Happy Halloween Everyone!

Would you like to show off your Halloween costume? Snap a picture of yourself and upload it to Costume DB, a no-frills database for costumes. :)))

Linkedin vs Google+

Those of us who still do not have a Google+ account may change our minds! As William J. Ward, social media professor at Syracuse University, puts it: "The professional functionality of G+ combined with search and the new features being added could allow it to surpass LinkedIn as a professional social networking platform and tool in the future."
See the full article here http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Google-Starts-Breathing-Down-LinkedIns-Neck-73620.html

Interesting Presentation Software

Here is a link to the website of a new-ish presentation software called "Prezi".

I attended a session at the REFORMA conference in September and the presenter was using this. It's definitely a fresh look at graphical presentation. Prezi's angle is that "slide" shows like PowerPoint are relying upon a dated format and technology...we don't have actual slides anymore and we don't use slide projectors. Therefore we shouldn't be stuck viewing one slide at a time and in strictly chronological, first-to-last order.

Prezi lets you zoom in and out and scan your presentation from a macro and a micro viewpoint. So far I've just messed around with the website and looked at some of their demo presentations. I know that it was visually engaging during the presentation at REFORMA. The basic version of this is web-based and free.

I'm guessing that soon everybody will be using this until a newer, cooler presentation software comes along...

Data visualization - its power and potential

Sorry that I'm on this info-sharing binge which comes out of the delirious joy that the floor coverage on Saturday afternoon is looking so good :-) :-)

I feel compelled to share this(last one for now)

How wonderful would it be for libraries to role-model cutting edge ways of presenting information as we have students, businessmen, and all sorts of patrons using our spaces, resources, website etc. etc.

Wouldn't it be cool if libraries moved away from the standard methods of print/text/tables/graphs to convey information?

How cool would it be for populations that find it difficult to navigate through text-heavy information when their primary language is not English.

Take a look at the exiciting data visualization methods that are out there today from this link -
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches/

How can you use social media to market yourself?

As much as I love using social media to stay connected to friends and family, I'm always curious to see its impact on people looking for jobs and people looking to hire people.

Here's an interesting article I found regarding why it is important to tap social media for job search - marketing yourself via social media - this might be the next thing you can share with patrons when they come asking you for the resume section in your library. Don't just give them books or classes on resume prep - tell them to Google info on how to market themselves via social media....here's an interesting link and considering the article is not as updated, you know there's more out there now on how social media can help people market themselves - http://mashable.com/2009/01/05/job-search-secrets/

What makes a really good public library

http://www.quora.com/Libraries-Librarianship/What-makes-a-really-good-public-libraryThis was an interesting link passed on to me by my son and there's some good stuff posted about what makes a good public library.

Here's one example-

Rich Online Resources - did I mention the high-tech knowledge center? Databases are some of the best, most useful sources of knowledge. Instead of searching through backlists, you have everything at your fingertips.
Kindle/iPad Lending - e-books help, not hurt, libraries. If libraries offer a wide variety of popular e-books, more people will benefit. Also, it's hard to steal or lose an electronic book.
Open, yet Secure Space - libraries are still a communal place, open and friendly to the public. Libraries should be modern, clean and well-designed. Modernity shouldn't mean skimpy security. I live in Boulder, Colorado, which has a beautiful, open library, but book theft runs rampant.
Strong Children's Section - why children? Children benefit the most from public libraries. A love of reading begins early; a library is a perfect place to incubate future bookworms. Having a wide selection of children and Young Adult books isn't enough -- there should be fun and exciting knowledge-related children-oriented programs.

I also checked out the credenitals of "quora" , and they seem to be a similar service like Yahoo answers started by two former Facebook employees - here's the Wikipedia link to learn more about "quora" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quora and here's the direct link to quora - www.quora.com

Only 8 hours!!

Apparently the longevity of the battery for the new iPhone 4s is only 8 hours. According to some testimonials that I read this is frustrating for a lot of users simply because they were not aware of the issue. So if you are thinking of purchasing one cuidado-beware!!!

Twitter mystery

I wanted to check back in to our #aldspark conversation from Staff Development day to see if anything new has been posted. I can't find the conversation anywhere. I first did a search on my mobile phone ap. No tweets under this hashtag. Then I search from my computer - I knew it shouldn't make a difference, but I tried it anyway. Still no tweets. I also tried #ALDspark in case it was case sensitive. Still no luck. Any ideas about what else I might try?

Help! Pictures have me puzzled

I need help! I have tried what I can think of, googled and read the instruction book for my phone and can’t get the answers I want. So rather than admit defeat, I decided to bring my issue here. Here we go….

I have a pretty basic Samsung phone, with sliding keyboard from T-Mobile. It’s 3G and about a year old. I take pictures on it when I don’t have a camera on me. I send pictures via text to friends and family. Here is my problem: I want to get the pictures off my phone.

Here is what I have tried and/or know:
· I used the cable to connect my phone to my pc. When I did this, I got two options. One was PC and one was USB Mass Storage. I choose PC but was unable to get my pc to recognize it and my phone didn’t really do anything other than charge. It also had a lovely picture of a computer above near the date - other than that, not sure what it was doing! Then I choose Mass Storage and that was clearly not the right choice. It was allowing me to download from my pc but not vice versa.
· My camera (on the phone) has the capability of having a memory card in it for pictures when you take off the back cover. This card didn’t automatically come with my phone and I would rather not buy one specifically for it. My camera card does not fit in it.
· I have data connections available but would prefer not to use it. I know I have the option to drop them in Snapfish, Flickr, Facebook, etc.

So that’s my dilemma…I feel like I am missing something with the cable connection probably from the phone side, but I don’t know what. I feel like the answer is here in the connection piece though because it’s essentially the same way I would transfer pictures from my camera to my pc. Does anyone else do this without a droid or iphone? Helped a patron who has? I would love to hear from you.

For Audio book fans and learning

I was just reading the AudioFiles magazine (for audio books lovers) and they have a new web page to connect Audio Listeners to each other (a social network) where listeners, narrators, authors and fans of audio books can go to get information or discuss books. The web site is called ABC or Audiobook Community http://www.audiobookcommunity.com/ . There are many options, but one I thought might be helpful to some patrons (I just started to look at the sight so don't know the full depth of what it can offer) is one called "Learn Out Loud". It is listed on the Right hand side if you scroll down in a list of audio related items. When I looked at the sight it lists all kinds of information from Bio to Science etc. Some materials are free to listen to and some are paid so you do have to be a bit careful.
Besides that web page you can also look at Audio File magazine for new and upcoming Audio Books. Haven't had a chance to explore all aspects but this it looks promising.

Windows 8 and Office 365 Microsoft

Do you know that some Windows 8 tablets will be unable to run Microsoft Office?
Office 365 will be widely used by the time Windows 8 comes along and offers everything that the iPad and Android tablets don't. As an example: Word, Excel and Power Point.
Office 365, the new cloud based version of Microsoft Office designed for corporate users, and Windows 8, the tablet optimized release of Microsoft's operating system set for launch in 2012.

Writer and Illustrator Benjamin Lacombe

I know this is not a post about technology but I want to share with you some of the books that I fell in love with while at the Book Fair in Madrid. Benjamin Lacombe is a great illustrator. Here's a little peek preview of some of his books we will add to our Spanish Collection.

Click the following link:
http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2010/09/benjamin-lacombes-beautifully.html

Blue birds singing a song. Nothing but blue birds all day long: being an exhaustively brief treatise on WHO tweets?

Like a songbird with no song, is the twitter user with no tweets a useless anomaly too?

After my own pathetic showing during the twitter session at Staff Day, it occurred to me to re-examine my use of Twitter especially as it compared to others' use of the social networking site. In the spirit of full disclosure, I don't tweet. I have a twitter account, and will, on occasion, derive a few chuckles from following the likes of Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) and Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) (LOVE!), or pretend like I am keeping up with news by following my favorite (and some not-so-favorite) news outlets.  Write a tweet myself?  Never crossed my mind.  In my admittedly smaller social circle, I know very few people that tweet.  I have often participated in communal bewilderment with my peers about the purpose of Twitter, and why it is so darn popular.  It seems that the few people I have met that actively tweet generally fall into two categories:  They either LOVE the sound of their own voices or are promoting themselves (artists, actors, musicians), their companies, or their pet projects.  Legit.

Am I wrong to view Twitter as some superfluous entity that appears to be very important, if not pivotal, to 'others', but not myself?  Is my tweeting reticence reactionary?  If I'M not tweeting and my tens of friends aren't tweeting, then WHO TWEETS?

Luckily, the Pew Research Institute has asked this very question, and here are a few of the highlights from their 2011 update to their original query of Twitter adoption from November 2010:

• 13% of online adults use Twitter
• Twitter adoption is particularly high among non-whites
• Twitter usage by those ages 25-44 has grown significantly since late 2010

And now for some visuals:
(right-click on the charts and open them in another window/tab to be able to see them better)

Okay...to be honest, 13% is not a huge percentage, which would explain the lack of tweeters I personally know. 

The Neighborhood Libraries of ALD serve a diverse community, which, according to the numbers, are increasingly using Twitter.  Maybe I need to get over my Twitter hang-ups? 

Or... (thanks to Lab42)

So, let's say I'm sold.  I now want to venture into the world of being an active Twitter participant.  I am ready to Tweet.  How can I make sure it is valuable and not just more of the meaningless blather that initially turned me off from Twitter?  

Check out this article from PCWorld on how to 'Twitter Like a Pro':
The best take-away for me? To 'tweet' Twitter like a conversation, and to provide value.  Single line slogans come across as false.

Is that the sweet song of bluebirds on a blue sky day I hear?  Ah, yes.  Twitter.

NL Techie of the Month for September

Hi all! It's already October 11th and I haven't named a Techie of the Month for September yet. Fall is flying by! My pick for September is Laura Knox of Eloise May Library for her post on how to get a disc unstuck. She helped us solve a problem, referred to two different expert sources, one from ALD and another from the web, and entertained us with her playful writing style. She also got some good comments from others on our team. So thanks for this helpful tip, Laura. You are officially the NL Techie of the Month for September. A $10 Amazon gift card is making its way to your mailbox.

Facebook Changes

I guess it's been awhile since I checked out my Facebook page, because when I logged on last week, I had trouble recognizing the formatting of the screens, and also realized that the Navigation Bar moved!!! I started googling some articles and have learned that Facebook is going head to head with Google+ and these changes took place within hours of the time Google+ went live. I went on the Facebook blog : https://blog.facebook.com/ to see what else had changed. I found that Post size has expanded from 500 characters to 5,000, pictures posted are now larger and download in twice the time(even your previously uploaded profile pictures will be displayed at this higher resolution.) The Navigation Bar is now anchored to the top of your page. Facebook has also combined "Top Stories" and the old "Most Recent" features. A new"ticker" has been added on the upper right hand corner of the news feed section, providing a "snapshot" of what your friends are doing right now. Also, seems like you can now share music with your friends using Spotify www.spotify.com on Facebook.
(Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs) Stay tuned for more changes to come by checking back frequently with this Blog.

Is This the Solution?

I just read this article, "Why I Dumped my iPhone--and I'm Not Going Back," and it kind of irritated me! This writer claims that his iPhone was keeping him from living life in the present moment -- he spent too much time checking on networks and news online. So he traded it in for a plain, calls-and-texts-only Nokia.

But is the iPhone the problem, or is it his lack of self-control? If he can't keep from checking his Facebook during dinner with his wife, is the device really the issue?

Oh Mark Zuckerberg, you Facebook fiend!

Sorry to bombard the NL Tech Talk Blogosphere with Facebook related entries, I hope this will complement Barb's excellent post.

Mr. Zuckerberg is at it again (and yes, I know THAT is not a picture of Mark Zuckerberg, but of the actor who portrayed him in 'that Facebook movie'.), so brace yourself for a revamping of Facebook once again.

Mashable.com has a pretty great recap of the changes, but I am going to recap the recap.

1. Facebook wants to be your life's scrapbook. Facebook will help you share your past, present, and future by means of a Timeline which will dominate the top part of your profile page, and constantly scroll through your pictures, status updates, apps, places you've been, etc. seemingly until birth, or your facebook 'rebirth', whichever came sooner. For now the Timeline will be 'opt-in', but it will eventually replace the standard profile page. Not to worry! The further back you go (or the more oversharing you partake in) Facebook will compress the seemingly worthless information, and you will still look cool.

2. They say that negative emotions are stronger than positive emotions, and I can attest that I rarely have a desire to 'like' something on Facebook, but many a day I would vehemently like to 'dislike' something (usually I end up unfriending those people instead...). But wait! I no longer have to swallow the bile my newsfeed creates, because now I can "[verb] any [noun]" on Facebook. Huzzah! Wait... does this mean people will be oversharing more of the banal details of their daily lives? Oh Facebook, you double-edged sword, you!

3. Play a little farm-ville? Now the Facebook apps you love will ask you only once if they can share your personal information, instead of every time they want to share your personal information. This change must be for the facebook app-adventurers. I'm personally too scared of the viruses that could be lurking in any colorful pop-up box to try them.

4. Like Barb said, 'lightweight' (think all those quizzes and game related status updates) information will be banished to a ticker in the top right corner, but more stalk-worthy information (pictures, relationship status, 'is that what his new girlfriend looks like?', etc.) will still be in your newsfeed.

5. Oh happy day! Oh happy day! Your entire entertainment consumption experience can now be mediated through Facebook and shared with all your 'friends'! You can watch Hulu via facebook, read Yahoo News with your ever faithful f-book, listen to music, and share! Share! Share! Why do anything if you can't inform the world of it instantly?

In summation, Zuckerberg, you sly dog, is keeping it classy while his leviathan company continues to revolutionize the 'human experience'; growing past 800 million users (most active), and insinuating itself deeper into our daily lives. (resist if you can)