Here at the Troy Public Library Technology Department, we have recently starting giving classes in Google Reader. Some people have asked about good blogs to subscribe to with Google Reader. Obviously, The Tech Desk is a great one, but what else is out there?
PC Magazine helps answer this question with a list of its 50 favorite blogs of 2009. The list not only features classics, such as Gizmodo, Engadget, and Boing Boing but also some that are true oddities, such as Scanwiches and Cake Wrecks. Also of note, Awful Library Books, a blog by southeast Michigan librarians Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly, made the list.
You can find PC Mag's list here. If you have any favorite blogs of 2009, let us know.
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How Blogging Can Help Boost Your Career
According to Anthony Balderrama of the Detroit Free Press, creating and maintaining a blog can help supplement a resume or find a new job. A blog can also show potential employers that you are tech-savvy and motivated. The article suggests that blogging and developing a following should start when you are employed, if possible. Adrienne Waldo, a freelance writer and blogger, recommends writing about something about which you are passionate, but don't pretend to be an expert on the subject if you're not.
The Troy Public Library offers a Blogging for Beginners class on July 28 and again on August 24. To register online, go to our website at troylibrary.info and click on Sign Up for Exciting Classes and Programs at TPL at the bottom of the page. You will be directed to our calendar. Or you can call the Technology Department at 248.524.3542.
The Troy Public Library offers a Blogging for Beginners class on July 28 and again on August 24. To register online, go to our website at troylibrary.info and click on Sign Up for Exciting Classes and Programs at TPL at the bottom of the page. You will be directed to our calendar. Or you can call the Technology Department at 248.524.3542.
Happy Birthday to… Us!
A year ago, after discussing it for several months within the Library’s Technology Department, we started this blog. In our first post, Welcome to The Tech Desk, I wrote that we had two reasons for this project.
First, we wanted to continue the discussion we have with our public around technology issues. We wanted to share new websites and tools, improve our skills, and create a searchable body of knowledge useful for both Library staff and our users.
Second, we wanted to play with Web 2.0 technology. We had just begun a website redesign – a design of which we are in the final steps – and wanted to explore content management: allowing and encouraging all staff members to contribute to the content on our website. We believed, and still do, that such a site will be more user-friendly for our public and staff.
After a year, I would evaluate our progress as a success.
In terms of content, we have posted 556 stories, an average of nearly two per day. At the beginning, I set a goal of 20 stories a month: one per full-time staff per week, and one per part-time staff per month. But many staff members discovered that the more they wrote, the easier it was to write more. We have passed on new sites and tips from our computer classes, reviewed browsers and new products, commented on technology news, and publicized Library events.
In June 2009, our site was hit 2,200 times – not a bad number. We believe we have created a space for many of our technology-savvy Library users to keep in contact with the staff. We receive a slow, but steady stream of comments. And, as an added benefit, we have used The Tech Desk as a teaching tool for non-Technology Department staff, suggesting sites, resources, and computing tips.
In addition, the staff has used The Tech Desk to learn Web 2.0. We have learned how to write interesting, brief articles for the web that appeal to a broad range of computer user. We have learned to put sometimes complex processes into simple, step-by-step terms. And, though contributing to this blog has been voluntary, nearly 80% of the Department has chosen to do so.
And again, an unintended benefit is that by using this blog, staff has gained the confidence and interest to explore other social network sites, and expand the Library’s web presence on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and elsewhere.
So on our first birthday, I want to say thank you to all of you for reading us, making suggestions, sending ideas, and contributing to the success of The Tech Desk.
First, we wanted to continue the discussion we have with our public around technology issues. We wanted to share new websites and tools, improve our skills, and create a searchable body of knowledge useful for both Library staff and our users.
Second, we wanted to play with Web 2.0 technology. We had just begun a website redesign – a design of which we are in the final steps – and wanted to explore content management: allowing and encouraging all staff members to contribute to the content on our website. We believed, and still do, that such a site will be more user-friendly for our public and staff.
After a year, I would evaluate our progress as a success.
In terms of content, we have posted 556 stories, an average of nearly two per day. At the beginning, I set a goal of 20 stories a month: one per full-time staff per week, and one per part-time staff per month. But many staff members discovered that the more they wrote, the easier it was to write more. We have passed on new sites and tips from our computer classes, reviewed browsers and new products, commented on technology news, and publicized Library events.In June 2009, our site was hit 2,200 times – not a bad number. We believe we have created a space for many of our technology-savvy Library users to keep in contact with the staff. We receive a slow, but steady stream of comments. And, as an added benefit, we have used The Tech Desk as a teaching tool for non-Technology Department staff, suggesting sites, resources, and computing tips.
In addition, the staff has used The Tech Desk to learn Web 2.0. We have learned how to write interesting, brief articles for the web that appeal to a broad range of computer user. We have learned to put sometimes complex processes into simple, step-by-step terms. And, though contributing to this blog has been voluntary, nearly 80% of the Department has chosen to do so.
And again, an unintended benefit is that by using this blog, staff has gained the confidence and interest to explore other social network sites, and expand the Library’s web presence on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and elsewhere.
So on our first birthday, I want to say thank you to all of you for reading us, making suggestions, sending ideas, and contributing to the success of The Tech Desk.
Wither Blogging?
Is the thrill of blogging gone?
According to The New York Times, blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants, and the Internet is littered with orphaned sites, cast aside:
Read Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest.
According to The New York Times, blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants, and the Internet is littered with orphaned sites, cast aside:
“According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95% of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled.”
Read Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest.
100 Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Teachers
Here is a list of the 100 Most Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Educators by L. Fabry. This list attempts to cover those blogs where teachers share innovations, strategies, trends, insights and emerging technologies. It is organized into four parts:
- General Teaching Blogs
- Specialty Subject Blogs
- Best Podcasts for Teachers
- Best Video Blogs for Teachers
Guatemalan Protests Organized and Covered on Social Sites
Social network sites – blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube – are again being used both to report and to create breaking news, this time in Guatemala.
On May 10, attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg was assassinated in Guatemala City. After he was killed, a video was released on YouTube in which Rosenberg said he feared he would be assassinated, and that if he were, those responsible would be operating at the orders of Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom.
Now, social network sites across the Central American country are calling for Colom's impeachment and trial. Anti-Colom protesters are using the sites to livestream demonstrations and other actions against the government.
As in Mumbai last November, and in Moldova in April, social network sites are central to how fast-breaking, current news is created and delivered.
[via BoingBoing]
On May 10, attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg was assassinated in Guatemala City. After he was killed, a video was released on YouTube in which Rosenberg said he feared he would be assassinated, and that if he were, those responsible would be operating at the orders of Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom.
Now, social network sites across the Central American country are calling for Colom's impeachment and trial. Anti-Colom protesters are using the sites to livestream demonstrations and other actions against the government.
As in Mumbai last November, and in Moldova in April, social network sites are central to how fast-breaking, current news is created and delivered.
[via BoingBoing]
Top 50 Librarian Blogs
Here, according to getdegrees.com, are the Top 50 Librarian Blogs.
I regularly read many of these, but there are several new ones I will be looking at for the first time.
Let us know if you see any of interest.
[via Stephen's Lighthouse]
I regularly read many of these, but there are several new ones I will be looking at for the first time.
Let us know if you see any of interest.
[via Stephen's Lighthouse]
Men and Women Use the Internet Differently
Men make up a minority of the overall Internet population – those who access the Internet at least once a month from any location. There are 95.9 million men online (48.2%) and 103.2 million women online (51.8%).
However, according to eMarketer, men go online more often; are more active on social networking sites; read and write more blogs; listen to more podcasts; stay on for longer; and are not as bothered by "websites cluttered with ads" as women are.
The U.S. male Internet population is evenly split between those under and over the age of 35, with the largest group falling between 35 and 44. "Marketers may be overlooking a valuable demographic if they target only 18-to-34-year-old males. Advertising messages steeped in college humor and sex do not resonate with the millions of male Internet users who are researching products and services — and jobs — while shopping and connecting with friends and family," writes eMarketer.
This report confirms earlier reports on how men and women use the Internet differently. In 2008, four reports compared the behaviors of men and women online:
However, according to eMarketer, men go online more often; are more active on social networking sites; read and write more blogs; listen to more podcasts; stay on for longer; and are not as bothered by "websites cluttered with ads" as women are.
The U.S. male Internet population is evenly split between those under and over the age of 35, with the largest group falling between 35 and 44. "Marketers may be overlooking a valuable demographic if they target only 18-to-34-year-old males. Advertising messages steeped in college humor and sex do not resonate with the millions of male Internet users who are researching products and services — and jobs — while shopping and connecting with friends and family," writes eMarketer.
This report confirms earlier reports on how men and women use the Internet differently. In 2008, four reports compared the behaviors of men and women online:
- Nielsen Online found that men prefer user-generated video sites (like YouTube) while women take more of a liking to video streams of TV shows (such as those offered from Hulu);
- social web search company Rapleaf put out a report saying that men are more likely to use social networks for business while women use them to build personal relationships;
- men are also more likely than women to share their writings, photos, videos, and other creations online, according to Northwestern University; and
- men think they're the kings of Internet security, even though they're equally affected by security threats as women.
Great Computer Videos in Plain English
I love the Common Craft In Plain English videos. In particular, I have used RSS in Plain English and Blogs in Plain English in the Web 2.0 classes I teach. They are excellent, brief, funny, and “in plain English,” suitable for beginners and those exploring new topics.
Here’s the latest from Common Craft, Computer Software in Plain English.
Two thumbs. up.
Here’s the latest from Common Craft, Computer Software in Plain English.
Two thumbs. up.
Baby Boomers Are Adopting New Technology Faster than Others
A new Consumer Electronics Usage Survey from Accenture indicates that Baby Boomers (those over 45 years old) are adopting consumer technology nearly 20 times faster than younger generations. Meanwhile, use and adoption by Gen Y (18-28 years old) seems to have leveled off.
According to the report, Boomers:
[via iLibrarian]
According to the report, Boomers:
- increased reading blogs and listening to podcasts by 67% year over the year; nearly 80 times faster than Gen Y (1%);
- posted a 59% increase in using social networking sites — more than 30 times faster than Gen Y (2%);
- increased watching/posting videos on the Internet by 35% — while Gen Y usage decreased slightly (-2%);
- accelerated playing video games on the go via mobile devices by 52% — 20 times faster than Gen Y (2%); and
- increased listening to music on an iPod or other portable music player by 49% — more than four times faster than Gen Y (12%).
[via iLibrarian]
50 of the World's Best Food Blogs
While I am on the subject of best blogs, here is a list of 50 of the world's best food blogs, according to the Timesonline of London.
[via Metafilter]
[via Metafilter]
Time's 25 Best Blogs of 2009
Time magazine has just published its list of 25 Best Blogs of 2009.
Among them are some of my favorites -- Lifehacker, Metafilter, and boingboing -- and some others at which I am eager to look -- Said the Gramophone, Bad Astronomy, Got2BeGreen, Mashable, and bleat.
Find any of interest to you?
Among them are some of my favorites -- Lifehacker, Metafilter, and boingboing -- and some others at which I am eager to look -- Said the Gramophone, Bad Astronomy, Got2BeGreen, Mashable, and bleat.
Find any of interest to you?
The State of Blogging in Libraries
Here is an interesting snapshot of blogging in the library world: Shiny Toys or Useful Tools? It was originally presented by Walt Crawford -- noted writer and speaker on libraries and technology -- at the 2009 Ontario Library Association SuperConference in Toronto.
Crawford writes:
[via librarian.net]
Crawford writes:
"Blogs and wikis aren’t shiny new toys for libraries and librarians any more. They’ve moved from toys to tools. As with most tools, they’re not magic, they’re not right for everything or everybody, but they can be powerfully effective in many situations."
[via librarian.net]
Fun Friday: What Personality Does Your Blog Have?
Want to know what personality your blog has? Check out Typealyzer.com.
Typealyzer.com analyzes the text of your blog, and compares it to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a well-knows personalty test. The site then tells you into which of the Myers-Briggs categories your blog falls.
I tested The Tech Desk. According to Typealyzer, we are ESTJ - The Guardians:
I guess I like that we are organized, efficient, set goals, and manage our resources well. Not so cool that we "have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things."
And, as the supervisor in the Department, I'm glad that we "respect authority and are loyal team players!"
What about your blog?
Typealyzer.com analyzes the text of your blog, and compares it to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a well-knows personalty test. The site then tells you into which of the Myers-Briggs categories your blog falls.
I tested The Tech Desk. According to Typealyzer, we are ESTJ - The Guardians:
The organizing and efficient type. They are especially attuned to setting goals and managing available resources to get the job done. Once they have made up their mind on something, it can be quite difficult to convince otherwise. They listen to hard facts and can have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things.
The Guardians are often happy working in highly structured work environments where everyone knows the rules of the job. They respect authority and are loyal team players.
I guess I like that we are organized, efficient, set goals, and manage our resources well. Not so cool that we "have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things."
And, as the supervisor in the Department, I'm glad that we "respect authority and are loyal team players!"
What about your blog?
Top 20 Social Networking Sites of 2008
What were the top social media sites of 2008?
According to ComScore, reported by Techcrunch, Blogger is number one with an estimated 222 million unique worldwide visitors (up 44 percent). Facebook is on target to pass it soon with 200 million visitors (up 116 percent). MySpace is steady at 126 million visitors. Wordpress is a close fourth and gaining with 114 million (up 68 percent). And Windows Live Spaces is down 22 percent to 87 million visitors.
Writes Techcrunch: “While the audience for blogs is still showing healthy growth overall, Facebook stands out as the social gorilla taking share from not only other social networks but blogs and other social media as well.”
Below are the top 20 sites on ComScore’s social networking list.
1. Blogger (222 million)
2. Facebook (200 million)
3. MySpace (126 million)
4. Wordpress (114 million)
5. Windows Live Spaces (87 million)
6. Yahoo Geocities (69 million)
7. Flickr (64 million)
8. hi5 (58 million)
9. Orkut (46 million)
10. Six Apart (46 million)
11. Baidu Space (40 million)
12. Friendster (31 million)
13. 56.com (29 million)
14. Webs.com (24 million)
15. Bebo (24 million)
16. Scribd (23 million)
17. Lycos Tripod (23 million)
18. Tagged (22 million)
19. imeem (22 million)
20. Netlog (21 million)
According to ComScore, reported by Techcrunch, Blogger is number one with an estimated 222 million unique worldwide visitors (up 44 percent). Facebook is on target to pass it soon with 200 million visitors (up 116 percent). MySpace is steady at 126 million visitors. Wordpress is a close fourth and gaining with 114 million (up 68 percent). And Windows Live Spaces is down 22 percent to 87 million visitors.
Writes Techcrunch: “While the audience for blogs is still showing healthy growth overall, Facebook stands out as the social gorilla taking share from not only other social networks but blogs and other social media as well.”
Below are the top 20 sites on ComScore’s social networking list.
1. Blogger (222 million)
2. Facebook (200 million)
3. MySpace (126 million)
4. Wordpress (114 million)
5. Windows Live Spaces (87 million)
6. Yahoo Geocities (69 million)
7. Flickr (64 million)
8. hi5 (58 million)
9. Orkut (46 million)
10. Six Apart (46 million)
11. Baidu Space (40 million)
12. Friendster (31 million)
13. 56.com (29 million)
14. Webs.com (24 million)
15. Bebo (24 million)
16. Scribd (23 million)
17. Lycos Tripod (23 million)
18. Tagged (22 million)
19. imeem (22 million)
20. Netlog (21 million)
Another Great Resource for Researching Family History
Many of you who do genealogy know about Ancestry.com, a great online source for family history information with more than 7 billion names and 26,000 searchable databases.
But did you know Ancestry.com has it's own blog? Started in September 2007, the blog features short articles about products and publications, database updates and webinars (online seminars).
For those of us who use Ancestry.com for family history research, the blog adds a layer of up-to-date information which may just help you find that elusive ancestor. Check it out here.
And remember, Ancestry.com is available from the Troy Library computers, free-of-charge.
But did you know Ancestry.com has it's own blog? Started in September 2007, the blog features short articles about products and publications, database updates and webinars (online seminars).
For those of us who use Ancestry.com for family history research, the blog adds a layer of up-to-date information which may just help you find that elusive ancestor. Check it out here.
And remember, Ancestry.com is available from the Troy Library computers, free-of-charge.
Blog Readership and Influence Grow
According to a recent study commissioned by BuzzLogic – a company that analyzes social media and runs an Internet advertising network – from 2004 to 2008, blog readership increased a whopping 300%. Today, 47% of online consumers read blogs.
The study says that half of blog readers found blogs useful when they were considering what purchases to make, and more than half of that group said they looked at a blog just when they were about to buy something.
[via The New York Times]
The study says that half of blog readers found blogs useful when they were considering what purchases to make, and more than half of that group said they looked at a blog just when they were about to buy something.
[via The New York Times]
All the News Fit to Tweet
The Twitter phenomena -- microblogging bursts of 140 characters maximum instantly to your subscribers -- is now the preferred method of communication to keep up with changes in the media and public relations industry, according to this article in The New York Times.
In essence, you are having an online conversation with dozens -- hundreds? -- of your friends simultaneously.
With Twitter, and other social networking sites providing breaking coverage of the events in Mumbai last month, even blogging seems like so last year.
In essence, you are having an online conversation with dozens -- hundreds? -- of your friends simultaneously.
With Twitter, and other social networking sites providing breaking coverage of the events in Mumbai last month, even blogging seems like so last year.
Blogging and Social Connections
Interesting interview with University of Michigan School of Information Professor Paul Resnick, about the past, present and future of blogging.
U-M prof talks about blogging, social connections (via Ann Arbor News)
U-M prof talks about blogging, social connections (via Ann Arbor News)
Making the Change to Feedburner
We are pleased to report that we have just moved The Tech Desk to Feedburner, which will allow us to more easily distribute our blog through RSS feeds.
Here's how this change will improve The Tech Desk:
If you are an RSS subscriber you will need to switch over to our new feed located at the follow link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheTechDesk
If you have any questions about the changeover, feel free to leave a comment and ask!
Here's how this change will improve The Tech Desk:
- Feedburner will allow us to track how many people are reading our blog through RSS feeds.
- Along with knowing how many subscribers we have, we will also be able to see which posts are getting the most reads, and in which subjects you are most interested.
- Our blog feed will now have a del.icio.us link at the bottom of each post, which means you will be able to add quickly your favorite post to this social bookmarking site.
- Finally, both our Atom and RSS feeds will link back to the same SmartFeed provided by Feedburner.
If you are an RSS subscriber you will need to switch over to our new feed located at the follow link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheTechDesk
If you have any questions about the changeover, feel free to leave a comment and ask!
