After Sarah's (aka, The Librarian in Black) recent post about Twitter, it got me thinking again. Since I last railed against Twitter, I've become a casual user. I know, I know. I was SO against it. And a lot of me is still against it.
I'm against Twitter as another THING for librarians to jump on, sign up for, start using, end up only 'talking' and following other librarians, and then proclaim "I Twitter!" The problem with all these new technologies is that you actually need to use them, not just sign up for them, explore them, force them to fit into the library. You need to see how they're being used and then see if there's a way the library can use it that works within the confines of the technological construct.
Take Twitter for example. I follow a weird, small selection of people. (the link takes you to my profile) Very few are library people. OK, four out of eleven is approaching half, but I know there are a LOT more librarians 'using' Twitter out there. I chose to not follow them. Instead I chose to follow people like Henry Rollins, Wil Wheaton, Warren Ellis, Merlin Mann, Xeni Jardin, Gina Trapini, and Cory Doctorow (not many updates Cory!).
These people don't care about libraries like librarians do. Their passions lie elsewhere. When I approach new technologies like this, I try to explore as wide a variety of things as possible. How are people using it?
Henry Rollins posts about upcoming gigs. Great use for this service. Get your fans locked onto your account and let them know when unannounced events show up. Libraries could use the concept to announce hours change (for events or for the library), send reminders for upcoming events, changes to upcoming events, etc. Most likely, this would be in addition to every other way you announce such changes. It's doubtful that all your patrons will embrace Twitter as the only source for updates.
Everyone else? They just post random things they are doing. It's very voyeuristic, which is creepy and interesting at the same time. My latest post (as I write this): finishing my morning travel mug of coffee...wishing it would magically refill itself, wishing I lived near somewhere that sold good beans..." says something about me and my current mental state. You only have 140 characters, so it's tough to say anything substantial (unlike here where I go on and on and on).
I had another thought recently on how libraries could implement Twitter. This was an internal use. If you work at a big library, where librarians are constantly working in different places, you could use Twitter to help keep track of each other. For example, you might think Carol is at her desk, but when you check Twitter, she's updated to say that she's working on the historical map display. You could update to say that you're working at the reference desk (in case someone forgets the schedule). This would be particularly useful for people AT the reference desk who would have a one-stop check when receiving phone calls. "No I'm sorry, Pam isn't at her desk right now, can I take a message?" And Pam's Twitter could say 'working on displays' or 'no phone-calls.'
Of course, like anything, you need to get people participating, and participating regularly. It doesn't help if four weeks from Carol is still working on the historical map display (in Twitter) but in reality that display now showcases the library's Hello Kitty collection and Carol is working at a different library. And this problem isn't unique to technology. Leaving a clipboard with memos that need to be initialed fails the first time someone doesn't look at it.
The 'trick' is to make it something that people want to use. One of my bosses when I worked for Barnes & Noble used to hide $1 and $2 gift certificates on the book carts. Then, as you shelved the books, you might find a little surprise. Sure, it's not much, but it's more than you had when you started. You could do something similar with Twitter: "The first person to mention this notice to me can leave fifteen minutes early" or "I'll buy a cup of coffee to the first person who mentions avocados to me" or something else.
And while people should want to work hard and do well of their own accord, I find giving little rewards never hurts anyone.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
LibraryThing on My Mind
This weekend at my parents' house, I had several people ask me if there was some sort of service (I think they asked for software) available that would allow them to catalog their books. I'm paraphrasing, obviously, since I don't think my father or my aunt or any of others who were there would actually call this process cataloging. They wanted something that was easier than typing everything in a file.
I pointed them to LibraryThing as a way to create a catalog of their books. If they didn't have a lot of books (e.g., my father has about 100 - 150 golfing books) they would type them in the search box and add them to their online catalog easily.
If they had a lot of books (my aunt is friends with Michael Joncas--yes, "On Eagle's Wings", etc.--and he has hundreds or more of academic religious books) I recommended a life time membership to LibraryThing (on average $25) and a CueCat (available for $15 from LibraryThing) to scan barcodes off books and upload the file to LibraryThing, who then does all the work of creating the catalog. In fact, I'm thinking that now I'm going to do just that myself.
It was a lot of fun, showing this technology to my family. I went a little overboard in showing them what LibraryThing could do. But it really is an amazing service. I've used it in the past to create reader's advisories (like the left-hand-side of this blog if you're not reading this as a feed) on websites. I think it's great to see another service come along that starts with current technology and a help-people-first mentality. I'm curious to see how the LibraryThing for Libraries works out. If I knew more about programming I'd try to work for them!
I pointed them to LibraryThing as a way to create a catalog of their books. If they didn't have a lot of books (e.g., my father has about 100 - 150 golfing books) they would type them in the search box and add them to their online catalog easily.
If they had a lot of books (my aunt is friends with Michael Joncas--yes, "On Eagle's Wings", etc.--and he has hundreds or more of academic religious books) I recommended a life time membership to LibraryThing (on average $25) and a CueCat (available for $15 from LibraryThing) to scan barcodes off books and upload the file to LibraryThing, who then does all the work of creating the catalog. In fact, I'm thinking that now I'm going to do just that myself.
It was a lot of fun, showing this technology to my family. I went a little overboard in showing them what LibraryThing could do. But it really is an amazing service. I've used it in the past to create reader's advisories (like the left-hand-side of this blog if you're not reading this as a feed) on websites. I think it's great to see another service come along that starts with current technology and a help-people-first mentality. I'm curious to see how the LibraryThing for Libraries works out. If I knew more about programming I'd try to work for them!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
More Technology
Today we'll talk about Google Reader. I was very reluctant to use Google Reader as I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket. I feel very uncomfortable whenever a company wants to be my everything. IMO, it's impossible for one company to provide every service I could want to the same level of quality.
Sure, Google is a great search engine. Yes, I use Google Maps over other map services. Yes, I'm using Google's website analytics (but I'm also using two other company's web statistics tools, and from the three of them I feel I get a nice view of what's happening with my website). But, I do not like Google's calendar feature. I have a gmail account, but I don't use it since I have something like six or seven other e-mail accounts (some of which I've had for more than 8 years and I'm reluctant to give them up since there are some people who only use that account to contact me).
So, whenever I read about how Google has word processing, or spreadsheets, or an RSS reader, or what have you, I just don't buy that their product is as good as a company who's spent their life making a word processor. Sure, this may be short-sightedness on my part. I try lots of things that Google puts out there, and I use the ones that I feel are well made, and I discard (like Google calendar) the ones that are awkward to use and implement.
I do not like Google Reader. There are a few things about it that I really dislike. There are some functions that Bloglines provides that Google Reader does not that I wish it had. And yet...
About a month ago, none of my LiveJournal feeds were updating in Bloglines. This is a huge problem as I read scores of author feeds, and a lot of them are on LJ. There is some problem with how Bloglines retrieves information that violates LJ's terms of use. So, I decided to try Google Reader since many people recommended it and Google was updating LJ feeds.
First, what I like about Google Reader.
One of the big things is that I use folders to organize my feeds. In Bloglines, when I click on a folder, everything in it is marked as read. If I get interrupted or I accidently click another folder/feed, I cannot retrieve those messages. Google doesn't do this. I have to actually get to the feed's post before it's marked as read.
Also, I like the keyboard navigation functionality. I like being able to use the space bar to scroll slowly through a long post, and I like using the 'j' and 'k' keys to move back and forth through posts (although this sometimes doesn't work; anyone know why?).
I like the starring function of saving posts better than Bloglines version of saving posts as Bloglines keeps them in the feed list (which can be problematic when you 'save' as many posts as I do for later reading or later posting). Google moves them to their own area that I can access easily.
Hey, look at that. Google keeps track of trends in my feed reading. Cool! And kind of invasive at the same time. Hmmm. It does give me a sense of who's posting the most and what I'm reading a lot of. But it seems to only confirm what I already knew.
Second, things I dislike.
I hate...HATE HATE HATE...that Google caps the feed count at 100+. This is asinine. You know how many posts I have to read. And 101 versus 500 is a huge difference. If I have ten minutes, I might be able to look at 101 posts; but I doubt I can look at 500. This is just bad programming. Lazy. Bad. Awful. Stupid. Fix it.
I also hate that the posts aren't dated. They get timestamps like '10 minutes ago' and crap like that. Again, you know when you accessed the feed and retrieved the post, give me the date. Sometimes, people update an old post, and it shows up as '10 minutes ago.' If I had a date, too, I could see that: yes it was posted 10 minutes ago, but it was originally posted four weeks ago. Sheesh.
Um, blogroll options? Yeah, not there. I use the blogroll function from Bloglines, since I like to have a list of other read-worthy blogs out there, and I'm too lazy to input several hundred feeds by hand. And I don't feel it's worth the effort to select just a few and ignore the rest that I read. I want my blogroll to represent what I'm reading. I can share individual items, which doesn't seem as helpful.
Built-in weather function? Also not there. This is one of the great features of Bloglines. Put in your zip code, and get a nice, constantly updating5-day weather forecast. Simple. Effective. Handy.
Package tracking? Not there either. I cannot tell you how often I've used this. I'll keep my Bloglines account for this alone, even if I drop all my other feeds.
If not for the LJ problem, I would drop Google Reader and never look back. Its strengths don't outweigh its problems. Since I started using Google Reader about three weeks ago, I've read almost 6,000 posts. I've starred only a few dozen items for further reading.
Contrast this to my Bloglines account. In the same amount of time, it says that I have just 3,300 unread posts. That's about only 55% of the posts that I saw through Google Reader. Where did those other 2,500 or so posts go? That's a lot of stuff I would have missed.
Of course, the reality may be that I'm reading too much, right?
Sure, Google is a great search engine. Yes, I use Google Maps over other map services. Yes, I'm using Google's website analytics (but I'm also using two other company's web statistics tools, and from the three of them I feel I get a nice view of what's happening with my website). But, I do not like Google's calendar feature. I have a gmail account, but I don't use it since I have something like six or seven other e-mail accounts (some of which I've had for more than 8 years and I'm reluctant to give them up since there are some people who only use that account to contact me).
So, whenever I read about how Google has word processing, or spreadsheets, or an RSS reader, or what have you, I just don't buy that their product is as good as a company who's spent their life making a word processor. Sure, this may be short-sightedness on my part. I try lots of things that Google puts out there, and I use the ones that I feel are well made, and I discard (like Google calendar) the ones that are awkward to use and implement.
I do not like Google Reader. There are a few things about it that I really dislike. There are some functions that Bloglines provides that Google Reader does not that I wish it had. And yet...
About a month ago, none of my LiveJournal feeds were updating in Bloglines. This is a huge problem as I read scores of author feeds, and a lot of them are on LJ. There is some problem with how Bloglines retrieves information that violates LJ's terms of use. So, I decided to try Google Reader since many people recommended it and Google was updating LJ feeds.
First, what I like about Google Reader.
One of the big things is that I use folders to organize my feeds. In Bloglines, when I click on a folder, everything in it is marked as read. If I get interrupted or I accidently click another folder/feed, I cannot retrieve those messages. Google doesn't do this. I have to actually get to the feed's post before it's marked as read.
Also, I like the keyboard navigation functionality. I like being able to use the space bar to scroll slowly through a long post, and I like using the 'j' and 'k' keys to move back and forth through posts (although this sometimes doesn't work; anyone know why?).
I like the starring function of saving posts better than Bloglines version of saving posts as Bloglines keeps them in the feed list (which can be problematic when you 'save' as many posts as I do for later reading or later posting). Google moves them to their own area that I can access easily.
Hey, look at that. Google keeps track of trends in my feed reading. Cool! And kind of invasive at the same time. Hmmm. It does give me a sense of who's posting the most and what I'm reading a lot of. But it seems to only confirm what I already knew.
Second, things I dislike.
I hate...HATE HATE HATE...that Google caps the feed count at 100+. This is asinine. You know how many posts I have to read. And 101 versus 500 is a huge difference. If I have ten minutes, I might be able to look at 101 posts; but I doubt I can look at 500. This is just bad programming. Lazy. Bad. Awful. Stupid. Fix it.
I also hate that the posts aren't dated. They get timestamps like '10 minutes ago' and crap like that. Again, you know when you accessed the feed and retrieved the post, give me the date. Sometimes, people update an old post, and it shows up as '10 minutes ago.' If I had a date, too, I could see that: yes it was posted 10 minutes ago, but it was originally posted four weeks ago. Sheesh.
Um, blogroll options? Yeah, not there. I use the blogroll function from Bloglines, since I like to have a list of other read-worthy blogs out there, and I'm too lazy to input several hundred feeds by hand. And I don't feel it's worth the effort to select just a few and ignore the rest that I read. I want my blogroll to represent what I'm reading. I can share individual items, which doesn't seem as helpful.
Built-in weather function? Also not there. This is one of the great features of Bloglines. Put in your zip code, and get a nice, constantly updating5-day weather forecast. Simple. Effective. Handy.
Package tracking? Not there either. I cannot tell you how often I've used this. I'll keep my Bloglines account for this alone, even if I drop all my other feeds.
If not for the LJ problem, I would drop Google Reader and never look back. Its strengths don't outweigh its problems. Since I started using Google Reader about three weeks ago, I've read almost 6,000 posts. I've starred only a few dozen items for further reading.
Contrast this to my Bloglines account. In the same amount of time, it says that I have just 3,300 unread posts. That's about only 55% of the posts that I saw through Google Reader. Where did those other 2,500 or so posts go? That's a lot of stuff I would have missed.
Of course, the reality may be that I'm reading too much, right?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
New Technology: Twitter
I'm a pretty fast adopter. And I like to try new things. I learn quickly. (these are fairly standard traits of the modern librarian I think) These traits are what lead to a podcast for School Library Journal last year.
There's been a lot of talk recently about Twitter. I've tried it. I don't like it.
I particularly don't like Twitter, but that's only because I can't see a use for it in my life. Maybe if I did more texting on my phone. I don't know. I don't see the point of using Twitter if you're tied to a machine. Sure, some people have used it for a 'what I'm reading type thing' like I used LibraryThing. That's pretty cool. But I like what I'm using for that same concept. Some people use it to coordinate themselves at a conference. That's really cool. But I'd have to be using some sort of web-enabled handheld device that I don't own to do that. And go to a conference. And have everyone I was trying to meet also doing the same thing I was doing.
Hey, I like being in touch with people. I just 1200 miles away from all the people I've known for the past ten years. Twitter isn't going to help them connect to me. And I can't imagine why anyone would care what I'm doing from minute to minute. If Twitter could watch me and post its own updates every five minutes or so, that would be way cool. I think I hate how much extra work something like Twitter makes for me. It's tough enough getting everything I need to get done without also telling people what I'm doing while I do it. That's what this (and the other blogs I write for) is for. For big events.
I also like my privacy. I have a 14-month old baby girl. There are a lot of things that I talk about online. I'm a fairly open person. At the same time, there are parts of my life that are private. That I don't share. If I'm not travelling (physically moving) my cel phone is off. There are very few people who need to get in touch with me at ANY moment. The list consists of my wife. Everyone else can wait until I get their message.
So basically, Twitter is too intrusive for what I like about technology.
There's been a lot of talk recently about Twitter. I've tried it. I don't like it.
I particularly don't like Twitter, but that's only because I can't see a use for it in my life. Maybe if I did more texting on my phone. I don't know. I don't see the point of using Twitter if you're tied to a machine. Sure, some people have used it for a 'what I'm reading type thing' like I used LibraryThing. That's pretty cool. But I like what I'm using for that same concept. Some people use it to coordinate themselves at a conference. That's really cool. But I'd have to be using some sort of web-enabled handheld device that I don't own to do that. And go to a conference. And have everyone I was trying to meet also doing the same thing I was doing.
Hey, I like being in touch with people. I just 1200 miles away from all the people I've known for the past ten years. Twitter isn't going to help them connect to me. And I can't imagine why anyone would care what I'm doing from minute to minute. If Twitter could watch me and post its own updates every five minutes or so, that would be way cool. I think I hate how much extra work something like Twitter makes for me. It's tough enough getting everything I need to get done without also telling people what I'm doing while I do it. That's what this (and the other blogs I write for) is for. For big events.
I also like my privacy. I have a 14-month old baby girl. There are a lot of things that I talk about online. I'm a fairly open person. At the same time, there are parts of my life that are private. That I don't share. If I'm not travelling (physically moving) my cel phone is off. There are very few people who need to get in touch with me at ANY moment. The list consists of my wife. Everyone else can wait until I get their message.
So basically, Twitter is too intrusive for what I like about technology.
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