The Long Tail and Social Software

This book seems relevant for a library management class, but what is its application to social software? I understand that the hypothesis is that the Internet has changed our economy, but how is that that relevant to our focus on the use of social software? These are questions I would ask students to consider if this book remains part of this course.

Now, for some answers. Although I had some ideas, I didn't have what I considered to be a great answer. I looked around online to see what learning there mignt be on this topic and found this blog post by Adina Levin in which she opines that "The Long Tail is social." http://alevin.com/weblog/archives/001663.html

In this post, the author discusses a comment Anderson made while criticizing those who have distorted the term the "long tail" to mean the "fringe" market. According to the author, Anderson said that for long tail business models to be successful, they need to have both popular and niche content in their inventory. The author agrees that this works for Amazon and others, but points out that combining popular and niche markets is not always necessary, particularly in the arena of social software markets.

In social software markets, purely niche markets are successful. This is because social software does not rely on content for success, but instead is fueled by its users. To support her thesis, the author point to Flickr, a network people join to share photos and to Live Journal, which draws people looking to socialize with friends and family members.

Another connection that I can see is that the introduction of social software as much as the introduction of the Internet has affected this evolution in the economy toward the long tail. As people are able to communicate easily with those with similar niche interests, the demand for easily obtainable niche products and services increases. As time goes on, social software will provide more opportunities for individuals with very specific and niche interests to meet one another and share those interests.

Podcasting vs Blogging: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I just listened back to my podcast and there are parts of it that I am categorizing in there with the "ugly," including my voice. I was sure that I had a refined goddess thing going on and not a nasal Brooklynese thing. Oh well.

As a producer, blogging is easier for me. That is because I write easily and speak poorly (notice all the ummms in my podcast???) It would take lots of practice for me to improve or lots of editing. To create a successful podcast requires a well-written, well-planned script, whereas blogging is more spontaneous. Since blogs can be edited more quickly as you go, they require less planning in advance. I think that this is part of what makes blogging so attractive for personal use. It is an easy and convenient way of social interaction on the web. I am not saying podcasting is hard, only that it requires more effort and planning.

As a consumer, though, I love podcasts. I love the fact that they are portable - that I can listen to things that interest me in my car while I am driving or walking or doing just about anything. I also like the feeling of connection it gives you to the individual speaker. It is much more personalized than a written posting. A voice creates a more vivid image of the person who has created the work. Podcasts also hold my attention better than reading certain subject areas. It helps to have a podcast to listen to in following instructions, for example. For all these reasons, podcasts have great applications in education, business and in the public sector.

It's all in the Sauce: How to Make a Great Pot of Spaghetti Sauce

http://www.switchpod.com/users/lascils598f08/SaucePodcast.mp3

For my first, wildly anticipated podcast, I am going to explain to you the art of making the perfect spaghetti sauce. Italian cooking is especially meaningful to me since it brings back memories of times spent on Sundays and holidays in crowded kitchens with boisterous, funny women making simple dishes with aromas that could knock you out. I hope you enjoy the recipe and the side explanations that go with it.

It's Been an Experience

Well, there are experiences and then there are experiences. It all began in the Summer of 2006 with one class in Young Adult Literature. I hadn't formally applied to the SCILS program yet, but I was testing the waters to see whether this "librarian thing" was as interesting as I thought it would be. It was love at first sight. Since I had zero computer skills, the online learning experience was a small adjustment, but the course itself was great. The next class, Children's Literature was just as enjoyable, so I decided to apply to the SCILS program.

I formally began in January 2007 and that's when it hit me... this is serious work. Suddenly, I found the classes intense and demanding. I found myself writing 40 page research papers and reading many times late into the evening. More challenging than learning theory and searching principles, were struggles with new concepts like excel, access, html, CSS which all should be, as far as I am concerned, four-letter words.

Over time, the strain has become evident -- I have begun to let things go, nothing important, just things like housework, health and personal hygiene. Takeout has been a dietary staple. My brain has lost its ability to keep everything all in one place and speaking coherently is impossible. Thank goodness my children are older and don't need much attention, because they wouldn't be getting it from me. My husband, God bless his Swedish roots, is stoic, but my dog, already a separation anxiety sufferer, is crippled with loneliness.

Do I regret my decision? Not for a minute. Really. I have learned so much and met so many interesting people through these classes. I would never trade this experience and I am going to be sorry to see it end in the Spring.

Go to my Flickr page to see my educational experience up close and personal. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lascils598f08/
See my classmates photos and learn about their experience
http://www.flickr.com/groups/scils598f08-edexperience/

Librarians: new producers, new markets, new taste makers

Chris Anderson has some interesting ideas about how our culture and economy are changing. Specifically, he opines that the economy is moving away from a small number of mainstream products and markets to a large number of niches. He identifies three forces that are creating new business opportunities in these new niche-driven markets:

1. Democratization of production;
2. Democratization of distribution; and
3. Connection of supply and demand.

Democratization of production facilitates production because it extends the ability to create to individuals. An example of this is the personal computer, which has provided individuals with the opportunity to self-publish materials. For librarians, opportunities to be new producers also exist, although many libraries may not yet be capitalizing on them. Libraries and Friends groups can now publish their own Patron Bill of Rights, Strategic Plan, Fair Use and other Policies, Bylaws, Minutes of Meetings, etc. and publish these documents on their websites or wikis. Libraries can also encourage businesses and individuals to publish their work by hosting workshops in Word, Excel and Microsoft Publisher or on how to use social software. They can also teach individuals about self-publishing programs available on-line through software like LibraryThing or Greatreads.

Democratization of distribution opens up new markets by cutting costs. Libraries have already done this by creating consortia for the sharing of some resources. However, libraries should also consider resource sharing for items like DVDs, music and computer games to enlarge selection at less cost.

Librarians can be vital in providing the last function cited by Anderson, that is, connecting supply and demand. They are constantly asked for recommendations by patrons. From working with other patrons, they develop a sense of what books are sought after by patrons. In this way, it is not really the librarians, but the patrons, that become the taste makers. In addition to informal methods, librarians can use surveys, either on-line or in the library. They can ask patrons to write reviews of books and post them on-line. They can also provide rankings of books based upon the data they receive.

All in all, librarians can make changes in the library based upon Anderson's insights that can benefit patrons and improve their experience with their library.

Analyzing You with Google Analytics

So here is the Google Analytics analysis of the traffic on this "oh-so-exciting" blog. Try to calm yourself...

Most of you are using Internet Explorer as your browser. In fact, 67.68% of visits used IE when visiting this site. Firefox was used for 27.94% of the visits. Here's a "shout-out" to those using a browser that I have personally never heard of (although that is not saying all that much, since we all know that I am a tech-spazz). For 4.41% of the visits a browser, named Chrome, was used.

In accessing this blog, the most used connection speed is T1, followed by cable. Although this statistic can be somewhat misleading because there is a higher percentage of new viewers using cable than using T1. Dialup and DSL use are approximately equal.

Now wake up and go back to whatever it is you were doing.... :-)

The Libraries' Long Tale

Libraries have always understood the concept presented in Anderson's book. In developing collections, libraries choose both best sellers and books in specialized areas that fill out their collections. They seek to provide a well rounded and varied collection that meets the needs of a diverse group of readers. Even if books rarely circulate, if there is no other book in the library on that topic, the library will maintain that book in its collection.

One of the ways that the changing economy may affect libraries is that the public will expect a greater amount of information to be available at their library digitally. This will be costly for libraries not only in the cost of the online services, but also in hardware and staff training expenses. It will cause libraries to have to rethink and reorganize their space, staffing needs and budget allocation.

Collaborative Technologies: Convince the Profs, "Persuade" [i.e., strong-arm, if necessary] Students

Here's the deal as I see it:

Google Docs and Spresent could be great for college and graduate students who as a result of conflicting schedules, find projects requiring collaboration difficult to accomplish.

The disincentives of these tools come out of the fact that students are basically shortsighted. If something doesn't make their life easier right now for this project, they may not want to use it. Although Google Documents and SPresent are easy to use, there is always a learning curve with a new program. Students may be reluctant to take the time to try something new now unless they perceive a benefit now. Second, students would need to be convinced that the prof was tracking student contributions. In collaborative situations, it is easy for one person in a group to take on more responsibility than others. Since there is no authorship in a Spresent or Google Docs., it might act as a disincentive to students concerned about receiving credit for their fair share of the work.

Both of these issues could be overcome if you could get the faculty on board. If the faculty required use of these collaborative tools, then students would have to learn how to use them. Further, if faculty reassured them that their work was being monitored, students would understand that their contributions were being acknowledged by the grade-giver.

The question then becomes, whether professors would be comfortable using these programs? I think that depends upon how accepting of how open to technology they are. Most of the professors that I have had at SCILS have been very willing to employ technology in the classes and have encouraged us to use it whenever possible. I think that they would be willing to utilize and encourage these kinds of collaborative tools if they understood how to use them. In addition, exposing students to these collaborative tools before they graduate will yield more productive and knowledgeable media specialists. These graduates will continue to enhance Rutgers' reputation within the library community, a win-win for everyone, don't you think?

Wiki-ing away the day

So, I started this morning playing around with these wiki programs and next thing I new... the dog was carrying in his bowl for dinner! These programs are really fun! After a completely "lost" day, here are my thoughts (and please note that my brain feels like it is on the "snow channel after a day of wiki-ing"):

PB Wiki:

What's Nice:

• Easy to use
• Easy to set up
• Easy to invite friends

What's Not so Nice:

• Not as much opportunity for creativity
• No instructional video

Wikispaces:

What's Nice:

• Can design the wiki pages with color and templates
• Creative Commons License
• Informative video explaining how to use the program
• Easy to Use and invite friends

What's Not so Nice:

• Program froze while I was using it causing loss of work
• Program seemed to run slow
• Advertising

All in all, using them only briefly, the services seem relatively interchangeable to me. Since I have used PB wiki for another class and am more familiar with it, I would probably stick with it out of sheer laziness. There you have it.

Oh my! Lookee What We Did!

Wow! I can't believe how diverse our interests are and yet, they do overlap quite a bit too!

I like the idea of using booking marking a "getting to know you" exercise. I do think we can learn a lot about one another from seeing what websites interest us. This is the only problem (and this could be my lack of computer skills), when I was looking at our postings, they were mixed up, i.e., all the web sites posted by one person did not appear together. That makes it more difficult to distinguish and really get to know people. Even so, I think this kind of an exercise would be beneficial because it would serve the purpose of teaching about bookmarking and of introducing students to one another.
I also would have liked it if the bookmarking unit was earlier on in the semester. Steve introduces so many valuable sites during the course, it would be great to be able to bookmark them as we go along.

Brown and Duguid Implications of the Conclusions Drawn in the Readings

What interested me the most about the conclusion drawn by the authors was the change that they predict for universities as a result of the digital age. Some of these technologies supplement traditional learning environments and provide additional opportunities for construction of knowledge or collaboration among students. Many of these technologies have been or are being implemented in colleges and universities around the world.

The interesting question is whether these technologies could replace the college campus altogether? I don't think that they could.

The authors cite several reasons that digital technology would not replace the physical presence of universities. They reason that knowledge has a social component and that face to face interaction between the faculty and students better promotes learning. However, a more compelling reason for maintaining campus life exists, in my opinion.

College in the United States is not just about learning what is necessary to pursue a career; it has become, for a certain sector of our population, part of a rite of passage from youth to adulthood. For many teenagers, not yet ready to face the adult world, it is not only a semi-adult, fairly safe environment in which to pursue academics, but also an environment in which they are able to live independently with other students their own age, while still receiving financial support from home. For their parents as well, it is a solution for children too old to continue to live at home, yet too young to be "thrown to the lions" of the real world.

Moreover, distance learning, while it has been positive for me, a middle-aged woman changing careers, can’t replace the social aspect of learning needed for younger students just out of high school. It can’t replace the knowledge and maturity gained through living away from home and being mentored by peers and professors, while still enjoying the financial "safety net" of your family. It can’t replace the camaraderie and the academic influence professors exercise just by being available to chat in the dining hall or at football game. These issues are less important to older students who have already developed these social skills.

I sincerely hope that asynchronous learning continues to be used by universities as a supplement to their rigorous academic programs and that new technologies, as they develop, will also be incorporated. I also hope that administrators and scholars use restraint in allowing these technologies to replace what is so vital and unique to the college experience for undergraduate students, the social contact in a fairly encapsulated environment between students and their mentors.

Why, Thank you, Thing

LibraryThing allows book lovers to catalog their collections for free, well almost. Two hundred books are free, after that, the cost is $25 for all the books you can catalog during your lifetime. Where does Librarything get its information? It gets some information from Amazon, but imports MARC records from over 680 library resources including library of congress and many academic libraries both in the US and around the world. It is not difficult to find the correct edition of the resource you are looking for, but if you cannot find it, you can add your resource manually. Otherwise, adding a resource to your library is as easy as clicking on the record once it is located. Records can also be imported from the catalogs of other members. Once you add your books, you can tag them any way that makes sense to you.

If the need to catalog your books at home is not compelling to you, and I admit, as much as I like the idea of an organized life, spending my free time cataloging, no matter how easy it is, kinda makes me twitch, Librarything is still a really cool website. It has some fun social features that made me take notice and made me lose track of time too. There are many different categories with suggested books to browse through. There is a feature that recommends books similar to those in your catalog and another that shows you libraries similar to yours. You can leave comments for other members and join book groups in every kind of category from young mothers reading children’s books to a “pub group” to political activist groups to fantasy readers groups. There were so many groups to choose from, that if I joined them all, I would be reading 24/7, which would be bliss. There are forums in which people post questions or topics for discussion. These are particularly good areas to ask for reading recommendations or for opinions on books. The topics covered in the forums range from Plato to Agatha Christie. Another interesting thing: you can sign up to be a reviewer of new books. You receive advance copies of new books to read and review – how cool is that?

Librarything has so many opportunities to make connections with other people who like to read. You never again have to ask the question what should I read next?

Delicious Satisfying but Ma.gnolia Really Blooms

The funnest part of this blogging stuff is coming up with corny titles, don't you think? Well, here's my cut on Delicious v. Ma.gnolia. Both seem to have all the basic functionalities needed to bookmark pages for future use. From a quick review of both services, Ma.gnolia seems to have some advantages over Delicious. First, it's easier to read. For those of use getting older, this is an issue. The layout is cleaner and less confusing, the font is larger and the colors are brighter. Delicious uses a various shades of greys and blues which, at least for me are hard to distinguish. There are also a lot of things on the page, which makes it confusing.

Ma.gnolia builds upon the social aspect of bookmarking by creating and allowing others to create groups. People in these groups share their bookmarks. While there are networks on Delicious, they are not grouped and given names with explanations of what their interests are in this same way. Because magnolia takes this type of an approach, it encourages people who do not necessarily know one another but have similar interests to join groups and share resources.

Finally, I liked the fact that Magnolia had easy access to the most popular tags and the recently tagged items. I thought at first that Delicious had a similar function, but could not find it later.

Bakespace continued

I received a thoughtful comment from Bakespace giving me directions for signing up to the site. I just want you all to know that I really did NOT mean to imply that it is difficult to sign up for Bakespace because it is, in fact, very easy to sign up. Takes two minutes, really. However, since I am doing this blog as part of a graduate school library class, I didn't have two minutes at that time. Since, it is now the weekend and I have finally finished all the homework, I went back to spend a little more time with Bakespace.

There are even more features than I gave the site credit for in my earlier post. To begin with, there is a video that explains each part of the set up procedure, so when I say it is easy, it is really easy. When you first join, you go to "my kitchen," where you have this really neat option to choose from a huge list of categories of recipes that interest you. Since I am unfortunately on a diet, I chose, low-calorie, weight watchers and southbeach. A mini-feed appeared in my kitchen which showed recipes from those categories that might interest me. I am going to try a chicken salsa recipe that sounds easy.

I still have many more features to explore, like the mentors, adding and bookmarking recipes, etc., but I didn't want to leave you with the impression that it was difficult to sign up for this service. Give it a try, it will solve that daily conundrum, "what should I cook for dinner tonight?"

RSS is Really Super Stuff

If anyone is ever going to be overloaded by information provided by technology, it's me. Since I have so little experience with technology (seriously, I did not know what a url was until two years ago) just hearing the term RSS, made me quiver in my boots. So if I can do this without being overloaded, I think just about anyone can. I am a convert. I love, love, love RSS! I can see how it could get overwhelming if you signed up for too many sites, but if you like to read a lot of blogs or look at a lot of sites on a regular basis, this seems to me to be a great time saver. I would have loved this for professional journals and magazines when I was practicing law. It would have made the reading so much easier to keep up with!

I love the productivity part of RSS. It was so much fun adding websites to our blogs and wiki page. Knowing that the tools are out there to do these things when we are working in a library allows us to have another option to bring some creativity into our jobs and our projects. I think RSS has huge possibilities, but can be controlled so that those of us who are not too technical can still enjoy it and reap its benefits.

Baking Web 2.0 Style

Anyone else like to bake? Bakespace.com is standing around the kitchen talking and cooking together, web 2.0 -style. Individuals who like to cook post their recipes, but it is more than just a a recipe bank/exchange. It features blogs in which new products and techniques, nutrition and other things relevant to cooking and baking are discussed. A forum section, reminiscent of kitchen gatherings, creates a space where participants talk informally news of the day, such as the government bail out of Wall Street.

But let's talk about the recipe collection. It is as diverse as the people who join the group. The recipes are classified into the course for which they would be served, into holidays, gift ideas, etc. There are often notes from the cooks explaining the recipe's history or serving ideas. A comment area allows others who have tried the recipe to weigh in so that before trying the recipe yourself, you have someone else's experience with the recipe. The site has a recipe box in which you can maintain favorite recipes. Of course, the down side of using the recipe box is that if you have lost your Internet connection and need a recipe, it is not available, you are out of luck. The good thing about it, is that you can obtain your recipes anywhere you are, even if you are away from home or shopping and have forgotten your recipe book.

This kind of a site is better than Epicurious, in my opinion, because you get to know people more personally. Once you know whether you enjoy the same foods that they do, you can determine whether you are likely to enjoy the same recipes.

I would definitely use a site like this one in the future, although I did not take the time to set up a profile at this point. But, someday, when I need a recipe and can't find it or want to know how to smoke a turkey or something, I will use this site! Visit yourself at http://www.bakespace.com

Thoughts on Feed invading my brain

So, I’m getting dressed this morning, listening to the Today show and a woman is on promoting a book--- something like Everything Goes with Green. The book is about small steps each of us can take to protect the environment and to protect ourselves from the effects of harmful chemicals in our everyday lives. Apparently, this woman’s young son became extremely ill (I only caught the end of the story) as a result of chemicals that are in all of our homes –cleaning, personal care and home maintenance. She discontinued use of the products and he has been healthy since. The EPA gave a statement that it cannot be determined what quantity of the chemicals is dangerous to human health. As if that is supposed to make this mother feel better – obviously some quantity is bad for human health we just are not sure what that quantity is yet.

This got me thinking about Feed and the environment it portrays. The forests are gone. The ocean is toxic. You have to wear a protective suit to play in the sand on the beach. People are developing lesions as a result of the toxic environment. Are we headed in that direction? Would our government hide from us the obvious dangers caused to the environment by our consumerist behavior? Would we, as a society, be blind to the danger preferring to pursue pleasure and economic gain?

Feed may be a hyperbole, but if we believe Al Gore, it’s not that far from where we are headed. We, as a global society, are consuming our natural resources without replenishing them. Despite efforts by public watch groups and government agencies, corporations still are allowed to pollute the environment because it is economically not feasible for them to operate in an ecologically safe way. Our government assures us with platitudes such as those provided to the author cited above … everything is being done to protect us, there is no evidence of what quantity of these chemicals are bad for human health… the same 1984-style doublespeak used in Feed to keep people from becoming overly concerned about their world’s problems.

In Feed, Anderson pokes fun at our gullibility, not only in our belief in our government but also in our trust in corporate America. Through his use of the lesions, for example, Anderson shows the influence of advertising through the media and the influence of celebrities. Instead of an extremely frightening epidemic, the feed, through the use of popular celebrities and advertisement, turned the lesions into a fashion statement. This reduced public fear and made desirable and otherwise unattractive condition. In the same way, Anderson seems to say that if the advertising is good, society will accept just about any unacceptable condition more readily.

I see more people than ever trying to do the right things to protect our environment whenever they can. I hope that this helps. I hope our government does what it is supposed to do with regard to enforcing environmental regulations and I sincerely hope that at least some corporations put the environment before the bottom line at least some of the time.