Module 2: Introduction - What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0



JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.http://vimeo.com/9641036

Before I start with Web 2.0, I will first look at Web 1.0, as we know it: World Wide Web. The WWW emerged in 1991 up and till 2000.

Some of the characteristics include:

• The inventors of the WWW wanted to incorporate hyper textual interactivity. This was "greatly theorised, but slow to emerge"
• The WWW was really clunky with static homepages. The websites could only be accessed or be created by web designers. In other words, the WWW was not use-friendly or written for everyone to use effectively and efficiently
• So, only the designers could change the hypertext. This means when you apply for a website, you had to wait until the product was ready for you. You could not go and change things the way you wanted it to be.
• The WWW was more focused at read-only instead of the read-write dream.
• There was also the dream of 'cyberspace', matched with the reality of Dial-up speeds.
• WWW became known as Web 1.0. (Retronym)

It was Tim O'Reilly that came up with the term Web 2.0. Web 2.0 has the following features:

• It is a social software with micro formats and technical terms
• It is Data driven
• Users can create their own Wikis, blogs, and media
• There is standardization
• Web 2.0 is about compensation, readers can interact with each other
• There are many user-friendly tools such as, flickr, wikis ajax
• Videos and content can easily be shared
• The tools on Web 2.0 ensure that users can participate in full

Tim O'Reilly describes the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 as follows:

Web 1.0                                                          Web 2.0

• Mp3.com                                                 Napster
• Personal websites                                  Blogging
• Britannica Online                                   Wikipedia
• Publishing                                              Participation
• Content management systems              Wikis
• Directories (Taxonomy)                         Tagging (Folksonomy)

What is amazing is that 9 million people are using social networks. Facebook is the highest. This indicates that Web 2.0 is here to stay.

Reference
O, Reilly, T. (2009). What is Web 2.0? Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

Topic 1.2 ...And the World Wide Web

WWW - Tim Berners-Lee



http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

Tim Berners-Lee you are a true hero - creator of the WWW. What is more, Berners-Lee made the Internet free for all of us (1993)

• Web is the "public face of the Internet"
• It is an application - the same as "email"
• Hypertext - makes us go from one webpage to another webpage (easy...but technical
• Vannevar Bush first thought of a machine to retrieve all human knowledge to a desktop in 1945
• 1965 – Ted Nelson came up with non-sequential non-linear connected text – as known as hypertext
• First mouse - 1968 by Dough Engelbart
• Tim Berners-Lee and workmates developed all the tools for WWW in 1990.
• 1993 - Mosaic, version 1.0 browser was developed by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina
• URLs - Uniform Resources Locators - help to remember where webpages are stored
• HTML - Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) - this is computer language written for each page
• It is fun to write HTML - but today people don't really write their own computer language anymore (there are easier ways - already done for us)
• The Web is BIGGGGGGGG - 2008, there were 1 trillion URLs (Google, 2008)

Topic 1.1 What is the Internet?

Internet



google.com/images



• The Internet is ubiquitous
• Learned about the history - the Internet is a collection of computers linked via phone lines, power lines, satellites, cables and radio
• "The Internet is not the World Wide Web"
• A network joined with other computers
• Your web browser respond to a web server
• TCP/IP "enable the movement of information between nodes on the network"
• Every computer has a IP (Internet Protocol) address
• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - divert data from your computer to receiving computer
• Routers read the transmitted data
• Domain names: e.g. .com, .org, .edu, .gov
• Second level domain names are: "Yahoo, Google, Curtin" etc.
• Brandwith -" amount of available communication resources"
• Broadband - "high speed", fast connection - this is not dialup - does not make use of standard telephone service
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) - allows sending/receiving of email
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - allows files to be transferred
• News Network Transfer Protocol (NNTP) - newsgroups connected to topics
• Internet Relay Chat (IRC) - simultaneous connection

Web Communications 101: Ongoing Portfolio

Introduction: What's in a name?

• Learned about the importance of a user name and namechk.com
• e.g. twitter, blogger, wordpress, flickr, linkedin and friendfeed
• Subscribe to a few of them - a bit tricky to get the same username for all (not possible...)
• I have started to follow many students - we all in the same boat. (Very interesting names..)This was a fun experience!
• Started to write my Portfolio today

Namechk is great!

http://namechk.com/

I have started with a Web Communication course and our lecturer provided this link in the notes. I would like to share this with you.

In my opinion, this is a very useful website.  You not only can check if you are a current user of some of these social communication tools, but you can also subscribe to a variety of web links.

It looks like Web communications are growing and growing by the minute... (I have to say a big thank you to Sky, as well as Namechk).

http://namechk.com/

Final cource blog

http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/aren-cohen/200812121313

Write a final blog post for the course, ruminating on your progress through the course. What parts were useful for you? Was there any of these services that you would encourage your library to use? Do you feel better informed? Were there any aspects of the course that didn't work for you?

Well, to be honest with you, this Web 2.0 training was very interesting and helpful. Not only did I enjoy creating my own blogs, but I found myself reading a lot of interesting information (maybe too much...). I think this training course should be made available across Australia. Then again, this would also benefit World Wide internet users. What I did find useful, was all the “...in plain English” YouTube videos. I have also enjoyed the interaction with fellow Bloggers. It is always nice to read about other people’s pondering and ideas.

Our library already uses Twitter, Facebook, Frickr and Blogs. It would be nice to see more Podcasting, Wikis and of cause Geocaching. The two main Web 2.0 technologies that stood out for me were Podcasting and Geocaching. I really enjoyed learning and exploring these technologies. I can see the benefits of Podcasting, especially book reviews, storytelling for children and senior users. For this reason, I also think our library users would thoroughly enjoy using them.

I must say, I am better informed and more confident in using the Web 2.0 technologies. Seeing that I have never created a Blog, this was an absolute worthwhile experience for me. I can now also encourage my family and friends to create a Blog.

There are no aspects of the course that I did not particularly enjoy. I enjoyed all the bits and pieces :) Mind you, if there was one slight issue, it would have to be the time factor. In my view, an hour per lesson/per week was probably not enough during work hours. I have found myself doing my blogging at home. It was more enjoyable and relaxing (than a busy working environment). In saying this, I would definitely encourage other people to participate in this course and create their own blogs. It is fun!!!

I would like to say a big thank you to the City of Swan Libraries and all the people involved in providing this training course. You were very helpful, especially Mel. Many thanks! Lizelle :)

Geocaching Australia

Geocaching are going to be heaps of fun!

 

 

http://geocaching.com.au/

I have become a member of Geocaching Australia and Geocaching.com  and I am very enthusiastic to find as many caches as possible.  My first thought, where should I start looking...? Then, firstly, I had a look in my own suburb and surrounding areas. On the Geocaching website you just have to put in your area code to see what treasures are around you. I have found a few catches that look very intriguing.

Plan A: I got my GPS out, and tried to download all the software/plug ins for my GPS. Unfortunately, this did not work. Plan B: I had a look at the Waypoint (Geocaching Australia), which provided the location code. (This was very helpful). Plan C: I went to Google Maps on Geochaching - found the location: longitude and latitude. Plan D: Will check these catches out over the weekend. Plan E: Will have to borrow my friend's GPS.

In the mean while, I had a look at some of the other people's findings/catches - very interesting and some very scary!

Geocaching

Write a blog post on whether you think geocaching could or should be used as part of a program at your library. Explain what program and how you think this could be done.

http://mommy23monkeys.com/2009/10/08/geocaching/

Geocaching – now this is great! In my opinion, this Web 2.0 technology wins the first prize trophy! Not only is it fun, but it is informative and eventful. In a library situation, this would be absolutely perfect and a wonderful contribution to spark user participation, enthusiasm, teamwork and enjoyment! When I had a look at the YouTube video, titled Scootgame – this also gave me a similar idea - our library could run the same initiative. Often library users come into the library, asking where certain genres, subjects or categories (Dewey Decimal classification system) are located. Geocaching would be great to help users find and learn more about certain categories and to get familiar with searching the library more effectively and efficiently, especially in bigger libraries. For example, the same basic idea (as Scootgame) could be applied. The title of the program could be: Where is Dewey? (Similar to: Where is Wally? - Children's book).

celebrateyourlibrary.wordpress.com

Clues could be transmitted via mobile devices. When users do find the correct book – there could be some sort of price or souvenir to collect. The person that finishes and finds all the clues within a certain time – could also be eligible for a more valuable price.  

http://geocaching.macfarlane.ws/

I think this would be a great game for children! In the same vein, the library could also introduce a Treasure Hunt in the library to encourage children to partake in library activities. Again, small prices such as book vouchers, graphic novels, lollies or 'Freddos' (chocolates) would be wonderful J. Moreover, children love games!

I remember once, a group of friends and myself were on a treasure hunt (an old ship docked in Albany WA). We all got a device simliar to a walkie talkie with clues on - we had to search for mysterious objects and clues all neatly tucked away on the old ship.  We managed to find all the clues. One thing is for sure, we enjoyed this hunt tremendously! A memory that will stick forever...

Podcasts

Listen to some of the podcasts linked on the Library Success wiki. Blog about how your library could use podcasts for your patrons and staff. What is an area that you haven't seen any local libraries using podcasts for? List a favourite podcast that you would or do subscribe to (does not have to be work related).

I had a look at some of the Podcasting resources available from Library Success wiki. However, I must say some of the links are not working, e.g. Sunnyvale Public Library podcast feed.

I found the following podcasts very informative and useful:

Denver Public Library podcasts:

The  7 Semyons, The pig who went home on Sunday podcast and Fat Cat - with theses podcasts I thought, it would be great to share children stories on our library's website. Children would be able to download these stories and listen to them at home, well anywhere. I really think this would be an enormous success in any library. I haven't seen or are aware of this method been being used  in any WA library.  Maybe other parts of Australia are familiar with this technology. It would be nice to know :)

Memorial Hall Library podcasts:

I have enjoyed this podcast! Teens write their own poems and then broadcast them via podcasts on the library's website. In this way teens are contributing and utilising the library actively. Teens could also download their poems and stories on MP3 players. This is great! 

One such example is the poem: Beautiful.  Again, it would be a good idea to involve users to contribute and podcast their own poems, short stories and other novels. This is also new to our libraries in WA.

Pritzker Military Libary podcasts:

Donald Miller: D-Days in the Pacific  - This is another very interesting podcast resource. The Pritzker Military Library podcasts are very informative. It would be great to have our library's history or local history collections documented in this format. Our community's historical events could also be broadcasted in this manner.

One podcast I would subscribe to without a doubt is:

Scientific American

A very good podcast!  In 60 seconds you hear something new. For example: Daydreaming and Heartbeats. This would also be very useful in our library; new information to our users every day! I am already subscribed!

Podcasting

http://blogs.voices.com/thebiz/sales_marketing/

Famous authors' books and feedback

I really enjoyed listening to the following pod- casts - it gave me insight into what the books are all about. It is also nice to hear the authors' views. They are worthwhile to listen to. 

Curtin University Book review: The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles
Curtin University Book review: Flying under bridges
Monash Public Library service: Gabrielle Wang
Monash Public Library service: Cate Kennedy

In my view, podcasting is the road to future communications. Users are becoming more and more dependent on this technology, and in actual fact - they may not be able to "live without it". Why? Because it is convenient, it is free and it is easy to download and use. The term podcast originated in the early 2004. According to  Wikipedia (2010) and the Oxford University Press, "the term "podcasting" was first mentioned by Ben Hammersley in The Guardian newspaper in a February 2004 article, along with other proposed names for the new medium. It is a portmanteau of the words "pod"— from the name of Apple's portable media player, iPod—and "broadcasting"".

More online videos

Just to continue with this week's online video session....Another online video website, Vimeo provides a variety of videos which would suit anyone's taste. It is similar than YouTube, you can embed videos easily into your blog or website. I have also found that this website is very user-friendly, with not too many adds. Just to keep in mind, this site does not have as many video clips as YouTube, but it is still very effective. In my opinion, this is one of the best video sites :)

Books in our imagination 

 
LIBRARY from singsfish on Vimeo.
 
A fun library song


Library from The Bumblemen on Vimeo.

We can learn from Ghana

What is something that your library can do, that is different from the videos we have seen here.

After I listened to this song on YouTube - I became very teary... This is a wonderful song - a song of true library love... coming from young Ghana children. Thank you Ghana for such a memorable library song! You are a great inspiration.

My though - maybe we could sing a song about our library too. The joy and laughter it brings. Libraries bring people together from everywhere... actually it is remarkable... our libraries! We should cherish our services to the community, but most importantly, we should acknowledge our users. 

Also, it would be nice  to promote our library by making a You-Tube advertisement - promoting all our services and facilities. This would be fun! It is true that people buy with their eyes... 

Online videos

Libraries can use online videos for a whole raft of marketing, information and fun reasons. How could you see your library using online videos?

In my view libraries can use online videos as a marketing tool. It is a fun and practical way to promote services and activities to library patrons. For example, in one of the YouTube videos complied by Newman (2009), it illustrates how libraries can promote transliteracy to their patrons. Many patrons are not computer literate. In this video the emphasises is placed on staff and how staff can contribute to information literacy and technology needs of patrons. We must not only be the providers of information of technology, but also the "trainers" of these services. In my opinion, libraries will have to change (be transformed) and adapt to be the providers of patrons' learning experiences. So, I see the future more focused on technology, with new gadgets and gimmicks. We, as staff members, will also have to learn these new technologies - so that we do not miss out!

Maybe we need to be transformed from a little tadpole to a GREEN, GREEN FROG.... (feed the frog)

Twitter

I guess, I am now officially on the Twitter list - one of millions tweeting about something....nothing.....anything.... It is fun! Peoples' interests and existence are intriguing and you can learn a lot from them....  

I love to read about other peoples' tweeds.... some....happy..... some sad....some really funny :) In the end we are all human - everyone has a story to share...this is wonderful!

Let the Tweeting begin..... I am Rooirosie1

Oh yes, I actually researched where Twitter all started and interestingly an American computer whiz, architect and businessman, Jack Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) created Twitter. I am just wondering what he has done before Twitter? Maybe he left a few notes for all his family members and friends everyday....maybe he wanted everybody to know what he was doing every minute of the day. Well, whatever his reason, I think it was a great idea! According to Wiki (2010) “Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and currently has more than 100 million users”. Now that is something to tweet about....


Twitter Man - Jack Dorsey


Reference

Twitter. (2010). Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

Facebook

Well, Facebook is so popular that I don't really think there is anything to add or say. After viewing the What the F*** is Social Media NOW  (Strange title though...) I was amazed at how much time people spend on Facebook - 500 billion minutes per month. 62% of impressions/views come from Facebook per year. This is incredible!  In a way, Facebook is addictive - especially with young people.  My greatest concern with Facebook is that time can disappear - it is like water in the sand.....So in my view, Facebook is a good thing and also a bad thing. It is a great tool to make friends and to find friends. From my experience I have found many "long-last" friends and family members.  I have also found my two half brothers and half sister. (I haven't seen them in 25 years..)

When it comes to business - library business - Facebook and Twitter is great! You can inform people of library services and activities. You can network with other libraries to see what they are doing. You can actually  learn from each other and create from each other. Also, libraries can stay up-to-date with the latest technology and information. Library users are constantly informed about the latest activities and what is happening in the library, as well as other library news. Clearly, these Web 2.0 applications will increase in the future - if we don't know how to use them, we might fall behind.  It is therefore vital for us (staff) to make use of these new technologies in the the best possible way...



Library Thing made easy

I must say I found the LibraryThing a bit hard - but I realised afterwards if you do it step-by-step then it makes more sense.  In my opinion, the best way to learn all the features is to play around. Sometimes you learn much easier and quicker if you figure it out yourself.  You are less likely to forget it then. Anyway, this is just my view. I also had a look at the Vimeo LibraryThing training demo video, it was also very helpful. Overall, the demo video was easy to understand and to follow.  I thought tags are very good - you can just press the link and this brings you to the required information - a very useful and fast way of retrieving your special or popular books. It was nice to be able to rate the books too - you tend to read popular books more than the low rated ones. Why I wonder?

Library Thing Training Demo from Felix Barba on Vimeo.

LibraryThing experience

Library Thing

I think the LibraryThing tool is a wonderful "thing" - not only can you tag your special and most popular books, but you can also follow what is out there.  This feature is a definite plus for any library.


As stated by LibraryThing this is also a good social network system. You can also exchange ideas and comments. In this way you are always up-to-date with the latest books and reviews. 

LibraryThing helps you:

• Keep track of the books in your life
• Books you own
• Books you've read
• Books you'd like to read
• Wishlist
• Favorites
• ... any collection you want (LibraryThing, nd.).

Moreover, you can see what others like and prefer to read. Books are at your doorstep - books are retrieved from Amazon, as well as more than 690 library collections. This is great! Because LibraryThing act as a book review website too...

What did you find interesting? What sort of information could your library put on a wiki - internal for staff only or external for customers to use and edit?

Wiki Definition: A wiki ( ) is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

To start off, I think Wiki’s are overall great! I use Wikipedia all the time for my background research projects, especially when I do not know: ‘who is......’ and ‘what is......’ and ‘where is.....’  and what is the meaning of the word..... type of questions. But, in saying this, as a uni student, I was advised not to use any of the Wikipedia references in my assessments.  I could not really understand why?? However, after viewing the Wikis in plain English I now know why! People can edit information freely - anyone.  My only real concern is – if people do make changes, what is the guarantee that the information is 100% correct?  Anyway, this is just my own ponderings......   

However, I still think Wiki’s can be great for any library. They bring all information logically together. I thought, the Antioch University New England Library’s motto - "WWW" (When Wondering? Wiki) is valuable. (I can speak for myself :)

The Games and public libraries Wiki is very interesting too.  Clearly, everyone can participate and contribute their gaming experiences, findings and choices. This definitely is a must have in any library! However, gaming is not available in all Australian libraries. I know for a fact that overseas libraries are well-advanced in this area.  Anyway, I think gaming would be a tremendous hit with our Young Adults, not to mention our Adult user groups.

I realised that when clicking of the Montana History Wiki’s Subject Guides, there were lots of interesting information, like the Military History. But I did notice that the “Cooking and Cookbooks” subject heading was still empty. 

Did you find any good examples of other library blogs?

I must say, there are really good library blogs – very clever people! I have found a link to library blogs http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html

I thought that the Okavango Research Institute (ORI) Library’s blog was really nice and informative. 

FLOW: information for Okavango Delta planning- http://flowhoorc.blogspot.com/

                                                                                    
Other links:

LibInfoSpace - http://libinfospace.blogspot.com/

VALISblog - http://valisblog.blogspot.com/

Georgia State University Library - http://homer.gsu.edu/blogs/library/

18^th- Century Reading Room - http://18thcenturyreadingroom.blogspot.com/

Then again, our own Staff Blog is pretty great too... There is always interesting stuff to read and we (staff) are linked to the most up-to-date information at all times.  I find it very useful to know what is happening in other libraries. I think this is a wonderful example of social networking and engagement. It is good to know that the Blog also make use of the LibraryThing. Tagging all the popular keywords on the Blog is also a great idea. Mind you, it is good to be able to find information without any hassles.
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How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

RSS feeds are fantastic! In my opinion, if libraries (including staff) are using RSS feeds correctly, it would have more advantages for libraries than disadvantages.

 RSS help libraries to:

• Keep up to date with the latest news – library news, world news, Information Technology news, and so on
• Keep up to date with other libraries, and what they are doing in the industry
• Keep abreast with the latest technology – RSS feeds can be linked to new technology updates and computer websites
• Promote services to their users 

Flickr ideas in the library




My ultimate library would have to be the Dok Delft Library in Holland. I would love to visit this beautiful library one day!

A few years ago when Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer did their Shanachie tour around Australia - they absolutely inspired me. J  All their library ideas were so fresh, new and existing.  Not only were their ideas great, but they were motivated to inspire other libraries to do the same.

What do you think about Lifelong Learning?



Well, Lifelong learning is forever......   

Lifelong learning starts with me... 

Lifelong learning starts with you....

Actually lifelong learning starts with us.....