Embed Flickr photos in blogs and web pages

We're covering Flickr in the Web 2.0 class this week, so I decided to create some documentation on how to embed Flickr photos in blog posts, web pages, and other web-based tools (like Sakai discussion posts). Since we're covering Flickr, I created this documentation in Flickr as a series of three screenshots with write-ups in the description fields. I thought I'd share them here too, in case others find them useful. Just click on each image to go to a larger version in Flickr.

Digital divide, Web 2.0, and the real world

Here's a wonderfully written and thoughtful short essay from John Gehner, originally posted to the PUBLIB list, then republished on the website of the Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of ALA. It provides a nice counterpoise to much of the breathless reportage on Libraries 2.0.

Upload video to YouTube from your cell phone

At Tech Talk yesterday, we talked about uploading video to YouTube from video-enabled cell phones. It's possible! Allen found an announcement on C-Net from last May about it, and I searched the YouTube Help Center this morning and found instructions. So fire up those video phones and share your masterpieces with the world!

A Web 2.0 Experience

I had an interesting web 2.0 experience last week. I got a message on Flickr from a woman who wanted permission to use one of my photos in a software program she was creating for autistic children. I'm not sure how she found the photo, a picture of my son taken on vacation last summer, since it's tagged only with my son's name:



Apparently her software uses pictures to illustrate concepts like listening, to help autistic kids make the connection between words and their meanings. If you want to know more, you can visit her web site at http://www.hiyah.net/software.html.

Anyway, this experience got me thinking a bit about how web 2.0 technologies can bring people together in amazing new ways. How would this woman have found photos for her software before sites like Flickr became available? She would likely either have to purchase stock photos or take her own, either of which would increase the cost of producing her programs. And would I have ever gotten in touch with someone like her? Probably not. Web 2.0 sites like Flickr and YouTube bring people together based on the content they create, rather than stated interests, geographic proximity, etc. And we never know who will be interested in our content, or for what purpose. We just put it out there, tag it, and see what happens.

Chief Thingamabrarian

Chief Thingamabrarian is Tim Spalding, creator of LibraryThing. An article in the current issue of Library Journal features an interview with Spalding in which he talks about integrating LibraryThing into library catalogs, providing an inexpensive way for libraries to offer tagging, reviews, ratings, etc. I'll be interested to see how the new features work. With any luck, he'll give the traditional (and expensive) vendors a run for their money.

Infomania

A story from the Seattle PI reports on a 2-day workshop at Microsoft last week devoted to "infomania" -- "the loss of concentration caused by the constant electronic interruptions that plague many office workers." The article notes some possible technological solutions to the problem (my favorite: a snooze button for email) and also notes that many people overuse Reply to All and copy people who really don't need to receive the message. The article ends with a few tips for managing email and information overload. Worth a read if only to reassure us that we aren't alone in dealing with this problem.

Social Networking Awards

Mashable.com just posted their 2006 social networking awards. The post serves as a useful directory of social networks by category--general ones like MySpace and Facebook, plus social networks for video, photos, music, etc. I've only heard of about a fifth of the ones they mention; clearly I'm behind the times.

Friends and Identity on Social Networking Sites

I just finished reading a fascinating piece in First Monday called Friends, Friendsters, and Top 8: Writing Community Into Being on Social Network Sites, which analyzes the relationship between choosing online friends and constructing identity on social networking sites. If you’re interested in social networking, it’s worth a read. FYI, I wrote a detailed blog post about the article on my personal blog at http://crumj.blogspot.com/2006/12/friends-and-identity-on-social.html — definitely an optional read :-)

Meebo and Librarians

There's a nice post on the Meebo blog (meeblog » Blog Archive » librarian love) about librarians and Meebo. Apparently librarians are beginning to put the Meebo Me widget on library web pages to make it easy for patrons to open chat sessions. The comments on the post are also fascinating. A common theme is that Meebo allows people to circumvent filtering software, common in libraries and workplaces, that blocks access to chat programs.

If you want to see a Meebo widget, take a look at my staff page; I have one embedded in the top righthand corner.

Ripping DVDs may never be the same again | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Here's a column that summarizes an interesting copyright case, Paramount Pictures v. Load 'N Go Video:
Ripping DVDs may never be the same again | Perspectives | CNET News.com

This case potentially could be a landmark in digital copyright history.

The Google Divide - October 15, 2006 - Library Journal

Check out John Berry III's editorial in Library Journal about generational differences and resistance to change:
The Google Divide - October 15, 2006 - Library Journal

Maybe fodder for a TechTalk discussion sometime?

Do you agree?

Here's an interesting quote from Max Frisch:

Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn't have to experience it.

Agree? Disagree? Let the discussion begin.

FYI for those who care, here's a link to the quote on The Quotations Page:

Quote Details: Max Frisch: Technology is a way... - The Quotations Page

ALA TechSource | My Avatar Wears Tight Jeans and 4 Other Things I Learned from Internet Librarian 2006

Here's a great post from Michael Stephens on this year's Internet Librarian conference:
ALA TechSource | My Avatar Wears Tight Jeans and 4 Other Things I Learned from Internet Librarian 2006

Lots of links to interesting stuff. Have any of you checked out Second Life yet? I plan to do so in my (ahem) spare time.

And here's a great quote:

We should insist on features that our "power users" (our Superpatrons?) want, "because these are the features that the average user will want two years from now."

Wish I could've been at the conference.

Social sites becoming too much of a good thing / Many young folks burning out on online sharing

From the San Francisco Chronicle, an article on social networking burnout:
Social sites becoming too much of a good thing / Many young folks burning out on online sharing

Apparently many social networkers with accounts on multiple sites find that maintaining their online presence in so many places is exhausting. It'll be interesting to see how much consolidation takes place. In the meantime, if your friends are divided amongst several sites, it could be challenging. Maybe what we need is some kind of mashup to connect MySpace, Friendster, TagWorld, Facebook, etc., into one big social space, kind of like the way Meebo lets you consolidate all your instant messaging accounts in one convenient place. Give it time...

Comments sought on draft report

From the ALA newsletter, for those looking to include their two cents:

"R. David Lankes and Joanne Silverstein have produced a draft of Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation and are looking for comments, feedback, corrections, and additions. The report, produced for the OITP, describes how Web 2.0 technologies can impact the various conversational modes of a working library.... "

A Tour of .Mobi

This week's ResearchBuzz includes an entry on .mobi, the newest top-level domain. It's reserved for sites designed for mobile devices like cell phones and PDAs. See A Tour of .Mobi

And if you haven't checked out ResearchBuzz, do! It's a great source of information on new and interesting sites and trends.

Solutions from PC Magazine: Save the World with Your Screensaver

Remember the SETI@Home project, which lets users install a screensaver that searches for extraterrestrial life while you aren't using your computer? Now there are more projects that use this model, called grid computing. While it's otherwise idle, your computer can search for cancer treatments, help find a cure for Parkinson's Disease... or help SETI find extraterrestrials. PC Magazine provides a nice overview of some grid computing projects and how you can participate. See Solutions from PC Magazine: Save the World with Your Screensaver

Youths no longer predominant at online hangouts with half of MySpace users 35 and up

Can it be that MySpace is growing up? According to this newspaper article:
Youths no longer predominant at online hangouts with half of MySpace users 35 and up

41 percent of MySpace users are 35-54. The article talks about some of the other social networking sites too but doesn't mention one of the newest, TagWorld.

I wonder how many of these sites will be around in a couple of years, how many will merge, and how many will simply die from lack of market share. I also wonder if these sites will actually be able to make money. They're valued quite highly, but then so were a lot of dot.com companies a few years ago. Time will tell.

Web sites mentioned at the last Tech Talk meeting

I just unearthed my notes from last week's Tech Talk meeting and found a list of web sites Andrew showed us. I'm posting them here, so we can refer back to them.

http://zoomr.com
http://www.experienceproject.com
http://www.blish.com (buy and sell digital content)
http://www.wize.com (comparison shopping)
http://www.viewscore.com (more comparison shopping)
http://www.mycroftnetwork.com

Many thanks to Andrew for bringing these to our attention!

A few items from today's meeting

Another great TechTalk meeting today! This post includes links to stuff I talked about. I hope others who presented or mentioned sites will post their links too, so we have a record of what was covered. Here's mine:

• Rethinking How We Provide Bibliographic Services for the University of California, the final report of the UC Bibliographic Services Task Force
  
• Meebo, web-based instant messaging (with widgets)

And one last thing: The first e-mail I read when I returned to my office after TechTalk was American Libraries Direct. It contained a link to an amazing story from the LA Times about a Mississippi Delta librarian's last day on the job. I am struck by the contrast between what he dealt with every day and the fascinating technology discussion I just left. I feel very privileged to do what I do, but I also feel very privileged to be part of a profession that includes this man and his library. Read it for yourself and realize how much libraries matter.