Rachel's Web 2.0 101 blog

Facebook Marketing, Thanks to Dan O'Day and Amy Porterfield

2011-09-28T15:51:00.006-04:00

I just attended an excellent teleseminar by Dan O'Day, who interviewed Amy Porterfield, social media strategist and author of the recently published Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies. Note: I don't know Dan or Amy. I don't remember when I started paying attention to Dan; I'm interested in voice overs, and somehow his name and info crossed my infopath, so I started following him and subscribing to his newsletters. Here's more info on Dan. Anyway, he sent me a notice about this teleseminar, and regardless of the audience it was intended for, I think his guest had a lot to say about Facebook marketing in general, and I think any business owner would get a lot out of it. Dan says the 90-minute session was recorded, so I assume there will be a link on his site shortly. Let me say at the outset that Dan is an excellent interviewer. You could tell that he had read Amy's book and had a lot of relevant questions to ask. And one more plug for Amy: if you send her a copy of your receipt after buying her book, she'll give you access to an additional audio interview (59 min.)
In deference to Dan and Amy, I'm not going to give away all the details provided in the session--you should check out the audiofile when Dan makes it available. This blog post will contain a lot of numbers--don't worry, there are no calculations involved. Amy started out with the three questions you need to ask before creating your Facebook page. Incidentally, it's important to know the difference between a profile and a page: Your profile is the area where you filled in your personal info when you first signed on to Facebook. This is the info that you share with your friends and family. Your page is a separate place on Facebook where you interact with people who are interested in your professional business, not necessarily your personal business.
Next, Amy listed the Nine Core Facebook Marketing Rules. She also indicated two considerations when measuring return on investment (ROI) in your Facebook marketing, and named a few apps--3rd-party and within Facebook--that can help you measure ROI and and find Facebook members who personify your target market.
Amy talked for a bit about the two types of Facebook ads, including but not limited to what to include and what not to include in your ads. She also explained how you can measure the effectiveness of your ads.
She mentioned that it is possible to stream live video on your Facebook page; I believe this is what George Wittam and Dan Lenard do with their EWABS program on UStream on Sunday evenings. I guess they could actually stream that within Facebook.
A few unnumbered tips here: Make sure to create a custom welcome tab on your page to tell people what your page will be about; you're more likely to get them to click the "Like" button if you do. As a matter of fact, you can specifically ask them to click on the "Like" button there, and including an arrow to the button wouldn't hurt either. Since Facebook permits only 5,000 friends or fans, try to use your wall messages or custom tab to send out a mass announcement if you want potential new fans to follow you elsewhere; using an auto-reply will, make you sound robotic, and may make Facebook think you're spamming. Also, it is important to show up consistently and regularly and provide content that engages your audience--start a conversation, ask a question, run a quiz, highlight an active fan, respond to your fans' comments.
Honestly, there was so much information in this teleseminar that I was surprised that there was more that could be published in a book, but Dan says the book is quite thick, and weighing in at 2 lbs. and 672 pages, it certainly is. Thanks again to Dan and Amy for providing this useful information. I look forward to learning more from both of you in the future.

How to Follow Someone on Twitter

2011-02-15T12:31:00.006-05:00

For the past few weeks, I have been getting email alerts from Twitter informing me that various people have started to follow me. What these folks all have in common is that they are interested in the fashion industry. This is odd because I am NOT interested in the fashion industry: I don't tweet about fashion, style, or design. Occasionally, I'll tweet (more likely retweet) about website design, but that's a different subject. I am not on any lists related to fashion. Nearly all the lists I am on are related to voiceovers or libraries. And one social media list. And MarketHOLD/followfriday ("These people deserve to be mentioned EVERY week!")--gosh, thanks. I can only suppose that someone who is involved in fashion has either retweeted something I said or has included me in a followfriday tweet. Anyway, all you fashion folks, boy, by following me, you have come to the WRONG place.

So I thought I would provide some advice regarding how I find people I might want to follow, and then what criteria I use to make my decision to follow.

I do not rely on any lists to tell me who to follow. It's not that I don't think they're useful; I just got into the habit of doing my own searches and making my own decisions. I am therefore not in the habit of blindly following everyone on a list just because someone else thinks the posters are all great people. I do appreciate being on these lists, so thank you for your vote of confidence.

I note also that I am often included in those daily or weekly Twitter newsletters. I am aware that my copyright is being violated by these newsletters, but I let it go, since it is free publicity. Perhaps I will write about this in another post. Offhand, I can't remember whether those newsletters include advertising; if so, I'm not the one profiting from my work...but I'm off-topic.

The first thing I do is use Twitter's search box. There doesn't seem to be an advanced search box, but you can use Boolean operators (AND/OR/NOT) to combine search terms so that you don't have to do separate searches (#voiceover OR #voiceovers OR #vo). I am in the habit of putting the connectors in capital letters, a habit I got into from searching bibliographic databases.

Search for related concepts. For the purposes of this post, I am using voiceover as my favorite subject/concept, but you can insert your favorite (MontyPython, scarymovies, technology, etc.) So I'm searching for these concepts: voiceover #voiceover voiceovers #voiceovers VO #VO. Note that I search for both singular and plural forms of the word, because you don't know how people are going to use the term. Also, by searching for "voiceover" I am searching for a term that's merely used in a sentence, and other times, I'm searching for a term that the tweeter intends to use as the subject of the tweet (#voiceover). That's what the hashtag is for: subjects and keywords.

I would NOT split up the term (voice over, voice overs) because the risk is getting too many results where the words have been separated by other words, destroying the concept you're trying to find. (Ex.: Lost all my voice mails when I switched over to a different phone.) However, if you put the term
inside double quotation marks ("voice over") you will get relevant hits.

A note about shortening a concept to an abbreviation: sometimes abbreviations are actual words in another language, as vo is. If you get too much irrelevant information in your search result, do another search without the abbreviation.

Alright, so I have done a search on #voiceover, for example, and now I have a page full of tweets from people who have used that term with the hashtag because maybe they want to be found and followed for voiceover industry information. Do I just go down the page, following everyone? NO, NO, NO! One tweet does not an expert/helpful person/friend make. Take a look at that tweet. Is it interesting? Is there a link to something interesting? Or is it a personal message to someone the tweeter knows? If it's interesting, is THAT when you start following that person? NO! Click on the person's ID. Who are they? Where are they? What do they say they're interested in? If they say they're interested in voiceovers or are in the business, is THAT when you start following them? NO! Take a look at that whole page of their most recent tweets. What are they tweeting about? Are they tweeting more about voiceover, or are they usually tweeting about their dogs/children/significant others? Are they tweeting a lot of personal messages to other Twitter users? Are most of their tweets "Hire me! Please hire me. Need a good voice over? Then hire me!"? If there's a lot of noise and not enough signal for your taste, don't follow.

I don't mind retweets. Some people think that if all a person does is retweet the information provided by others, they're not worth following. I don't mind seeing a person's retweets, as long as what they're retweeting is relevant or useful. Often I have found other people to follow by clicking on the username of the person being retweeted and examining their Twitter feed.

Take a look at how often they tweet. Once a day? OK. Once a week? OK. Once an hour, maybe ok, as long as it's useful. Every 15 minutes? Too much. I want to be able to see what other people are saying.

I don't usually follow people mentioned in followfriday tweets. Because people have various interests, unless there's also a #vo hashtag on there with the usernames, I don't know why those folks have been recommended. Also, I usually check Twitter on my mobile phone, and don't want to waste the battery examining all those accounts at once. If someone is worth following, I'm sure you'll retweet something they have to say, and then I'll end up examining their Twitter feeds eventually anyway, and putting my criteria to use. But your workflow might be different, and you may very well prefer to have accounts recommended to you on followfridays; to each his own.

So that's how I discover and decide to follow people on Twitter. I am hopeful that some of those fashion folks will follow the tweet to this post, read it, and make more appropriate choices. Of course, they might find this useful and keep following me, and that's OK too.

I hope this was helpful. Oh, and by the way, on Twitter I'm @rachelsvoice.

2009-11-14T21:27:00.001-05:00

Great tools recommended by @mashable http://ping.fm/lsC2u apps reference

A Casting Director's Advice

2009-10-24T15:41:00.004-04:00

I had the good fortune recently to attend a presentation by Diane Heery of Heery Casting, one of the premier casting agencies in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Her session was entitled "Acting from a Casting Point of View," which was part of the 2009 Terror Film Festival presented in Philadelphia. Ms. Heery provided some great advice for filmmakers and for actors looking for work in movies and commercials, including voice actors.

She began by explaining that the casting director works for the production company, and that it is the casting director's job to help fulfill the vision of the filmmaker. Accordingly, the filmmaker has to have some idea of what he's looking for for each role. It is also important to be realistic: consider the budget; consider how famous an actor you can get for your budget; also consider carefully how many roles you will need filled. Your movie will be more attractive to distributors if they don't have to pay more people than necessary.

Ms. Heery explained that sometimes a director doesn't know what he wants and she discovers this because he doesn't hire anyone she sends for the audition. In cases like that, she will often send a completely different type. Often, a different type will stand out in the director's mind and get the role.

Actors should understand that even if they don't get a lead part, they are hired for a reason: to advance the lead's storyline. Accordingly, understand how you fit into the story. Even if you're hired for a stereotypical role—cashier, for example—and your only line is "Two-fifty, please," understand how that line fits into the story. Remember, anyone with a line gets paid that day, so make the most of what you get. Union actors are paid as employees; non-union actors as independent contractors.

A good picture goes to more auditions than you do, so although it doesn't have to be expensively done, it should be well done. For actors auditioning to be part of the background, snapshots are more important than headshots; and make sure you look like yourself. When showing up for a filming day, make sure you you wear the attire requested in the casting notice. Extras are part of the atmosphere and their look has to be right.

Regarding auditioning with a monologue, present-tense monologues are more gripping than reminiscences. Also, don't do summations, like those done in courtrooms, because they are often simply a recitation of facts and often lack the drama of other monologues. Lastly, don't do a monologue that is already well-known. A director will never get Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" line out of his head, no matter who else says it.

I asked Ms. Heery how the process for choosing voice over talent is different from choosing on-screen talent. She said that she casts voice over talent all the time for commercials. Voice overs are the toughest kind of work to break into: first, because you are competing with people who have their own in-home studios; second, because voice overs have the quickest casting turn-around time. She might get a call from a director who needs a voice over talent in a day, which gives her little time to find someone.

Don't fret if you don't have an agent, as about half the people she books don't have agents. If you sign onto an online casting service, you will receive a bar code, which you should bring with you to auditions.

If your status or experience changes, be sure to update the casting agent with a picture postcard. Postcards are more effective than email.

Ms. Heery also provided some good news/bad news for Philadelphia area actors: Although the filmmaking tax credits were originally cut, various filmmaking companies got together to hire a lobbyist to lobby to reinstate the credits. In the current fiscal budget $42 million was reinstated; that figure should rise to $60 million next year and $70 million the year after. The bad news is that acting competition is ramping up. There are many out-of-town actors willing to come to Philadelphia to audition and work, so local talent sometimes is not so local.
I found Ms. Heery to be not only informative, but very accessible and personable, just the type of person you would want to work with.

2009-10-12T11:06:00.001-04:00

Just got cortisone shot & Rx for PT of left shoulder frozenshoulder

Career Search Tips

2009-09-17T16:58:00.005-04:00

I know several unemployed librarians; I also know other people who have recently lost their jobs or expect to. I started sending them emails regarding everything I have learned so far about job searching. I realized while writing it that I have learned a great deal, and thought that putting it here might be helpful to others as well. So if you have recently been laid off, or expect to be laid off, here's what you do:
SOCIAL MEDIA: FIRST, register on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com). Put your resume on there and indicate that you're interested in career opportunities or whatever else you may be interested in. Then look up everyone you know--you never know: they might be on there--and ask them to join your network.
NOTE that anyone can search for people on LinkedIn, so if you're wary about your boss knowing you're looking for other employment, you might want to hold off on this until you get your pink slip. If anyone who links in with you knows you professionally, ask for a recommendation, which will appear on your page.
Make sure you link to any websites or blogs you write for regularly from your profile page. Those sites and blogs should be relevant to the industry in which you seek employment, unless you're a website designer and the design IS an example of your work, or you're a writer and any subject on which you write provides potential employers with writing samples. For that matter, your LinkedIn profile should also be relevant to your job search, unless you are considering turning a hobby into a career.
DO NOT bother with FaceBook, MySpace or any of those other social sites unless you intend to go into business for yourself. I usually see advice regarding FaceBook directed to small business owners, not to individuals looking to be employed by others.
NEXT, register on Twitter (http://twitter.com). Then, follow all these folks (Use http://twitter/com/TWITTERNAME; or http://search.twitter.com to find them):
hashjobs , CareerBuilder, tweetmyjobs, PinkSlipParty09 , Glassdoordotcom , GetEditingJobs , jobnet360 , stimulusjobs , RUbetweenjobs , jtodonnell , MonsterKAW , onlineresume , JobConcierge, JobSavants , GregBarrette , PublishingXing , JobsDirectUSA , thejobsguy , jobsearchnews , JobSearchAdvice , JobAngels , jobshouts , indeed , careertips , execSearches , CAREEREALISM , SimplyHired , Jewish_Jobs , microjobs.
Some of these can be customized to search specific geographic areas, specific industries, or both.
Note that a few of those entities have websites where you can post your resume and let recruiters find you, such as CareerBuilder, Indeed.com, Monster.com, SimplyHired. Upload your resume there. Employers have found me on job boards. Set up job alerts to be emailed to you--let the information come to you instead of you having to look for it.
These are a mix of resources: some provide job search advice, including resume writing and interviewing advice; others provide links to specific jobs available; still others announce job fairs. I haven't named all of the employment twitterers out there; only several that I follow. To find additional sources, including sources more tailored to your particular job search needs, do this:
Go to Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com). Search for :
jobs
jobs MAJORCITYNEARYOU
jobs INDUSTRY
jobs JOBTITLE
And then substitute careers, hiring, or freelance for jobs and repeat the searches.
NETWORKING: NEXT, go to Google and search for "chamber of commerce" MAJORCITYNEARYOU or any local town near you. Go to the chambers' websites and find out when and where their next business card exchange or other networking event is. Then attend their networking events, and collect business cards. Oh, you'll need to print up business cards to hand out. VistaPrint constantly has sales (read: FREE BUSINESS CARDS), or you can just order some through your local Fedex/Kinko's store pretty cheaply. Usually you can attend one or two of these events without becoming a member and without paying anything, or much. If you're a woman, while you're at one of these networking events ask if there's a women's business organization whose events you can attend as well. At these events, you don't necessarily want to ask those people for a job, which would put them in an uncomfortable spot, but you do want to clearly state what you are capable of, what you are looking for, and ask if they know someone who might need your services.
Besides these networking events, make sure that EVERYONE YOU KNOW knows you're looking for work--your family, friends, the guy at the deli counter, your pharmacist. Because you never know who might know someone who needs someone like you.
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE: Several months ago, I attending a woman's networking event, and collected several business cards. I Linked In with Person A from that event. A few weeks ago, Person B attended a networking event and subsequently also Linked In with Person A. Person B checked Person A's LinkedIn contacts and found me; I indicate in my profile that I'm looking for work. He provides a service for an organization that he knows needs someone like me. He contacted me to alert me about the job opening. A complete stranger. Sent me a job lead. Through the power of networking. The job hasn't even been posted yet. You bet I'm following up.
RESUMES: Now, here's resume advice I have received from various career professionals at career fairs, on Twitter and LinkedIn, and at networking events:

Your resume should be no longer than one page.
Your resume should be no longer than one page, unless you have several years of experience.
Your resume should be no longer than two pages.
Your resume should be no longer than three pages.
Your objective should be clear.
Don't bother putting your objective on your resume, as that's all about you, and employers would rather know what you can do for THEM.

As you can see, there's a lot of conflicting advice out there. I'd say, Go with your gut regarding what information an employer might need to know about your education, skills, abilities, achievements, attributes, and specific experience.
I have heard that the resume should be tailored for each job you're applying for. I would agree if the jobs are dissimilar, but if they're all alike, I don't see any reason to tweak. If you only want to apply for sales jobs at software companies, I can't see how the resume would be different for each company. However, if you're applying for sales jobs at different types of companies, or for different types of positions at similar companies, then I can understand that you would want to tailor your resume regarding your skills or experience to fit each position or industry.
Don't waste space saying "References are available upon request." It takes up too much real estate.
Keep the font as simple as possible, as computer systems will attempt to read your resume, both to fill in online application forms and to find the buzzwords the hiring manager is seeking.
CAREER/JOB FAIRS: Monster has a "Keep America Working" tour and they've been holding career fairs at major metropolitan venues every few weeks. There are also job fairs at universities. You may also want to check with any local facilities that host banquets to find out if there are any job fairs coming there anytime soon. You know what? Your local newspaper often has ads about job fairs. Yes, your local newspaper. Start reading it (again).
YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY: Search for companies in your chosen geographic area. Don't know how? ASK THE LIBRARIAN: your tax dollars pay the librarian to help you, so don't be shy. Get company addresses and phone numbers. Find out who's who. Go to the company websites. Upload your resume there. Set up job alerts to be emailed to you--let the information come to you instead of having to look for it.
Read the local business press. Find out who's who, who just got promoted, who's doing what where. If you'd like to work for that company, write to that person to congratulate him or her on their achievement. Enclose your resume. Of course, this all happens on paper; you wouldn't want to send an attachment to a stranger, or your message could land in the spam folder. Have your resume printed on decent resume paper. I usually use FedEx/Kinko's.
That's all the advice I know, which is all the advice I have decided I'm going to listen to, all the advice I have figured out for myself, and all the advice I have decided to utilize in my search.
Note: I have not been paid by anyone to say any of this or to make any recommendations. But if anyone would like to make a financial contribution to my fiscal health, I would not be averse to accepting it.
I'm a librarian. I have worked for non-profit educational and healthcare organizations. You can find out more about me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/RachelResnick.

2009-09-09T13:02:00.001-04:00

What librarians do: http://ping.fm/WUpRG

2009-08-13T17:32:00.001-04:00

Cloud computing—http://ping.fm/CNiC2

2009-08-13T10:38:00.001-04:00

#voiceovers Creating a home studio http://ping.fm/UxiK7

2009-08-12T19:07:00.001-04:00

10 ways to archive your tweets: http://ping.fm/IZp4o

2009-07-21T10:05:00.001-04:00

@audiobookscom : See my comments on Gladwell's _Outliers_ http://ping.fm/ACqsH

2009-07-20T17:45:00.001-04:00

What librarians think about audiobooks: http://ping.fm/vsZe6

Funny, insightful book

2009-07-20T09:27:00.003-04:00

I recently read Carol Leifer's book, When you lie about your age, the terrorists win: Reflections on looking in the mirror (ISBN 9780345502964). Ms. Leifer is an Emmy-nominated writer for her work on shows like Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, and Saturday Night Live. She is also a stand-up comedian and actress. I found this book to be more insightful than funny—which is not a criticism. She related some funny stories and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud lines, but I think the greater value of this book is that it is an excellent reflection on life from a woman-of-a-certain age—50, in Ms. Leifer's case. Hence, the subtitle. Ms. Leifer has a chapter that should be read by everyone contemplating plastic surgery. There are also chapters about parenthood, animal adoption, feminism, religion, death, sexual orientation, the house she grew up in, growing older, health, her relationship with her father, and more mundane topics. Anyone middle-aged or older will likely agree with her opinions on these subjects. They will also thank her for expressing those opinions in such a funny and accessible way. It only took me a few hours to read this book, but it is a deep read.

2009-07-16T10:36:00.001-04:00

How-to videos: http://www.howcast.com/

2009-07-13T03:44:00.001-04:00

Finished editing a newsletter for medical librarians: http://ping.fm/XM0bJ

2009-07-12T20:26:00.001-04:00

My friend started a food/recipe blog! Check it out: http://ping.fm/IZC2O

2009-07-02T00:02:00.001-04:00

Excellent job application advice for librarians--and others: http://ping.fm/kZV1J

The Stories of Success

2009-06-29T10:24:00.002-04:00

I recently finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers: The Story of Success (ISBN 9780316036696). I guess I misread the title when I bought it, and continued in my misconception until I was part-way through the book; I kept thinking the book was about the secrets of success. No, Mr. Gladwell only explains how other people became successful. His is not intended to be a how-to book to enable others to become successful also. Because, while there are several things each of us can do improve our chances of success, sometimes factors that affect our success are simply happenstance. Here is a list of things that Mr. Gladwell indicates have affected the success of others:

Being born at the right time of year.
Being born during the right era.
Having parents capable of nurturing your interpersonal skills and your interests, and having parents capable of furthering your education.
Being smart enough. Being too smart isn’t necessary—smart enough is enough.
Similarly, going to a good enough school—it doesn’t have to be the best and it doesn’t have to be Ivy League. It just has to be good enough.
Being raised in the right culture, or acquiring the values of the right culture for the occupation that you have chosen.
Choosing work that is meaningful to you.
Practicing until you have acquired the skills or level of skills that you are satisfied with, or that are in demand. About 10,000 hours ought to do it.
Taking advantage of opportunities afforded you.
Working hard.

I’m sure you’re scratching your head at a few of those items, wondering how they can be relevant. But Mr. Gladwell provides interesting stories that explain their relevance, and I encourage you to read the book. And, obviously, some of these things are out of our control, so for those of us who maybe don’t feel we are as successful as we might be, perhaps there is some consolation that some things that might have made us successful at what we want (or wanted) to do were simply out of our control. But for those of us who are close, maybe it’s just a question of getting up earlier in the morning, working harder, worker smarter, getting better at our craft. That culture one is a tough one. Many of us don’t realize that maybe the culture we were raised in is not the right one for the profession we’re in, and sometimes we don’t discover this at all, or discover it too late to make a difference, or cannot for whatever reason acculturate ourselves properly to become successful in our chosen field. Mr. Gladwell, discusses national culture with regard to success, and only discusses corporate culture as it is affected by national culture; I wish he had expounded on corporate culture more directly and thoroughly. Because if you realize that perhaps the culture you were raised in is undermining your success in your work, I’m not sure how you would go about getting acculturated properly. Find a mentor within your corporate structure? Find a sociologist who can identify the cultural values you need, and teach them to you? And how much time would it take to integrate those values into your mindset?

I enjoyed this book, and I encourage you to read it. It is an easy read, interesting, and insightful.

Create an OPAC widget

2009-06-22T11:01:00.003-04:00

Now your patrons can add your library's OPAC search box to their own websites. Take a look at this video for instructions, which includes using your OPAC's html and widgetbox.

2009-06-22T10:45:00.001-04:00

Couldn't have said it better myself. http://ping.fm/amu2G

The Machine is Us/ing Us

2009-06-22T10:34:00.002-04:00

This is an excellent explanation of how the Internet is changing.

2009-06-22T10:18:00.001-04:00

Testing ping from my iPhone.

2009-06-18T17:34:00.001-04:00

Testing Ping for updating my social media sites. http://ping.fm/

Classic cars, anyone?

2009-06-18T10:57:00.003-04:00

I'm actually quite impressed with how well these turned out, considering that I took them on my iPhone (3G, not S), it was a cloudy day, and hadn't gotten the hang of framing the photo properly, so some photos are partially cut off, and I've got my finger in a few shots. But other than that, they look great!

Philadelphia Flower Show 2009

2009-06-18T09:21:00.005-04:00

Better late than never (job searching, networking, writing, and editing are taking up most of my time). And I apologize for the quality of these photos: my batteries were low, so the focus and lighting is not what I would have wanted on some of these. I also wasn't able to take as many photos as I would have liked. I must say, I am unimpressed with Flickr. I used the latest Flickr desktop uploader, and still had to add the description and tags three times: once in the uploader and twice on the website before I got everything in there. And when did this policy take effect, that only your last 200 items are visible unless you upgrade your account? Feh!

See my new blog!

2009-04-20T18:27:00.002-04:00

For Digging Deeper into Web 2.0.

Flower Show photos soon!

2009-04-20T16:33:00.003-04:00

I have been remiss in posting my 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show photos, but will get to that later this week...probably.
Meanwhile, I'm taking MLA's Dig Deeper classes, and this week we're on blogs. Since I didn't use WordPress last time, I think I'll try that now, just to get experience in setting up a blog there. However, I won't be downloading the software, as I don't have a host for a blog; I'm just going to let WordPress host it. It probably won't be big. I don't post much, so there's no reason to put a bunch of blogs out there, consuming bits of the interweb that could be used for better purposes.

GoogleDocs

2009-02-21T14:14:00.005-05:00

This week's course in MLA's Dig Deeper web2.0 series was all about document sharing using GoogleDocs. In part 1, we were supposed to create a document and share it with our workgroups, so that we could all practice inserting text, fixing, formatting, and commenting on it. That was simple enough. GoogleDocs acts a lot like other word processors, if maybe a little clunkier. The second exercise required everyone to create a survey of at least five questions and send it to everyone taking the class. Everyone was required to participate in at least 20 surveys, so that in the second part of the assignment, we would all have data that we could create some type of chart with. I started just taking every survey that came along; eventually, I realized I must have completed more than 20, so I became selective. Some surveys weren't relevant to me anyway. At any rate, here's the link to the chart I provided:

My voice over demos are ready!

2009-02-14T14:43:00.001-05:00

Check them out!

Jing and start-up

2009-02-14T13:39:00.003-05:00

I discovered that Jing starts at start-up, and causes my computer to take an inordinate amount of time to start up. Why would anyone need this to be available every time they go on their computer? I have disabled it from being a start-up item. I have not resolved the sound problems, and I will try another program if I get a chance--maybe screentoaster.

Share This is successful!

2009-01-31T14:06:00.001-05:00

Thanks to tdaniel39 for point out this useful tool: ShareThis, for sharing blog and other info.

testing Share This! on posts.

2009-01-31T14:03:00.001-05:00

Nothing to see here; just a test.

Post-postscript to the previous post

2009-01-24T16:16:00.003-05:00

Got that?
I had an idea about Jing; I thought that I could speak into the microphone, and then if I muted the microphone I would be able to type without the audio getting messed up later. But it didn't work. When I finished typing, I turned the microphone back on, and spoke into it. The rest of the audio got messed up just like it did previously. Seriously, Jing doesn't seem to do audio well.

How meta is this?

2009-01-24T15:16:00.004-05:00

Ha, ha.

Check to see that microphone is ON, ON, ON.
Prepare your text.
Smile!

Post Script: Indeed, Jing seems to have a problem once I start typing, so the last few seconds of audio within the video are distorted in the same way that they were distorted when I tried to create the previous video for this blog. Nevertheless, I think you can see and hear 90% of the instruction. My advice would be: 1) don't use audio if you need to type while you are instructing (you will need to provide explicit instructions visually); 2) don't type while you are "filming" (I think it's safe to point out features with your mouse, as long as you don't click on anything); or 3) use a different screen capture program that handles audio better.

Mute no more!

2009-01-24T15:07:00.005-05:00

I'm not going to go back and fix the previous video; I'll just do it properly for the third exercise. But it turns out that the mute button was on the whole time. Note to Jingfolk: Please make the mute button defaulted to OFF when capturing video; if there's no microphone, there won't be sound anyway, will there? Ugh.

Silent Jing

2009-01-24T14:57:00.005-05:00

The second exercise of the screencapture class was to create a video capture. While using a microphone to explain your actions was optional, I elected to do so. However, upon playback, I discovered that there was no sound. That explains why, if you play the video, there seem to be overly pregnant pauses between actions. I will attempt to remedy this in the third exercise. Also, you really need to create a script and time it out, as Jing only provides you with five minutes of video, and it cut off the end of my video.

Jing!

2009-01-24T12:26:00.005-05:00

Jing is a screencapture program that works with screencast to capture images and create videos. Usually used for instructional purposes, here's an image from a PubMed search I performed:
Instead of sharing the image by sending the image to screencast, however, I actually just saved it to my computer, then uploaded the image to this post. The software would have provided a URL I could have posted. I assumed I needed to save the image before I could share the URL, but the software just saved it to my desktop. Note to self: never assume. I'll try to send the video I create directly to screencast next time.

Web2.0: Dig Deeper

2009-01-20T15:58:00.003-05:00

MLA's Social Networking Task Force is offering an advanced class, "Dig Deeper with Social Media." I'll report what I'm doing and learning and finding....
Oh, and I should mention that I'm now a "twit," although that won't come as a surprise to many who know me: I'm RachelsVoice on Twitter.

One minute test for LibriVox

2008-12-25T16:44:00.003-05:00

My producer/trainer at Creative Voice Development Group suggested I contribute to LibriVox to get experience recording audiobooks. I recorded a one-minute test for them, and am awaiting feedback.

Testing Audacity

2008-12-25T14:10:00.014-05:00

I'm trying to learn how to use Audacity in order to create mp3s for podcasts, voice overs, etc. I have a little file in mp3. Nothing special, just me counting and applying different effects.

My options on blogger do not include upload of mp3, I can only upload a video file, not an audio file. According to Blogger instructions, I should be able to provide a podcast if the file is hosted elsewhere and I link to it. But what I really want to do is embed the proper code to enable you to play the file right from this page. I have an account on drop.io, which enables me to upload files...I uploaded my file, and let's try THIS:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

THANK YOU, drop.io, for providing the embed code! Woohoo!

New Opportunities

2008-12-22T15:33:00.004-05:00

My library will be closing in 2009, so I am seeking new opportunities. See http://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelresnick for more information about me.

Geeks Bearing Gifts

2008-11-13T15:32:00.006-05:00

Today I'm taking the Geeks Bearing Gifts 2.0 class, taught by Gregg Headrick of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR). He provided a set of links used in the class. Try them yourself.

MLA 2008

2008-05-23T09:53:00.004-04:00

I wasn't able to attend this year's conference, as my travel budget needed to be used for more urgent training matters. Nevertheless, I managed to keep up with the conference via several bloggers; a special thanks to David Rothman, who created the RSS feed for the bloggers group, and also managed to make a quick camera pan of my chapter’s poster in his Poster Session II video (the shot appears about 32 seconds in). Thanks to the bloggers, I was alerted to a couple presentations that I was interested in, and I have contacted the participants to ask questions and get more info about their presentations.
I was able to catch about an hour-and-a-half of the last plenary session, which was videocast live and during which the panel talked about Web 2.0 technologies. I'm eager to purchase the conference CDs, so I can download sessions of interest to my mp3 player and listen to them while I walk in the park. I'll also get to MLA's website and take a look the many cool posters that I missed.
Sorry I wasn't there, but thanks to the bloggers for keeping non-attendees in touch!

Week 8: Mashups and API

2008-05-04T10:53:00.000-04:00

This is the eighth and final week of MLA's Web 2.0 101 course, and this week, we're learning about mashups and API (application programming interface). Exercise 1 asks participants to write about a mashup suiting our interests that we found on either Mashup of the Day's Mashup Awards, or at Programmable Web.
Among the Mashup Awards winners, I found 2itch -- "A Google Maps mashup that makes it easy to find restaurants, stores, gas stations, and more which are open 24 hours." Expecially if you travel a lot and don't know the area, this is great if you need a pharmacy or convenience store or gas station open after normal business hours.
Among the Most Popular Mashups in Programmable Web, I found Housing Maps, which is described on Programmable Web as "The prototypical mashup: Google Maps + Craigslist to create a visual housing search page via dynamic overlays of Craigslist home listings on Google Maps."
Exercise 2 asks us to write something about what bloggers have to say about privacy. We are to search for these using the term "librarianblogs" via Rollyo's Explore Searchrolls page, then to search for "privacy."
Jessamyn West at librarian.net cites Fred Stutzman's warning about privacy as it relates to the Google toolbar, advanced search.
Jenny on The Shifted Librarian reported that the Senate voted to place restrictions on the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness (TIA) program, which would link databases from sources such as credit card companies, medical insurers and motor vehicle agencies in hopes of snaring terrorists. This is a serious privacy issue for the rest of us.
The Annoyed Librarian, whoever she may be, discusses privacy with regard to anonymous postings.
The advanced exercise asks us to "roll our own" search engine using Rollyo, make it publicly accessible, and post a link in our blogs. It was a little difficult to figure out how to find the link to my searchroll once I created it, but here's my searchroll, which covers library humor, language humor, and political humor blogs. I hope you enjoy searching for funny stuff.
This has been a great course. Next up on my learning agenda is HRSA's free online course, Unified Health Communication 101, and then another free course, Understanding Evidence-Based Healthcare: A Foundation for Action, from the United States Cochrane Center.

Week 7 - Podcasting and online hosted videos

2008-04-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

I was having trouble earlier accessing podcast.net , but after including it as a trusted site, my browser let me in. I don't know--if you're searching a topic like health, you really want to be certain of the identity and trustworthiness of the authors of these videos. I just can't be sure on this site. Similarly, I don't think I'd come to Podcast Alley for their health-related podcasts.
I viewed the "Pubmed the Quick Way" podcast from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Health Sciences Library. This included screen capture with voiceover; and the podcast of Paul Root Wolpe's "DISPLAYING DEAD AND DIFFERENT BODIES: SPECTACLE/SIDESHOW/EDUCATION?" from the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library - History of the Health Sciences Lecture Series, which was an audio-only presentation regarding the artistic, educational, and ethical considerations of anatomical exhibits. Both were informative, and provided examples of the different uses of podcasts.
I subscribed to the Odeo podcasts for the library tag, and found this one on "The Ghost and the Rock," about a ghost at Gettysburg. I subscribed to it via Bloglines, my usual feed reader, since when I clicked on the title, the RSS page came up. Another link in this set of tags led to a page that listed several podcasts, and each of those had a link to subscribe using iTunes. Another library tag link just went right to a single podcast, which included an option to add it to channel. So it looks like depending on what is available, you can subscribe in a number of different ways.
On to YouTube. Here's one that I found enjoyable, the "Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad," from 1987. It's so seldom that you see a workout tape provided by librarians themselves, and it was enjoyable also to see the old Victrola (and the old VHS tape). And this instructional video itself is a great way to "recycle" old videos. Enjoy!
The blog exercise for this week asks how I feel about the experience of using YouTube and what I think about this service. I think YouTube and sites like it, such as TeacherTube, are wonderful resources to utilize both to provide instruction and to learn from instruction. I do wish, however, that this week's exercise included tasks regarding how to actually create and upload podcasts and videos onto these services. The blog of ALA's Washington, D.C. office provides instructions for creating podcasts; and I'll try that out sometime. It doesn't look difficult.
The blog exercise also asks whether I see any potential uses for Podcasting in the library, and if so, what and why? Well, different people learn differently: some by reading, some by listening, some by watching, and some by interacting. For those who learn best by listening or watching, I think that providing audio or audiovisual podcasts on how to do various library- or research-related tasks would work best for them.
Next week's class is the last, and I'm having a blast!

Week 6: Photo Sharing (flickr)

2008-04-16T21:10:00.001-04:00

Here's a link to my photos from the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show, which I finally uploaded this week. Thanks to the course designers for including flickr in the assignments. Fortunately, I already had a flickr account. For some reason my uploading software wasn't working properly, so I had to use the site's upload feature to get my photos up. I also found instructions for including a slide show of my photos into my blog, so here goes:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Also appearing in this blogpost is one of my favorites from the show, although I can't seem to figure out how to align it properly, even after looking at the html:
Next step: upload to Facebook. Apparently, there's an application, zuPort, that can be used to import from flickr to your Facebook page, although the people commenting on it indicate that there are other methods. Well, that worked, although it kept looking like it was trying to upload all of my photos, instead of a selection. You can view the facebook set (which is a subset of the flickr set).

Week 5: Web Office Tools

2008-04-10T18:41:00.000-04:00

This week we're learning about web office tools--tools that let you create, edit, and share documents over the Internet in real time. We are using Google Docs as an example.

I have questions right away:

Exactly what are the differences and advantages/disadvantages of using a web office tool rather than a wiki? ANSWER: You could use Google Docs as an adjunct to a wiki that's meant to be seen by the public--create and edit in Docs, then upload the final version to the wiki. Alternately, you could just use the wiki for all versions.

If the final version of the product (journal article, presentation, etc.) must be in a specific proprietary format (Word, etc.), can you accomplish that using a web office tool? And if so, how? ANSWER: Yes--under File--Download file as, there are options of different formats to download the file to, including Word, PDF, RTF, etc.

The questions for participants' responses are: Is this the future of all software products? What do you think?

I think that for non-proprietary documents, this is a very simple way of collaborating. But for disciplines in which competition is fierce, companies would probably just use their own intranets and the ability to log in remotely for collaboration, unless there were some type of guarantee from Google, et al. regarding the security of documents created on these types of systems.

Comparing Google Docs to Zoho: with Google Docs you can create a new document, spreadsheet, presentation, or folder. With Zoho, all that, plus: notebook, wiki, organizer, webmail, chat, etc. Slate.com and Technology Review both seem to like it, at least more than Microsoft Office products.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace purportedly Works with Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint--not that I'm a great fan of any of those (especially Word), but at least I have experience with them. But as PC Magazine indicates, there's a steep learning curve, and their proprietary format precludes use with browsers other than their own. However, PC Magazine did like Webex WebOffice better; the review that I read indicated that it was very easy to use. And since that review was written, WebEx mail has been made available.

Well, this has been a fun exercise. I have written this blog post using Google Docs, and if you are reading this on the blog, then I have successfully published the post from that application.

See you next week.

UPDATE: After I published this from Google Docs to Blogger, I checked the post from the public side; all was fine EXCEPT that everywhere I had named Google Docs and included a link to it, the links were changed to the URL of this blog! And now as I am editing the post to fix that, I see that all of the Google Docs links are no longer the URL of this blog, but simply of Blogger.com! Curiouser and curiouser. As both Google Docs and Blogger are in the same Google "family," perhaps there's some kind of glitch in translation. Anyway, I have gone back and fixed them all.

Week 4: Social Bookmarking

2008-03-31T18:31:00.000-04:00

Google's algorithm is based on site popularity, and in del.icio.us the popularity of sites is determined by the number of times people have bookmarked them, so searching del.icio.us is like searching Google. I wonder if anyone has formally compared the specificity and sensitivity of hits retrieved by the two.
It was simple enough to register for del.icio.us, although it took several clicks until I was able to find the buttons on my toolbar. It also looks like I lose them every time I open a new window; hopefully, that will not happen the next time I open my browser.
A nice feature is that while I'm thinking of tags to use, del.icio.us is providing tags that I have used before or that others have used, which helps keep tags consistent.
I sent an email to them, asking if it's possible to import tags from another tagging site, like Furl, into del.icio.us, and I'm awaiting a response.
I think a tool like this would be helpful for research, especially if you work on more than one computer and need your links stored in a central location.

Week 3: Social Networking Tools

2008-03-28T17:39:00.000-04:00

Well, it's week 3--time to try out Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. We were given permission to include as friends members of the Social Networking Task Force, but since several had the same name as a dozen or so other people and I don't know the members personally, I couldn't be sure that any I might have chosen as a friend was the right person. I did finally settle on one that seemed safe to add. If he'll have me as a friend. On Facebook, I was unable to write on a friend's wall. I guess I had to wait until my potential friends accepted my "friendship" before I could search their profiles and then write on the walls of their profiles. Why would you want to write on someone's wall? Who decided that graffiti was a friendly gesture?
I just joined the Philadelphia, PA network, since I was feeling lonely, not having any official friends yet. Now I am "connected" to many, many strangers. Hmmm, not sure how I feel about that, 'cause now they're "connected" to me, too.
I am VERY impressed with the UAB Catalog, WorldCat and PubMed applications. I wish part of this course included learning how to create such applications.
What's the difference between adding an application to my profile and becoming a fan of it?
If it weren't for the instructions for this week's course, I don't think I would know that there were such applications, or how to browse or search for something of interest. Or might something pop up if I had filled in more information on my profile?
Hmmm, LinkedIn has a different feel to it--although it can handle social contacts, it seems to be more appropriate than FaceBook for professional networking. I might actually use this in the future.
The Denver Public Library eVolver and Brooklyn College Library pages on MySpace were amazing!!! These look like very creative examples of how to create your own webpages if you don't have your own domain. I'll have to check out MySpace another time on my own.
But on to this week's questions:

How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members?

For members contemplating a geographical move, or a move to a different type of library setting, they can connect with other members in their new or preferred setting to get information. Social networking can also be used to reconnect with members whom you've met at national MLA events, or to work with on joint committee projects--social networking could be an adjunct to a project wiki.

Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?

Not at this time: our organization is too small to need to create another presence on the web.

Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites?

You betcha there are: I don't know if I necessarily need the world to know who I am, where I'm from, where I went to school, etc., except if I were looking for a job. I still can't figure out why people use LibraryThing, for example--why do I need the world to know what I've read? Of course, if you're looking for friends, significant others, etc., you do have to put yourself out there, but the potential anonymity of these sites does make them somewhat less secure than meeting and getting to know people (in person) through your friends and contacts. It's like that line, and I hope I'm quoting this correctly, "On the web no one knows you're a dog." Someone you might "meet" online could be very different from the way they describe themselves.

What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace?

Searching seemed a little clunky; also, if I didn't know something was there, browsing was not all that helpful.
But all in all, this was an interesting exercise, and I'll probably go back and explore some more later.

Week Two -- Wikis

2008-03-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

Day 1: First, I think this assignment took much longer than the first; I am not nearly as familiar with wikis as I am with RSS feeds and blogs, and I felt I needed to read everything (and everything that everything linked to) before I could attempt to create my own wiki. I was frustrated that there wasn't just some "wiki compatibility engine" where I could plug in my requirements and have the engine spit out the wikis that matched my needs. I thought the chart on Wikipedia was nearly incomprehensible, and Wikimatrix asks you to "select the wikis you want to compare...," except that I wouldn't know one from the others. I selected MoinMoin, because that was mentioned in one of the readings; PBWiki, which I've heard of and subscribe to an RSS feed from; and WetPaint, which we're using for the class, to compare. Time to read everything: 2 hours.

Day 2: Well, I finally created my wiki . Members of the MLA community, not just of this course, are welcome to participate in it. I'm just exhausted from designing it (the Book Club template was the closest I could find to what I wanted, but then I still had to go in and fix all the page titles and the links to them; then I added a couple polls to facilitate decisionmaking regarding resources to add to the site). I'm hoping that some altruistic individual will create pages based on categories, (like Retirement, Healthcare, Long-Term Care, End of Life Issues, etc.). I have an account on Furl related to news items and useful resources for older people, and wouldn't it be great if I could just export all of those into the wiki? But I don't see how that could be done. Rats. Time to create wiki: 2-1/2 hours.

Day 3: You knew I just had to tweak the wiki a little more. I think I'm finished playing with it now, so if you'd like to join it and start participating in the discussion before we add resources, please do.

The assignment asked the question, "How do you think you could use a wiki at your library? How do you think patrons could use wikis at your library?" I'm a solo, so I wouldn't be collaborating with any other librarians; and on the course blog, someone mentioned that library policies and procedures could be put on the wiki so that if the librarian left, there's be someplace for the new librarian to find necessary documents. But we have an intranet at work where all of our documents are backed up, so I wouldn't need a wiki for that. However, I could work with other people on non-library policies and procedures (my library is part of a research institute) ; it would be easier just to have everyone work on the wiki rather than keep emailing everyone the latest draft with all the "track changes" in it, or worry that someone can't send or accept an email because the attached document is too large." My patrons could use it to collaborate on projects or publications together, although at this point I'm not sure how this would work if people are using different bibliographic citations managers, how would they be able to keep their references and reference numbers straight? Maybe that depends on the type of wiki, or the template of the wiki that they would need to use.
"What's the difference between a blog and a wiki?" A blog is more like a one to many medium, where the moderator makes a statement and then permits others to comment on it, but others do not have the ability to change what the moderator said. A wiki is a more cooperative venture, enabling all participants to write and edit their own and others' information. Still there are different levels of power possible in a wiki, but there is much more freedom of expression available on it than on a blog.

Anyway, this was an interesting assignment.

Step by Step

2008-03-12T18:49:00.000-04:00

So here were the steps indicated in the first week of the MLA Web 2.0 101 course:

Step 1: Create a blog.

Here it is. Yay! I didn't realize how easy it would be. Of course, Blogger.com took care of all the techical stuff; I merely had to give it an identity and content. My local MLA chapter (Philadelphia Regional Chapter) has a blog powered by WordPress; I tried blogger.com for this exercise just to get a feel for different one.

Step 2: Set up an RSS reader.

Step 3: Subscribe to 5 RSS feeds, including at least one journal’s table of contents feed and one PubMed search.

Actually, I performed steps 2 and 3 before step 1, because I figured, what was the point of going to the trouble of creating the blog if I then had nothing to say? So now that I have created the blog (about 3 minutes ago), I can tell you the following:

I used Google Reader as my RSS feed reader. I already use Bloglines for work, so I wanted the experience of using a different reader. I remember when Google Reader first came out, many in the library biblioblogosphere had good things to say about it, but I was happy with Bloglines, so I didn't bother to migrate all my feeds there.

I have subscribed to the following feeds:

Web 2.0 101 feed, to keep up with advice from the instructors;

Comments for Web 2.0 101, to hear the "voices" of my fellow classmates;

Official Google Reader Blog. I figured if I'm going to use it, I might as week keep up with tips and tricks;

A PubMed RSS feed for items about librarians;

Library Journal - Magazine/Zine (There's a choice of RSS feeds for specific sections of the magazine, but I thought I'd just subscribe to the whole shebang); and

Ultimate-Guitar.Com, just for fun.

I notice as I'm linking phrases to their respective URLs that Blogger.com is not providing the option of enabling the links to open in a new window. I'll have to see if that happens automatically once this is posted. WordPress provides that option.

Step 4: How do you think you could use RSS feeds at your library? How do you think patrons could use RSS feeds? Write a brief response on your blog.

I currently use them to keep up with various types of weblogs and webpages (via Page2RSS) regarding issues to my place of employment; once I find them, I either then email the links to the people who would be interested in them, and/or save them to a Furl account; I'm hoping this course will give me additional options.

I could recommend specific RSS feeds to my patrons; of course, the likelihood of any of them subscribing is dependent on their level of technophilia/phobia, and probably most of them would prefer that I simply scan and filter for them, so I'm not sure my patrons would actually use the feeds themselves.

Step 5: Submit the link to your post to the instructors using the form.

Which I will do in a few minutes.

Thanks for reading!