I must have MySpace on the brain lately — it just seems to be jumping out at me everywhere I look! Here’s a transcript from a talk delivered by Danah Boyd from the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science. It’s called “Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace” and I think it’s a fascinating discussion of the phenomenon that is MySpace.
Here’s a tech term that’s being bandied around in library circles a lot these days: Mashups. What does it mean? According to Wikipedia;
“A mashup is a website or web application that seamlessly combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience. Content used in mashups is typically sourced from a third party via a public interface or API. Other methods of sourcing content for mashups include Web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom) and JavaScript includes. The etymology of this term almost certainly derives from its similar use in pop music. Many people are experimenting with mashups using eBay, Amazon, Google, and Yahoos APIs.”
As it states, mashup is a term from the world of music – used to refer to a popular trend where kids take two songs and mash them together to make a new song.
This CNET article provides a pretty intro to mashups.
There are lots of mashups that include Google maps… so many that a blog has been started, which just talks about innovative uses of Google maps in mashups.
Stephen Abram from SirsiDynix blogs about library uses of mashups on his blog.
We missed Mashup Camp though… next year!
You’ll have to forgive me for the uber geeky nature of this post, but as I know our readers come from a wide range of comfort with technology, this one is for you folks on the geekier end of the spectrum.
Have you ever needed to know how to make Windows XP do something without using the UI (User Interface)? Or to get specific information quickly without clicking a bazillion times through 5 layers of “Advanced Settings?” I know I have… a lot. This guide (by Microsoft) to command line tools will likely become one of your most used favorite links if you’re like me.
I alwasy fiind Slashdot to have a wealth of interesting information on technology, and I always appreciate the (mostly) civil discussion of technology topics, especially those related to fair use and copyright concerns.
This particular article covers a proposal in the California Legislature to require teaching of copyright and fair use laws in order to receive state funding for technology education.
An interesting proposition to be sure. We’ve had several libraries asking us about kids using LimeWire in the library (generally considered to not have a lot of legitimate use beyond sharing illegal copies of copyrighted works) and I wonder what tone this required education would take… a very pro-corporate entertainment industry tambre (because I’m sure they’re the ones lobbying for it) or a very “fair use but don’t steal” tambre. I would hope for the latter, but I’m not holding my breath.
At NEKLS Tech Day 2005, Shifted Librarian Jenny Levine talked about the popularity of instant messaging (IM) and encouraged libraries to use it to communicate with patrons (especially teen patrons). I know that a lot of you are now doing that, which is awesome!
Another potential way to communicate with teens and other patrons “where they are at” is to sign your library up as a MySpace member. The Hennepin County Library in Minnesota has done this. Others have, too. It’s a fun and free way to get information out about the library and to be a part of a medium that is incredibly popular.
This came up in a meeting this AM, so I thought I would share it here. I like to think that the library world is all about being cooperative. We share books. We share advice and ideas freely with one another. The technology world is not always as cooperative. There have been some interesting partnerships lately, however. For example, Microsoft and Palm are playing nicely together with the new Treo700w smartphone. Apple and Intel surprised many people by working together to make the new iMac pentium powered.
I hope a partnership is in the near future that will make Overdrive audio books and NetLibrary audio books and Apple’s iPods work together. As far as I know, this is not in the works. Too bad….
I know I get a lot of email every day… this blog entry outlines the 12 most important things to remember when crafting an e-mail message to make it more effective at communicating what you want.
A good thing to remember on a Monday.
Let the Good Times Roll–by Guy Kawasaki: The Effective Emailer
BBC News is carrying a story today on libraries in Britain that fear DRM (digital rights management) because it might make it harder or even impossiblee to access materials in their collection.
DRM figures into a few things that are happening in Kansas right now, such as the Overdrive audio book content project (and it’s why you can’t really put overdrive content on iPods), statewide databases, Atomic Learning, and anything related to e-books.
The article is worth reading, and we highly recommend it.
Maybe you haven’t heard of MySpace yet, but it’s a hot trend among teens to post their diaries and pictures online on a social networking site.
As more and more places restrict teens from hanging out socially after school, teens are going online to re-create those lost spaces. That is what MySpace is about.
Best quote from the show:
“There have been more articles written about online predators than actual cases of predators online.”
Give it a listen some quiet day, you’ll learn a lot about today’s teens.
The Kansas City (MO) Public Library has put together a Gaming Taskforce. Dave King, KCPL acting IT director, posted some guidelines for the taskforce on his blog.
