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October 31, 2007
BOO!
Boo!!!
Happy Halloween.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:15 PM | Comments (2)
October 27, 2007
Rural Libraries Conference
I had the great honour to address the Association for Rural & Small Libraries / Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship Conference in Ohio. Here are the slides:
Looking at the Future:
Is there one for Rural and Small Libraries
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)
Iowa Library Association
I made my first visit to Iowa for the Iowa Library Association Conference in Coralville. It was very nice. I did two presentations:
Social Libraries:The 2.0 Phenomenon
Baby Busters, Gen-X and Born Digital Babies
Millennials Information Behaviors
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)
Richland Public Library, SC
I had the great opportunity to do two talks for Richland PL. Their main branch is just amazing. Here's the slides:
Social Libraries:
The 2.0 Phenomenon
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)
Internet Librarian International
On the way back from OZ I did the keynote for Internet Librarian International for InfoToday. It was fun. Here are the slides:
Next Generation Libraries:The 2.0 Phenomenon
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)
State Library of Victoria, Australia
Another part of the Australia trip was in Melbourne where I visited the State Library of Victoria. What an amazing place. Anyway, they were leading a statewide 23 Things / Learning 2.0 movement. Also, an amazing effort.
Here are the slides I spoke to:
2010 Tech Forecast:
Library 2.0 Learning in the Real World
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)
State Library of Victoria, Australia
Another part of the Australia trip was in Melbourne where I visited the State Library of Victoria. What an amazing place. Anyway, they were leading a statewide 23 Things / Learning 2.0 movement. Also, an amazing effort.
Here are the slides I spoke to:
2010 Tech Forecast:
Library 2.0 Learning in the Real World
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)
CODA Presentation
Another part of my Australia trip this month was to do a speech for the SirsiDynix CODA (Customers of Dynix Australia) Conference in Canberra. Here's the PPTs:
Top 10 Strategies for Library Success
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:41 AM | Comments (1)
Australian School Libraries Association
I had a wonderful trip to Australia again this autumn / spring / October. One part of that trip was to do a speech to the Australian School Libraries Association. Here are the slides:
Building a better learner
Millennials Information Behaviors
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2007
Lots of Social Networking Options
350+ Social Networking sitesOctober 24th, 2007 by Jim Spadaccini
"Mashable - the Social Networking News blog has put together an exhaustive list of 350+ social networking sites that it has covered over the last few years. As you can imagine, there is a site for just about every possible social activity and niche group — from microblogging to hip hop fans. While the list is overwhelming, it is fascinating to read the descriptions. And of course, the Web 2.0 names, such as Pazap, Lawyrs, Genoom, Fotki, Kinzin, Minti, and XuGa, provide some entertainment value."
With all the excitement and debate around Microsoft's investment into Facebook and the MySpace role in the community. we should remember that there are a lot of options for private social sites.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:00 PM | Comments (1)
October 24, 2007
Facebook Ads
As reported by PaidContent.org:
"Facebook Gathers Ad Execs For A First Look At Targeting Plans
By David Kaplan - Tue 23 Oct 2007 07:16 PM PST
Facebook has been sending select advertising executives a cryptic invitation to an event on Nov. 6, during which the company promises to "unveil a new way of advertising online." An AdAge piece cites unnamed sources who say that the event will detail how Facebook will target ads to its members even when they're not on the site. The ad targeting will be based on personal information users have willingly shared with the social net.
Late last month, Facebook trademarked the term "SocialAds." Citing Facebook's trademark filing, AdAge said the term is identified as "advertising and information distribution services, namely, providing advertising space via the global computer network [and] promoting the goods and services of others over the internet." According to the filing, the trademark concept's first use was Sept. 20.
One unnamed source who spoke to AdAge about Facebook's plans said the company views SocialAds as a way to challenge Google's ad targeting services. Still, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) targets users with ads based on their searches, a different proposition than targeting consumers' online behavior based on a set of self-conscious - sometimes even deceptive - descriptions. "
Google is already training for SEO and adwords sales based on GIS. All politics may be local but so are ads.
I suppose Google Scholar ads are next... that sweet spot of young targets.
Oh yeah, and apparently Microsoft won the right to invest in/partner with Facebook yesterday. Life is getting interesting in the design-the-new-world-order space. Announcement soon.
Are we comfortable selling our students for 'free' access, apps and content? Are we doing enough training for them be aware of their rights with stuff?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 3:22 PM | Comments (0)
Libray of Congress misplaces 13%
From today's Washington Post:
Materials Missing At Library Of Congress
13 Percent of Collection Misplaced, Survey Finds
By James V. Grimaldi and Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 24, 2007; Page C01
About one-sixth of the books, monographs and bound periodicals at the Library of Congress weren't where they were supposed to be because of flaws in the systems for shelving and retrieving materials, according to a survey to be made public at a congressional hearing today.
Follow the link for the full article. (The number was originally 17% couldn't be found.)
Now this is at a non-circulating library....!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 3:18 PM | Comments (0)
Scary Google
It's nice to see some critical thinking going on about Google - finally.
Check out this post:
October 23, 2007
Big brother Google is tracking you
If libraries and library associations claim to be huge protectors of user privacy . . .where do we stand on this issue?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 3:12 PM | Comments (3)
October 23, 2007
Two New From the Pew
Here are two new reports of interest from the Pew
Broadband: What's All the Fuss About? 10/18/2007 by John Horrigan
"The impacts of high-speed connections extend beyond access to information to active
participation in the online commons. Today, with nearly half of all Americans having high-speed internet connections at home, onlineinter activity means something different for a lot of Americans.2 Many-to-many communication is now buttressed by many-to-many participation in the online world through user-created media."
Teens and Online Stranger Contact
10/14/2007 by Aaron Smith
The Internet - It just keeps getting harder to understand.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)
What does a toybox for geeks look like?
Check out David Lee King's Techie Toybox post.
He describes the lovely range gadgets he has for all staff to play and learn with at Topeka and Shawnee Public library. He even says why.
Cool. It's here.
I've loved this concept since I first saw the Technology Petting Zoo at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County. The Gadget Garage sessions at Internet Librarian and SLA have been fun too.
It's always nice to pet and covet these digital dreams in person. How do your staff play?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:17 PM | Comments (0)
Top US Social Networking Sites
"Nielson/NetRatings has put out a report on the top 10 social sites and blog sites. I think there are some interesting findings such as Myspace still being on top of the social space. “MySpace.com continues to sit comfortably atop the rankings of top US social-networking sites with 58.6 million unique visitors in September, according to a custom list of top US social networking sites.”
Here are the Oct. 2007 rankings:
1. MySpace
2. Facebook
3. Classmates Online
4. Windows Live Spaces
5. AOL Hometwon
6. Reunion.com
7. LinkedIn
8. AOL People Connection
9. Club Penguin
10. Buzznet
What no Webkinz!? Orkut? Plaxo? I am only slightly embarrassed to say I belong or have belonged to the majority of these. Just call it research. Yes, that's the ticket.
Check it out.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:17 PM | Comments (1)
CARL Stats are out
I'm sure this will be more easily ordered by non-members on the CARL website soon.
Stephen
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES /
ASSOCIATION DES BIBLIOTHÈQUES DE RECHERCHE DU CANADA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OTTAWA (October 22, 2007) –BORROWING OF LAPTOP COMPUTERS A POPULAR TREND IN CANADIAN RESEARCH LIBRARIES
According to the newly-released CARL Statistiques 2005-2006 Statistics, more than half of CARL member libraries (16) reported the lending of laptops as a service to users. A number of libraries also provide wireless Ethernet cards. These are two of the many ways in which today’s research library supports students, teachers and researchers.
Demand for electronic resources continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Electronic journal titles available at CARL libraries totalled 865,154 in 2005-2006 - an increase of over 42% over the previous year. Canadian research libraries benefited from the strengthening of the Canadian dollar, spending slightly less than $105 million dollars to acquire these titles; only an 11% increase over last year. Twenty-five CARL libraries are digitizing selected collections to provide easier access to patrons.
In other developments, electronic reference services increased significantly: email reference services are now offered in 28 libraries and 20 offer ‘chat’ reference services.
“Canadian research libraries have changed enormously over the last decade.” stated Richard Ellis, former University Librarian, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of the accompanying Commentary on the Statistics. “We are providing increased electronic resources, more group study space, longer hours of service and increased remote access to serve our users better.
The 29 reporting CARL member libraries spent $250 232 472 on materials in 2005–2006. They hold over 83 million volumes and subscribe to almost 924,000 journals.
“Access to the best, most complete and most up-to-date information resources is critically important for the Canadian research community” stated Mme. Sylvie Belzile, Directrice, Service des bibliothèques, Université de Sherbrooke, and Chair of the CARL Committee on Effectiveness Measures and Statistics. “The 2005-2006 edition of the CARL Statistics provides full and timely information on the steps we are taking to reach this goal.
CARL is the leadership organization for the Canadian research library community. The Association’s members are the 27 major academic research libraries across Canada plus Library and Archives Canada, the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) and the Library of Parliament.
-30-
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Mme Sylvie Belzile
Chair, CARL Committee on Effectiveness Measures and Statistics
Sylvie.belzile@uSherbrooke.ca
819.821.8000 x 3556
Ms. Katherine McColgan
Project Coordinator, CARL
Katherine.McColgan@uottawa.ca
613.562.5800 x 2768
ORDERING INFORMATION
carladm@uottawa.ca
or consult the website at www.carl-abrc.ca
Posted by stephen at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)
Parents and Web Safety
Another great (long) post from the blog Moving at the Speed of Creativity
Research finds positive parent behaviors and attitudes related to Internet safety and use
By Wesley Fryer
According to the September 25, 2007 press release from Cable in the Classroom, “New Poll Finds That Parents Are Taking Proactive Steps To Keep Kids Safe And Smart On The Web.”
Great text.
Great charts
Useful info
It puts the responsibility for parenting in the new Millennium squarely where it belongs.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)
Current State of eLearning
The Sloan Consortium has just released a report titled Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. You can download Your free copy here. (31 page PDF)
It is the "fifth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year’s study, like those for the previous four years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, the study addresses the following key questions:"
"1. How Many Students are Learning Online?
Background: For the past several years, online enrollments have been growing substantially faster than overall higher education enrollments. The expectation of academic leaders has been that these enrollments would continue their substantial growth for at least another year. Do the measured enrollments match these lofty expectations?
The evidence: Online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, albeit at slower rates than for previous years.
- Almost 3.5 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2006 term; a nearly 10 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.
- The 9.7 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.5 percent growth of the overall higher education student population.
- Nearly twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2006.
2. Where has the Growth in Online Learning Occurred?
Background: Earlier studies in this series have demonstrated that not all institutions of higher education are equally enthusiastic about online education. It can be expected, therefore, that the long-term growth rates for online enrollments will differ by type of institution.
The evidence: Virtually all types of institutions of higher education have shown substantial growth, but with some clear leaders.
- Two-year associate’s institutions have the highest growth rates and account for over one-half of all online enrollments for the last five years.
- Baccalaureate institutions began the period with the fewest online enrollments and have had the lowest rates of growth.
3. Why do Institutions Provide Online Offerings?
Background: The growth of online enrollments has been abundantly clear. Less clear, however, is why colleges and universities are moving to online. What specific objectives do they hope to achieve through their online courses and programs?
The evidence: Improving student access is the most often cited objective for online courses and programs. Cost reduction is not seen as important.
- All types of institutions cite improved student access as their top reason for offering online courses and programs.
- Institutions that are the most engaged in online education cite increasing the rate of degree completion as a very important objective; this is not as important for institutions that are not as engaged in online learning.
- Online is not seen as a way to lower costs; reduced or contained costs are among the least-cited objectives for online education.
- The appeal of online instruction to non-traditional students is indicated by the high number of institutions which cite growth in continuing and/or professional education as an objective for their online offerings.
4. What are the Prospects for Future Online Enrollment Growth?
Background: Compound annual enrollment growth rates of over twenty percent are not sustainable. The demand for online among potential students is finite, as is the ability of institutions to grow existing offerings or add new ones. Where can we expect the additional growth to occur?
The evidence: Approximately one-third of higher education institutions account for three-quarters of all online enrolments. Future growth will come predominately from these and similar institutions as they add new programs and grow existing ones.
- Much of the past growth in online enrollments has been fueled by new institutions entering the online learning arena. This transition is now nearing its end; most institutions that plan to offer online education are already doing so.
- A large majority (69 percent) of academic leaders believe that student demand for online learning is still growing.
- Virtually all (83 percent) institutions with online offerings expect their online enrollments to increase over the coming year.
- Future growth in online enrollments will most likely come from those institutions that are currently the most engaged; they enroll the most online learning students and have the highest expectations for growth.
5. What are the Barriers to Widespread Adoption of Online Education?
Background: Previous studies in this series have shown that academic leaders have consistently commented that their faculty often do not accept the value of online learning and that it takes more time and effort to teach an online course. To what extent do these leaders see these and other issues as critical barriers to the widespread adoption of online learning?
The evidence: Identification of the most important barriers differs widely between those with online offerings and those who do not offer any. Current results replicate our previous studies in identifying faculty acceptance and the need for more discipline on the part of students as the most common concerns.
- Academic leaders cite the need for more discipline on the part of online students as the most critical barrier, matching the results of last year’s survey.
- Faculty acceptance of online instruction remains a key issue. Those institutions most engaged in online do not believe it is a concern for their own campus, but do see it as a barrier to more wide-spread adoption of online education.
- Higher costs for online development and delivery are seen as barriers among those who are planning online offerings, but not among those who have online offerings.
- Academic leaders do not believe that there is a lack of acceptance of online degrees by potential employers."
This lots to learn from ths growing opportunity for libraries. Maybe next year they'll cover library issues in the report! Of course, most library services would have to be ubiquitously and usefully available to the distance learner in their context. I wonder how many librariues have full formed liaison teams with their e-learning developers and lecturers?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)
New OCLC Research Report on Social Networking
I was thrilled to read an advance copy of this report this past weekend to the OCLC Members Council meeting. As usual. these OCLC research reports are transformational and excellent. Run - don't walk to read online or print your copy (in colour the chatrs won't be useful in B&W) or order a print version.
I am still reading this huge report but one stat stood out:
"Less than 20% of US Library directors see a role for social networks in libraries." (page 5-5 and beyond) All I can say, is if you're running social institutions and your users are there, how do you you figure that?
Let the debates begin.
OCLC releases new international research study
DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 22 October 2007—OCLC, the world's largest library research and service organization, has released the third in a series of reports that scan the information landscape to provide data, analyses and opinions about users' behaviors and expectations in today's networked world.
The new international report, Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World examines four primary areas:
1. Web user practices and preferences on their favorite social sites
2. User attitudes about sharing and receiving information on social spaces, commercial sites and library sites
3. Information privacy; what matters and what doesn't
4. U.S. librarian social networking practices and preferences; their views on privacy, policy and social networks for libraries
"We know relatively little about the possibilities that the emerging social Web will hold for library services," said Cathy De Rosa, Global Vice President of Marketing, OCLC, and principal contributor to the report. "More than a quarter of all Web users across the countries we surveyed are active users of social spaces. As Web users become both the consumers and the creators of the social Web, the implications and possibilities for libraries are significant. The research provides insights into what these online library users will expect."
OCLC commissioned Harris Interactive to administer the online surveys for the report. Over 6,100 respondents, ages 14 to 84, from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, were surveyed. The surveys were conducted in English, German, French and Japanese. OCLC and Harris also surveyed 382 U.S. library directors.
Among the report highlights:
- The Internet is familiar territory. Eighty-nine percent (89 percent) of respondents have been online for four years or more and nearly a quarter have been using the Internet for more than 10 years.
- The Web community has migrated from using the Internet to building it—the Internet's readers are rapidly becoming its authors.
- More than a quarter of the general public respondents currently participate on some type of social media or social networking site; half of college students use social sites.
- On social networking sites, 39 percent have shared information about a book they have read, 57 percent have shared photos/videos and 14 percent have shared self-published information.
- Over half of respondents surveyed feel their personal information on the Internet is kept as private, or more private, than it was two years ago.
- Online trust increases with usage. Seventy percent (70 percent) of social networking users indicate they always, often or sometimes trust who they communicate with on social networking sites.
- Respondents do not distinguish library Web sites as more private than other sites they are using.
- Thirteen percent (13 percent) of the public feels it is the role of the library to create a social networking site for their communities.
Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World is the third in a series of reports that study the information environment and how libraries are addressing the needs of today's information users. The new study follows the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources report, which looks at what users think of libraries in the digital age, and The 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition, the award-winning report that describes issues and trends that are impacting and will impact OCLC and libraries.
Like the two earlier reports, Ms. De Rosa said she hopes the new report will spark discussion and interest in libraries and among library professionals. She will be speaking about the study and its findings at meetings and conferences in the weeks and months to come.
"We hope the findings challenge our views of the role of social networks in the future of libraries," said Ms. De Rosa. "We also hope that the user viewpoints revealed in the survey results will guide the evolution of policies and practices affecting access, privacy, sharing and participation on the World Wide Web."
Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World is available for download free of charge at www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/. Print copies of the 280-page report will also be available for purchase from the same site beginning October 29.
Stephen
!
Posted by stephen at 11:43 AM | Comments (1)
October 22, 2007
The Transformation Begins
Development platforms and kits abound for many applications. When these emerge to integrate with a user space and go beyond applications and into platforms and attract huge populations of users, then life gets very interesting. The space being defined by Facebook, Apple iPhones, MySpace, Google Apps and others seems ripe for transformational change on potentially a global and societal scale.
"This week during the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, MySpace (www.myspace.com) confirmed that a developer platform is imminent for the online social networking site. The announcement was clearly in response to the phenomenal success that the Facebook Platform (http://developers.facebook.com) has garnered since its inception 1 month ago. With the battle between MySpace and Facebook growing, what will be Google’s reaction? It is important to understand and monitor this battle for platform computing."
Read more here for Information Today's first take.
You would also be wise to follow Google's reaction. An interesting take on this is:
Stephen E. Arnold's new work, Google Version 2.0: The Calculating Predator
And people used to worry about Standard Oil, Microsoft, AT&T and IBM...!
Hmmmmm.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2007
Best Innovation Article ever
I loved this posting on getting real about innovation (my favourite topic). (Thanks Jane for pointing me to it.) It's another on my must read again and often list.
Propositions about innovation and change
Oct 18th, 2007 by Jack Martin Leith
Here's his list. Read the rest of the test and the comments too.
"At the beginning of January 2002 I wrote down some of my recurring thoughts about innovation and change, and these became the set of propositions that you see below. By sharing the propositions with you, I hope to stimulate your thinking, perhaps challenge some of your deeply-held beliefs, and maybe even generate some interest in my work, which is helping people think up ground-breaking ideas and bring them to life."
Here are the 33 propositions that can shake up your thinking and give encouragement.
Proposition 1: Replace desired future with desired present
Proposition 2: Realise that change is not a journey
Proposition 3: Only solve problems that can be solved
Proposition 4: Employ minimalist interventions
Proposition 5: Recognise the four genres of value creation activity
Proposition 6: Maximise stakeholder value
Proposition 7: Upgrade your worldview
Proposition 8: Innovators need motivators and enablers
Proposition 9: Be the innovation you wish to see
Proposition 10: Conversations, not messages
Proposition 11: Find the secondary idea
Proposition 12: Accept that innovation cannot be engineered
Proposition 13: Try it out as soon as you can
Proposition 14: Include everyone right from the start
Propsition 15: Ideas need godparents
Proposition 16A: Recognise the invisible world
Proposition 16: If we want our now-to-new work to be inspired and great, we must learn how to
Proposition 16B: Harness the invisible forces
Proposition 17: Accept that Worldview 3 cannot be defined
Proposition 18: Drop the idea of resistance to change
Proposition 19: Get co-creating
Proposition 20: Replace buy-in with join-in
Proposition 21: Express your highest purpose
Proposition 22: Discover what makes people’s hearts sink and sing
Proposition 23: Liberate people’s passion
Proposition 24: Make good use of people’s wisdom
Proposition 25: Speak from the heart
Proposition 26: Find out what works and do more of it
Proposition 27: Let go and move on
Proposition 28: Enable constant revitalisation
Proposition 29: Break the collusion of mediocrity
Proposition 30: Presence before process
Proposition 31: There is a new profession, as yet unnamed
Proposition 32: Making a decision is an intuitive act
Proposition 33: Move beyond the concept of cause and effect
I found this article very engaging and challenging.
Hmmmm. Change is not a journey...? Discuss.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:44 AM | Comments (1)
Update on Electronic Paper
We've been promised this for years and it's apparently heading for prime time within our current strategic planning frames!
The Future of Electronic Paper [The Future of Things]
"Thirty-five years in the making, electronic paper is now closer than ever to changing the way we read, write, and study — a revolution so profound that some see it as second only to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Made of flexible material, requiring ultra-low power consumption, cheap to manufacture, and—most important—easy and convenient to read, e-papers of the future are just around the corner, with the promise to hold libraries on a chip and replace most printed newspapers before the end of the next decade. This article will cover the history, technology, and future of what will be the second paper revolution."
Hmmmmm. Mass market by 2012.... Colour.... Cool. It's already showing up at Toys R Us, my favourite place to look for early trends.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:40 AM | Comments (0)
Universal Avatars?
I just found out about this and it's so logical!
I've pointed to Gartner Group's prediction that over 80% of Internet users will use an avatar to interact with the web by 2012.
Tie that to the estimate that IBM has over 400 programmers working on Second Life.
Now this announcement:
IBM working with Second Life creator for "universal avatar"
Trendwatch by Mark Raby, Thursday, October 11, 2007
San Francisco (CA) - IBM wants to create a new standard for virtual worlds, allowing users to create one profile for use in several different applications.
"IBM is teaming up with Linden Labs, the name behind the Internet phenomenon Second Life. Together they hope to create interoperability between various virtual worlds.
As it stands now, users have to create their own avatar for every online game they own. That can sometimes take hours, depending on how much customization users want."
"The two companies will be talking about their ideas this week at a virtual worlds conference in San Francisco. Investments in the industry of virtual worlds totaled more than $1 billion in the last 12 months."
This makes so much sense. Proprietary stuff and walled gardens have been the enemy of growth on the Internet. Having portable avatar(s) that carry my identity, safely between worlds and applications is a Holy Grail for the future. It's neat to see some effort going into interoperability and portability early.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:30 AM | Comments (0)
Ready to start talking web 3.0, 4.0?
I can hear the collective shriek out in library land. 3.0! 4.0 Arrrghhhhhh!
Anyway, if you dare, read this post:
Twine: The First Mainstream Semantic Web App?
If you're interested in Twine you can read more here.
It is start on integrating the morass of neat tools and apps into a more seamless package.
Anyway, it's just for fun! Woooohahaha. And yet another scenario like those hinted at by Second Life, Second Earth or OpenCroquet.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:24 AM | Comments (1)
Google. Who's looking at you? (Times of London)
Some people say I go a little over the top in my speeches lately about the risks of Google love.
Maybe it's true. I do however think this is a must read article by John Arlidge in the Times of London.
Google. Who's looking at you? (Times of London)
"It wants to know everything about you. It wants to be your best friend — or your Big Brother. Are your secrets safe with Google?"
Be careful out there. This article should be must reading in all information literacy education. Our users (and ourselves) should be making conscious choices.
Of course, you don't encounter these risks with licensed library databases, searches and OPACs.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:16 AM | Comments (2)
Communicating the Value of the Special Librarian
Special librarians often have different issues in communicating their value to the organization. This post reports on a session at NEALL and gives 18 tips of good strategies to promote the library and information professional:
Communicating Our Value to Management
It's a good list.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:12 AM | Comments (0)
Studying Undergrads
ACRL published this 99 page research report on undergraduate behaviours and hw this relates to libraries. You can buy the report from ACRL/ALA or download thee PDF for free.
Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester (PDF 2,643 KB) 2007
"This book provides a view into the groundbreaking application of ethnographic tools and techniques to the understanding of undergraduate students and their use of information. The publication describes findings of the work at the University of Rochester River Campus Libraries and provides insight into how academic librarians might use these techniques on their own campuses."
Contents
1. Introduction to the Undergraduate Research Project
2. Faculty Expectations of Student Research
3. Asking Students about Their Research
4. Night Owl Librarians: Shifting the Reference Clock
5. Library Design and Ethnography
6. Dream Catcher: Capturing Student-Inspired Ideas for the Libraries’ Web site
7. Photo Surveys: Eliciting More Than You Knew to Ask For
8. Mapping Diaries, or Where Do They Go All Day?
9. What an Experience: Library Staff Participation in Ethnographic Research
10. Then and Now: How Today’s Students Differ
11. The Mommy Model of Service
12. Conclusion: Creating Student-Centered Academic Libraries
13. References
Worth the read.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)
Starting Conversations about Library Futures
Looking for questions to generate conversations about libraries? Trying to make an interesting panel discussion for a staff day or conference? Here are a few that I've collected lately:
Scott Carlson used these in a Chronicle of Higher Ed article (reported here)
1. What is the future of the book?
2. Will there be a reference desk?
3. What information services will be performed by libraries in the future, and what information services will be performed by companies and nonprofit groups?
4. Should the relationship between libraries and publishers change? If so, how?
5. Does the library profession need to diversify and draw from different populations?
6. What is one thing that libraries are doing right, and one thing that libraries are doing wrong?
7. How well did your library-science education prepare you for the field today?
8. What will the academic library look like in the future?
You could also choose to be more provocative with this post:
1. Library instruction doesn't work.
2. Library catalogs are obsolete.
3. Reference is dead.
4. Librarianship is not a science.
5. Google wins.
And here's a useful post for continuing the conversation:
10 Ways to Light a Fire Under Your Ass
1. Call out the elephant in the room
2. Offer up solutions
3. Write a manifesto
4. Seek opinions
5. Share something personal
6. Shake up your career
7. Do something that scares you
8. Tell a story
9. Evangelize
10. Know who (or what) you are
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:49 AM | Comments (0)
HOW TO Find out why your flight is REALLY delayed
Now that we have wireless in most airports. And most flights are delayed. And the ground staff announce the usual hierarchy of excuses - weathers, late incoming aircraft, no pilot, etc. - about why our fligt is delayed. We can find out the truth! Airlines tell the truth to their packages customers rather than the real people in the airport at their desks.
Cory Doctorow has this great post:
HOW TO Find out why your flight is REALLY delayed
I know I've shown ground staff the weather map showing that there are no thunderstorns in the area. Then they shamelessly move on to another excuse in the standard protocol. They often don't have web access so can't check themselves. I've even re-booked my flight and seat online after being told this wasn't possible in the airport. It's sad that an employer would set up their staff like this when better tools are in the hands of the customer.
Of course these tools don't help their latest innovation. Four out of my last ten flights landed with no ground staff available to meet the plane and get the stairs to the door for up to 30 minutes. It's amazing that an aircraft's arrival can be a surprise in so many airports!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:37 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2007
Library Innovation and Experimentation Links
Ken Varnum at RSS4Lib is building a link list of library lab sites (sort of like the Google Labs site). Check out this list.
Directory of Library Experimental Tools Sites
The full list will be maintained as the Directory of Experimental Library Tools. Please contribute your own library's site if it's not listed already.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)
Facebook Friends Collage
TipMonkies pointed me to an easter egg in Facebook discovered by Labnol.
Follow the links above to make on of these yourself:
This is just a small sample of the big collage you can make with your friends. I think it's fun but I am soooo needy.
Then again, you can never have too many friends.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:34 AM | Comments (1)
Got Something to Say?
Libraries often have things going on that interest the local press.
Many of the press in our communities maintain LinkedIn profiles to identify stories too. Do our PR folks have LinkedIn profiles linked to important local press and freelance writers? I hope so.
Also, I found this a useful tip list from Mashable this week.
20+ Free Press Release Distribution Sites
Free. The price is right. Got something to say? Got a cute special interest photo of that smiling tot at storytime? Got some pictures of a successful gaming tournament with a soundbite of how many kids borrowed books too? Got a small business seminar that local entrepreneurs loved? Gotta mascot? Gotta writer or poet in residence.... Let's get all of our cool stuff off the bulletin boards and into the local paper's websites and dead tree formats.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)
Digital Libraries
Looking for digital vaults to compare and contrast, learn from or develoop best/worst practices?
Try looking here:
250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives at OeDB
"Hundreds of libraries and archives exist online, from university-supported sites to individual efforts. Each one has something to offer to researchers, students, and teachers. This list contains over 250 libraries and archives that focus mainly on localized, regional, and U.S. history, but it also includes larger collections, eText and eBook repositories, and a short list of directories to help you continue your research efforts. The sites listed here are mainly open access, which means that the digital formats are viewable and usable by the general public."
Localized Collections
Multi-State Resources
Larger Collections
eTexts and eBooks
Directories
I wonder if the major search engines have crawled all of these? Are they all in MS Live Academic or Google Scholar? Is there a common metadata standard? Do most academic faculties include them in their federated search initiatives when appropriate? Or are they dark islands on the web useful onloy to the elite digiterati?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2007
All Things Library 2.0
I just received my copy! Michael Stephens has written an 80-page follow-up to his original Web 2.0 & Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software. The new ALA Library Technology Report is titled Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies,
This one is excellent with many real world examples. Jenny Levine wrote the foreword. His LTR covers:
- value-added blogging
--building a community Web site with a blog
-Ten Best Practices for Flickr & Libraries
- libraries and social sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube
-tagging and social bookmarking
- Messaging in a 2.0 World: Twitter & SMS
- podcasting
- The OPAC Rebooted
- how libraries such as the Hennepin County Library and the Arlington Heights Memorial Library are using 2.0 tools
Buy both here. I have the whole LTR set.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)
Municipal WiFi
My city, Toronto has painted the entire dowtown with a WiFi network provided by Toronto Hydro. I love it since it's so easy to get online now. It was better when it was a free trial for many months but it's still creating a competitive advantage for Toronto for business and tourism. The SLAW blog points to a few resources last week.
"Toronto is not the only city to attempt such a scheme. However, the takeup has not quite been as expected in cities across the United States, particularly where private companies are relied on to provide (and make money off of) the service.
According to Slate, what success stories there are come from towns where WiFi access is treated as a public good and invested in accordingly.
Here in Toronto, officials say they are pleased with the number of subscribers to the service (now starting at $30/month). Apparently they were expecting 10% of free users to subscribe and are ahead of their projections."
It seems like public good foci can work. It has certainly worked for libraries for a long long time and society is better for it. It's interesting to watch the emergence of this third way.
(Disclosure: My father is a retired executive from Toronto Hydro.)
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:27 AM | Comments (2)
Pathfinders in the Future (NOW)
In olden times photocopied Pathfinders were one of the best things libraries offered. These guides to a subject, topic or domain were indispensable!
iLibrarian has done a great post on some of the new ways these can be done today:
A Librarian’s Guide to Creating 2.0 Subject Guides
She covers Squidoo, LibGuides, Koonji, and Subject Guides using Delicious.
As virtual reference and IM reference becomes more and more normal, the ability to conect to these sorts of guides for the most common questions and topical areas is important. It's also a great way to reduce the distance between guides and full text resources.
You can even make the hotlinked resources into PDF's ... grin.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:20 AM | Comments (0)
Top 10 Strategic IT Technologies
Gartner has done a 2008 Top 10 Strategic IT technologies, many of which have relevance to libraries and learning.
Social Software
Mashup & Composite Apps
Metadata Management
Web Platform & WOA
Real World Web
Green IT
Business Process Modeling
Unified Communications
Virtualization 2.0
Computing Fabric
Read more here.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:03 AM | Comments (0)
PowerPoint on Steroids
A friend sent this to me (Thanks Chris). I want this technology soooo bad
It appeared in FastCompany Jan/Feb 07 but it was just pointed out to me this week.
This is the coolest presentation technology and I really hope I get to work with this soon.
Here's the article:
If you don't have time to read the article, then at the very least you have to watch the video! It's amazing!
"Remapping the Universe"
http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/video/player.html?bctid=769654555
It feels right out of some Tom Cruiise movie.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:56 AM | Comments (0)
Great Video Insights
The latest Michael Wesch video is awesome! If you haven't seen the Wesch collection yet, here are three must-see videos from :
Web 2.0 ... the Machine is Us/ing Us (The classic that first brought him to my attention)
A Vision of Students Today (This is the latest and it's awesome! A MUST SEE VIDEO. I lve the creation process too.)
Other videos are available at the Moving Forward pages.
Dr. Michael Wesch is Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. He does really cool video!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:49 AM | Comments (0)
Gaming in Libraries
I commend this posting at the Learning Circuits Blog to you:
Which name is better - Serious Games or Educational Simulations or...?
By Clark Aldrich
It does a very nice job of trying to outline a list of the types of games and the various ways we can discuss them in a learning context without just calling them videogames.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:45 AM | Comments (0)
Library Humour
I love getting these library oriented cartoons in my reader. So today I've decided to blog my three favourite library cartoons and another two:
Unshelved (I've been reading this one since it was called Overdue) This one is the star of library land with a booth at ALA, speeches from the author/illustrator team, and bestselling book collections and t-shirts. Congratulations to Bill Barnes and "Gene Ambaum" (pseudonuym for a 'real' librarian" in the US) on keeping it funny, daily.
Shelf Check is wonderfully edgy. Emily Lloyd writing as Poesygalore writes a very timely strip, over 100 so far and managing daily production.
http://shelfcheck.blogspot.com/
Turn The Page is a newer strip. Jayson from Portland OR produces an irregular strip with a similarly skewed library humour.
http://librarycartoons.blogspot.com/
bLaugh is a strip for bloggers. Funny to me.
User Friendly is a daily strip with a great cast of characters from the programming and help desk work of software development. Nuff said.
http://userfriendly.org/
Anyway, you might enjoy them too although humour can be a very personal thing. You can add each of them to your blog aggregator and RSS reader. The you too can get a daily dose of fun.
It's a talent to be able to laugh at ourselves.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:46 AM | Comments (5)
October 16, 2007
Do you consult?
Whether you're officially a "consultant", or you consult with other departments and users, this book is a good read. It's years in the making and Ulla de Stricker is a widely respected international consultant in the library field. (Disclosure: We're friends, we've worked together and I have hired her to consult too.) Ulla tells it like it is in an honest, concise, and realistic distillation of decades of experience, respecting the reader’s time. Sage advice, compactly and clearly given. I've often thought that consulting might be the model ro learn from for many aspects of traditional librarianship especially with repsect to cross functional planning, external research and partnership development.
Librarians and information professionals possess a unique mix of skills that are well suited to consulting. Expert author Ulla de Stricker shows how this skill-set applies to a range of consulting activities from highly specialized, focused activities to broad strategic efforts. Providing a from-the-trenches perspective of the many consulting opportunities available both within and outside the library setting, this guide will help you
· Identify the pros and cons of consulting
· Partner with professionals to maximize your business
· Develop effective business and marketing plans
· Learn to negotiate using the contract and proposal primer
· Set up shop and thrive as a consultant
If you’ve ever considered becoming a consultant, this book will help you determine whether it’s right for you and give you the tools to succeed. Seasoned consultants, library staff trainers, and companies working with libraries will also gain inspiration from the wealth of ideas offered here.
You can find more here at ALA Editions.
Anyway, it's a rare 'other' profession that library folk can't learn something from!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2007
Jetlagged
OK - I am heading home Saturday for a few days before heading out Tuesday for another few weeks. I had a great trip andmet some wonderful people but I suggest that visiting or at least landing in Australia, Singapore, London, Dulles, South Carolina, Chicago, and Iowa in less than a week is quite tiring. (I won't count the travel in the previous two weeks!) My brain and body are in different metaphysical spaces!
Anyway, I'll try to align both in time for the next trips. I am especially looking forward to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York (twice) and a bunch of California before the big SirsiDynix client CODI conference in Pittsburgh.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:37 AM | Comments (2)
Society for Scholarly Publishing
I had the opportunity to attend and do the wrap up session for the Society for Scholarly Publishing conference in Philly.
Here's the PPT's although the chat was a little more elucidating that these pictures.
Reflections and Provocations – Lessons Learned
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:34 AM | Comments (0)
Ottawa Public Library
I had a lovely visit in September to Ottawa Pubic Library. I did two meetings and Presentations.
One was an all staff event with special invitations to the whole community and the other was a discussion with new librarians and information pros as well as city IT staff. All in all it was a great day!
Here are the PPT's:
Social Libraries and Librarians:The 2.0 Challenge
Top 10 Strategies for Library Success
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:28 AM | Comments (0)
Allen County Public Library
I had a lovely trip to Allen County Pu bliic Library in Fort Wayne Indiana to help launch their 24 Things/Learning 2.0 program. Their innovation is that the library staff are doing it WITH their users and cardholders. Cool. They have really neat buttons for various steps and a great t-shirt (as soon as I get my camera working I'll post a picture) that says "Library Genius". Totally cool. They promoted the day and my visit with a YouTube video and we filmed another video with me in their studo (!) about reading for later use. It's going too be just like the cool three part series they produced with their director. Anyway, here's my PPT's which isn't as cool as their innovations:
A Tech Forecast:Library 2.0 in the Real World
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:22 AM | Comments (0)
Copyright Clearance Center
I was invited to discuss the future of libraries and copyright for the CCC advisory board. Here's the PPT. They are a SirsiDynix partner for many of our products.
Web 2.0 and Copyright: Big Picture Issues
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:20 AM | Comments (0)
Arkansas Library Association
I visited Arkansas (Little Rock and Hot Srpings) for the first time to speak at their annual conference. It was fun and I saw some interesting things on tours that the hosts were nice enough to take me on. (Even including the Clinton Presidential Library and the house from TV's Designing Women as well as Macarthur Park of the song fame - cool).
Anyway, I promised to put my PowerPoints up here so here they are:
Social Libraries and Librarians:The 2.0 Challenge
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:10 AM | Comments (0)
Congratulations Al
A noble Nobel
Congratulations Al
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:01 AM | Comments (1)
October 9, 2007
Canadian Provincial Cultural Activities
The Ontario Library Association blog alerts me to a new report from Statistics Canada and Hill Strategie called Provincial Profiles of Cultural and Heritage Activities in 2005
"Based on Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey, this report provides provincial information about cultural and heritage activities in 1992 and 2005. This report provides insights into the number and percentage of provincial residents 15 or older who:
Attended live performances;
Visited art galleries and other museums;
Visited historic sites and other heritage organizations;
Read a newspaper, magazine or book;
Watched movies or videos; or
Listened to recorded music.
Some of the report’s key findings include:
For example some ontario details are:
"Other Ontario results showed that the most popular cultural and heritage activities were:
* Reading newspapers 88%
* Listening to music on CDs, etc. 83%
* Watching a video 80%
* Reading a magazine 80%
* Reading a book 69%
* Going to a movie theatre 59%"
It looks like library supported cultural activities do quite well!
"In most provinces, as in Canada as a whole, most cultural and heritage activities attracted about the same percentage of the population in 2005 as in 1992. Provinces in this situation include Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Given the strong population growth in most provinces between 1992 and 2005, almost all cultural and heritage activities saw an increase in the absolute number of provincial residents attending, visiting, reading, watching or listening.
Reading, music and movies are among the most popular cultural and heritage activities in all provinces.
British Columbia and Ontario are the only provinces where a heritage activity – visiting a conservation area or nature park – attracted at least half of the population in 2005.
Contrary to the national trend, many cultural and heritage activities attracted a smaller percentage of British Columbians in 2005 than in 1992.
In Ontario, many cultural and heritage activities attracted a larger percentage of residents in 2005 than in 1992, including cultural/heritage performances (such as Aboriginal dance, Chinese opera, or Ukrainian dance), museums, public art galleries, historic sites, book reading, movies and videos.
In Quebec, as in Ontario, many cultural and heritage activities attracted a larger percentage of residents in 2005 than in 1992, including cultural/heritage performances (such as Aboriginal dance, Chinese opera, or Ukrainian dance), museums, public art galleries, historic sites, conservation areas or nature parks, movies, videos and music on CD or other pre-recorded formats.
Movie-going is particularly popular in Quebec. In fact, Quebec is the only province where more people go to movies than read books. In addition, Quebec is the only province where movie-going is within 10 percentage points of video-watching."
The full report contains much more information and detailed tables regarding cultural and heritage activities in all 10 provinces in 1992 and 2005. You can find links to it and the provincial details here.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:23 AM | Comments (0)
Podcasting and Libraries
I know of at least one library that created a podcasting booth out of an old refridgerator box. Cool. It was very popular. Kids and teens just sat inside and recorded their reviews of books, DVD's, websites, etc. I've seen some libraries have old reel to reel tape listening boothes that would work too!
The crew at Mashable put together another list called entitled Podcasting Toolbox: 70+ Podcasting Tools and Resources.
One stop shopping to get into a cool pilot project.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:18 AM | Comments (0)
Canadians and Social Networking
Even though London passed my hometown, Toronto, lately as the most heavy users of Facebook, the Financial Post is reporting that 37% of Canadian adults use social networking sites and that Facebook is the most popular with Canadians.
37% of adults use social networking sites: study
Facebook most popular with Canadians
Grant Surridge, Financial Post
Published: Thursday, October 04, 2007
The number of Canadian adults using Facebook has surged in the past few years. It's a major market now.... hmmmm. For a concept that really didn't exist 4 years ago that's amazing.
"About four out of 10 Canadian adults have visited an online social network site, with about half visiting daily."
"Three quarters of visitors have comparison shopped for products and services online."
"Social network users are also more likely to click a website advertisement."
"Facebook is the most popular online social network among Canadian adults. Two-thirds of adult Internet users who have a personal profile on an online social network have one on Facebook, compared to one in five with a personal profile on Classmates.com and one in seven with a profile on MySpace."
Facebook users spend an average of 5.9 hours per week on the site.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:12 AM | Comments (1)
Information Tomorrow
Rachel Singer Gordon has announced Information Tomorrow at LISJobs. I was honored to write the foreword. It's a stellar group of library futurists and innovators writing every chapter.
• Megan Fox’s informed view on the potential of mobile devices to transform information work.
• Dan Chudnov’s take on the emerging role of open source, open access and open content in our world.
• John Blyberg’s views on the future of the ILS and OPAC.
• Discursions on changing publishing models by Jill Emery.
• The challenges facing scholarly publishers and academic libraries by Dorothea Salo.
• Beth Gallaway and the new and positive role gaming is playing in education and libraries.
• Joseph Janes on competing with the Googles of the world
• Michael Stephens on the Read/Write Web.
• Robert Bocher on the emerging critical issue of libraries and privacy
• David King on positive user experiences in library websites.
• Jenny Levine, the Shifted Librarian, on Library 2.0.
• Steven J. Bell and John D. Shank on the blended librarian’s role in academic learning.
• Meredith Farkas on the future of library and information science education
• Jessamyn West on the negative side of technology - technophobia, technostress, and technorealism.
• Lori Bell on the exciting virtual world, Second Life, and the Library 2.0 project there.
• Get a Second Life! Libraries in Virtual Worlds" by Rhonda Trueman, Lori Bell and Tom Peters
• And lastly, Alane Wilson who reads the tea leaves and points to the opportunities.
Highly recommended.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:02 AM | Comments (0)
Steal These Two Ideas
Helene Blowers of 23 Things/Learning 2.0 fame and I had dinner at WaggaMamma last night in London. It was real fun.
Here's two ideas I thought of after our conversation:
1. Her kids are very into WebKinz. They're very very popular. My kids are too old so I have to reseaarch other peoples kids (OPK) now. If you don't know about them check them out here. These are plush toys that come with their own unique web address to get into a kids social networking site, Webkinz World. So here's the germ of my idea:
Our library card numbers are pretty similar to web addresses . . . Can we create a kids' site that meets kids' needs in libraries that's as popular as Webkinz? Can we even give them unique ID's... hmmmm. Can we have plushies that we sell of our library reader mascots with web addresses that are personalized...?
Run with it.
2. I've bveen hearing a lot about the GPS games that are soooo popular . It seems a minor leap to get the GIS/SGPS address for library branches, historic sites, graveyards for genealogists....
Could libraries run the game in their towns. I hear some library folks are. Cool.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:50 AM | Comments (0)
Teens and MySpace and Facebook
TEENS WHO VISIT BOTH MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK DRIVE TIME SPENT AT
THE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, ACCORDING TO NIELSEN//NETRATINGS
Facebook 12-17 Demographic Grew 122 Percent in August
NEW YORK – September 20, 2007 – Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, announced today that among U.S. visitors aged 12-17, visitors to both MySpace and Facebook spend more time at each site than those who visit just one or the other. In August, teens who visited both sites spent on average 20 percent more time on MySpace than MySpace visitors alone. Facebook benefited to an even greater degree from dual visitors, who spent on average 26 percent longer at the site than exclusive Facebook visitors.
See the original press release and table here.
“Teens who enjoy social media are intensive users and highly engaged. They are venturing onto multiple networks to experience new features and broaden their connections,” said Jason Lee, media analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “This demographic is typically drawn to what’s new, and since they are growing up online, they are not afraid of learning the latest Web technologies.”
Growth of 12-17 Demographic at Facebook Since Facebook’s registration was opened to the public last year, the site has seen triple digit traffic growth, increasing 117 percent from 8.9 million unique visitors in August 2006 to 19.2 million unique visitors in August 2007. The growth rate among visitors 12-17 has been even higher, increasing 122 percent year over year. The majority of these new Facebook visitors are not likely social networking novices - more than 80 percent of Facebook visitors in August also went to MySpace.
“MySpace introduced a lot of people, especially young people, to social networking, and that forum continues to be overwhelmingly popular,” said Lee. “But Facebook’s innovative features, many born out of partnerships with third party developers, are driving user growth. Teens continue to interact with friends on MySpace, but have not hesitated to follow their peers to the latest social networking brand. At this point, each site has a unique offering, and teens are happily visiting both.”
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:46 AM | Comments (0)
October 8, 2007
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving
OK, I am in the UK in London at Internet Librarian International. Much of my family is all gathering in Toronto for Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe I'll try to find some turkey tonight.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving
Stephen
Update: Got some turkey at luinch. Yay.
Posted by stephen at 7:12 AM | Comments (0)