Archive for the ‘Web 2.0’ Category

Scott McDonald, co-founder and managing director of Modus Associates, writes for UX Magazine about Five Popular Web Strategies That Don’t Work. This insightful article discusses the following tactics:

• Strategy #1: Parity
• Strategy #2: Novelty
• Strategy #3: Usability
• Strategy #4: Technology
• Strategy #5: Epiphany

The folks at the Online Degree blog have put together this mega-list of
100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers. These useful applications are organized into the following categories:

• Interactivity
• Engagement
• Motivation
• Empowerment
• Differentiation

I am thrilled and honored to share that “The Tech Set” book series has been named the winner of the ALA’s 2011 Greenwood Publishing Group Award for the Best Book in Library Literature!!! Congrats to all the incredibly talented authors and the wonderful folks at Neal-Schuman. This was an amazing project to be a part of!!!

Cindy King at the Social Media Examiner gathers 22 Hot New Social Media Tools Worth Exploring. If you’re wondering about the newest, best apps available, you won’t want to miss this article. The tools are organized into the following categories.

• Tools for Pictures, Video, Audio and Screen Capture
• Tools to Measure and Track Results
• Tools to Manage Content
• Blogging Tools
• Twitter Tools
• Other Social Media Tools

Tyler Gray & Alla Goldman at The Bivings Report present a Web 2.0 Year-End Recap. This is part one of a two-part post series which rounds up the biggest trends in social media, mobile, and 2.0 in the past year. Here are the first five tech trends:

1. Location, location and location
2. Trend toward mobile + Cloud continues
3. Websites making increasing use of social networking
4. Nonprofit and Charitable Giving: Be Strong and Innovate
5. Apple and Facebook threaten the end of the web as we know it?

Kristi Hines at the Social Media Examiner comes up with 8 Innovative Uses for Delicious. If you’re looking for ideas for how to effectively use the largest social bookmarking site on the Web, you’ll want to check out this quick post. Here are her eight suggestions:

1. Organizing Your Resources
2. Action Plans
3. Company Sharing
4. Backlink Recording
5. Social Networking Profiles
6. Social Mentions
7. Writing Showcase
8. Don’t Lose Your Bookmarks!

Sharlyn Lauby at Mashable writes about Four Digital Alternatives to the Resume. All of these are excellent ideas for building your online presence and letting potential employers know about your background. Here are the types of tools discussed in the post:

• Video Resumes
• The VisualCV
• The Social Resume
• Your LinkedIn Profile

Zachary Sniderman at Mashable gathers 33 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed. This is a great round-up of important articles and posts in the areas of Social Media, Tech & Mobile, and Business that you won’t want to miss. Here are just a few:

• 37 Productivity Tips for Working From Anywhere
• Top 5 Emerging Brand Trends on Facebook
• How the iPad Is Transforming Web Design
• The Case For Social Media in Schools
• How NPR Is Leveraging the Twitter Generation

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.

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

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

Jacob Gube at Mashable posts about 10 Tools for Getting Web Design Feedback. If you’re designing a new website, or redesigning an old one and want to gather users’ reactions, these are great resources. Each of the tools listed includes a feature review and screenshot.

Grace Smith at Mashable rounds up 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics. These quick pics present statistics and timely information in an engaging and easily scannable way.

The Educause team has put together a new “7 Things” guide, covering 7 Things You Should Know About Net Neutrality. As usual, the quick reference source answers the following questions:

1. What is it?
2. How does it work?
3. Who’s doing it?
4. Why is it significant?
5. What are the downsides?
6. Where is it going?
7. What are the implications for higher
   education?

Henry Jones at Web Design Ledger provides 11 Helpful Cheat Sheets for Popular Google Products. Each one of these useful graphics maps out keyboard shortcuts for Google applications including:

• Gmail
• Google Reader
• Google Calculator
• Google Presentations
• Google Chrome
• Google Spreadsheets
• Google Reader
• Google Maps
• Google Documents
• Google Search Advanced Operators