of social media marketing agency Spring Creek Group, writes for Mashable about How To: Avoid a Social Media Disaster. He discusses six actionable strategies organizations can follow in order to circumvent negative PR. Read the full post for more on these great recommendations:

• Create a Social Media Policy/Community Management Plan
• Have an Escalation Plan
• Plan for the Worst – Expect the Best
• Respond Quickly, Personally and Directly
• Don’t Play the Blame Game
• Learn from Great Examples

Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers writes about 11 Techy Things for Teachers to Try This Year. These are eleven goals that would benefit any teacher’s skill set. Be sure and read the full article for his commentary on these helpful suggestions:

1. Build a Blog or Build a Better Blog
2. Build a Wiki With Your Students
3. Build a Website
4. Create Videos Without Purchasing any Equipment
5. Create Maps to Tell a Story
6. Try Backchanneling in Your Classroom
7. Join a Social Network for Your Professional Development
8. Use an Online Service to Save Your Bookmarks
9. Get Your Students Searching More Than Just Google.com
10. Have Your Students Create Podcasts
11. Eliminate Inbox Overload

The folks at Flowtown have created a new Social Networking Map for 2010.

Lee Odden at TopRank gathers 6 Facebook Search Engine & Data Visualization Tools. Each app on his list is reviewed noting feature strengths.

Marco Masoni at Mashable tells us Why Online Education Needs to Get Social. He discusses the need for innovation in today’s course design including incorporating real-time events and concentrating on course quality rather than quantity.

“All too frequently, providers meet the challenge of satisfying the rising demand for online education by simply throwing courses up on the web and seeing what sticks, without catering to student needs. This amounts to a loser’s gamble since it risks pushing away students looking for schools that boast high online student retention rates. After all, why would you want to spend valuable tuition dollars on a school that isn’t likely to hold your interest long enough to earn a degree?

What’s required are innovative approaches to course design that set aside old models of instruction where theory often trumps actuality. Online course providers must embrace the web’s potential to match students with the kinds of timely knowledge and skills that address current issues head-on, and enable them to thrive in the global marketplace.”

Mashable’s Erica Swallow has an article in American Express’ Technology section concerning 15 Excellent Corporate Blogs to Learn From. Each entry in the list discusses the strengths of that particular blog and the lessons therein, all of which could be easily applied to library-related blogs. Here are the top seven:

• Squarespace: Choose a Fitting Blog Design
• Dell: Use a Landing Page to Organize Multiple Blogs
• 37signals Product Blog: Showcase Your Products and Services
• Zillow: Provide Valuable Insights on Your Area of Expertise
• PlayStation.Blog: Get Ideas From Your Fans
• Disney Parks: Take Your Fans Behind the Scenes
• BBC’s The Editors Blog: Bring Readers Into the Process