group project reflection…

I had a great time creating my song for GarageBand.  It was great to explore this program and discover its different facets.  I literally spent hours and hours syncing up the sound clips, and monkeying around with the volume, etc.  There is enormous creative potential with GrarageBand.  Moreover, GarageBand clips could be used in many different ways- from sound effects, to original music, to creating spoken audio.

I was surprised to find little academic studies on GarageBand.  There were little to no articles available via Library Literature.  I would hope that the future will bring more scholarly research around this type of tool. 

In a discussion about GarageBand with a friend, I was told about an interesting way to use it.  My friend explained how him and his bandmate ended up living in different cities.  To continue to make music, they would send one another their own parts of a song- then one of them would put the parts together to compile the music.  I thought that was a pretty cool use of the Library 2.0 tool.

It was an overall good experience for me.  It felt good to get my hands on this tool, as I hadn’t worked with it before. 

my movie blog

http://thereflectingskin.wordpress.com/

That is the website to the blog I created for my class paper.  Its a dark drama, so things can get a little strange on the site!

paper abstract: virtual communities

I chose to look at virtual communities in libraries for my paper topic. In doing so, I established a mock “virtual community” of my own. Utilizing the principles of “The Long Tail,” I set up a wordpress blog for a very, shall we say, “niche-market” movie. Its a strange film from the 90s, that has a small following. I figured that this niche film would prompt people to participate in the community more than if it were a wider-known movie.

For the paper I discuss the results of my mock virtual community. For 14 days I posted a new point of discussion on my blog, with several links and tags. I also advertised my blog through a new website each day. For example, I set up a facebook page for the film one day, and another I twittered that I was reading my blog (and gave the blog address). Since I am not done writing the paper, I’m not going to disclose the movie I used… I am trying to keep the data as raw as possible, where all hits were random from searches and/or people seeking out info on this movie. I’ll post it when I am done!

In my paper I discuss how libraries can set up their own virtual communities. There were several successes and roadblocks that I found in my experiment, which I share in the paper. Basically, the paper is a blend of The Long Tail, virtual communities, and how libraries can best gain interaction and participation through online users. This project has personally helped me to grasp the steps involved in creating virtual communities. It was also fun to watch my “movie community” grow through the blog stats.

-LTL

library 2.0 and marketing ourselves

I had a job interview last week.  One of the four questions I received was to explain my experience with Library 2.0.  The second of the four questions was to discuss three ways in which blogs can be used in libraries.  Of course, this class helped me to clearly articulate these two answers.  It felt great to be confident in these two areas.

Browsing a lot of the library literature that is “out there” today, I also see a lot of buzz around Library 2.0, and the branches of 2.0.  Whether or not these tools are physically implemented in libraries, they are definitely marketable to know about- and have personally tried out and experimented with.  I would certainly expect that any other interviews I experience will touch on Library 2.0.

I was happy to see that the Library 2.0 class will be offered this summer, and also in the fall.  It is an area of librarianship that has penetrated almost every aspect of the career.  Moreover, I would say that it is expected that graduates know about these tools.  If their interviews go anything like mine did, they will be glad to have registered for this class!

As a final note, I think it is so cool that libraries are really stepping up to the plate with social networking and connectivity with virtual communities.  Talk about staying ahead of the curve!

-LTL

 

on Wikipedia

I had a conversation last night about Wikipedia.  I was explaining that one needed to know some basics of HTML in order to edit a Wikipedia page.  This led into a fruitful conversation about the digital divide.  If one needed to know HTML to edit a page, then that weeds out only a select group of people.

After second-guessing myself, I went on Wikipedia this morning to edit a page.  Sure enough, there were those trusty HTML codes (they never escape me).  However, I didn’t actually have to code in order to edit a sentence within the text.  So, that part was pretty easy.  Still, the page code was peppered with HTML tags- one simply had to figure out where they are able to type as to not alter the code.  As long as a novice is not intimidated by the code, then editing a page should be accessible.

However, if one wanted to create a completely new page, life gets a little more difficult.  I entered a term into Wikipedia that I didn’t think it would have.  Sure enough, there was not a page on this topic.  I searched the page for a while to figure out how to add a page.  I couldn’t find anything on adding pages, so I resorted to the help page.  Once that was navigated, I was finally able to create my entry. Actually writing a new page was surprisingly easy.  I didn’t need to know the code like I thought I would.  Creating a page- once I found out how to do it- was more or less badda-bing-badda-boom.

My final thoughts on editing and creating entries in Wikipedia is this- the HTML codes definitely look intimidating to someone who is not familiar with them, even if you don’t actually need to use them.  I remember going to a page to edit (before I took the HTML class at St. Kates) and giving up because I was confused.  My suggestion would be that the “people” at Wikipedia make the editing pages more user-friendly.  Wordpress does a good job of hiding HTML code, and still allowing you to use it with the separate tab (bravo).

That’s all for now! -Lindsey

  

free for ALL?

I recently picked up the latest WIRED mag to find that Chris Anderson is at it again.  His article was published as the cover story.  This time, he wasn’t dishing on the Long Tail… Chris stepped into to new (yet familiar) territory. 

The article discusses the power of “free”.  We experience free services every day when we search the internet.  Sure, Google is free to use… but how many ads do you see when you use it?  Anderson’s article makes the case that people want FREE.  We like FREE.  So, if companies make their products and services free, then how do they get paid?  Anderson’s answer is that they get paid by third party.  Meaning, while I might surf Google for free, someone else might be purchasing an item from a company that is advertising on Google.  Therefore, Google eventually gets their money.  Here is a chart from the article that describes this relationship:

I liked how Anderson explored the interconnectedness of the internet.  It got me thinking about the chain of events that happens in our money market.  What I decide to purchase could in effect pay for some advertising on Google, who pays Google to support the ad. 

Here is an excerpt from the article:

As much as we complain about how expensive things are getting, we’re surrounded by forces that are making them cheaper. Forty years ago, the principal nutritional problem in America was hunger; now it’s obesity, for which we have the Green Revolution to thank. Forty years ago, charity was dominated by clothing drives for the poor. Now you can get a T-shirt for less than the price of a cup of coffee, thanks to China and global sourcing. So too for toys, gadgets, and commodities of every sort. Even cocaine has pretty much never been cheaper (globalization works in mysterious ways).

Ever since I first read The Long Tail, I have been impressed by Anderson’s “freakonomics” way of looking at industry.  This article did not disappoint.  Keep it up!

-Lindsey

my world of social networking

I like having virtual friends.  I like social networking.  I’m not afraid to admit that, after watching an episode of the Bachelor, I log into YouTube and check out how others are reacting to the show.  (wow did i just admit to that?)  I’ve followed nonsense YouTube posts from CommunityChannel and BarelyPolitical… I’ve made facebook friends that I have never met in person.  I’ve seen movies based off of recommendations from virtual friends, and visited restaurants where on-line friends frequent. 

My point is that social networking often spills into my “real time” personal life- it is not confined within the walls of the computer screen.  Additionally, many YouTube personalities carry over into news programs and talk shows.  Seeing familiar faces on TV or in the newspaper makes me feel more connected with the (pop?) culture of our society.  Its fun to watch a “nobody” make it big through social networking, and infiltrate into the broader entertainment scene.

On another note, I have found LinkedIn to be a useful forum for job hunting.  My husband even got a phone call from an employer who saw him on LinkedIn.  I thought that was pretty cool. 

So to wrap up, am I a fan of social networking?  YES!  Its a great way to learn, network and keep a thumb on hot topics in our ever changing and morphing American society.

-Lindsey