#9 Explore Flickr

Flickr is an online photo management and sharing website that has been around since the 90’s. It is a place for social networking through images. Flickr is one of the fastest growing photo sharing sites on the web in part due to its organization tools. A popular feature of this site is the use of keyword tags to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site. In addition to photo sharing, Flickr has now partnered with Picnik, a photo editing program known for its ease of use.

For this exercise, you will need to explore Flickr. Check out the site to learn all about tags, groups, and Picnik. Don’t forget to have some fun too!

Find Out More:

• Flickr tour

• Flickr Tutorial

• Flickr Services

Try It Out!

In this discovery exercise you have 2 options…

1. Explore Flickr and blog about an interesting image. In your blog, be sure to include a link to the image.

--OR--

1. Challenge yourself. Create your own Flickr account. It is completely free of charge and is very simple. Use the MMSCL digital camera (available in the Tech Services department) or your own digital camera to capture a few pictures. Upload these images to your Flickr account and tag at least one of your images “MMSCL2.0” and mark it public. Then create a post in your blog describing the photo. Be sure to include the image in your post. Once you have a Flickr account, you have two options for doing this: through Flickr's blogging tool or using Blogger's photo upload feature.

When uploading images, please be aware of Flickr’s community guidelines.

Let’s Go!

Here’s your chance to have some fun. Go explore Flickr. If you’re interested in looking at some other photo hosting sites, check out this list at Wikipedia.

Create a blog posting about your Flickr experience. Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.

#8 - Find a video on YouTube

Online video hosting sites that allow users to easily share videos on the web have become incredibly popular within the past few years. YouTube, an independent subsidiary of Google Inc. is currently the worldwide leader among these sites.

Everyone can participate in the YouTube community by watching, sharing, and commenting on videos. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, relive their favorite TV moments, find videos about their hobbies and interests, discover new artists and filmmakers, and even uncover the quirky and unusual.

As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to share their experiences, talents, and expertise with the world.

Some of the site's features include:

• Video embedding: Users can insert a YouTube video into Facebook and MySpace accounts, blogs, or other Web sites where anyone can watch them.
• Public or private videos: Users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with friends and family upon upload.
• Subscriptions: Users are able to keep track of their favorite users' new videos.

Do some searching around YouTube yourself and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from why I love my library to library dominos, kids being kids, the evolution of dance and Kool-Aid commercials. Of course, like any free site 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 too offer. (Try searching for a how-to video like how to knit)

Try It Out!

1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
   
2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?
3. Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.
   

OPTIONAL: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.

#7 The Power of Library Thing

Are you book lover or cataloger at heart? Or do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read? Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title -- It’s so easy that you don’t even need MARC record training to do it – or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget to display titles that are in your catalog or install a LT Search box on your blog.

So why not join the ranks and create your own library online. With over 65,000 registered (BTW: LibraryThing also has group forum for librarian users and with over 4.7 million cataloged books, you're bound to discover something new.)


Find Out More:

• About LibraryThing
  
• Library Thing tour
  
• LibraryThing blog (updates & news)

Try It Out!

1. Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
   
2. Add a least 3 books to your library.
3. Do a search for James Patterson's 7th Heaven in our catalog. Scroll down and check out the tag cloud that appears at the bottom of the page. This tag cloud is pulled from tags assigned by everyday people in their LibraryThing account, tapping into the power of folksonomies - using common tags to classify items. The more people that use the same tag for the same item, the larger and more prominent (and most likely more relevant) that tag will appear in the tag cloud. This does not replace traditional subject headings, but does provide an alternative way for users to access and find new content in the catalog. What do you think of this approach?
   
4. Blog about your findings and link to your LibraryThing catalog in your blog posting.

Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.

#6 Learn about tagging and discover Delicious (a social bookmarking site)

Tagging is an open and informal method of labeling online content (webpages, pictures and posts) with words that have meaning to you. A tag is simply a word that describes the item you are tagging (i.e. using "dog" as a tag to describe a picture of your dog).

Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e.Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data any way they want.

Delicious is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks.

Many users find that the real power of Delicious is in the social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other websites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another users' filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.

Find Out More:

Delicious About page


Try It Out!

Take a look at Delicious and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.

1. Read the Learn More about Delicious page.

2. Take a look around Delicious using the MMSCL account (username: MMSCLtest; password: explore20) that was created for this exercise and tag an interesting website with the tag MMSCL 2.0 and any other tags you think are relevant.

3. Explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags that they used to categorize this reference?

4. Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere? What do you think of the tag cloud that is used in our OPAC (scroll down to view the tag cloud)?

Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.

#5 Myspace & Facebook

MySpace and Facebook are two popular social networking sites. Social networks allow users to connect with people with similar interests in a virtual community. Typically users are allowed to post pictures and information about themselves and exchange information with other users.

MySpace and Facebook are very broad social networks that focus on finding new friends and keeping in touch with existing friends, family and coworkers. They are far from the only social networks out there. There are thousands of niche social networks, such as Ravelry, a social network just for knitters or Fuzzster, a social network for pet-lovers and their pets.


Find Out More:

Facebook New Users Guide

MySpace Quick Tour

MySpace Safety Tips

Try It Out!

1. Visit the Community Library on MySpace and Facebook:

• Go to our website
• Find the links to the Library Facebook and MySpace accounts on the top right of the screen
• Explore the Library sites!

2. View the Library on Facebook. How many fans does the Library Facebook page have?
Fan the Facebook page if you already have an account (being a Fan shows your support, but doesn't allow the business to view your personal account if your account is set to private). Can you find other libraries that also have a presence on Facebook? Are there other items that you think the Library should feature on this page?

3. View the general Library page on MySpace and the Teen page on MySpace. Browse the page and find two interesting elements on the site. Describe these elements in your blog posting (see below).

4. Create a posting on your blog describing your experiences with Facebook and MySpace. How were they similar? How did they differ? Did one appeal to you more? Why do you think social networking appeals to such a broad group of people and how do you think the Library can tap into that potential?

Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.

#4 Twittering & Microblogging

Twitter is a "microblogging" service in which users express themselves in "tweets" - posts of 140 characters or less, answering the question at the top of the page: "What are you doing?" You follow other users and read about their lives and thoughts in short bursts. All sorts of people are twittering - CNN, Newsday, even Shaquille O'Neal. It's a great way to express yourself quickly and to get quick updates on friends and world events.



Find out More:

Birds of a Feather Can Twitter Together (good introduction to Twitter)

Twitter: Is Brevity The Next Big Thing?

5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good

Twitter Support/FAQ



Try It Out!

• Log into the Library's Twitter Account
• Go to: http://www.twitter.com
• user name: mmscl
• password: mmscl11967

• Read the tweets that MMSCL is following - you'll see breaking news, trivia and some goofy stuff
  

• Post about a program or recommended book or movie - remember, it's got to be under 140 characters!

• Start your own twitter account! You can friend MMSCL and lots of other Twitterers.

• Go back to the blog you created in exercise #3 and create a blog post about your experience. Include the comment you made on the MMSCL twitter account. Be sure to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting.

_____________________________________________________

Recording Progress:


Recording progress on the staff page is as easy as cut-n-paste.

First you'll need to sign up. This will be covered in the directions for activity #1.

For the first two activities, just check off the appropriate check box as discussed in "Sign up for MMSCL 2.0". Once you start recording your discoveries through your own blog (activity #3), you will need to check-off the item and enter the permanent link to the individual blog post that covers the exercise or "thing."

Depending upon the Blogger template that you selected, the "permanent link" for each individual post can be found either through the post’s title or through a link in the posts footer area the contains the date.

To record progress for an individual item on the Staff Page:

1. Log in to your blogger.com account that you created in activity #3.
   
2. Click on the permanent link for the individual post.
   
   Example:
   
   Here is where you would find the perma link for this sample blog post:
   
   
   Click on this link to see actual post.
   
   
3. Select the "permanent link" url from the address bar at the top of your browser and right click. Select Copy.
   
   
4. Follow the instructions from item #1: Sign up for MMSCL 2.0.
   
   
5. Right click on the address line for the item and select Paste.
   
   

See, it's as easy and copy-n-paste!

Your staff information page should now show a light grey "OK" image. After your activity has been reviewed and approved, the "OK" image will turn purple.

#3 Creating a blog in three easy steps

Now that you’ve done some exploring around this website and understand how this program will work, it’s time to setup your very own personal blog to begin recording your thoughts, discoveries and exercises in. For this program, I recommend that you use Blogger*, a popular free online blog hosting service that is extremely easy to use.

Creating a blog using Blogger takes just three steps:

1. Create an account (view screenshot)
2. Name your blog (view screenshot)
3. Select your template. (view screenshot)

Once you’ve created your blog here are two important things to know:

• To add posts: The maintenance interface that you will use to add posts, edit or change the step-up your blog is accessed online at http://www.blogger.com/ Be sure to write down your login and password.

• To view your blog: Your blog address is http://(xxxx).blogspot.com, (xxxx)=the unique identifier you entered in Step 2. Be sure to also write down your blog address.

Find Out More:

• Blogger’s Quick Tutorial

OK -- Now, it’s your turn...


Try It Out!

1. Setup a blog for yourself through Blogger.
   
   
2. Add a post about your thoughts on the program so far.
   
   
3. Have fun!!!!

IMPORTANT NOTE: How you choose to identify yourself on your blog is your choice. You can blog under a screen name, anonymously, or as yourself. However, in order to qualify for the staff incentives, you will need to visit the staff page to submit this exercise as described in exercise #1. Don't forget to add a link to your blog posting. Visit the Recording Progress section (at the bottom of the page) of the 17 Learning Activities page for help finding the permanent link to your blog entries.

* Use of Blogger is only a recommendation. If there is another blog hosting site that you are more comfortable with, please feel free to use it.