Wednesday

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

By now, the world knows YouTube (started by a Saint Paul Central High School grad!) as the source of all things video on the Internet. And we do mean “all things.” The good, the bad, and the ugly are all there for all to see—one reason many districts and libraries block YouTube. Another reason is bandwidth—like music, video is a bandwidth hog. We recommend you complete this exercise during light Internet usage times.

YouTube revolutionized the way video is shared on the Internet by making it easy to upload and share videos. Other video sites have popped up, including Google Video. YouTube is now owned by Google, so it will be interesting to see the how the evolution/merging of the two sites happens. Right now, a search of either one returns results from both sites.

There are dozens of other video sites, but among the Web 2.0 players in this area, YouTube is currently top dog serving up over 1 million video views a day.


In this Thing, you will do some searching around YouTube or Google Video yourself and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from 1970s TV commercials and music videos. Plus lots of cool library stuff: library dominos, library tours, library ads, and library jokes. There's also the cult classic Conan the Librarian. See also:
• Web 2.0
•  March of the Librarians I spotted at least one Minnesota librarian in this one--can you? (Put your answer in your blog!)
• Library Musical
• IT vs Librarian

Here's an appropriate Library 2.0 video:



Of course, you’ll also find a lot stuff not worth watching, too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore and see for yourself what the site has to offer.

1. Explore YouTube or Google Video & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog. Enter a keyword or words and see what videos have that tag. Like what you find? Click on more in the About This Video box to see a list of other videos with that tag.
2. Place a YouTube inside your blog by following this instructions. These instructions show how to place other video in a Blogger post.
3. Blog about why you chose this video, any issues you had using the sites, and other thoughts.

Resources
Other popular video hosting sites:
 Blog Prompts
  • What did you like or dislike about the sites you explored?
  • Why did you choose the video that you did?
  • Can you see any ways to use video--YouTube or other sites--on your library Web site?
Challenge
1. Feeling brave? Make your own video and upload it to YouTube or Google Video. Promote a program or introduce your library to the community or something else. If you do, be sure to embed it in your blog. We all want to see it!
2. Jumpcut is a Yahoo! product that lets you upload video or photos, re-mix and edit them, and produce a video. It is all online, easy to use, and with many other features, including slide shows and clips to add to yours as you build your movie. And, like most Web 2.0 tools, it offers a community of like-minded participants who want to watch your videos and share theirs with you. So jump right in and make a video to share with us. Post it to your blog and let us know just how easy it is to be creative!
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday

Thing 19. Podcasts



The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. Web sites may offer direct download or streaming of their content. However, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added, using an aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS. Podcasts take many forms. They can be short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions--sort of "radio on demand." There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area.

You don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to listen to podcasts, although a portable device is handy. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you just need a PC with headphones or a speaker (and ability/permission to download; check with your tech support).

There are many ways to find podcasts. This Thing introduces you to some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your blog reader (i.e., Bloglines or Google Reader) account, so that when new podcasts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.

1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed in Resources to find a podcast that interests you or listen to a local podcast in the list. Find some interesting library-related podcasts like book reviews or library news or a podcast on anything else that interests you.
2. Listen to one more of the podcasts. Link it in your blog if you would recommend it to others.
3. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your blog reader account.
4. Try this simple, telephone-based tool that let's you "phone in" your podcast. Gcast says it's so easy your grandma could do it.

Resources
Local Podcasts

There are many, many podcast directories and finding tools out there. Here are just three of the more popular ones that don’t require a software download:

iTunes recently added iTunes U. College and university faculty post content they create for their classes. Students and others can download what they need, and go. Download iTunes (free) here for either Mac or Windows.

Blog Prompts
1. Which podcast(s) did you listen to?
2. Which of the directories did you find easiest to use?
3. Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to it regularly?

Challenge
Got something you want to share? Look at these sites for free software and hints on creating podcasts. As always, add any podcasts you create to your blog.
1. Create a podcast on a topic of interest to you. Post it on your blog.
2. Blog about your experience with the software and the podcasting experience.
Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Monday

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

MySpace and Facebook probably get more mainstream press than any other tool on this list—besides blogging. And, as we all know, not all the press is positive. However, social networks are one of the main ways that young adults communicate with each other—55% of all teenagers use social networking sites. Use of these sites has even surpassed landline telephones for a certain percentage of teenagers according to a study (pdf) by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

It is worth noting that these networks incorporate many of the tools we’ve already covered in other Things—blogging, photo and video sharing, internal e-mail, message boards, and IM. One stop shopping is part of their appeal--one user name, one password, all the info in one spot.

Another part of the appeal is the need to “belong to a group” that is a milestone of adolescent development. Young people create their own groups, “friend” people, and more, often without the watchful eye of parent or other authority figure. This is one reasons many teenagers like MySpace and Facebook. Facebook began as a college-focused social network—it originally required a .edu address to join. When it opened up to all comers, many Facebook users were not happy. The exclusivity for young adults seemed lost.

Of course, the lack of the watchful eye is, to some parents, teachers, and librarians, the reason social networks are suspect and can be prone to abuse. Many parents and organizations opt for blocking access to these sites. Others look to education on Internet safety, privacy, appropriate use of technology, and other issues as a way to allow use of these networks that are so important to teens and young adults.

So, what does it all mean to libraries? Whether or not you become a convert to MySpace and/or Facebook, it is important to understand how they work. If our young users are communicating through these networks, we need to be able to be there, too.

In this Thing, you are going to explore a social network. MySpace is the most used social network, but Facebook is currently the fastest growing social network. Facebook is more secure in that it is more difficult to see a user's profile until that person has accepted your friend request.

1. First, here is a simple explanation of why social networks may be useful for those of us beyond our teenage years. This is an episode of the Common Craft Show. You have the choice of visiting either Facebook or MySpace--or for the ambitious, both.


A.


Facebook requires registration in order to view any profiles of members.

1. Register for the site and add 2-3 friends. If you have any difficulty, you can visit this tutorial. There are many other Facebook tutorials on this page that are useful as you find a friend. Be sure to let us know when you join, so we can "friend" you.

2. Complete a profile, write on at least one wall and join at least one group. Here are some possible Facebook Groups to join: (Groups are only visible when logged in to Facebook.)

3. Check your Facebook Profile at least once in the next week.

B.



1. Visit MySpace and visit some library MySpace pages and examine their content. Here are some library MySpace pages. You can search for others:

2. If you are feeling ambitious, create your own MySpace Page. Add the info to your blog.

Resources

Blog Prompts

Facebook

  • Which groups did you join and why?Reflect on why Facebook may be the fastest growing social network. Is that reputation deserved?

MySpace

  • How are libraries using MySpace?
  • Did you find anything on a library's MySpace page that would be useful for your library?
  • If you created your own MySpace page, how do you plan to use it?

Challenge

1. Compare and contrast Facebook and MySpace.

Posted by at 6 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)