23 Things @ Sims Library

Welcome Post

2011-04-07T11:22:00.001-05:00

23 Things @ Sims Library is all about learning and playing with Web 2.0 tools and technologies. Here we’ll list several ‘things’ and you’ll learn what they are and how they work. Playing is a great way to learn new technology things.

What Do I Have To Do?

On this blog we will list several ‘things’ and you will guide yourself through the learning process. You can take a little as fifteen minutes a day to try out each ‘thing’. Every few days another ‘thing’ will be posted with an activity for you to do. Feel free to skip around in the order, once posted, but be sure to do the first ‘thing’ first!

Most of the things posted here will include some tips, but many you will be able to do without help. But we encourage you to ask for help – ask us, ask your friends, family, co-workers, or better yet, make a friend from the other participants and buddy up to do the ‘things’! It’s all about learning through playing.

How Do I Sign Up?

Anyone can participate in the 23 Things @ Sims program, but to qualify for the prizes you must register and complete all ‘things’ by August 21, 2010. You will register as part of Thing 1, which will be posted by May 15, 2010.

To register, send your name and the URL of the blog you create in Thing 1 to the 23 Things @ Sims Leadership Team. Our email address is SimsRefDesk@gmail.com. You will not get an email confirmation, but do check the blog for the participants list. Please allow one week for your blog URL to be posted to the list. Your name will not be posted; only the blog URL. If your blog does not appear in the list after one week, please email again.

Will I Get A Prize?

Everyone who registers and completes the 23 Things program by August 21, 2010 will be entered into drawing to win an MP3 Player*! And everyone who finishes by August 31, 2010 will receive a certificate of completion.

*Employees and families of Sims Library are not eligible for the grand prize drawing.

These icons are released under CC License Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0.

Thing 23: Final Thoughts & Reflection

2010-07-31T08:00:00.004-05:00

...or better known as THE END IS HERE...

Ta-da! You've made it through the Web 2.0 wilderness and now can stand back and admire what you've accomplished! Congratulations to everybody who participated.

Those of you who made it to this point by August 21st will be entered in the drawing for the MP3 player, brought to you by the Nicholas P. Sims Library. I will be choosing the named based on the email addresses used on Thing 2, so make sure you've posted all your blog entries by August 21st!

Even if you don't complete the 23 Things @ Sims Library until the end of August, all participants will receive a certificate of completion, so make sure we have your preferred email address.

Now, before you run back to play with your new tools, there's one last Thing to do!

For this final Thing, take a few moments to reflect on your journey, over the many, many Things we've covered and post your final blog entry. Need prompting? Consider these questions:

What were your favorite Web 2.0 tools?
How has 23 Things @ Sims Library affected your online experience?
What surprised you most during this program?

Finally, comment here with your answer to this final question:

What could we do differently to improve this program’s format or concept?

Again, we are so proud of all of you and hope to see you online!

Rebecca Ham (right), winner of the 23 Things @ Sims Library contest, with program coordinator and reference librarian Samantha Estey.

Thing 22: Discover Web 2.0 Yourself!

2010-07-28T09:40:00.014-05:00

We're nearing the end of 23 Things @ Sims Library, folks! As we've seen throughout this program, it is important to be aware of what technology is out there, how to benefit from it, and to remember to take time to play. Hopefully you are walking away from 23 Things with a better idea of what can be accomplished online and a more well-rounded view of social networking.

We have just one last Thing to talk about, and it's all about you! By now you've tried several well-known and popular web 2.0 tools, but what have we missed? Take a look at some of these other sites we overlooked:

Second Life: a 3-D virtual world in which you create an avatar of yourself (humor or otherwise) and explore an entirely simulated world. Yes, it's a game, but it's still a form of social networking. secondlife.com/
Glogster: a free social networking site that allows you to make interactive posters, or glogs, using text, images, photos, audio/video, and other special effects. www.glogster.com/
LiveBinders: a free service (with 100mb of upload space per account and unlimited binders) that allows you to create a virtual "binder" of information to share with others. livebinders.com/
Digg: a social news site in which readers can vote to promote (digg) or demote (bury) stories and then others can see what you digg. digg.com/

LinkedIn: the business side of social networking, this is a site where you create and promote your online portfolio and make the most of the updated concept of networking for a job. www.linkedin.com/
StumbleUpon: Not sure where to find new & neat stuff? Try StumbleUpon, a recommendation site that offers seemingly random sites/videos/photos that others have like via other social networking communities. www.stumbleupon.com/
Picasa: And Google makes a final appearance in our 23 Things. Picasa lets you organize, edit, and share your photos online. picasaweb.google.com/

Even more:

For this Thing, check out the sites above and tell us which ones you like best. Better yet, tell us something you've found in your 23 Things adventure that we have missed!

Thing 21: Online Productivity Tools

2010-07-24T08:00:00.010-05:00

There are so many things out there on the Internet -- how can we learn to use them all? It seems like every day there's something new -- sites you can use for fun, work, to organize, to socialize, and to make your online experience different or better. In fact, there are more than we could possibly fit into this program, which brings us to Thing 21 -- Online Productivity Tools.

Remember that 23 Things @ Sims Library is all about learning as we play. We've looked at so many things already and all of it was to get your feet wet -- to get you interested in what else is out there. So let's take a quick look at some other Online Productivity Tools available.

For this Thing, take a look at some of the sites below. You do not have to use all of them, but do visit several and see which ones you like.

Be sure to blog about your findings!

Thing 20: Podcasts

2010-07-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

Okay, let’s talk about Podcasting.

Podcasts, derived from “iPod” and “broadcast”, emerged around 2004 and are previously recorded audio or video files that you download or subscribe to online via RSS. They can be listened to using your computer, your mp3 player, or another audio device. The major identifying aspects of a podcast:

They’re serials, or episodic
They can be downloaded or subscribed to (RSS)
Each focuses on a particular topic or theme
They have a host

Podcasts most often are just audio feeds and can be found for nearly every topic. It is user-generated content – content that YOU contribute to Web 2.0.

For this Thing…

Read this article -- Podcasting: Evolution of Technology
MSNBC’s website offers podcasts and has a great FAQ about podcasting in general -- http://msnbc.msn.com/id/38001458
Go to this site -- http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/256
The first entry is a promo podcast by Wichita Rutherford for PodCast411.
Click LISTEN. You do not have to download it if you are viewing this blog entry on a computer with speakers. It’s only a promo for the podcast, so it’s very short.
Finally, explore more podcasts online. You can search for topics on Podcastdirectory.com, NPR.org, Education Podcast Network or through your preferred search engine. Listen/download a few podcasts, preferably in a series.
Share a podcast of your choice on your blog (share the link).

Things to Consider:
Do the podcasts (hosts, content, quality) improve or stray off topic with time?
Do you see any limitations to podcasting?

Don’t forget to blog about your experience with podcasting!

Thing 19: YouTube

2010-07-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

YouTube is a social networking site where you are encouraged to “Broadcast yourself” by uploading, tagging, and sharing your videos with the world at large. Currently the #4 most popular website in America and #3 in the world, YouTube was created in 2005 and purchased by Google in 2006. It is the most popular online video community the world has ever seen. Just about anything and everything can be found on YouTube – political debates, vlogs (video blogs), how-to videos, movie clips, even television shows.

On YouTube visitors can view these videos for free – you do not even have to create an account to watch. But those who wish to upload files do, and the videos they post can be favorited by viewers and can even develop subscriptions, so that every time a new piece is uploaded, the ‘fans’ will be alerted.

There are technical restrictions on YouTube, such as copyright laws, which is why movies and even some tv clips are often removed very soon after posting. Other restrictions to videos concern time (no longer than 10 minutes per video) and size (files must be less than 2 GB). But it is the user-friendly interface that makes this site so popular. You do not have to be a computer programmer to watch or upload videos on YouTube. All you need is a computer, Internet access, and Adobe Flash Player plug-in (a downloadable free program) and away you go!

Considering how strong YouTube’s impact has been not only in the online world but in everyday life, it is rare to find a person who has not been to YouTube before, let alone heard of it. Check out this video all about Web 2.0!

For this Thing, go to YouTube.com and search for videos about something we’ve learned so far (i.e., Web 2.0, social networking, etc.). Include your favorite video by embedding it into your blog for Thing 19:

Look for the embed button beneath the YouTube video.

Copy the HTML code given. It will look like similar to this –
In your blog entry, switch from Compose to Edit HTML.

Paste the code at the top of your blog entry.

Click back on Compose to continue writing your blog.

Next, play some more on YouTube. Find videos for a topic that interests you and share your favorite, but this time simply copy the URL in the address box and add the link in your blog.

Last, be sure to write what you think about YouTube. In what ways do you think it can be use to benefit society? Does it have a purpose beyond entertainment?

Thing 18: Twitter

2010-07-14T08:15:00.017-05:00

Twitter is yet another social networking site, but it has been stripped down to bare bones.

No blogging
No playlists
No games to play

You only have one profile picture, and even that is optional. Twitter focuses on the status update: you tell the world what you're doing in 140 characters or less. That's it!Limited Space

Being limited to only 140 characters sounds difficult, but actually it helps users get straight to the point. This is sometimes referred to as microblogging. If you update your status and go beyond the allotted amount, it will display how many letters are too many and will not let you proceed.

The most challenging part of tweeting within this constraint is when you want to share a website. To paraphrase the saying, there's a solution for that! Check out Tinyurl, a site that recreates your too long URL into a nice, short URL, giving you back much needed characters in each tweet.

Who's on Twitter?

For starters, Sims Library! ^_^ Yes, I know; a shameless plug, but there it is. Chances are you already know somebody who tweets, but unless you have your own Twitter account, they won't let you look for people just yet.

You can find individuals, celebrities, politicians, businesses, societies -- all sorts of people on Twitter, because it is a major communication tool that can easily be used from your mobile phone. When you find someone whose tweets you like, you can follow them, so that whenever you visit your Twitter homepage you can see their latest tweets.

Just like on Myspace, you'll find accounts for celebrities, but Twitter is a little better at sorting out the real from the fake. Official, verified Twitter accounts will display a blue and white check mark of authenticity.

Trending & Hashtags

Here are two words that existed before Twitter but will likely never be the same again. When someone tweets about a topic or another Twitterer, he can include a link to that topic or person using a hashtag. A hashtag looks like this -- #worldcup -- very similar to HTML coding for web design. The most common topics or phrases repeated within a short time frame are considered Trending and appear on a separate sidebar on Twitter, linking to the latest tweets featuring it. Trending topics are constantly updated.

Privacy & Security

Now think about this, the simplicity of Tweeting. Because of the limited information you provide (Name, location, bio, profile picture) your privacy can be quite secure. You do not have to give your full name, or even your real name. The profile picture can be anything you'd like or you can use one of the provided cartoonish birdie pictures. And you can set the security to lock your tweets so that only people you allow can view them.

What do you think about Twitter? Is it handy or ridiculous? Some have considered Twitter to be like Big Brother from the novel 1984, while others have asked what the point in reading about a random person searching for olives in the grocery store is. Do you agree with them -- why or why not?

For Thing 18, read this article called The End of the Email Era posted on the Wall Street Journal. Then create a Twitter account and begin tweeting. Find others on Twitter to follow. Search for a topic of your choice and then share your experience on your blog.

Thing 17: Social Networking, Part 2: Facebook

2010-07-10T10:10:00.006-05:00

Thing 17 is a follow-up for Thing 16, but this time we're taking a look at Facebook.

Facebook is another major Social Networking site, which began in 2004, that allows users to find people they know and connect, post status updates, and show their interest in a variety of things, events, and people by 'liking' them.

Unlike Myspace, however, you cannot change the graphic layout of your page, you cannot blog, and you cannot create a playlist. But many social network users are drawn to Facebook for the many, many games you can play -- like FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Sorority Life, and others.

Facebook offers groups and business to create Community or Fan pages, inviting other users to get involved. And if you haven't seen it yet, Sims Library has a Facebook page, too!

There is quite a bit of controversy in the media lately about Facebook's privacy issues, which have been changing rapidly. Take a look at this article, Facebook's Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline for a rundown.

Many bloggers have posted helpful entries on how to navigate the privacy settings on Facebook, which we can see, after that last article, can be quite tricky!

For this Thing:

Create a Facebook account. If you need help, check out these tutorials.
Search for people you might know, using the Search box on the top of Facebook, and/or the email look-up option, under the Friends page.
Post to your Wall and add information to your page.
Search for groups or organizations and become a fan.
And don't forget to blog your thoughts!

Because 23 Things @ Sims Library promotes privacy and anonymity, you do not have to share a link to your Facebook account, if you so choose.

If you do not feel comfortable having a Facebook account, please blog your concerns instead for Thing 17.

Update:

Check out this blog entry from Resource Shelf:
Social Web: Facebook Passes 500 Million Users & An Idea of What 500 Million Means Using World Population Estimates

And check out this awesome SlideShare called What is Social Media NOW?!

What is social media NOW?

View more presentations from Marta Kagan.

Reminder

2010-07-10T09:33:00.003-05:00

Hello, everybody! How is your 23 Things experience coming along so far? Having any trouble? Any questions?!? Email us at simsrefdesk@gmail.com

Don't forget --!

To qualify for the MP3 drawing you must...

1. Sign up (see Thing 2 for details)
2. Complete all 23 Things and post a blog entry for each by August 21st

That's all there is to it!

All 23 Things will be posted by July 31st, so there's plenty of time to finish by then.

Remember, if you have questions about anything, feel free to either comment on this blog or send an email to simsrefdesk@gmail.com

-- Samantha

Thing 16: Social Networking, Part 1: Myspace

2010-07-07T11:35:00.009-05:00

Can you believe it? We're more than half-way finished with the 23 Things!
A major aspect of Web 2.0 is Social Networking, which is defined as "The process of building online communities, often accomplished both through 'groups' and 'friends lists' that allow greater interaction on websites. Find out more about social networking" source.

Sound familiar? It should -- that's what we've been doing all summer!
In 2006, just three years after it began, Myspace became the most popular social networking site in the United States, offering a place to personalize your interests and connect to others.

Initially meant as a web hosting site, Myspace quickly became the website to which individuals and predominantly musicians flocked to advertise themselves. Fledgling bands found an audience and even were able to book venues due to their Myspace account, playing snippets or full versions of their songs.

Soon millions had a Myspace page where they could friend people they knew, people they didn't know, and even fictional characters.

This created a social network where one could post status updates about what they were doing and where they were going, playlists of songs, and create personalized layouts for their page. Blog entries were possible here, along with twelve photos of yourself. Since then, the photo cap has been increased!

Privacy is a major issue when it comes to social networking, as you've likely read online or seen in the news (hello, Facebook!), and Myspace was also concerned. Age limits were created to prevent pages of children under a certain age to be private against adults, and vice versa.

Myspace and Social Networking have been hot topics in the media where adults are concerned, too. There have been reports of employers terminating employees based on what was posted online.

Myspace may not have been the first social network, but it was definitely one of the most popular. Take a look at this demographic chart for social networking sites:

Graph Source

For this Thing:

1. Watch this video from Common Craft about Social Networking.

2. Take the Myspace Tour. You do not have to create a Myspace account, but if you do, share it with us.

3. Read at one of the articles posted here:

Social networks, gender, and friending: An analysis of Myspace member profiles / by Mike Thewell
Safer Social Networking? / by Debra Donston
Nearly Half of Employers Use Social Media to Research Candidates / HR Focus
No Place to Play: Current Employee Privacy Rights in Social Networking Sites / by Gina L. Genova

Finally, post a blog entry for Thing 16 and tell us what you think about Myspace and Social Networking.

Thing 15: Goodreads vs. LibraryThing part 2

2010-07-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Similar to Goodreads is another site called LibraryThing.

LibraryThing, developed by Tim Spaulding, was meant to be a cataloging application. It allows you to create a profile where you can search and add books you have read, or would like to read; where you can find others who like the same genres as you, or find "real life" or online friends, as well.

Here's how LibraryThing differs from Goodreads: Because this social network site utilizes the library motif, they encourage you to 'catalog' your books, giving them not only ratings and reviews, but also tagging them with genres, subject headings, or simple tags.

When you view the page for a book title, you might notice a tag cloud, which is a visual design of the words used to describe an item. In a tag cloud, the predominant words are made larger than the rest of the test, visually displaying the importance, or popularity of a tag/term. source

LibraryThing has partnered with Amazon.com to pull book records, which you'll see when you search for or add books. You can choose where to search for titles beyond Amazon.com, including the Library of Congress.

A major difference between LibraryThing and Goodreads may not jump out at you. LibraryThing offers you a free account, but encourages you to upgrade to a paid account, the benefit being you can then add "as many books as you like." Goodreads, on the other hand, does not limit your book collection.

The BookSeer

Here is a fun site that utilizes LibraryThing!

Have you ever finished reading a book that you enjoyed and wanted to find a book similar to it? Well, check out http://bookseer.com! Use the speech bubble to type the title of the book and it's author, then click the arrow to see what Bookseer recommends next.

Now that you've seen both LibraryThing and Goodreads, which do you prefer? Do you like being able to see tag clouds for authors and books? What do you think about the free versus paid accounts? Include your thoughts in your blog entry for Thing 15.

For this Thing, start by checking out the Quick Start for LibraryThing. Take a few minutes to play around on LibraryThing, and don't forget to blog about it!

Optional: You can create an account for LibraryThing, then share the link on your blog.

Thing 14: Goodreads vs. LibraryThing part 1

2010-06-30T10:38:00.001-05:00

Goodreads is a social network for readers, boasting over three million users who search for book suggestions, create a list of what books they are reading, and even review and recommend books for others. There are many book lists and clubs from which to choose on Goodreads.

When you sign up with Goodreads, you search for books you have read (or want to read) and add them to your 'shelves'. Next you can add reviews about the books, giving as little or as much of your opinion about the book. Or you can keep it simple and use the five-star rating method.

What makes it social is searching for people you know -- by name, email, even other social networking sites you are using, like Facebook. You can even 'friend' authors on Goodreads!

You can connect your other social networking sites to your Goodreads, so whenever you add a book to your book shelves, or write a review, a post/announcement will post on the other sites, like Twitter.

For this Thing, take the Goodreads tour, then take a few minutes to explore the site on your own. Search for books you have read or want to read and see what others have written about them. Write about your experiences in your blog for Thing 14.

Optional: Sign up for a Goodreads account and share the link on your blog. To search for people you might now, you will have to create an account. You can use your Google account, if you like.

Thing 13: Google Docs

2010-06-26T08:36:00.002-05:00

Google is so much more than just a search engine, as we have begun to see in the 23 Things. Google Docs offers free, online tools which is very similar to Microsoft Office's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs. Google Docs allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, slideshow presentations, and even lets you share these files with others online for collaboration -- something Microsoft doesn't!

For this Thing, start off with a tour of Google Docs here.

Next, create a new document in Google Docs. Notice the formatting options available. Keep your document simple -- write something about yourself, what your plans are for the weekend, what you think so far of 23 Things @ Sims Library -- anything you like. Change the formatting on it by using the available tools (bold, color, font type, etc.). Add pictures or
attachments, or a bulleted list. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but play around with Google Docs to see what you can accomplish.

When you are finished, click the Save button, and then click the Share button. You'll have many choices on how to share the file you created, but for this exercise, choose "Invite People". Send the document to the 23 Things Leadership Team simsrefdesk@gmail.com.

Google Docs is a great alternative to MS Office, but be aware that because it is online, you can only access the files while connected to the Internet. Plus there are file size constraints because you are saving files on another server rather than your own computer.

For your blog post for Thing 13, include a link to the document you created (Hint: Go to Share and 'Allow anyone with the link to view' to get the link), and write your opinion about Google Docs. Do you think Google Docs will replace MS Office? How could businesses, schools, or groups benefit from Google Docs?

Thing 12: Blog Searching

2010-06-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

We have the basics of blogging down, now let's look at some more features of the blogosphere. Blogs can be indexed by search engines, just like any regular webpage, but your regular search engine is not the most accurate of tools to use.

Enter the Blog Search Engine.

Technorati is the most popular blog search engine today, enabling you to search within blog posts, blog tags, and even do advance Boolean searches (definition). "You can also search for posts that link to a particular blog -- a useful way to find additional blogs of interest"(source).

Using Technorati's Blog Directory, you can find blogs for specific categories, like music, technology, art, or even Green blogs. Technorati evaluates blogs for authority and influence, reducing the number of random, inaccurate blogs from your search.

Similar sites:

For Thing 12, visit a blog search engine and search for Web 2.0 blogs. Compare what you find by searching for the same topic in a regular search engine.

Post in your blog about your experience -- what you liked and didn't like, and which method you
preferred.

Thing 11: More Instant Messaging

2010-06-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

Things 10 & 11 go hand-in-hand, but this time around let's talk about

If you've played with Instant Messaging a bit you have likely noticed all the funny little faces available. These are called Emoticons (emotion icons), or Smileys, and are just for fun.
Originally, Emoticons were created by a specific pattern of keys typed to make the face, but nowadays your IM client will show you a cutesy, full-color picture, often even animated. You can still make the smileys by typing the characters, but they may or may not convert into the colorful versions.

Computer User.com offers a comprehensive list of Emoticons you can make with the keyboard.

Along with Emoticons comes Internet Slang, acronyms to speed up what you're trying to say. These have leaked off the web in today's world and found a place in every-day language. Some examples include LOL, OMG, BRB, ROFL. They do save time (if you know what they mean!) but remember, it is still slang.

When IM'ing (or anytime you're chatting online, really) you want to use Nettiquette, which is "etiquette on the Internet. Good netiquette involves respecting others' privacy and not doing anything online that will annoy or frustrate other people." Source
You now know that there are a multitude of choices for IM'ing and if you've checked with your friends to see which client they use, you very likely came across a major drawback: Not everybody uses the same IM client.

Don't fret; there's a solution! IM Aggregators!

Remember back on Thing 5 when we learned about Google Reader & RSS Aggregators? Well, the same concept applies here. Take a look at Meebo...

Meebo connects all of your Instant Messaging accounts into just one place. The benefit is that when you login to an aggregator like Meebo, all of your friends who are logged in on MSN, or Yahoo!, or AIM, etc. will be able to not only see you, but chat with you, too. Currently there are over sixty IM clients that will connect to Meebo.

For this Thing, just like last time, you do not have to sign up for IM. But for those of you who did sign up or are already using an IM client, create an account with Meebo and add your IM's to it.

Post your username and choice of service on your blog so other 23 Things @ Sims participants can log in and message you.
When you send add requests to other 23 Things participants, be sure to mention that you’re part of this group.

And don't forget to blog about your experience, whether you sign up for Meebo or not! Do you think Instant Messaging is still a valid method of social networking today? Can you think of a reason why Meebo, or similar sites, could be a bad thing?

Think about it...!
^_~

Thing 10: Instant Messaging

2010-06-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ah, Instant Messaging! Sometimes referred to as Chat, Instant Messaging is a way to "talk" to another person in real-time over the Internet. Once upon a time, Instant Messaging required installing software clients (applications) to run, but today you see it just about everywhere.

What is IM?

"Buddy" list of people
Message windows -- where the chatting is
Status messages
Personalization -- create different fonts, styles, colors
Send graphics, files, videos
Send to mobile devices
Even play games

Usually when you IM someone, they must first use the same program you are using and be on your list of Friends or Buddies.

IM today includes features beyond chatting, such as webcams, or voice chats, even file transfers. You can even save the conversation so you can read it again later.

Even though we're learning about Instant Messaging as a Web 2.0 tool, believe it or not, Instant Messaging is actually older than the Internet (source: PLATO 1960)! Check out these Amazing Facts and Figures about Instant Messaging from Pingdom.

If you have a Yahoo! Mail account, an AOL account, an MSN/Live/Hotmail account, a Google account, or any number of other social networking accounts, you already have access to IM.

Here is a list of sites where you can download Instant Messaging:

Like most activities online, you want to use caution when Instant Messaging, because just like your email account, people will try to Spam you!

For this Thing you do NOT have to sign up for IM. But, if you already have one and are willing to share it on your blog, please do so.

Either way, tell us what you think about Instant Messaging -- is it a do or a don't?

Thing 9: Social Bookmarking

2010-06-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Let's imagine you find a website you really like. You bookmark it so that you don't have to look it up again. Now let's say you're at work, or school, or at someone else's house and you want to go back to that site. You remember that you bookmarked it at home, but only at home. This is where Social Bookmarking steps in.

Social Bookmarking allows you to save your all your favorite websites online, share them with others, and even see what sites other people bookmarked.

Check out this video from Common Craft.

With a Delicious account, you can access any of your favorites anywhere you can access the Internet. The bookmarks can even be tagged so you can group similar sites together.

Watch follow this PowerPoint on how to create your own social bookmarking account.

How To Create A Delicious Account

View more presentations from Jacqui Sharp.

A couple points of interest about Delicious:

You can make your bookmarks private or public (for this Thing, though, at least make some of them public)

You can create a network of other users so you can see what news sites s/he adds

Delicious will suggest Popular Tags for sites, but you can still add your own tags

You can upload your bookmarks/favorites from your Internet browser rather than having to add each site separately

For this Thing, sign up for Delicious, upload some bookmarks, then share your Delicious URL on your blog. Be sure to write about your experience!

Thing 8: Tagging & Folksonomy

2010-06-09T08:00:00.002-05:00

Tagging is an informal method of describing things online in one- or two-word subjects. Tagging is left open to the user to decide which words best fit.

Along this same line is the term folksonomy, which is derived from taxonomy, meaning to categorize, and cleverly adding folks to represent those who determine how to categorize something.

The idea isn't new -- we've been tagging things in the 'real world' forever, adding labels to folders, or pictures, and such. The tags are uncontrolled. What you may see in a picture is a cat but someone else may see kitty or kitten. There is no set vocabulary to tagging, which can make it confusing, so keep your tags simple!

Tags can be added to photos, to web articles (like a subject heading), and even to blog posts -- look at the bottom of this Thing to see the tags I picked to describe Thing 8.

Is tagging a good thing?

For this Thing you are going to think back to Thing 3, when we looked at the tags on pictures on Flickr.

Go ahead and add tags to pictures you uploaded. Search for other tags on that site and don't forget to post a blog entry telling us what you like or don't like about tagging.

Thing 7: Wikis

2010-06-05T08:00:00.005-05:00

"Wiki" is Hawaiian for "quick" but it is also used to refer to a collaborative website where the content can be edited by anyone who has access to it!

Wikis are sites where anybody can add 'webpages' of information and anybody can edit them, as well. Everything Wiki seems to have captured the idea best. Take a look at this Wiki about Wikis to get a better idea -- http://wiki.wetpaint.com/page/Wiki+Defined

Probably the most famous Wiki is Wikipedia, which is an online collaborative encyclopedia. Anybody can add pages to Wikipedia and can edit any page of information -- that's why most teachers and educators do not support research from Wikipedia. There is too much of a risk that the information has been changed and is no longer correct.

For example, on Wikipedia you can see the history and what has been changed, as well as discussion. If you login to Wikipedia you can the make edits to the pages.

Even so, Wikis can be quite useful. Companies and groups worldwide use Wikis as an in-house website for information and projects. Individuals often use Wikis to keep up with personal projects, such as book clubs, school work, or to create a community online.

For Thing 7 you are going to search for a topic of your choice on Wikipedia. Look at what information is included there, then look at changes and discussions about that page.

Also, 23 Things @ Sims has created a simple Wiki for us to practice editing information. Watch this instructional video to see how to contribute to the Wiki.

What do you think about Wikis? Do they have a place in personal or professional life? How open should a wiki be -- can (should) anyone be able to view/contribute?

Don't forget to post your Thing 7 blog about what you saw and did!

Popular Wiki Software:

Thing 6: RSS

2010-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ever notice that little orange box with the white bands in your URL/Address box? That's RSS!

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and it is what makes your Google Reader work. Without getting too technical on you, let’s watch this video from Common Craft to better understand how RSS does what it does.

Okay, I will get a little technical with you! RSS uses XML so that you can have the latest postings sent to you automatically. XML, Extensible Markup Language, is “a highly- adaptable text format which is used to format or syndicate information using technologies like RSS feeds easier” -- source.

With your Reader you can subscribe to not just blogs but any site that features that little RSS symbol, either on the site or up in the URL box. Click on it and it will direct you how to subscribe to. Remember on Thing 5 we copied/pasted the URL of the site into the Add Subscription feature on Google Aggregator? This is much faster!

For this Thing you should find three sites that offer RSS and subscribe to them via your Google Reader. They can be anything you like! Then share what you found and your thoughts about Thing 6 on your blog.

Here are some suggested sites –

• http://librarianbyday.net/
• http://www.musicalpairings.com/
• http://www.thesimpledollar.com/
• http://www.dallasnews.com/ -- yes, even the Dallas Morning News!
• http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/
• http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/
• http://espn.go.com/

Thing 5: Feed Readers & Aggregators

2010-05-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

When you find websites that you visit everyday you can spend so much time checking each one individually – that’s counterproductive! By signing up for a feed reader, or an aggregator, you can have the latest news from your favorite sites sent to you on one page.

Aggregator software collects the headlines and stories, blogs, news, podcasts, and even more, into your Feed Reader. There are a number of Readers out there you can have, but let’s take a look at Google Reader:

For this Thing, go to Google and click on More, then Reader. Use the same login and password from your Blogger account (they both are Google programs).

Subscribe!

Click the Add a Subscription button in your Google Reader and subscribe to the 23 Things @ Sims Library blog -- http://simslibrary.blogspot.com/

1. Copy the address (highlight it with your mouse, right click and select Copy)
2. Click on the + Add a subscription button in the upper-left corner of your screen
3. Right-click on the box that opens and select Paste
4. Click the Add button

Google Reader lets you create folders to organize your subscription feeds. The more sites you subscribe to the more you are going to want to categorize!

Create a folder for Web 2.0.

1. Click on Feed Settings
2. Click on New Folder
3. Name the folder Web 2.0

Next visit the blogs of the other participants and choose at least two and subscribe to them, too.

Now that you’ve made your own Reader, be sure to post your thoughts on your blog!

Thing 4: More Photos & Images

2010-05-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Thing 4: More Photos & Images

Now that you have a Flickr account, let’s have some fun!
Photo mashups allow you to manipulate your photos in cool and funky ways.

Using the photos you uploaded last time to your Flickr account, create a mashup from one of the sites below and post it on your blog. You can follow the instructions to embed your mashup from whichever site you choose.
You can also save the image to your computer and use the add photo tool on Blogger to insert the picture to your blog.

Check out this Slideshow of Sims Library, done using Big Huge Labs' slideshow creator --

Playing with photo mashups is a lot of fun, but it can take some time to get it how you like it. Try different sites, different tools – see what you like and then tell us why on your blog. Don't forget to share what you made, too!

Big Huge Labs - lots of fun tools here, like the Mosaic and the Puzzle.
Wordle -- Create colorful, graphical 'word clouds' by entering words of your choice, to make a picture.
Spell with Flickr – Type in a word and it will use Flickr photos to spell it out.
Tagnautica – A navigational tool that connects one tag to similar tags.
Fastr – Put your tag guessing skills to work with this quick & fun tag guessing game!
Color Pickr – Here you can pick a color from the spectrum and find Flickr pictures that match.
Flickr Soduku – Try playing this popular game with Flickr pictures instead of numbers!
Be Funky Turns your photos into pop art.

These books were made funky on the BeFunky.com site

Thing 3: Photos & Imaging

2010-05-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Thing 3: Photos & Images

There are so many neat things you can do with photos in Web 2.0! For starters, you can share your pictures online through sites such as Flickr and Photobucket. If you already have a Yahoo account you can use it to log into your Flickr account.

On either Flickr or Photobucket you can upload your photos and tag them with keywords. You can then organize your photos into groups. Family, friends, even the general public can access your pictures.

Even Sims Library has a Flickr account. Check out our photos!

For this Thing search for photos on both Flickr.com and Photobucket.com – any topic you choose. Explore the tags on some photos. Here I searched for pictures about Web 2.0 on Flickr.

Next create an account on Flickr and upload some photos.

Post a blog for Thing 3 and tell us what kind of pictures you found. Write about your experience creating your account and uploading photos. And don’t forget to include a link to your photostream or album!

Thing 2: Blogging

2010-05-19T14:39:00.004-05:00

Thing 2: Blogging

The word “blog” is a shortened version of “web log” for an online diary or journal. Everyday people create a blog so they can share their everyday events, both ordinary and extraordinary, with the World Wide Web.

Blogs come in just about every shape, size, and style, from anywhere in the world. You can find blogs from librarians, teachers, students, gossip columnists, political figures, even imaginary characters! There seems to be no stopping the blog!

For this Thing you are first going to set up your own blog for 23 Things @ Sims where you will post all of your thoughts and activities.

Create Your Blog
Go to www.blogger.com and click the button “Create a Blog”. Since Blogger is part of Google it will ask you to also create a Google account. Follow the steps to create your blog.

When it asks you to enter a Display Name we recommend that you not enter your full name. Feel free to make your blog anonymous, even! Your blog will be viewable to the public, so keep in mind that anything you post and share could be read by anyone. Keep this in mind for all of the Things we will explore during the program.

Name Your Blog
You can name your blog anything you like (so long as the URL is available!) Be sure to check availability.

Choose a Template
Templates are color themes and backgrounds for how your blog will appear. Pick one you like – and don’t worry: you can always change the template later.

Well Done! You’ve made your blog for 23 Things @ Sims!

Now the second Thing to do is start blogging.

• Create a blog post for Thing 1 to introduce yourself to everybody.
• Create another blog post for Thing 2 and post your thoughts so far about Web 2.0 and blogging.

The third Thing to do for Thing 2 is to email the following details:

1. Your real name
2. Your blog URL

We will add all the participants’ blogs to our list here so we can see how everybody’s doing. We will not share your real name.

Thing 1: Intro to Web 2.0

2010-05-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

What is Web 2.0 and why should you care? Quite likely you are already using some Web 2.0 tools and didn’t even know it.

Wikipedia defines it as “The second generation of the World Wide Web, especially the movement away from static webpages to dynamic and shareable content and social networking.” It is collaboration – interactive information sharing through the web, moving from just reading a website to actually contributing to it.

First coined in 2004, Web 2.0 became the buzz word for technology on a social level that enabled people like you and me to create our own websites, upload videos, and add value to the World Wide Web.

Here we are going to cover 23 Things of Web 2.0 and learn their purpose and how we can join the social web. It only takes about fifteen minutes a day to play.

Don’t think of this as work or homework – it’s play time! Have fun!

For this Thing check out this video by Michael Wesch, The Machine is Us/ing Us and read at least one article below, then write about it in your blog.

What Is Web 2.0 by Tim O'Reilly
Web 2.0: Building the New Library by Paul Miller
The Language of Web 2.0 by Elaine Young and Rob Williams

Send your name and the URL of the blog you create to the 23 Things @ Sims Leadership Team. Our email address is SimsRefDesk@gmail.com