Jill's October & November Speaker Schedule

I'll be "on the move" over the next month and speaking at:

• Oct. 8, PRSA Northeast District Conference, Rochester, NY - Establishing Your Social Image to Enhance Your Public Image (Presentation with Alison Miller)
• Oct. 15, NYLA Annual Conference, Niagara Falls, NY - Meeting on the Lines: Teleconferencing & Webinars (presentation with Kevin Vebesey)
• Nov. 9, Assoc. of International Librarians & Info. Specialists(AILIS), Geneva, Switzerland - Planning & Management of Digitization Programs (Workshop)

The October 15 event is a nearly last minute addition to my calendar. I'm taking Karen Schneider's place, who is now in the middle of a move from Florida to California. Congrats Karen!

If you and I happen to be at the same event, I hope you'll tap me on the shoulder and say "hi"!

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Social Networking Tools

Still preaching about the online social tools?

At the beginning of the year, Kelvin Ringold and I talked about doing a series about the online social tools. We're still talking. With so much "out there" on what the social tools are and how to use them, we're wondering if two more voices are needed? Given that Alison Miller and I are talking about the social tools at the PRSA Conference in Rochester, NY on Oct. 8, I guess the preaching about the value of online social media is not yet done.

I think we're still talk about -- and preaching about -- the online social tools because many people have not yet decided to use them. Why? People complain about the lack of time, need, and ability.

The Lack of Time -- We all have time constraint. Yup, even me. So what should you do? Carve out time to create a complete presence on tools just as LinkedIn, Plaxo or Facebook. That means creating a complete profile and then connecting to some people you know. That's a great activity for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Once you have yourself setup, then you only need to spend a few minutes per week on maintenance. Maintenance include connecting to more people, tweaking your profile, and interacting with others. The benefit is that you have now put yourself in a place where you can be found and where people can see information on who you are. That is vital in moving yourself forward in your career, no matter who you are.

The Lack of Need -- People who don't feel that they have the need believe that their current network is perfect. They might also feel that they don't need any additional help or information from others. While that may be true of today, what about tomorrow? The best time to build and expand your network is before you need it. If you do it before you need it, then you can do it methodically and perhaps slowly. It will not be an activity born out of desperation.

The Lack of Ability -- Yes, it does take time to learn about these tools. Select 1-2 tools to begin (e.g., LinkedIn and Twitter) and concentrate on them for a period of time. Then apply what you have learned to a couple other tools (e.g., Facebook and SlideShare). You will be surprised at how quickly you can learn and improve your ability. However, it won't improve unless you activity begin to learn. Standing on the sidelines doesn't work.

Finally, I would encourage to keep in mind that just like in your face-to-face world, your online networking is never complete. Just as your are continuing to learn how to networking better live, you'll continue to learn how to network better online. And s your network will never be big enough. So go ahead...get started!

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools, Social Media

The social tools that benefit me the most

I often get asked about the social networking tools I use and how much time I spend using them. So...

At the moment, I am using Twitter everyday. I actually have world, national and local news delivered to me tjhrough Twitter, as well as major business news. I enjoy getting updates from friends, colleagues and contacts, and often learn something important from their tweets (messages) that I would not have learned otherwise. One thing that I have found important with Twitter is to be "in the moment". I don't scan back through the tweets I've missed, but rather focus on what is being said now.

By the way, I use Twitterfox in my browser in order to use Twitter and I use Twitterific on my cell phone.

I also use FriendFeed everyday. FriendFeed is a social networking aggregator, which does allow for conversations to occur. One nice feature of FriendFeed is to see the most popular items from the current day, week or month, which means that you see those conversations that garnered the most activity and "likes". One feature that I am not using is the ability to organize the people I'm following into groupings, but I am using the Rooms feature and have joined several rooms where targeted conversations take place.

I use Facebook almost everyday. With Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook, I've connected with a people who are close colleagues/friends as well as acquaintances. With these tools, I'm comfortable being connected with people that I do not know well. Through these tools, they can get to know me better and I have the opportunity to learn more about them. And yes, there are people that I'm connected with here that I'm not connected to in other places.

Facebook can be a lot of fun and I've had fun with Facebook, but at the moment, I've decided to limit the number of Facebook applications that I have installed on my profile. It is not because I find them too un-professional, but that I don't have the time to dedicate to them.

I use Flickr frequently. I store photos in Flickr to share with others, look at the photos that my contact post there, and often look for photos to use in presentations (that have the proper Creative Commons license). If you look at my Flickr account, you'll see that I have a mix of professional and personal photographs there. Like many other people (and organizations), I've found that sharing professional photos (e.g., events) is very powerful.

Bloglines is the RSS/blog reader that I'm using and it use it everyday. It keeps this information organized and I know which RSS feeds (by group) are more important. Using an RSS reader allows me to read and skim more blogs, and that has been very useful.

Oh...Meebo! I have a Meebo widget on several webpages, so I do tend to use Meebo every day. Meebo is an instant messenger aggregator and a neat product. It has chat rooms and I belong to one chat room that often helps people with professional questions.

LinkedIn is a professional social networking tools and I use it frequently, but -- admittedly -- not as frequently as I should. You can build a professional profile for yourself in LinkedIn, connect to business associates that you has a real relationship with, join conversations, search for opportunities and more. That does require time and commitment, and right now I'm placing my time elsewhere.

I also use SlideShare frequently for sharing presentations with others. I have been pleasantly pleased to see the number of hits that my presentations have received in SlideShare.

I've been using YouTube more because it really does contain good videos. Yes, there are professional/business videos there. If you think that it is full of junk, you might want to take a peek and see what is really there. BTW I even use YouTube videos in some of my workshops in order to illustrate some of my points.

Finally, I think I should mention Del.icio.us, which is a tools for saving browser bookmarks/favorites on the Internet. It's power is in the ability to share your bookmarks with others, or to have people collaborate in order to build a repository of bookmarks on a specific subject. I still do not use Del.ico.us as heavily as some of my colleagues, but my usage is increasing.

I'm sure there are others tools that I should mention and likely tools that I use daily that I have forgotten. Forgotten? Well, they have become a "part of me" (normal activities) and it is easy to forget that they are something that others would consider special. For me, they are just what I do in order to stay connected with colleagues, to learn from others, to possibly influence others, and to (sometimes) promote what I am doing.

And how much time do I spend using these tools? Hard to say. Some days I use the tools more than others. And some days, I ignore many of the tools if I really need to focus on what I am doing (although I always Twitter even a little bit). I try to not let them "rule" my life.

What tools are you using? What tool do you use the most? Leave a comment and let me know. I'm curious!

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Be findable

The object of placing information about yourself -- or your business -- on the Internet is to be findable. Think of it this way...

When was the last time you looked in a real hardcopy telephone book for information? Today? Last week? Last...? Can't remember?

When was the last time you used an Internet search engine to locate a person, business, or resource? Today? Yesterday? More recently than when you picked up a telephone book?

So...the reason why you don't want to place information about your services or the services of your business online are because...?

I have placed information on myself in many social networking tools. In each place, I present information about myself as well as a link back to one of my web sites. I want to be findable. And it is not necessarily that I want you to find me if you use Spoke, but that I want you to find me if you do an Internet search...because...let's be honest...that IS what you're going to do first! However, all of those pointers to my web sites do help the rankings of my web sites in the various search engines. In addition, some of the social tools do rank very high in search engine results (e.g., LinkedIn).

And personally I think it is more important to have the tools point to your primary spot on the Internet, then to have your primary spot point to every social tools that you use. Why? Because those social tools are like fish lines and bait that snag a catch and pull that catch towards you!

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Technorati tag: Social networking tool

Society for Marketing Professional Services & Social Networking (and a personal comment)

On Jan. 23, I spoke at the Society for Marketing Professional Services Southern Regional Conference (SMPS-SRC) in Oklahoma City on "E-Networking & The Benefits of Being Hyper-Connected." Most of the people who attended the conference work for firms that do architecture, engineering or construction (A/E/C) and while many had tried a few social networking tools, they realized that they had more to learn. Below are my slides from the one-hour presentation.

E-Networking & The Benefits of Being Hyper-Connected

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: social tools hyperconnected)

There were many questions before, during and after my presentation. In fact, I started answering questions about online social networking before I had my first cup of coffee at 7 a.m.! That truly demonstrated the need for better explanations of how people are using these tools and information on how to convince management about their benefits -- and that's something I'll be talking about here in the coming days and weeks.

After I arrived in Oklahoma City on Thursday afternoon, I decided to take advantage of the warm weather (73 degrees F) and walk around. Since the hotel was only a few blocks from the Oklahoma City National Memorial, I visited that site and was reminded of my first visit there in 2001. Back in 2001, there was no Twitter or FriendFeed, and blogging wasn't widely done. My way then of telling people what I was doing was to send out emails to a 100+ distribution list. In memory of my first trip to OKC and its history, I'm placing below part of the email I sent on June 19, 2001.

I walked up to the site from the south (Fourth St.) and from this angle it looks like I'm walking towards an office building. I walked up the steps as if entering an office building, pass the flowing fountain and up more steps. Only then, from the Southside, can I see it -- the two walls engraved with "9:01" and "9:03" and the rows of empty chairs.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial.

It is a peaceful site. Quiet. The center of the Memorial is a "fountain" or pool or flowing water that is only an inch deep. On either side are walls with the two times engraved on them. The blast occurred at 9:02. And the chairs...one chair for each person killed in the blasted, including five people who were not in the building itself.

Buildings next to the Murrah Building were also damaged. The building where the museum is has scars on the outside. The Catholic cathedral across the street has a plague that tells of its damage and a memorial on the corner...a statue of Jesus, his hand covering his face and his back to the National Memorial. The base of the statue says "Jesus Wept".

He is not alone. It is difficult to look at the Memorial and the photos, letters and other memorabilia left on the fence. Yes, part of the fence used to during the construction is still there on purpose and people are still leaving messages both for the living and for the dead.

A picture cannot convey the emotion, the space, the history. But I did try to capture a picture...none are quite right...but [here] is one that perhaps gives you a sense of the site. Note the chairs on the right. The church in the background is a Methodist church. The crane is for demolition work being done across the street. The pool covers what was Fifth Street. The front of the Murrah Building (which is where the chairs are) would have faced Fifth Street. The back, which remained intake, faced Fourth Street (out of the picture to the right).

The two walls seem to be made of brass or some brass-like material. And the bottoms of each are covered with handprints. People put their hands in the pool then touch the wall leaving a wet handprint that dries and they are then part of the Memorial at least for a while. {End of excerpt}

Nearly eight years later, much in our world has changed, but the solemnity of Memorial remains.

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Technorati tags: Social Networking Tools, Oklahoma City

Blog post: You Don’t Blog? You Don’t Tweet? Next Applicant, Please!

Brian Kelly in his blog post made an interesting argument for becoming familiar with web 2.0 tools. He wrote:

And if that short-term project fails to receive continued funding how should staff ensure that they can continue to find employment in the job market? I would argue that having demonstrable skills in making use of a range of Web 2.0 technologies may well help.

Doesn't it make sense to have as many skills and tools in your arsenal -- no matter what industry you are in -- in order to make yourself more marketable?

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Presentation:Social Networking & The Independent Consultant

This morning, I did a presentation for the Professional Consultants Association of Central New York on the online social networking tools. It was a truly lively hour with many questions (and many answers).

One person raised concerns about privacy, especially if you are in a sensitive business area. Many of the social sites allow you to set privacy levels, which can be quite helpful. It is also helpful to keep in mind that saying something online can be that same as shouting on a street corner -- many people may hear it and you might have no control over who those people are and how they use the information.

I didn't mention explicitly what the social tools have done for me - a person who normally works alone. Honestly, although physically I work by myself, I am never alone. If I have a question, need some encouragement, want to discuss an idea, etc., I can reach out online and do that in real time. And of course, the benefit of an expanding networking is immeasurable!

I do think that everyone left with 1-2 to-do's. I can't wait to hear how they apply their new knowledge!

Social Networking & The Independent Consultant

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: syracuse consultants)

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Social Networking 2008 Year in Review

It has become a tradition in my other blog to do a year in review post, and I thought I'd start the tradition here, too.

Online social networking tools really took center stage in 2008, especially with the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections. In 2007, Stephen Abram presented a list of the top 10 web tools that would help to influence the 2008 U.S. elections. As a year-end post, let's take a look at them and see how they did:

1. YouTube --Founded in 2005 and now owned by Google, YouTube did factor into the elections and most prominently with the CNN-YouTube debates. Even more importantly, more people and organizations are using YouTube for sharing important information and it is now a mainstream, respected service.
   


2. Second Life -- While several political campaigns did have land in Second Life (SL), it may not have been as important in the political process as people had predicted. SL, though, has grown in number of residents and more organizations have ventured into SL in order to understand the benefits of a virtual world. We know that virtual worlds are still in their infancy and will change as they mature. For now, it is important to realize that virtual worlds are being used by children and adults, schools and businesses, and are not going away.
   


3. MySpace -- You don't hear as much about MySpace these days. First, the functionality of MySpace has been surpassed by other web 2.0 tools. Second, some young people exited MySpace when older adults started using it. Was MySpace critical for the 2008 elections? It did allow people to show the allegiance and communicate about the elections, so it was helpful.
   


4. Facebook -- Facebook allows for groups to form quickly in order to demonstrate your allegiance or preferences. Election related groups were formed and applications were developed to allow people to demonstrate their involvement in the election process. Facebook definitely grew in 2008 and became more important. Too bad that its new look was met with a mixed reaction. I'm sure it'll get a better new look in 2009.
   


5. Wikipedia --As events happened in 2008, Wikipedia was being updated! The page on Sarah Palin was fun to watch as people learned more about her and wanted to share that knowledge. Updates were fast and furious. What was impressive is that people were citing their sources. So, yes, Wikipedia was important to the 2008 elections.
   


6. Ning --Building communities on Ning is easy and it is easy to join many communities. Unfortunately, it can be time-consuming to keep up with those communities. Some communities do truly blossom on Ning (example), while many falter. Was Ning important to the 2008 Presidential elections? I'll vote "no".
   


7. Twitter --Twitter rocked during 2008! It grew in number of users and in popularity. Even the news media is using Twitter to solicit input and feedback (example). During the political party conventions during the summer, the presidential debates and the election, Twitter was used heavily to post comments and information. I found it quite interesting to listen to the debates and watch Twitter at the same time. I could quickly tell what resonated with people and what did not. Twitter also has become an important tool during crises, like the one in Mumbai.
   


8. Mozes -- Mozes powers online communities for musician, although it is being expanded to be a "mobile marketing platform for sports teams, retailers, lifestyle brands, and even conferences." (link) Well, here's a tool that didn't touch my life at all in 2008 and likely didn't touch yours. Was is important to the 2008 elections? Likely not, although people may have exchanged information through Mozes about the elections. Will it be important to you in the future? Time will tell.
   


9. NowPublic --NowPublic is "crowd powered media." This is the news that we want to share and from our point of view. As I am writing this, I'm surfing through NowPublic and reading news stories that I wish I had seen sooner (yes, even about the election). While I didn't use NowPublic during the elections, I suspect that it was used to publish news stories that other media didn't carry. NowPublic does has RSS feeds, so you might want to add one to your RSS reader so you can get a good feel for this participatory news network.
   


10. MyBlogLog --Started in 2005, the site says that it has "450,000 blog communities and roughly 645,000 members." That's not a lot of members. MyBlogLog's primary mission is to track outbound links for bloggers. With that mission and number of users, I suspect it didn't have an impact on the 2008 Presidential elections.
    

One tool that is not on the list, and that became important to me in 2008, is FriendFeed. Because of the way you can build on comments and have a real discussion, it is a wonderful tool. And political discussions did occur in FriendFeed in 2008.

One technology that should be mentioned is the Internet-connected multimedia smartphone. These devices -- like the iPhone and Blackberry Bold -- have changed how, when, why and where we communicate. They are also changing how we interact with information. For example, the iPhone has been called the most popular ebook reader. With the huge number of software applications that are available for these devices, they will change how we do business and how "do" education.

While these are my thoughts, undoubtedly, you have thoughts about social networking and "the year that was", so I hope you'll leave a comment. What stood out to you in 2008?

With this year finally coming to a close, may you look forward to a good 2009! Happy New Year!

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Technorati tag:Social Networking Tools

Word of the Year

Leximo, the World's Social Dictionary, has selected "social media" as the 2008 Leximo Word of the Year. (Although, isn't that a phrase and not a word?) Like them, I'm going to point to the Common Craft video that defines what social media is, because Common Craft does a cool job.

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Technorati tag: Social Media

Article: Facebook's Face Plant: The Poverty of Social Networks and the Death of Web 2.0

There is a lively discussion of this article occurring on Friendfeed. Why? Well, consider Peter Schwartz's conclusion:

The lesson is clear. Social information and communication requires targeted aim, meaningful purpose, and self-correcting standards of quality. Universal social networks such as Facebook, almost by definition, cannot maintain this focus. For this reason, they cannot survive in their current form.

Of course, Schwartz throws a few more barbs in the article, which makes it worth reading.

If the social networks don't have a viable business model, what would make them sustainable? Would you pay for a subscription? Would it be better to have more targeted social sites? Or are we ready for the next big thing (web 3.0)?

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Article: Vatican warns mobile phones are bad for the soul

Yup...mobile phones and the Internet = bad. Although Pope Benedict is using social tools, etc., to spread his message. So is he sending a mixed message?

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Podcast: Nora Young interviewing Don Tapscott on the "Net Generation"

Earlier this month, Nora Young of CBC Radio interviewed Don Tapscott (24 min.). Tapscott is the the author of several books, including most recently Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is changing your world. In the interview, he outlines several norms for digital natives (or Net Gen as he calls them), including their desire:

• To customize everything.
• For choice.
• To scrutinize things.
  
• For innovation.
  
• For speed in everything.
  
• To have fun with the products and services that they use.
  

This is a group that is used to interacting with each other online, exchanging information, and collaborating. While some may see their use of social networking tools as "just" fun, they are actually using the tools for fun and for work.

At the 7:45 minute mark, Tapscott tells a story about a college student (Joe), who is excelling in school and has received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, but doesn't read books. Yes, he references books and taps into a lot of information, but how he accesses and uses information is different that what many of us are used to. Wow, a very powerful story!

With digital natives (or Net Gens) accessing information differently -- and with the norms that they hold dear -- how do we deliver content to them? What changes do we need to make to our web sites? Our databases? Our other delivery systems? These are questions that we all need to be asking of ourselves and our organizations.

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Article: Social Networking Grows Up

At last, it seems like the value of social networking is being recognized by "the establishment." Quoting the article:

Have you ever minimized your Facebook browser window when your supervisor walked past your desk, afraid you might appear unprofessional? Social-networking guilt may soon be a thing of the past as a new breed of social networking sites for scientists clamor to be the next great timesaver in the lab--for you and your supervisor. These science-specific, Web-based networks combine handy library and
document-sharing tools with a social twist. Such sites permit scientists to "help out each other with protocols, discuss topics, prepare for scientific meetings, maybe even show off your research a little bit," says social network user Erika Gyengesi, a neuroscience postdoc at Yale University.

Sites mentioned include:

• labmeeting
• MyNetResearch
  
• Connotea
  
• ResearchGate
  
• ResearchConnect
• SmallWorlds

The article notes that no site is dominating the scene thus far, so a scientist may need to try several sites and then decide which one fits her.

Some things for a scientist to consider while using these sites are:

• Understand what you are prepared to discuss online
• Remember not to compromise your research by disclosing proprietary information
• Information about your colleagues is likely more up-to-date in a social site than elsewhere, because they can update it themselves (good for doing background research on colleagues)
• Researching colleagues publications may be go more quickly through the social sites
• You may feel more connected to your research community by using these sites
  

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

T is for Training (many social tools working together on one event)

Maurice Coleman started a new blog and podcast called "T is for Training." The podcast is actually a one-hour show where people call in to participate. There is a set agenda for show, which people know in advance. Today I called in and participated. Maurice is using TalkShoe to do the live show and to then record it as a podcast. What is TalkShoe?

TalkShoe is a service that enables anyone to easily create, join, or listen to Live Interactive Discussions, Conversations, Podcasts and Audioblogs.

These hosted Community Calls can be discussions, conversations, talk shows and podcasts. Recorded Community Calls can be listened to, downloaded, or subscribed to. And if your Community Call becomes popular, you can make money too.

And it is free.

While we were talking on the conference call, we were also commenting in a chat room provided by TalkShoe, so we have two channels of communication going. Ideas for topics had come through FriendFeed and blogs. Links mentioned during the show were posted in del.icio.us.

If you look at Maurice's blog, you'll see links to the services he's using to promote "T is for Training".

During the show, a video was mentioned (below). We talked about how we describe ideas in workshops and this video -- the short story winner of the Cannes Festival, 2008 -- demonstrates that how we word an idea can make a tremendous difference. In this day and age, we might also say that what tools we use for communication can also make a huge difference.

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

I know you!

I had a wonderful experience in a hotel lobby Thursday evening in Washington, D.C. I was meeting two information professionals for dinner and while I knew Cindy Hill from the SLA conferences, I had never met Jill O'Neill face-to-face. Jill and I had talked on the phone twice in the last few years, but really had gotten to know each other through Twitter, Friendfeed, and Facebook. Cindy was amazed that Jill and I started seemingly in mid-conversation, rather than the usual pleasantries that are exchanged when you first meet someone. We knew each other and had already built a level of trust that allowed us to freely exchange information, ideas and resources. We skipped over the "so you are..." and jumped right to "how is the kitchen coming?"

Building that type of rapport demonstrates the power of the tools, but it is often something you have to have to experience yourself. If you haven't jumped in yet to one of the tools, please jump in soon. The water (networking) is fine!

This was also posted here (with some changes).

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Technorati tag: Social networking

Jill's September schedule

As summer winds down, my schedule is heating up. I will be giving the following presentations in September:

• Sept. 9: Practical Digitizing Series: Planning & Management of Digitization Projects (workshop), South Central Regional Library Council, Ithaca, NY -- SCRLC is conducting another series of workshops on digitization. This series will occur in the fall in Ithaca and is geared specifically towards their members and the direction that SCRLC is taking. I am pleased that SCRLC again has asked me to kick-off a digitization series for them.
  


• Sept. 10: Using Digital Collections to Expand Your Audience (panel), 2008 American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Annual Meeting, Rochester, NY -- Myself and three others will present during this session. Each of us will address this topic from a very different point of view.
  


• Sept. 12: Web 3D & Virtual Worlds (presentation), Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) Forum on Federal Information Policies, Washington, D.C. -- I'll be talking about the work that government entities are doing in Second Life and what libraries need to be considering/doing. My co-presenter in this session will be talking specifically about the Swedish embassy in Second Life. Yes, governments are among those investing time and resources in virtual worlds.
  

For more information on any of the events on my calendar, please contact the sponsoring organization or me. If you would me to speak at your event, please give me a shout.

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Second Life, Social Networking Tools

Survey reports that hiring managers are turning to online social sites

An article in the May 16, 2008 Central New York Business Journal reports that many hiring managers are turning to online social networkings in order to find new employees. The survey, done by ICR, an independent market research firm, reported that:

...62 percent would turn to professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, and 35 percent would refer to social networking sites, like Facebook or MySpace.

Colleen Accetta, branch manager for Robert Half Finance & Accounting, said:

It can't replace the personal touch, obviously. It can't replace the traditional hiring process but it certainly opens the field for you to include employee referrals, working with specialized recruiting firms, just casting a wider net, I believe.

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Technorati tags: Social Networking Tools, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn

Lovin' the tools

Last week I was at a conference of 2200+ people where the social networking tools where not just talked about, they were used. The conference generated 300+ blog posts and many photos (3,000+). With more 40 bloggers at the conference, a tremendous amount of content was created that summarized and discussed the sessions as well as provided other information. Since most of the presentations (e.g., PowerPoint) will be online eventually, I wonder if a formal proceedings is needed anymore for this conference. The documents in the proceedings were submitted weeks ago and may not mirror what some people presented. In fact, not everyone submits materials for the proceedings, so what you have access to via the blog posts, etc., is more complete.

The photos allow you to see what the conference really looked like and what the attendees did. If you had never been to this conference and wanted to know what to expect, the photos would tell you!

I haven't used the word "wiki", but there was also a wiki for the conference that was begun months before the conference took place. Many people contributed to the wiki and even more used the information that was placed there.

In addition to those tools, people were using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Meebo and other tools both day and night. People used the tools to talk about the sessions (as they were going on), make plans, ask for help, and do networking.

Did everyone at the conference use these tools? No. And given the problems we had with wifi at the hotel, I'm glad that all 2200+ people weren't trying to blog, twitter, and updated their Facebook status. However, enough people were using the tools so that it had a discernible impact on the conference. More was organized on an ad hoc basis, more was being accomplished and more people were "in the know" even if they weren't using on of the tools.

The result was a very active conference with information flowing freely and quickly. And isn't that what we want?!

What tools will you be using at your next conference? Can you incorporate some of the tools I've mentioned in order to make the information flow more freely?

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Social tools help with protests supporting Tibet

Someone said at a recent event that if you wanted to see up-to-the-moment images from news events around the world, go to Flickr. This week, Flickr and other social networking tools are being used to lend support to those protesting in Tibet against the Chinese. On Flickr, you can see photos from protests that are being held around the world. While the news media may not be reporting on the range of protests that are being held, you can clear see in Flickr that many people in many locations have taken to the street in support of Tibet.

Depending on the social networks you are using, perhaps you have seen messages of support or links to additional information. On Facebook, groups that support a free Tibet are picking up members (example) and sharing information.

While governments and other organizations may think they can ignore the information exchanges that are happening using social networking tools, they will soon find that the cannot. Nor can they block those conversations from happening. The tools are doing what they were created to do. They are placing information and power back into the hands of the people. No matter where we are, our voices can be heard.

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

It's about coffee pots, not staff meetings

Social networking tools create simple ways for people to communicate with each other. They are akin to everyone meeting at the office coffee pot and exchanging information. Social networking tools provide us with a virtual coffee pot that is always on and is located in a room that will fit everyone. I can quickly exchange pleasantries and important information with Josh, Kelvin, Connie and many others, no matter where they are located or what their current project focus. Our virtual coffee pots may be a combination of tools including Facebook, blogs, wikis, Twitter (microblogs), VOIP and email (gasp!).

Just like at the office coffee pot, information flows quickly and freely. Ideas are tossed about, information shared, and problems solved. We come and go at will, knowing that when we return there will be someone there to talk with.

This is the type of information sharing that we all hope a staff meeting will be, but isn't. Staff meetings are controlled conversations on specific topics, and for a limited period of time. A staff meeting may not exchange the information that is really needed nor solve immediate problems. They are more likely to be status updates.

I wonder if there would be a way of using social networking tools to replace a staff meeting, or to make a staff meeting more fruitful? Could the meetings topics be gathered via a wiki? Could people then add information to the wiki about those topics, including solutions if needed? Could microblogging software help information to be shared during the meeting without interrupting the entire group? Perhaps Kelvin raising a concern and people microblog solutions to Kelvin, while the meeting continues? Would that be too disruptive? Or is it a just a variation on how meetings are run now (with winks, nods, and notes being passed)?

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is using social networking tools to replace or enhance staff meetings. I suspect someone is doing it! Thankfully for me, I don't have staff meetings...instead I wander to the virtual coffee pot, give them my status and find out what I need to know that can make my day more productive.

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools

Library Camp @ Syracuse, part 2

The final breakout session of the afternoon for me was "Implementing & Using Technology" with 10 participants. Mark Costa was the host and Bradley Shipps was the scribe. We talked about the breadth of technology that is used by -- or under the preview -- of a library including computers, TVs, projectors, MP3 players, etc. While we and our users must be aware of the technology, our goal is the use of content. We talked about the smart house and other places were technology is available yet not the focus.

"We like the technicians in the garage." We, unfortunately, need to be able to troubleshoot, select the correct technology for our patrons, etc.

Now the final session -- the wrap-up or Reporting Session -- is going on. Every host is going through three things that stood out from each session.

This has been a wonderful day! There has been lots of conversation and many ideas exchanged. Tonight there is a session on gaming (board and electronic), then tomorrow is the Collection Development Conference.



Photos from Tuesday night.

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Technorati tag: unyunc, Technology, social networking tools

Library Camp @ Syracuse, part 1

Today is the first day of our Library Camp and today's focus is The Future of Libraries. We have more than 80 people who have signed up for the two-day event, including librarians from school, academic, public, and special libraries (hospital & museum) as well as a couple consultants and a couple of SU faculty members. People have come from Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Watertown, Albany, and Corning -- so this is truly an Upstate NY event.

Feedback so far is very positive. People like the conversations, the ability to "talk shop" during the sessions. One person mentioned that the unconference is calm, less hurried than normal conference. People have shared ideas and web sites. People are offering support to each other, which is very appreciated.

The first session I was in was "2.0 Show and Tell" which had 24 participants. Jen Sullivan was the host of the session and Kat Burturla was the scribe. Since this was the first unconference session of the day, the conversation started slow, but once it started, it kept going! People mentioned that they (the librarians) are more advanced using 2.0 tools than some of their patrons. They need to be able to use and teach about the tools, since their patrons are coming to them for help. Some grandparents are feeling pressured by their grandchildren to learn and use some of the social networking/web tools. Others mentioned that students don't want to be networking through Facebook, etc., with library staff.

One person mentioned that the need to prove return on investment for these tools. Just knowing about them is not enough. Can we prove the benefits?

One person said that she is building the library's web site using HTML, not only to keep it simple but also because that meets her users' needs.

Tools/sites mentioned including:

• Wikis
• http://www.buffalostate.edu/library/
• http://askehbl.wordpress.com/ (The blog for the Buffalo State Library.)

The second second in the Technology Track was "Open Source" with 13 people. Mark Costa was the host and Kathryn Lulofs was the scribe.

• N-view (composer)
• OPALS
• Drupal
• Open Journal
• Open Conference
• Google --> Sites
• RIT Ghost Map, http://library.rit.edu/
• http://www.opensourcecms.com/
• http://www.wikimatric.org/
• http://www.eol.org/

We also talked about open access journals (content) while "open source" is the structure.

What is a librarian's role in open source?

The error rate on Wikipedia is similar to the error rate on a printed encyclopedia. However, errors in Wikipedia can be corrected more quickly.

After a buffet lunch (excellent food), the third session was "Social Networking" with 13 people Kathryn Lulofs was the host and Mark Costa was the scribe.

We began by brainstorming ideas for a school library system on doing a "teleconference" using different web-based tools. She took lots of notes and walked away with ideas to follow-up on.

A participant from RIT showed us the widget that they built for searching their library catalogue from Facebook. Ken from Buffalo State showed the Meebo Me widget that he has placed in Facebook for doing chat reference. (Good anonymity and good for the deaf community, for example.)

One school librarian mentioned that students need to understand the implications for social networking tools. Since there is no access from schools, teachers and librarians cannot help students understand the pros and cons of these tools that they are using outside of the school setting.

What makes the library's homepage the community's homepage? What should be on the homepage to entice people to come back? What makes "a page" a page people will use everyday?

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Technorati tags: unyunc, Technology, social networking tools

If you work alone, social networking tools can help you feel connected

I work by myself and sometimes miss the "water cooler" conversations or the quick comments of someone passing by my office. What I have found in the last year especially is that social networking tools can provide quick conversations, an easy way of bouncing ideas off of others "in the office," and a place to ask "what do you think?" Of course, those conversations can only occur if you are networking with a group of somewhat similarly-focused people. For example, in my Twitter network are other information professionals (some of which I've actually met face-to-face!). Because we're in the same industry -- broadly speaking -- we can offer tips, ideas, and support quite easily.

If you work alone -- or with a group of people who have a different focus than you -- you may find the camaraderie that you need through tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Meebo, ...

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Technorati tag: social networking tools