23 Things

Welcome to 23 Things + 5

2008-07-02T17:05:00.004+10:00

This year adds 5 new items to 23 Things, making it 23 Things + 5, which actually brings it to 28 things in total.

This program is intended to be a continuation of the existing program, so if you are looking for where to start, try this list of the original 23 Things first.

The 5 new items are (use the links below to view each one):

If you're a Swinburne library staff member and you haven't yet registered your participation, please do so using this form. We will keep track of your progress (in private this time), and send you a double movie pass when you are done.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on this blog or contact a 23 Things buddy or committee member, who will be introduced to you in July 2008.

5. Read about the Semantic Web

2008-07-02T16:55:00.007+10:00

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Now that we have a bit of an idea of what “Web 2.0” is, some people have begun to speculate about what Web 3.0 might consist of. Many accept that it will focus on the Semantic Web, a concept introduced by the inventor of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and explained in his book Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web (2000).

The word "semantic" refers to the meaning of text, and the "Semantic Web" refers to the idea of drawing meaning from the information on the web.

The web as it currently stands consists largely of free-form text as well as images, links, interactive forms and more. Automatic machines such as search engines can do a good job of grabbing and storing this text and these links, so that we may use keywords to find information. However, these machines are simply looking for word matches. They cannot logically understand the meaning of the text on the web and draw logical conclusions from it.

If we use standard file formats which mean something to computers rather than humans, then machines would be able to do something more intelligent with that data. Such file formats wouldn't contain text for humans to read and understand, but data for computers to understand: information on "people", "dates", "events", "places" and other things.

Let's say we wanted to find the answer to a complex question like, "what was the weather like in Melbourne on the opening day of the Seoul Olympics?" Search engines are particularly bad at finding such data, because it would typically involve looking up information from more than one source and understanding how it relates together.

If there existed a standard computer based format for expressing dates, events, locations, and weather, however, and there were websites which provided information in this format, then a search engine or other computer based process may be able to find the answer to the above question.

While the Semantic Web as described by Berners-Lee has not yet been realised oon a large scale, its concepts have been used in the formation of a set of standards, such as RDF (Resource Description Framework), a file format which describes what data means.

Some, such as blogger Cory Doctorow (Walmsley, 2008) argue that it could never be realised on a large scale due to the unreliability of metadata. He suggests that getting people to create data that it is both in a consistent format and free from errors is asking too much of humans.

Your task

Read about the idea of the Semantic web - you may use one of the resources below or look it up on your own.

Can you see how such a Semantic web could be used? Write your opinion on your blog.

Further information

Berners-Lee, Tim (2000) Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web HarperCollins, New York pp. 177-198 [Get it from Online reserve]
Wikipedia "Semantic Web" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web) Accessed 16 June 2008
Walmsley, Andrew (2008) "Andrew Walmsley on Digital: The Whys and Wherefores of Web 3.0" Marketing (7 May 2008) p. 14

4. Try Voyage RSS feed reader

2008-07-02T16:43:00.004+10:00

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For this task we look at a familiar product with a non-traditional interface: an RSS feed reader called Voyage which employs a visual display to structure and depict information.

Voyage RSS feed reader

Voyage is an unusual example of an RSS feed reader. You might remember feed readers from last year's 23 Things. If you haven't

Here is what Andy Biggs, the designer, says about Voyage:

'Voyage is an RSS Reader with a difference. It’s been carefully designed around the content it displays. Add RSS feeds from your favourite sites and let voyage pull all the information together for your reading pleasure.

'How do I use it? It’s simple. Posts are organised by date; to scroll through them just use your mouse, or the up and down keys on your keyboard. Add and remove RSS feeds using the management pane at the bottom.’

Your task

First, play with Voyage.

You can maximise a topic by clicking on the pink and blue '+' signs. Click on a web address to load up an article or post.

Then, find an RSS feed and add it to Voyage.

How do I find RSS feeds?

Many sites have news feeds that you can subscribe to. Almost all blogs have a news feed; that even includes your own blog. More and more library databases now also have feeds. Look for the orange feed icon. For more information, take a look at these instructions from last year's 23 Things.

Some popular news sites with RSS feeds

Add your own feed

To add a feed, click on the orange 'Add an RSS Feed' link at the bottom of the screen, paste the feed url into the box and click on Add. Can you meet the challenge of finding it again?

Tell us what you think of Voyage on your blog!

3. Use KartOO visual meta search engine

2008-07-02T16:39:00.004+10:00

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KartOO is a visual search engine with an interface offers something a little extra. KartOO divides results into several categories, some serious, some not so serious.

The results are displayed in clusters using Flash and sheet of paper icons. Some results are more relevant than others, and clicking on an icon takes you to a deeper level of results. This might be a little confusing at first, but moving your mouse over a result produces a result summary at left, including a screenshot of the result page.

Your task

Do some images searches on KartOO.

Tell us what you think about it on your blog.

Further exploration

Check out some more ‘Web 2.0’ search engines

2. Use VuFind to search a library catalogue

2008-07-02T16:31:00.004+10:00

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VuFind: The Library OPAC meets Web 2.0

VuFind is a library resource portal designed and developed for libraries by libraries. The goal of VuFind is to enable your users to search and browse through all of your library's resources by replacing the traditional OPAC to include:

Catalog records
Digital library items
Institutional repositories
Institutional bibliography
Other library collections and resources

VuFind is completely modular so libraries can implement just the basic system, or all of the components. And since it's open source, they can modify the modules to best fit their needs or add new modules to extend resource offerings.

The latest library to use VuFind is our own National Library of Australia catalogue which was launched on the 27th May 2008.

A few libraries with Sirsi Unicorn are currently testing VuFind to see if it works for them.

Your task

What we would like you to do is go to the VuFind website and find some items using their live demo, and then you could go and have a look at how the National Library of Australia looks using VuFind.

Let us know on your blog what you think of this system and if it is a good replacement for a library OPAC.

1. Connect with colleagues using LinkedIn

2008-07-02T16:24:00.006+10:00

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Welcome to 23 Things for 2008. This year we add 5 new tasks to the 23 existing tasks.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking site which enables professionals to connect each other from a wide range of fields. It also allows users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. Users can invite anyone to become a connection. All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent.

Join the LinkedIn network!

A basic LinkedIn account is free. It is very easy to join LinkedIn.

Create a Profile!

When you join LinkedIn, you are asked to create a public profile that summarises your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients and partners. You can control the amount of information others are able to see on your public profile.

Using Your Network!

You can build and add to your connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to them. You can connect to people through:

Your connections
People in your network
People who viewed your profile
Your In Mail

Resources

LinkedIn Official Site
Wikipedia: LinkedIn
Stone, B (2008) At Social Site, Only the Businesslike Need Apply The New York Times, San Francisco 18th Jun 2008 [Online; accessed 7 Jul 2008]

23. Give feedback about the program

2007-12-11T11:24:00.000+11:00

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If you have done all the 22 tasks up to now, congratulations! You have nearly finished the 23 Things. For your final 23 Things blog post, we'd like you to give us your feedback about the 23 Things program.

We're particularly interested in:

How could you draw on what you have learned in 23 Things to help you in your work?
How could the library use the technologies featured in 23 Things to improve its service?
How do you think the 23 Things program could be improved in the future?
Do you think you'll keep blogging or keep using any of the other tools you learned about?

Still catching up?

If you haven't finished the other 22 tasks, don't worry - there is plenty of time to do so. You have until February/March 2008 if you want to be in the major prize draw for a laptop.

I hope that you have enjoyed the 23 Things, and that you have found at least one useful tool that you didn't know about before.

Go to the list of all 23 tasks >>

22. Read about Second Life and how libraries are using it

2007-12-06T10:07:00.000+11:00

Developed by Linden Research, Second Life is a 3D virtual world entirely built and owned by its users. Echoing the 'real world', in Second Life you can own land, trade goods and services, engage with the artistic community and participate in educational activities.

Residents are represented in Second Life by avatars which are human in appearance but may be of either sex and have a wide variety of humanoid of other forms. Avatars communicate through two main methods of text communication: local chat and instant messaging.

Some interesting facts about Second Life

There are over 9.1 million residents (as of August 2007).
9,195 islands were added during July 2007.
The currency of Second Life, the Linden Dollar, can be converted to US dollars at several Linden Dollar exchanges (sparking the interest of various taxation departments around the world).
The Maldives was the first country to open an embassy in Second Life.

Many international universities and libraries have bought islands in Second Life. The way these universities and libraries use the land is unique (check discovery resources below). Some use it as a marketing tool, others use it as a new way for people to attend university in the virtual world. Deakin University has bought an island on Second Life, but it is just that, an island. It is currently in an experimental stage. Only restricted users are allowed onto the island and there are no buildings, no classes taking place and no virtual campus life apparent.

For more information on Second Life, go to:

Resources

Watch the following video demonstrations on YouTube:

Other resources:

Your task

View some of the videos and articles under the Discovery Resources link. You may want to write about one of the following on your blog:

How can Swinburne university library use Second Life?
How does this relate to the future of learning in a university?

This task was originally written by Kat Clancy, Deakin University

21. Find and listen to a Podcast or two

2007-11-23T12:00:00.000+11:00

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What is a podcast?

The word "podcast" comes from joining Portable On Demand (pod, like iPod) and "cast" from broadcast. Get it? Podcast!

A podcast is an audio (or maybe video) file that is distributed over the internet using syndication feeds (like RSS) and can be played on portable media players (eg. MP3s) or simply on your computer.

Podcasting means that listeners can "time shift" their favourite programs by listening when it suits them. What makes podcasts different is the ability to "subscribe" to a feed, and when a new episode become available it can be automatically downloaded to the user's computer or player. You can then choose to listen to an episode when you want. Or delete the file if you don't!

You can also download programs without subscribing and listen to them on your computer.

Your task

The task this week builds upon your knowledge about feeds (that was in week 5 "Installing a feed reader, remember?)

Find a podcast that interests you using Google, or a directory such as Podcast.net or PodcastAlley.com, or from the links in the Resources section below.

Subscribe to it in your feed reader and listen to an audio file or two.

Resources

Updated 9 Jan 2008: The site IndiePodder.org, previously mentioned, doesn't seem to be available anymore, but PodShow.com and PodcastAlley.com appear to be owned by the same company.

This week's task was written by Fiona O'Donnell

20. Watch YouTube videos people have made about libraries

2007-11-15T16:08:00.000+11:00

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YouTube has scores of videos that people have made, covering just about every topic you can imagine, ranging from very amateur to professionally produced.

Your task

Have a look around YouTube and see if you can find some interesting videos about libraries or librarians, or perhaps new web technologies.

YouTube makes it easy to do a search, and then to find similar videos to one you have already watched.

You may find a funny video clip or maybe something more informative.

Post about your YouTube experience on your blog. If you're feeling adventurous, you may like to insert a YouTube video into your blog so others can see it!

Resources

YouTube official site

This task was written by Andrea Scott, Swinburne University

19. Put a photo of your pet on the wiki

2007-11-15T16:00:00.000+11:00

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A wiki is a type of web site which is edited collaboratively. That is, anyone with access can edit any page of a wiki, and add new pages.

It's great for sharing information between staff of an organisation, or for developing documentation. Wikis keep a record of all edits made to a page, so it's possible to see who added what, and even to reverse edits.

The most notable wiki is WikiPedia, an online encyclopedia. However, wikis can be used for a number of purposes.

Today you'll learn how to resize and save a photo for the web, and how to edit the staff wiki. You'll then put a photo onto the wiki 'pet's page'.

Preparing your photo

When preparing an image for the web, it's important that you save it in the correct format, and at an appropriate size. Otherwise, someone may not be able to view it, or it may take too long to download on a typical home internet connection. The photos out of a digital camera or scanner will usually be too high a resolution for a web page, so they'll require reducing.

First, you'll need to find a digital photo of your pet (or someone else's, if you don't have one). If you have a digital camera, you can simply use a photo from that. If you have a printed photo, you'll need to scan it instead. Digital cameras and scanners are available at the library.

Open your favourite photo editing software. I recommend Fireworks, because it's available to all Swinburne Staff.

Installing Fireworks

If you don't have it already, you can install it easily and you shouldn't even need to call ITS.

Fireworks is part of Macromedia Studio, which is available under Start => All programs => Network => NAL. Install Macromedia Studio using the icon.

Once it is installed, you should find Macromedia Fireworks under Start => All programs => Macromedia.

Resize your image

Open the photo you want to resize. Using the menu, use Modify => Canvas => Image size to change the size of the image. A web page is around 72 to 96 dots per inch, so for a reasonably sized image you should resize the image so that it is only around 300 to 600 pixels wide, depending on your preferences. Never resize the image more than once, or you'll lose quality. Always go back to the original and start again (always keep the original file!).

Now save your image using File => Export. This will allow you to save the image as a JPEG file (the filename should end in .jpg). JPEG is the format you must use for websites, if the image is a full colour photo. Save it as a separate file. Keep the original file too.

Upload it to the wiki

The Upload File link on the wiki allows you to add a photo to the wiki. It's on the left hand side of the page once you've logged in.

Under Source Filename click Browse and locate the resized version of the photo you just saved, and upload it by following the instructions.

Add it to a wiki page

Locate the Pets page on the wiki and edit it using 'Edit'. You should be able to follow the example of the photos that are already there, and add your image using code similar to the following:

[[Image:filename.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Description for your image]]

This code ensures that the photo is a thumbnail, aligned left on the page (like the other images), and 150 pixels wide, the same size as the other photos.

What's next?

Feedback on our staff wiki

The staff wiki is intended to be used, and we're trying to introduce as many people as possible so they can become familiar with it, and get some use out of it. We're really interested in your experiences with it: if you have any problems using it, or you can't see how it can be helpful for you, please do let us know.

We're currently trying the make the wiki easier to use. You may have noticed many improvements recently. There are still a few annoyingly difficult things about it, such as it needing a separate password to everything else.

Other wikis

If you're adventurous, try contributing to WikiPedia on a topic you know a lot about or are prepared to research. Like other wikis, anyone can edit or add pages. With WikiPedia, you don't even need an account to do so.

You may also like to look at the first ever Wiki, WikiWikiWeb. It's mainly about computer programming, and it works differently to other wikis you may be familiar with. All page titles on WikiWikiWeb had to have a one word (run together) title with capital letters part way through the word, like 'WelcomeVisitors'.

Resources

18. Read about the Library 2.0 movement

2007-11-12T13:19:00.000+11:00

What is Library 2.0?

The concept of Library 2.0 stems from the Business 2.0 and the Web 2.0 movements. This includes online services like the use of OPAC systems and an increased flow of information from the user back to the library. The Library 2.0 movement is really about innovation, people and community building. According to Wikipedia the vision of the Library 2.0 movement is accomplished through trust and by encouraging users to share ideas through writing, rating and commenting about everything in the library’s collection. Proponents of the the Library 2.0 concept expect that ultimately the Library 2.0 model for service will replace traditional, one-directional service offerings that have characterized libraries for centuries.

General principles of Library 2.0

It is difficult to identify the exact parameters of Library 2.0 since it is in a perpetual beta state. However, there seems to be a general consensus around the following principles:

Librarians are allowed to create resources for their users quickly and easily
Library Services are frequently evaluated and updated to meet the needs of users
Library collections are made available via open, personalized interactive services that encourage content creation, editing, commenting, bookmarking, rating, tagging etc. by users
Two way flow of information from the library to the user and from the user to the library
Libraries embrace radical trust
Libraries give users some measure of control
Librarians are knowledgeable about and utilize information tools favoured by users

Your task!

Read through a few of the opinions on the Library 2.0 movement that we provide, or search for blogs about Library 2.0 using Google or Technorati then write an entry in your blog on something you have learned about the Library 2.0 movement.

Resources

This task was written by Cleve Carvalho, Swinburne University

17. Play with del.icio.us

2007-11-12T13:15:00.000+11:00

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Categorise and share your bookmarks online!

Social bookmarking

de.icio.us is an online bookmarking manager. It allows you to add bookmarks and share them with others. It's great if you want access to your bookmarks from multiple locations, eg home and office.

Just like Flickr where you can organise your photos using tags, using del.icio.us you can also organise your bookmarks with tags any way you want to.

What makes del.icio.us attractive to its users is the social aspect. You may think you have found some great web sites and then you tag them, but you are also able to see what other people have bookmarked and see what else they have tagged that may be of interest to you. It's a great way of sharing interesting links with colleagues or friends.

Your Task

For this exercise, you need to visit del.icio.us and type something of interest to yourself into the search bar. Find another user's trail and you may just discover a new wealth of information. Let us know what you find and what you think of social bookmarking on your blog.

If you are really keen, sign up and become a del.icio.us user. It's a great way of keeping track of interesting websites, especially if you are someone that works from a few different locations or you want to share links with others.

Discovery Resources

del.icio.us Official site

This task was written by Andrea Scott, Swinburne University

16. Create your own iGoogle home page

2007-11-02T17:33:00.000+11:00

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Welcome to week eight of 23 Things. There is only one task this week, which is convenient because of the Melbourne Cup Day holiday.

Remember the list of Google products and services from last week? Imagine being able to access all of those products from the one website. This is what iGoogle allows you to do.

Google offers the ability to create a personalized iGoogle page that gives you at-a-glance access to key information from Google and across the web. On this self-designed page, you can choose and organize content such as:

Your Gmail email account
Headlines from Google News and other news sources
Weather forecasts, stock quotes, and movie showtimes
Bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites from any computer
Your own section with content you find from across the web
Google Book Search

Discovery Resources

Before completing any of the tasks below, you'll need to log in to your Google account using the email address and password you used in last week's tasks or when you created your Blogger blog.

iGoogle

Go to iGoogle (log in if you have to) and you'll see your new iGoogle home page. Now you can customise it.

Try adding the following gadgets:

Google Map Search gadget
Google Book Search gadget
One of the Facebook gadgets
Google Docs and Spreadsheet gadget

You can also search for a gadget to add to your home page.

Create a post in your blog page about this exercise. Don’t know what to write about? Think about these questions: Do you like iGoogle? What improvements would you suggest to Google? Would you like to work at Google?

This week's task was originally written by Kat Clancy of Deakin University

15. Play with Google Book Search

2007-10-29T11:51:00.000+11:00

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In 2004, Google announced a partnership with several large academic and public libraries to scan 15 million books within a decade. Out of this project, called the Google Print Library Project, eventually came the product Google Book Search.

Google Book Search now allows browsing and searching full text within hundreds of thousands of titles from publishers as well as titles in the public domain. Subject to copyright restrictions, Google Book Search allows either viewing and downloading (as a PDF) of an entire volume, or online viewing of portions of volumes only.

Your task

Visit Google Book Search and search for a book. I suggest Google: The Missing Manual by Sarah Milstein as it allows a limited preview.

The limited preview allows you to view the table of contents on the right hand side and view some segments of the book in the main panel. You can usually search within the full text, although some pages may not be available for viewing in the main view due to copyright restrictions.

You may also want to locate a public domain work. In the Google Book Search results page, click on 'Full View' to restrict your search only to works that are wholly available for viewing and download. This includes works in which the copyright term has expired, as well as works which the publisher has released into the public domain.

Make a blog post about Google Book Search. Is it a good idea?

This is the final task for week 7. Next week, you'll be having a look at iGoogle, another product from Google allowing you to create a customised home page. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed, next week will be more easy-going.

Resources

14. Play with Google Docs

2007-10-29T11:31:00.000+11:00

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Another application offered by Google is Google Docs. This is an online word processor and spreadsheet application.

Web based applications to rival desktop applications

New support of web technologies by current web browsers allows for more complex and interactive web applications to be made, and this proof of concept by Google shows that it is possible for a web application to act as an entire office suite.

Unlike a desktop application, there is nothing to install on your computer in order to use a web application. The application itself resides on a server somewhere on the web, and you only need your web browser to access it.

One main benefit of web based applications is that they can be accessed from any computer. This is good if you frequently switch computers or you want to be able to access or edit your documents from home and work. You could use it for notes to yourself or for important documents you want to access on various computers. If you don't have Microsoft Office, it can be an quick way of creating or editing a document.

Your task

Log in to Google Docs and create a new 'Document'. Notice the 'File' button near the top left. This gives you access to save or print the document, or to 'Export'. Saving the document keeps it in your Google account, so you can access it from any computer. When you want to send the document to someone as a Word document, you would use 'Export as Word'.

You should also try creating a spreadsheet by choosing 'New' and 'Spreadsheet'.

Write a blog post about Google Docs. How much competition do you think it poses to desktop office suites such as Microsoft Office?

Resources

13. Play with Google Maps

2007-10-29T11:12:00.000+11:00

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If you haven't heard of Google by now, I'm not sure what planet you have been living on, but it definitely hasn't been Earth. Everyone knows about the famous Google search engine, but did you know there is a complete suite of Google products that are available for the everyday user? These products include Gmail (web-based email), Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Maps, Google Calendar and Google Talk just to name a few. In the past few years Google has also bought out successful web companies such as Youtube and Picasa to add to their suite of products. Check out the full list of Google products and services.

In the last few years, there have been many reports that Google has become the new Microsoft. On the other hand, Google is offering web based applications at a minimal cost to the user - usually just exposure to some advertisements - and the new generation is utilising these applications more and more everyday. This week's task will introduce you to some Google applications including Google Maps, Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Google Book Search. Next week you will be able to join these applications together on your new Google homepage.

Discovery Resources

Google Maps allows you to find locations and businesses by typing in the address, or even by doing a search on the name. Try finding your Swinburne campus and your home on Google Maps.

You can use Google Maps to find directions from one location to another. For example, from the Prahran campus to the Wantirna campus. For this, you'll need to know both the start and finish address as a street location. Try finding directions from one location to another by going to 'Get directions' mode.

Google maps also allows you to view satellite imagery at a fairly high detail. You may be able to see your house, or even your car parked outside! When viewing any map in Google Maps, click on 'Satellite' or 'Hybrid' to view the satellite photo. You can zoom in to any area by gradually rolling your mouse wheel, or using the controls on the left of a map.

Finally, create a post in your blog telling the world about Google Maps. What did you think?

This task was originally written by Kat Clancy, Deakin University

12. Explore Myspace and Facebook

2007-10-15T14:02:00.000+10:00

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I'm sure you have heard of Myspace - and not necessarily in a positive light. Myspace has been criticised for security and child safety issues.

Myspace is a social networking website popular among teenagers and young adults. It allows people to set up a personal website featuring information about themselves, their interests and activities. You can browse, search, invite friends to connect and interact, share film reviews, make comments, post mail and blog entries, view videos, post classified ads and much more. Myspace now allows video and music sharing, online chat, and can even be browsed on mobile phones.

Some libraries have used Myspace to connect with their younger patrons. Read through the Discovery Resources links below to get an idea of what different libraries are doing in Myspace and what librarians are saying about it.

According to the statistics company Alexa Internet, Myspace is the sixth most popular site on the web, beating Wikipedia, Blogger, Ebay and Flickr. Over 150,000 new Myspace profiles are created daily.

Discovery Resources

Facebook

Facebook is also a social networking website. Initially starting as a way for college students to connect with friends, it is now open to anyone who wishes to join. People use Facebook to keep up with old friends, upload photos, share links and videos, and find out information about the people they meet.

Originally, the membership was restricted to students of Harvard University but since 2006 it has been open to all. Users can select to join one or more participating 'networks'. Networks exist for universities, workplaces and geographical regions.

In June 2007, Facebook was ranked in the top 10–20 web sites and was the number one site for photos in the United States, ahead of public sites such as Flickr, with over 8.5 million photos uploaded daily. It is also the seventh most visited site worldwide according to Alexa Internet. Time magazine reported in its 3 September 2007 issue that Facebook's fastest growing demographic consists of people 35 years or over.

Discovery Resources

Tasks

First, have a look at some of the ways libraries are using Myspace.

In order to explore Facebook, you'll need a Facebook account. Register for an account at Facebook.com and join. It will ask for lots of information about yourself, but remember that it is all optional. You only need to give as much information about yourself as you are comfortable giving.

With a Facebook account, you can now search for people. Try searching for a person you work with. You may even want to browse for Swinburne University's Facebook network and join it.

Write a blog post about your experience with Myspace and Facebook. You could discuss what implications the use of sites such as Myspace might have for libraries, or what benefit they could bring to libraries.

This week's task was originally written by Kat Clancy of Deakin University

11. Subscribe to some blogs

2007-10-08T13:12:00.000+10:00

For the final task this week, you'll learn how to find blogs on a particular topic of interest and keep up with them in your feed reader.

Technorati is a directory and search engine for blogs and blog posts. It lets you find blogs on any topic of interest to you. Technorati is not just a keyword-based search - it also tries to organise blogs using categories and tags.

Blogs on Technorati range from amateur, such as someone's travel blog, to professional. It also ranks blogs according to their authority - that is, according to how many other blogs link to items on each blog.

Your task

Your final task for this week is to locate some blogs about libraries and subscribe to them. You can find these using Technorati, a similar service such as Google Blog Search, or by following links from other people's blogs.

Don't forget to blog about this task as well, so we know what you're up to.

If you find a blog in Technorati and want to subscribe to it, click on the title of the blog. You'll then come to a page such as this one. Clicking the address just below the title, in this case http://www.laurenpressley.com/library/, will get you to the blog, where you can subscribe to it by following the instructions in the previous task.

Resources

Example library related blogs

10. Add some subscriptions

2007-10-08T12:49:00.000+10:00

Now that you have a feed reader set up, it's time to add some subscriptions. This task will guide you through the process of adding a subscription to digg, a technology news site whose content is contributed by users and decided by vote.

Digg

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the most popular news as voted on by its users. You won't find editors at Digg - Digg provides a place where people can collectively determine the value of content.

Digg is geek and American centric. However, over the past few weeks some Australian stories have made the front page of digg, including the Chaser antics and the OPEC forum.

Your tasks

Subscribe to digg.com through your feed reader.
Create a post in your blog telling the world about digg.com. Do you think this would be a good way to read the news in the future?

How to add a subscription in your feed reader

Go to the site you wish to subscribe to and look for the feed link somewhere on the site. It is usually a button looking somewhat like this:

Sometimes, however, it is called an "RSS feed" or "XML feed". More information is available at Google Reader's site.

Click on the feed button or link.

The following steps assume you are using Google Reader. If you are using another feed reader, such as Bloglines, you should find out how to subscribe to feeds at their respective website.

If you're using Mozilla Firefox, you should now see a preview of the feed. Subscribing is as easy as selecting Google from the drop-down box and selecting "Add to Google Reader".

If you're using Internet Explorer 6, you may just see some code. You will need to copy the address from the location bar in your browser (it starts with "http:") and go to Google Reader. Once in Google Reader, click the "Add subscription" button on the left hand side and paste the address you copied previously.

What's next?

Now, you might want to go and subscribe to some of your friends' blogs. Some blogs won't have a visible link to their feed, but they can still be subscribed to in most feed readers just by copying the address of the site when you add a subscription to your feed reader.

Resources

The section on Digg was originally written by Kat Clancy of Deakin University.

9. Set up a feed reader

2007-10-08T11:51:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

A feed reader, also known as an RSS reader, allows you to subscribe to many websites or blogs, and get updates to them all in one place.

For example, let's say that there are 10 or 20 different sites that you visit from time to time. These might include your friends' and family's blogs, and sites about topics that interest you. You probably don't have time to visit each of these websites every day, just to check if there's something new. If you hold subscriptions to these sites in your feed reader, however, all you need to do is open your feed reader and you'll see which of your subscribed sites have something new. The feed reader will list headings and summaries of new blog entries or news items at sites you've subscribed to.

It's now much easier to keep up, especially with sites and blogs that aren't often updated.

The reader will also keep track of which items you've read, and allow you to flag old items to come back to later.

To be able to subscribe to a site in a feed reader, the site must have a news feed. Virtually all blogs have a news feed. That even includes your own blog, and this one! Many other websites have news feeds too.

A news feed is usually indicated by this orange icon:

Alternatively, it may sometimes be referred to as "RSS", "Atom" or "XML", still often with an orange button.

or

Setting up a feed reader

There are two types of feed readers. Firstly, there are feed readers that you use on the web. All you need to do is create an account and log in. Examples of web-based feed readers include Google Reader and Bloglines. Secondly, there are feed readers which need to be downloaded and installed on your computer. The advantage of the first type, web-based readers, is that getting started is much quicker, and you can access them from any computer.

For this task, you'll need to set up a feed reader of your choice. If you are unsure of what you're doing, I'd recommend Google Reader.

Go to the Google Reader site. You probably already have a Google account. If you have a blog with Blogger it's the same account. Otherwise, create a Google account now. When you do so, you'll need to respond to their email entitled "Google Email Verification". Once you've done that, go back to Google Reader and you'll be ready to add some subscriptions.

What's next?

If you've managed to set up a feed reader, congratulations! Now you'll just need to add some subscriptions.

In the next couple of tasks, we'll guide you through the process of adding some subscriptions to your feed reader.

Further information

There are links at the bottom of this task with more information about feeds, if you are interested.

Technically, a feed is an XML file. It has one of three competing formats, two of which are called RSS, and the other called Atom. A website must have one of these files in order to be subscribed to and read in a feed reader. You shouldn't need to worry about which format you use, as feed readers support all of them.

Resources

8. Play with LibraryThing

2007-10-01T11:49:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

As our next adventure I would like you to take a look at LibraryThing. Whether you are a librarian, publisher, bookseller or just a lover of reading, LibraryThing allows you to catalogue your own titles and find people with similar reading tastes.

There are thousands of books already listed on LibraryThing - in most cases, adding a book to your personal catalogue is as simple as adding the ISBN, or the title and author.

LibraryThing also allows you to share your book collection with others and get book recommendations from other people with similar tastes. It doesn't make a difference if you have a large collection of books or just a handful of books.

It's also not just limited to new releases or best sellers - you can find interesting books you may never have otherwise picked up.

Your Task

Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
Add a few books to your library. These can be books you own or books you have read.
Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog!

Resources

This task was written by Andrea Scott.

7. Play with a funny image generator

2007-10-01T11:40:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

So, you may be wondering what an image generator is. Sounds like something you would take camping just so you can watch a movie in the middle of the bush. I'm not talking about those gas powered back-up things. The generators I'm talking about allow you to easily manipulate image and graphics to create fun images like these:

Your task

For this exercise, I just want you to have fun.

Have a play around with a few of the sites below or type the words 'image generator' into Google, and you may find some great sites yourself. Have a play around with some and write a post in your blog about one of your favorites and display the result.

Often adding the image you mocked up to your blog is as simple as copying and pasting code that the page provides. If not, you may need to right click on the image and then save it to your hard drive before using your blog's 'add image' button to add it to a blog post.

If you're having difficulty getting your image added to a post in your blog, ask a co-worker for help.

Discovery Resources

Also try searching for online generators and text generators!

This task was written by Andrea Scott.

6. Join a Flickr group

2007-09-24T11:20:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

At this point you should have created a Flickr Account and perhaps have also discovered some of the interesting and exciting features that Flickr offers. This exercise will take you a bit further into your exploration with Flickr.

What are Flickr groups?

Flickr groups are a great way to share photos and have conversations, either privately or with the world. The creation of “groups” with “pools” of photographs is one simple and basic way of sharing information about a subject, whether it is popular or esoteric. For example there are groups for people who wish to improve their photography. Members of the group can post photos for others to comment on and they can in turn comment on other's work. Flickr can also be a useful resource for obtaining photographic information about a subject (Bradley 2007). If you can’t find a group that is of interest to you, just start one of your own.

How to join a group!

Joining a group is simple and straightforward:

Log into your Flickr account
Click on the down-arrow by groups
Select “search a group”
Type in the name of the group
Select the title of the correct group from the result list
Click on the link to “join this group?” under the search box
On the next screen click on the link “Join this Group”

The strength of Flickr lies in its social networking, with participants working together to create many different “pools” of shared photos and a discussion board for talking.

So join a Flickr group!

Important: Remember to add this task as an entry in your blog!

Resources

References

[Bradley, P c. 2007, How to use Web 2.0 in your library, Facet Publishing, London]

This task was written by Cleve Carvalho.

5. Create a Flickr account

2007-09-24T11:13:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

What is Flickr?

Flickr is a free website to host your photos online. It is one of the fastest growing photo management and photo sharing sites on the web. Flickr allows you to upload your photos and tag them (describe them with keywords). You can arrange them into groups too, so they are easy to search for. Basically it is a way to display your photos publicly for family, friends and if you wish, the general public to access.

Explore Flickr!

For this exercise you are required to take a look at Flickr and discover what it has to offer.

Discover the things people and other libraries are using Flickr for
Find out how tags work
Find out what groups are

Then create a Flickr Account!

Register for a Flickr Account

A basic Flickr account is free. Since Flickr is owned by Yahoo! it is necessary to create a Yahoo! account first. If you already have one, you will be able to login to Flickr straight away. Creating an account takes just 3 easy steps. Just follow the necessary Yahoo! link which takes you to the sign up page and enter your details to register. You are then ready to sign into Flickr and register.

Important: Remember to add this task as an entry in your blog!

Resources

This task was written by Cleve Carvalho.

4. Comment on each others' blogs

2007-09-24T11:04:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

Hello, welcome to week 3 of 23 Things. To start the week we're encouraging you to have a look at the list of staff blogs and comment on a few of them.

If your blog is not on that list yet, you may want to go back and revisit tasks 2 and 3.

Blogging is not just about getting your message across. It's also for communication - other people can comment on what you have written, or respond to you on their own blog and link back to you. This is a public discourse. It could also be a way of starting arguments.

By now we have a nice list of staff blogs. You can see them on the wiki. You may not know which blog belongs to which person, but you can take a look at the blogs and see what they've written.

Your task

Go into a few other people's blogs and leave some comments. You may offer a word of encouragement, or read some people's reasons for blogging and tell them what you think of it.

Other people may comment on your blog.

Write a blog post about your experiences contributing to discussions on other people's blogs, and having people comment on your blog.

What's next?

You may want to keep watching some people's blogs for new posts and adding comments where-ever you feel like encouraging, helping out with a problem or responding to what they've written. There's even ways of subscribing to their blogs, but that will be covered in steps 9 to 11 of 23 Things.

Resources

3. Send us the link to your blog

2007-09-17T11:41:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

Show us your blog!

This is the second task for this week's activities. Before beginning this task, you should have created your very own blog and written a post in it. If not, complete the previous step now.

Your task

Your next task is to tell us about your blog. Remember, you can remain anonymous to everyone else if you like, except that you'll need to let the 23 Things committee know who you are...

To tell us about your blog, you'll need to use the 23 Things registration form.

Using your blog

From now on, you'll need to use your blog to write about each of the remaining 23 'things' you complete. We'll use this as a record of where you are up to in 23 Things.

Even though we number each task and have a weekly schedule, you may complete tasks out of order or move at your own pace. Don't feel bad about taking a break - there will always be help here when you come back!

More help

The front page of a blog (like this one) shows the entries in reverse order, with the newest entry at the top. That's one reason why blogs are suitable for news, where the latest information is usually the most relevant.

Next week

Next week we'll be commenting on each other's blogs, and looking at the website flickr.com.

Resources

2. Create your own blog and write something in it

2007-09-17T11:30:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

Welcome to the second week of 23 Things (17-21 September). Your first task for this week is to create your own blog and write something in it.

'blog' is short for 'web log'. It evolved from a 'web journal', like an online diary. Blogs serve different purposes. They are promotional tools, communication tools, social tools, or tools for sharing or commenting on news.

Why blog?

People blog because they want to share with others. They may share their opinions, rants on particular topics, or news from a holiday. They may even have a professional blog where they share views on their industry, or they may have a blog all about their cat.

When you're blogging, you can adopt any persona you like. One blogger adopted a persona they called Fake Steve Jobs and tried to write from the perspective of the co-founder of Apple.

Many companies have an 'official' blog, where they release news about the company and views about the industry. Some blogs are highly successful due to the personality of the blog's author. Some blogs have multiple authors.

Your task

You'll need to create your own blog. Have a look at Blogger.com and WordPress.com. You can get a free blog at either of these websites. Click the "Sign Up" or "Create a free blog" link to get started, and follow the directions.

I would also like you to write your very first post on your blog. You may want to introduce yourself, or your persona, and talk a bit about the 23 Things. Just go to your blog and click 'New Post'.

Over the course of 23 Things, you'll need to write a blog post about each 'thing' you complete. That will let the 23 Things committee know what you're up to.

Will you want to continue blogging after you've completed all 23 Things? Maybe you have ideas for other blogs.

Have a look at the links below for ideas on what to blog about, and why people blog.

Important: Bookmark your blog!

Save your blog to your bookmarks or favourites folder so you can return to it quickly later. You'll need to add an entry to it for each 23 Things task you complete.

Want to be anonymous?

If you prefer, you can create a blog under a pseudonym - you don't have to give your real name. The only people that will know whose blog it really is will be the 23 Things committee.

Have a blog already?

If you have a blog already, you're welcome to re-use it for 23 Things. However, part of 23 Things will involve blogging about the tasks you do throughout the 23 Things program. Therefore, if you're not comfortable adding entries about 23 Things to your existing blog, you may want to create a new blog at a free site.

Resources

1: Read about the 23 Things program

2007-09-10T11:57:00.000+10:00

Play audio introduction for this task

Welcome to the start of 23 Things. 23 Things is all about learning and playing with web technologies, so over the coming weeks you'll be experimenting with a lot of different online tools.

Each week, we'll have one or more tasks for you to do, and some more information for you to read.

Where to get help

If you get stuck using any of the tools we're using, there is plenty of help available.

You are not alone! Each campus has at least one 23 Things champion, who you can ask to help you complete a task.

You may also ask for help here on the 23 Things blog. Just leave a comment and we'll try and get back to you.

Your task

This week, all you need to do is read the list of 23 things you'll be doing and some of the additional information about where 23 Things came from and why we are doing it.

Next week

Next week, you'll learn how to create a blog with a service such as Blogger or Wordpress and add a blog post to it. Once you've created your blog, you can register your participation in 23 Things.

Resources

Welcome to 23 Things

2007-08-24T16:49:00.000+10:00

23 Things encourages library staff to explore and become familiar with current web technologies. 23 Things is a joint project between the libraries of Swinburne University and Deakin University. Read a welcome to the program by Swinburne's Derek Whitehead and Deakin's Anne Horn.

Swinburne library staff can progress through the program at their own pace, but incentives are given to staff for completing objectives, including a small gift after completing the first 13 items and a major prize draw slated for early 2008 for all those who have completed the entire program.

Staff will be expected to document their progress during the program by writing about each step on their own blog, and they will be able to track each others' progress on the wiki.

Some staff may already be familiar with many of the things listed in the 23 Things, while others may not be. Staff who, for example, already use a feed reader, or flickr, or del.icio.us will be at an advantage because they can use their existing accounts and experience.

The 23 Things

2007-08-23T16:53:00.001+10:00

Here are the 23 tasks. Return to this summary at any time using the 23 Things Swinburne button on the right.

As we progress through the program, each item in the list below will expand to become a link to more information.

Week 1: About 23 Things

1. Read about the 23 Things program

Week 2: Start a blog

2. Create your own blog and write something
3. Send us the link to your blog

Week 3: Blog comments and photo sharing

4. Comment on each others' blogs
5. Create a flickr account
6. Join a flickr group

Week 4: Play week

7. Play with a funny image generator
8. Play with LibraryThing

Week 5: RSS feeds and blogs

9. Set up a feed reader
10. Add some subscriptions
11. Subscribe to some blogs

Week 6: Get social

12. Explore MySpace and Facebook

Rest week

Congratulations, if you have completed all 12 Things so-far, you get a week off and a free gift!

Week 7: Google tools

13. Play with Google Maps
14. Play with Google Docs
15. Play with Google Book Search

Week 8: Google home page

16. Create your own iGoogle home page

Week 9: Social bookmarking and Library 2.0

17. Play with del.icio.us
18. Read about the Library 2.0 movement

Week 10: Wikis and video sharing

19. Put a photo of your pet on the wiki
20. Watch YouTube videos people have made about libraries

Week 11: Podcasts

21. Find and listen to a Podcast or two

Week 12: Second Life and libraries?

22. Read about Second Life and how libraries are using it

Week 13: 2007 conclusion

23. Give feedback about the program

Further tasks added in 2008

Introducing 23 Things + 5! 5 new tasks have been added to 23 Things for 2008:

1. Connect with colleagues using LinkedIn
2. Use VuFind to search a library catalogue
3. Use KartOO visual meta search engine
4. Try Voyage RSS feed reader
5. Read about the Semantic web

How to get help

2007-08-21T17:05:00.000+10:00

Need help with the 23 things? There are various ways you can ask for assistance.

Everybody else is in the same boat as you; trying asking someone else for help.
Every campus has at least one 23 Things champion, who is there to help you when you're really stuck.
Leave comments on this blog asking for help and they will be answered!