Blogs Wikis MySpace oh my

1
Blogs? Wikis? MySpace? oh my!

• Understanding and Using Popular Web Tools with
  teens in the library

Kati TvaruzkaAssistant Professor/Education
Reference LibrarianMcIntyre Library, UW-Eau
Clairetvaruzke_at_uwec.edu
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What is this Web 2.0, anyway?

• The second generation of Internet-based services
  that emphasize online collaboration and sharing
  among users
• The Read/Write web
• A social phenomenon

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Some Definitions

• Blog
• Short for weblog, a website that displays in
  chronological order the postings of one or more
  individuals and usually has links to comments on
  specific postings. (The American Heritage
  Science Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company.)
• Wiki
• a collaborative website whose content can be
  edited by anyone who has access to it (The
  American Heritage Dictionary of the English
  Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin
  Company, 2004.)

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Some Definitions

• RSS
• (Really Simple Syndication) any of various XML
  file formats suitable for disseminating real-time
  information via subscription on the Internet. RSS
  has become a popular technology for bloggers and
  podcasters to distribute their content.
  (Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English,
  Preview Edition (v 0.9.6). Lexico Publishing
  Group, LLC.)
• Aggregators
• collects and organizes the content gathered via
  the RSS feed (Richardson 8)

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Some Definitions

• Social Networking
• the use of a website to connect with people who
  share personal or professional interests, place
  of origin, education at a particular school, etc.
  (Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English,
  Preview Edition (v 0.9.6). Lexico Publishing
  Group, LLC.)
• Podcast
• a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed,
  accessed by subscription over the Internet
  (Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English,
  Preview Edition (v 0.9.6). Lexico Publishing
  Group, LLC.)

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Do you blog?

• At least 66.6 million blogs out there
• Over 175,000 new blogs created every day
• Average of 1.6 million posts per day thats
  over 18 updates a second!

Source Technorati.com blogging tracking
service, accessed 2/1/07
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Blogs in the Library

• So many uses, and oh so easy
• News Current Events McIntyre News
• Highlight new acquisitions
• Book Reviews yours and others
• Focus on different departments IMC News Blog

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Library Blogs for Teens

• Keys to a successful blog
• Appearance
• Content
• Comments
• Organization and Navigation

Source Purdy, Rebecca. Do You Blog A New
Way to Reach Teens e-VOYA, October 2006
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Great Library Blogs for Teens

• Techno Teens LIVE (Orange County, FL) -
  http//www.ocls.info/Children/Teen/doit/TechnoTeen
  s_000.asp?bhcp1
• Stuff for Teens (Bartlesville, OK) -
  http//www.bartlesville.lib.ok.us/blog/teens/
• Parma Public Library (Hilton, NY)-
  http//parmateens.wordpress.com/
• For more library blogs check out
• www.blogwithoutalibrary.net

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Starting a blog
Free blogging software that requires no
installation for the user

• Blogger - http//www.blogger.com/
• Live Journal - http//www.livejournal.com/
• Xanga - http//www.xanga.com/
• New Blog - http//newblog.com/

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Do you MySpace?

• Staggering statistics
• More than half of all online American youth ages
  12-17 use social networking sites
• Older teens (15-17 years) use it more
• More girls than boys
• 91 use the sites to stay in touch with friends
  they see frequently
• 17 say they use sites to flirt
• 70 of online girls (15-17) have created profiles
• 57 of online boys (15-17) have created profiles

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Do you MySpace?

• MySpace dominates the social networking world
• 85 of teens polled say they use MySpace
• 7 of teens polled use Facebook
• Almost half of teens polled visit the sites
  either once a day or several times a day
• 66 of teens who have created profiles limit
  access to their profile pages
• Most popular way of communicating on these sites
  is to post a message to a friends profile, page
  or wall

Source Pew Internet American Life Project.
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Libraries MySpace a good mix?

• More than just appearances
• Just adding your librarys profile to MySpace
  will not
• Make your library more visible
• Make your library more cool
• Theres a vast difference between just being
  where our customers are and being useful to them
  where they are.

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Making MySpace Useful

• Use MySpace as an extension of your librarys
  website
• Feature new materials with links directly to your
  catalog
• Link to librarys catalog, research guides,
  bibliographies, photos, calendar of events for
  teens
• Use it as a way to do readers advisory
• Use it as a means of two-way communication

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Libraries Using MySpace

• Good examples of library MySpace pages for teens
• Osceola Library, Kissimmee, FL http//www.myspace.
  com/osceolalibrary
• Plano Library, TX http//www.myspace.com/planoteen
  s
• Teen Tower, Castle Rock, CO, http//www.myspace.co
  m/teen_tower
• Hennepin County Library, MN http//www.myspace.com
  /hennepincountylibrary
• For more libraries on MySpace visit
  http//groups.myspace.com/myspacelibraries

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But who has the time?!

• Sure, this all sounds good, but
• Involve teens you know and trust
• You provide the content and some oversight, but
  let them manage it
• Blogs and social sites must be updated often
  teens are already there!
• Add them be in your blog contributor list
• They can do it from anywhere

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References

• Lenhart, A., Madden, M. (2007, January 7).
  Social Networking Websites and Teens an
  Overview. Washington, DC Pew Internet
  American Life Project. Retrieved January 15,
  2007, from http//www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS
  _Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf
• Purdy, Rebecca. Do You Blog? A New Way to Reach
  Teens. e-Voya. Retrieved January 15, 2007,
  from http//pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200610YAClick
  s.pdf
• Purdy, Rebecca. Getting to Know You. e-Voya.
  Retried February 1, 2007, from http//pdfs.voya.co
  m/VO/YA2/VOYA200702YAClicks.pdf