My Meez

I'm doing SLA's 23 Things and the person who wrote the pages has a Meez avatar. Okay, I've been seeing these for a while and finally decided to create one for myself. They are quick to do and free. She doesn't really look like me, but that's okay. Avatars aren't meant to be exact replicas of how we look in real life.

Not sure if I'll hang out on Meez at all, but if you want to see me there, my userid is jill_hw.

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Technorati tag: SLA23Things

From JibberJobber blog: LinkedIn maintenance you need to do immediately

The person in JibberJobber blog is correct; we spend a lot of time building our profiles in LinkedIn and don't want to loose that work. To guard against it, she recommends doing two things (quoting):

1. Export your contacts. Simply click on Contacts, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Export Connections, and follow that process. Just leave everything at default and you’ll end up with your connections in a .csv file, which opens in Excel.
2. Export your profile. You’ve probably put a fair amount of thought into creating your profile, right? What about any references you have gotten? Simply click on Profile, then find the grayed-out icons above your name, and click on the adobe pdf icon. This exports your profile, including recommendations, into a very nice, presentable document (kudos to whoever at LinkedIn did that formatting, it is very well-done!).
   

I just did this and it took less than a minute and was easy. No I have this information on my PC in case I ever need to recreate my profile on LinkedIn. Why would I need to do that? Ah...read JibberJobber.

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Technorati tag: LinkedIn

PR Junkie says " Virtual worlds will never catch on"

Never? With...

• eight-year olds using virtual worlds like Whyville, BuildaBearVille, and WebKinz
• teens using virtual worlds for fun and gaming
• students using virtual worlds for classes (even college classes)
• businesses and governments using virtual worlds for meetings, trade shows, and training

...virtual worlds are not going away. We're still learning how to use them. Therefore, I'm not concerned about organizations that jump in and fail. I bet they learned from the experience and will do better the next time.

One thing is for sure, virtual worlds will continue to improve and change. What we see now is a foretaste of the worlds (and uses) that will come.

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Technorati tag: Second Life

Article: 101 Things To Do For Hubbers And Bloggers

Thanks to Laura Solomon for finding this. We all run "out of steam" on occasion, so lists like this are helpful. Here are some ideas from the list:

29. Enter a blog contest to get more exposure.
30. Encourage your readers to leave comments.

70. Submit a sitemap to Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
71. Search for your articles in Google.
72. Setup a profile for yourself to network your blog on a social network

89. Try out a new template on your blog.
90. Update your keywords and title tags.
91. Write about the free online services your enjoy.
92. Write a constructive profile page.

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Technorati tag: Blogging

Article: Google Launches Virtual World Called Lively

I haven't tried Google's virtual world yet, but would be interested in hearing from anyone who has. I'm intrigued that:

Worlds can be embedded into web pages, although only Windows users on IE or Firefox can view them, after an add-on download and installation.

I'm spec'ing out a project where that could be very interesting.

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Technorati tags: Google, virtual worlds

Where was Matt? A neat Google Earth & video combination

You may already be familiar with Matt. If not, check out the web site. This video -- which is a take-off on his other videos -- is a wonderful use of Google Earth and video combined.

Remodeling a real world kitchen and hiring a builder in Second Life

When you remodel a kitchen, it is likely that you have some idea about what you want, but still have a lot of work to do. There are so many decisions to be made. If you're lucky, you'll find someone who understands the process and can make helpful suggestions. So far in our kitchen remodeling process, we've been fortunate.

The same is true when thinking about building in Second Life. Here the choices are much more numerous. It is easy to say "this is what I want", when really you haven't considered enough possibilities to really know what you want. (You might just know what you don't want!) While there are a number of builders in SL, like in real life, it is important to find a builder who has some understanding of what you are trying to achieve and can make helpful suggestions. For me, that occurred last night.

I am working with a group that is developing a real world project and wants to do something "similar" in Second Life. The vision is being developed. My job has been to find possible builders, which has not been an easy task. Builders have been busy with other projects and I suspect some see our project as being too small. Interestingly, last night the builder I spoke with got me thinking about the project differently (and so perhaps it won't be small after all). That reminded me of when we had a new porch put on the house and someone suggested a porch three-times the size as what we had planned. Now while we decided not to do that, it expanded our thinking about what the porch could be.

And now my thinking is expanded on what this SL project could be. I can't wait to talk to other members of the real life project and get approval to move forward. The vision is now more complete and cooler! And we've made contact with someone who can make it happen.

Life is good!

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Technorati tags: Second Life

The active sharing of information and expertise...

The active sharing of information and expertise has stimulated invention and innovation. Crucially, this body of work demystifies an important piece of the techno-apparatus on which our lives depend. Anyone who wants to learn can find a wide range of sources, many which have already gone through an extensive process of trial-and-error. But because it's done openly and collaboratively, it alters the material experience that participants have. The competitive drive, insofar as it exists, stimulates a jocular and collegial effort to make improvements instead of cut-throat schemes to dominate and conquer.

Chris Carlsson

Nowtopia, pg. 167

This quote comes from the middle of Carlsson's book and -- for me -- summarizes what I see happening with online social networks. These online social networks that we are all using help us share information and expertise. That sharing allows people to learn things more easily. You might not need to take a class, but rather spend time surfing, reading and interacting with others. The open sharing and the collaborative efforts that ensue lead to invention and innovation. All of this occurs not as a way to dominate or conquer, but as a way to improve what we are all doing.

Yes, this sharing does not have to occur online (and most of what Carlsson talks about it not done online), but it can...and for many of us...it does. And we are all better because of it.

A benefit of putting photos in a photo-sharing service

A benefit of placing photos in a photo-sharing service is that people use them (with the correct permissions). Sometimes those uses can be pretty cool. For example, last year Schmap ask to use my photo of the National Museum of the American Indian in one of its online tour book. I gladly said "yes." Yesterday NowPublic emailed to ask if they could use three photos of Seattle manhole covers I'd taken to help illustrate a story they had done on stolen manhole covers in Ottawa. I said "yes." Because of those requests, my photos are being seen by a very different audience. Cool!

In both cases, the organization said they would give me proper attribution. In both cases, there was no exchange of money. More importantly, in both cases, I retain rights to the photos. Best of all, I benefit because more people get to see my photos (and then might be curious about what other photos I've taken...and then maybe curious about who I am). The other organization benefits because they get great photos and they get someone (me) who is going to talk about the interaction. A win-win situation, eh?!

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Technorati tags: Flickr, photo sharing, NowPublic

A quick look at FriendFeed

Greg Schwartz did a very cool, quick overview of FriendFeed using a tool called Flowgram. It is worth watching. The entire screen is part of the presentation, which is a bit deceiving at first.

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Technorati tag: FriendFeed

From Twitter to FriendFeed

It has been very cool to see conferences use Twitter so their participants can communicate in real-time. It is perhaps this use of Twitter that has sent the service repeatedly over capacity.

We know that investors are pumping money into Twitter, but the impact of that money hasn't yet been felt. Miracles cannot occur overnight. So what do we do?

Yesterday, some of my Twitter friends announced that they were moving -- perhaps temporarily -- to FriendFeed. It only took 1-2 people to make the announcement in order to get more of us to go with them. I didn't have a FriendFeed account until yesterday, but now have one setup and am getting used to it. It is very different from Twitter and not a Twitter replacement. For example, you can post to Twitter from a number of different devices and services, but the same may not be as true for FriendFeed. (I'm saying that based on a Twitter conversation this morning.)

FriendFeed has a blog and they've been posting tutorials in the blog, for example:

• Ross's FriendFeed Tutorial #1: Using FriendFeed's "Hide" features
• Ross's FriendFeed Tutorial #2: Email Pictures To FriendFeed Using Mail2FF
• Ross's FriendFeed Tutorial #3: FriendFeed Rooms

Is FriendFeed "in" and Twitter "out"? Who knows. Personally, I hope that Twitter gets its act together. I -- and others -- like the service. Many people are just figuring out how to use it. And its great for conferences. For now, I'm using both and if my friends decide to abandon Twitter, I may have to do too. How useful is a social networking tool, when none of your friends are there?

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Technorati tags: Connecting, Twitter, FriendFeed

How are libraries using Twitter?

Ellyssa Kroski has written a wonderful article that highlights some of the real life uses of Twitter by libraries. For example:

“Twitter is just one of the Web 2.0 technologies that we are using to engage students within our traditional Web page (www.pasadena.edu/library),” says Mary Ann Laun, assistant dean of library services at Shatford. “We highlight events, interesting stats, and curious facts in an effort to call attention to some of the great things happening in the library. From announcements such as 'the system is down, ask for help at the Reference desk’ to special events, we have fun conveying quick messages to students.”

I am finding that more and more people are using Twitter and many more people are curious about it. Those who are already Twittering understand its power. Articles like Kroski's help to tell others why microblogging (whether using Twitter or something else) is becoming essential to many people and organizations.

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Technorati tag: Twitter