Practical uses for Web 2.0 in a library environment

Phil Bradley

http://www.philb.com

What is Web 2.0?

• Let’s just not go there shall we?

• Definitions are less important than what you can do with it

• Oh, if you really insist…

What is Web 2.0?

• Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2.0 services are expected to replace desktop computing applications for many purposes. – Wikipedia entry

Yes… and?

• It’s a platform • It harnesses collective intelligence• Data can be used and re-used in many ways• Users are directly involved with development• It’s not limited to a single device• A rich user experience

– Tim O’Reilly ‘What is Web 2.0?’

Yes… but?

• “It’s vacuous marketing hype”• “Web 2.0 is totally silly”• “Meaningless”• “is made entirely of pretentious self

serving morons.”• “a lot of thin but very hot air blown at you

by those who are convinced that having nothing to say is by no means a good reason to shut up.”

So…?

• The Web as a platform• Collective intelligence• The end of the software cycle• Major change in the way we look at things• Old wine and new bottles?• Generic term applied to a variety of resources• Web 2.0 is not a ‘thing’ – it’s a state of mind

Web 2.0 is not a thing – it’s a state

of mind

OK… so how can I use it?

• Weblogs– Create a library weblog– Additional or new library resources– Introduce members of staff– Use it as a repository of data and information

by using categories and tags– Don’t regard a weblog as a diary – it’s an

important website in its own right…

Weblogs continued…

• Use the weblog RSS feed on the site home page as a news feed

• Encourage people to add the feed to their start page or RSS reader

• Create a different weblog for a different subject area – invite other authors

• Use it in a different way, on a different page

News reports from the BBC

RSS and search

So, what else can I do with RSS?

• Add to content to webpages

• Add content to a news aggregator

• Add content to a start page

• Keep current with comments and updates

• In conclusion therefore… RSS brings data to you, and allows you to send it out to other places.

Using news aggregators

• Such as Bloglines or the Google Reader

• Keep up to date

• Up to the minute

• Create your own searches

• Use these to create your own news feeds

• Combine these and publish them for users

Podcasts

• Provide access to audio content

• Guides/tours around a library

Podcasts 2

• Content that can’t easily be made available in other formats

• Content that is accessible on the move

• Not time or place dependent.

Start Pages

• Pageflakes• Netvibes• Collate data into one place• Not machine dependent• Good for:

– Links– Email – Search engines– RSS feeds– Weather – Etc…

Start Pages

Using start pages

• Individually

• As a group– Share tabbed pages– Alternative to email contact– To Do lists– Note pads– Always immediately available

Bookmarking

• Limited to a specific machine

• Not informative

• Difficult to find what you wan

• Inflexible

• Cannot easily share bookmarks

What are the alternatives?

• Del.icio.us

• Diigo

• Raw Sugar …

You can:

• Share your bookmarks– Between computers– Between colleagues– Between users

• Create bookmark sets– To supplement projects– To assist users

• Annotate (or tag) bookmarks

Great for searching!

• http://del.icio.us/tag/<search_term>

Search builders

• Create your own search engines

• Limit to trusted sites

• As small as you want, as large as you need

• Use the given URL or

• Cut and paste onto your own site

• Use them and then throw them

That would be:

• Rollyo

• Google Custom Search Builder

• Eurekster swicki

• Yahoo Search builder

Collaborate on knowledge

• Provide content onto a webpage

• Items, notes, articles

• Links to news or blogs

• Search functions

• Video options

• Let others collaborate

Creating communities

• Zimbio

• Flickr

• Grou.ps

• Plum

• Squidoo

• Pageflakes

• Facebook

Flickr

Squidoo

Facebook

Wikis

Wikis

• LIS wiki

• Library success wiki

• Wikipedia

• Peanut butter wiki

Instant messaging

• “Email is for old people”

• Talk instantly back and forth

• Share files (or not!)

• Share webcam discussions

• Group chat

• IM from webpages

• Create chatrooms

Instant Messenger Services

Using…

• Plugoo

• Gabbly Chat

• Meebo rooms

Collaborate

• On documents – Google docs

• On spreadsheets - NumSum

• With calendars - Planzo

• With training - Jybe

• With projects – MyWebDesktop

• With To Do lists – TaDaList

• With webpages – Conversate

Combine everything!

• With RSS and other Web 2.0 resources anything can work with anything else

• Content can be changed and manipulated into different formats that you control

• Users can get involved

• Geography doesn’t matter

• Speed is easy

• It’s not technical!

So why not…

• Create search engines for subject groups

• Get users involved with a Zimbio group on an aspect of <whatever>?

• Create a Squidoo lens for a subject?

• Start a library weblog?

• Create a flickr group

Or…

• A podcast or a radio station, both involving music students

• A Pageflakes page that you can share with colleagues

• Create del.icio.us or FURL accounts and share them

• Start a wiki for all the librarians in the area

Or even

• Use instant messaging to provide information in a different way

• Create a book reading club using LibraryThing, Amazon and a weblog

• Have a library tour on YouTube

Or even

• Create trading cards from Flickr photographs

• Create fun/interesting new posters

• Set up a Facebook, Bebo, MySpace account for the library

• Publish your own books with Lulu

• Share presentations with Slideshare.net

BUT…

Expect…

• “It can’t be done”

• “We don’t have the resources”

• “Bandwidth problems”

• “Security issues”

• “Write a proposal”

• “Not your job”

• “Not enough time”

AND…

Ignore it! Because Web 2 is changing:

• The way we use the web

• The way we use information

• The way we find information

• The way we do our jobs

• The way we interact with people

• The way that we look at everything

FOREVER

Want more?

Thank you!

• Website: http://www.philb.com

• “I want to”: http://www.philb.com/iwantto.htm

• Weblog: http://philbradley.typepad.com/i_want_to/

• Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/Philbradley/