For a variety of reasons, mostly due to the need for exploration, I've moved the official blog for the Blogs & Blogging class to WordPress.
You will find the new class blog at this URL:
http://sunnyvaleblogclass.wordpress.com
See you there!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
March Madness in the Library
It's March, and that means it's time for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament! It also means that I'm preparing for the second blog class here at the Sunnyvale Public Library, scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, from 6-8 p.m. The class will be entitled Blogs and Blogging.
I'm really excited about this go-around, because I got a lot of really great feedback and ideas after teaching the class the first time. Most notably, the class will be held in the evening this time, to accommodate those people who weren't able to attend last time due to work or school restrictions. I've also blocked out 2 hours for the class this time, because I definitely want to be able to include a Q&A session which we weren't able to include last time because I rambled too much and ran out of time. I've also completely re-worked the outline of the course to pare down the "me talking" portion and increase the "me showing" aspect. Finally, I expect to have more time to be able to discuss RSS and newsreader subscriptions. I recently came across some statistics that suggest that we might soon be hitting a ceiling in terms of growth in actual blogs created, while readership is expected to climb without an end in sight. This of course would put a premium on the finding and reading aspect of the blogosphere as opposed to the publishing and our courses should naturally reflect this shift. I'll try to track down those numbers and include them in the course.
In the meantime, enjoy this post from the Dewey Blog, which informs us all that the complete DDC number for March Madness is 796.323630973.
025.431: The Dewey blog: March Madness
And incidentally, the class will be the day after the tournament ends, so you have no excuse not to be there!
I'm really excited about this go-around, because I got a lot of really great feedback and ideas after teaching the class the first time. Most notably, the class will be held in the evening this time, to accommodate those people who weren't able to attend last time due to work or school restrictions. I've also blocked out 2 hours for the class this time, because I definitely want to be able to include a Q&A session which we weren't able to include last time because I rambled too much and ran out of time. I've also completely re-worked the outline of the course to pare down the "me talking" portion and increase the "me showing" aspect. Finally, I expect to have more time to be able to discuss RSS and newsreader subscriptions. I recently came across some statistics that suggest that we might soon be hitting a ceiling in terms of growth in actual blogs created, while readership is expected to climb without an end in sight. This of course would put a premium on the finding and reading aspect of the blogosphere as opposed to the publishing and our courses should naturally reflect this shift. I'll try to track down those numbers and include them in the course.
In the meantime, enjoy this post from the Dewey Blog, which informs us all that the complete DDC number for March Madness is 796.323630973.
025.431: The Dewey blog: March Madness
And incidentally, the class will be the day after the tournament ends, so you have no excuse not to be there!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Social networking hits the catalog
Here's another non-class-related post but newsworthy nonetheless. It's also a nice illustration of the power of the blogosphere at work.
Flabbergasted!
That's what I am after reading about John Blyberg's launch of the so-called "SOPAC" or Social OPAC at Ann Arbor District Library. You might remember that I mentioned them previously for their radical use of blogs throughout their library web site.
The SOPAC basically takes some of the best features in social networking and applies them to the library catalog. Reviewing and tagging items in the catalog, searching across tags, users, and ratings...very, very cool.
I can't do justice to the product, so here's Blyberg's blog post about his creation (beware of that screencast...the file is big!).
And of course, I came across the whole thing from Librarian in Black's blog. She calls attention to what I would call the open-source smackdown of Innovative's new Encore product.
I sense that the library world will feel the ripples out of Michigan for a time to come. Will the world ever be the same again? Or am I simply being over-dramatic? Time will tell...
Flabbergasted!
That's what I am after reading about John Blyberg's launch of the so-called "SOPAC" or Social OPAC at Ann Arbor District Library. You might remember that I mentioned them previously for their radical use of blogs throughout their library web site.
The SOPAC basically takes some of the best features in social networking and applies them to the library catalog. Reviewing and tagging items in the catalog, searching across tags, users, and ratings...very, very cool.
I can't do justice to the product, so here's Blyberg's blog post about his creation (beware of that screencast...the file is big!).
And of course, I came across the whole thing from Librarian in Black's blog. She calls attention to what I would call the open-source smackdown of Innovative's new Encore product.
I sense that the library world will feel the ripples out of Michigan for a time to come. Will the world ever be the same again? Or am I simply being over-dramatic? Time will tell...
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
interesting stats
Technorati's October 2006 State of the Blogosphere report yields some fascinating statistics.
I have yet to crunch all the numbers but I'll drop some in the class.
Which is only a few hours away! Yikes!!!
I have yet to crunch all the numbers but I'll drop some in the class.
Which is only a few hours away! Yikes!!!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Back to the drawing board...on to mobile blogger
Well, my last test post didn't work. Rather, it didn't work completely as I expected. Apparently an email from my Verizon phone to my Mail-to-Blogger address allows the text to post but not my PIX. Which I would've known if I had read the instructions.
Duh.
Duh.
From the desk of...
This is a test post from my cell. My desk is a little cluttered right now.
This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit
www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.
To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.
To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.
platforms a'plenty
I'm compiling my lists of tools which I'll probably make a takeaway during the class. Blog platforms are the bread and butter of a blog: the code that makes a blog run. Choosing a blog platform is the first technical step in creating a new blog. Here are a few that I'm investigating/planning on including now:
Blogger - one of the originals, one of the biggest, now with Google muscle, and fresh out of beta (although I'm finding some of the features are still a little rickety)
WordPress - I'm actually debating switching over because their features (integrated stats!) seem so clean and straightforward, perhaps even to test out the import/export feature
LiveJournal - SixApart's old free platform
Vox - SixApart's new free platform
Xanga - old school, but they've always called themselves The Weblog Community, that deserves a mention
Drupal - learned about this one today when I found out through the grapevine that this open source platform is what Ann Arbor District Library is using for their great site I mentioned previously
I'll probably mention TypePad and Movable Type as well, even though they are pay platforms, because they do have some outstanding features, especially in a business or professional setting.
Blogger - one of the originals, one of the biggest, now with Google muscle, and fresh out of beta (although I'm finding some of the features are still a little rickety)
WordPress - I'm actually debating switching over because their features (integrated stats!) seem so clean and straightforward, perhaps even to test out the import/export feature
LiveJournal - SixApart's old free platform
Vox - SixApart's new free platform
Xanga - old school, but they've always called themselves The Weblog Community, that deserves a mention
Drupal - learned about this one today when I found out through the grapevine that this open source platform is what Ann Arbor District Library is using for their great site I mentioned previously
I'll probably mention TypePad and Movable Type as well, even though they are pay platforms, because they do have some outstanding features, especially in a business or professional setting.
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