I absolutely love Google documents and wouldn't be without it. Although I've never used it for work, in my personal life, I use documents, forms and spreadsheets to do just about everything. My writing is all in the cloud, which means I'm less likely to lose drafts and random snippets that I might want some day, and Google forms are just brilliant. I'm running something right now that has over 60 partipants, and the forms make life so very, very much easier. I think the best thing about Forms is the way the results are kicked out - easy to interpret and manipulate however you need. Although I've never used Google Presentations - and doubt that I'd want to move away from Powerpoint for creating them - being able to upload them to the cloud means I don't have to worry about file corruption or my terrible memory. If I forget anything, it'll be there for me to edit, and I can always download it as a .ppt file again.
Rather than email my form, I thought I'd try to embed it. Click the jump link to see if it worked!
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
MARCthulu fhtagn
This came up on various of my RSS feeds this morning, along with an invitation to the Cataloguer's Forum, so I couldn't resist re-posting.
The speaker is Simon Spero from ibiblio.org, and he gave this 2.38 minute talk at the recent Code4lib conference. Considering the OLIS issues this morning, it seemed appropriate...
I originally picked this up from Roy Tennant's post at Library Journal
[with thanks to Wiki for the title quote]
The speaker is Simon Spero from ibiblio.org, and he gave this 2.38 minute talk at the recent Code4lib conference. Considering the OLIS issues this morning, it seemed appropriate...
I originally picked this up from Roy Tennant's post at Library Journal
[with thanks to Wiki for the title quote]
Friday, 19 March 2010
All knowledge is contained on Wikipedia. Possibly
Wikipedia is both an incredibly useful resource, and the absolute bane of a teacher/information professional's life. It's become ubiquitous as a source of all knowledge, and a recent spat with the Encyclopedia Britannica didn't settle the matter, it only added fuel to the fire.
I use Wikipedia all the time to look up TV shows and people I've never heard of, as well as finding a good source of references. A good Wiki article is an absolute mine of information, as long as you're willing to scroll down to the bottom of the page and check where the information came from. If there's nothing there, then you have to take the information in the article with a pinch of salt.
Personally, I tend to find that the factual information in Wikipedia is normally pretty accurate. It's the interpretation I find a little suspect. So the science pages are actually pretty good (or so my chemist husband tells me) because they're pretty much copied out of a book. But historical or political pages are much more vulnerable to bias - famously, the George W Bush page has to be locked down to avoid one side or the other putting their own spin on the events of his Presidency.
I took a trip over to the web 2.0 wiki and added a few lines about the wiki we're using at the Law Library for managing our reclassification project - since the wiki isn't live yet, there's not too much to say, and I expect Helen (who's done more work on it than I have) will add more when she gets to this "Thing". I also had an interesting time glancing through notes about various Web 2.0 around Oxford and particularly the thought that has gone into how they're used. We use so many at the Law Library, that I'm not actually sure we need any more, but I like to see why libraries have chosen what they've chosen. Because in the end, all these things are just tools for doing the job, and each library will need different things from them.
And since I seem unable to disentangle Things 17 and 18, I've put more thoughts about Wikipedia under the jump below
I use Wikipedia all the time to look up TV shows and people I've never heard of, as well as finding a good source of references. A good Wiki article is an absolute mine of information, as long as you're willing to scroll down to the bottom of the page and check where the information came from. If there's nothing there, then you have to take the information in the article with a pinch of salt.
Personally, I tend to find that the factual information in Wikipedia is normally pretty accurate. It's the interpretation I find a little suspect. So the science pages are actually pretty good (or so my chemist husband tells me) because they're pretty much copied out of a book. But historical or political pages are much more vulnerable to bias - famously, the George W Bush page has to be locked down to avoid one side or the other putting their own spin on the events of his Presidency.
I took a trip over to the web 2.0 wiki and added a few lines about the wiki we're using at the Law Library for managing our reclassification project - since the wiki isn't live yet, there's not too much to say, and I expect Helen (who's done more work on it than I have) will add more when she gets to this "Thing". I also had an interesting time glancing through notes about various Web 2.0 around Oxford and particularly the thought that has gone into how they're used. We use so many at the Law Library, that I'm not actually sure we need any more, but I like to see why libraries have chosen what they've chosen. Because in the end, all these things are just tools for doing the job, and each library will need different things from them.
And since I seem unable to disentangle Things 17 and 18, I've put more thoughts about Wikipedia under the jump below
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Freeing up memory
Very quickly (because twice in one day is probably more blogging than absolutely necessary), I've seen three or four posts this morning about having to remember yet another username and password for the various Web 2.0 accounts.
There are two approaches to this. The first is to have them written down in a notebook. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but most hackings happen remotely, so whoever's trying to get into your computer is unlikely to also have access to your notebook. It's not foolproof, but for non-essential accounts (like the Web 2.0 ones), it can be handy. You don't even have to write down the whole password, just the equivalent of a security question to jog your memory each time.
The other approach is to use something like KeePass (assuming you can get past the spelling). It acts as a secure database for all your passwords, so you only have to remember one, super-strong password instead of lots of different ones. You can even set it so that it has to have a physical key as well - ie, you have to plug in a USB drive with the key file on it and enter your password in order to get access. You can install it on any computer, and it's about as secure as you can get.
It also frees up your memory, and allows you to use multiple passwords without worrying about forgetting them. Now, all I have to do is remember what passwords I used in the first place so I can put them in my KeePass account...
There are two approaches to this. The first is to have them written down in a notebook. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but most hackings happen remotely, so whoever's trying to get into your computer is unlikely to also have access to your notebook. It's not foolproof, but for non-essential accounts (like the Web 2.0 ones), it can be handy. You don't even have to write down the whole password, just the equivalent of a security question to jog your memory each time.
The other approach is to use something like KeePass (assuming you can get past the spelling). It acts as a secure database for all your passwords, so you only have to remember one, super-strong password instead of lots of different ones. You can even set it so that it has to have a physical key as well - ie, you have to plug in a USB drive with the key file on it and enter your password in order to get access. You can install it on any computer, and it's about as secure as you can get.
It also frees up your memory, and allows you to use multiple passwords without worrying about forgetting them. Now, all I have to do is remember what passwords I used in the first place so I can put them in my KeePass account...
Two steps forward...
And it was all going so well.
It's been interesting over the last few weeks to read how concerned people are about putting their personal information on the internet. It's a concern I understand, but particularly if you work in an Oxford (or other academic) library, there's already information about you out there. Your name is already searchable, and there might even be a staff picture that's accessible to anyone. For me, things like LinkedIn and Facebook are my chance to take back control of what's out there, so that when people search for my name, the first information they find is the information I've put out there.
My concerns have more been around keeping my online identities separate. For some years, I've had an online profile that I use for most things, and while there's nothing embarrassing/illegal attached to it, I do want to keep it separate from my professional life. When I set up this blog last year, I based it on that identity, but decided this morning it was time to do some cleaning up, and so I switched over to my personal/professional email address. Blogger was fairly helpful in doing this, but failed to warn me that I would end up 'unfollowing' all the blogs that I'd been following, which is less than ideal. Never mind, they're all still in my Google Reader.
Which is the other thing I need to do now - divide up my RSS feeds and the people I follow on Twitter between the folk I want to follow professionally and the folk I want to follow personally. That's quite important, especially if I'm going to give out blog/twitter/linkedin addresses to people. While I'm sure professional contacts won't mind hearing how late my train is, I'm fairly sure they're not interested in the random conversations I have with my friends about Doctor Who! I'm hoping it might also help me be more efficient, in that I won't end up distracted by craft blogs when I'm trying to keep up with the library world. It's a nice theory, but whether I can remember all the passwords for all the accounts remains to be seen!
It's been interesting over the last few weeks to read how concerned people are about putting their personal information on the internet. It's a concern I understand, but particularly if you work in an Oxford (or other academic) library, there's already information about you out there. Your name is already searchable, and there might even be a staff picture that's accessible to anyone. For me, things like LinkedIn and Facebook are my chance to take back control of what's out there, so that when people search for my name, the first information they find is the information I've put out there.
My concerns have more been around keeping my online identities separate. For some years, I've had an online profile that I use for most things, and while there's nothing embarrassing/illegal attached to it, I do want to keep it separate from my professional life. When I set up this blog last year, I based it on that identity, but decided this morning it was time to do some cleaning up, and so I switched over to my personal/professional email address. Blogger was fairly helpful in doing this, but failed to warn me that I would end up 'unfollowing' all the blogs that I'd been following, which is less than ideal. Never mind, they're all still in my Google Reader.
Which is the other thing I need to do now - divide up my RSS feeds and the people I follow on Twitter between the folk I want to follow professionally and the folk I want to follow personally. That's quite important, especially if I'm going to give out blog/twitter/linkedin addresses to people. While I'm sure professional contacts won't mind hearing how late my train is, I'm fairly sure they're not interested in the random conversations I have with my friends about Doctor Who! I'm hoping it might also help me be more efficient, in that I won't end up distracted by craft blogs when I'm trying to keep up with the library world. It's a nice theory, but whether I can remember all the passwords for all the accounts remains to be seen!
Friday, 12 March 2010
For the indecisive among us...
I am officially the happiest blogger in blogland this morning, thanks to the new customisable templates from Blogger. One of the things I always said I didn't like about Blogger was how I couldn't make this place look how I wanted, and that my options were really, really limited. If I'm honest, I still find the dashboard very confusing to use, but being able to not just tweak but completely control how my blog appears is a huge step forwards. I had been planning to shut this place down once 23 Things was over, but this might just persuade me to stay.
For more details, head over to the Blogger in Draft blog here and follow the instructions. The only thing you can't really do at the moment is upload your own photograph, but we're promised that it's coming.
Considering that when I was a student, I used to rearrange my furniture at least once a term, being able to rearrange my blog style is something that's surprisingly important to me. Thank you, Blogger!
For more details, head over to the Blogger in Draft blog here and follow the instructions. The only thing you can't really do at the moment is upload your own photograph, but we're promised that it's coming.
Considering that when I was a student, I used to rearrange my furniture at least once a term, being able to rearrange my blog style is something that's surprisingly important to me. Thank you, Blogger!
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
All a-Twitter
Ah, where would we be without Twitter? Actually, don't answer that.
I've had a personal Twitter account for some time, and as soon as I can come up with a username I can live with, I'll set up a work one (answers on the back of a postcard, please...) Initially, I think my sheep-like tendencies were why I got an account - everyone else seemed to be doing it, so I decided I would as well - and over time, more of my friends have headed over there. I don't update very much, mostly using it for seeing what my friends are up to and picking up links to interesting articles. In that regard, I seem to be the user that this article is talking about.
Yes, Twitter can be horribly mundane and boring, but there can also be some interesting debates sparked, and trending topics can tell you what people are talking about. I like Tweets from organisations and from people who know what they're talking about, and I think that having a work account would actually be good for me. At the moment, I have various library people on my following list, and they get mixed up with updates from friends and Radio 4 items.
It's amazing how involved Twitter discussions can get, considering the character limit, and I've noticed that the really intense ones tend to move off-Twitter after a while, because people get frustrated at not being able to make their whole point, so they make a blog post, Tweet the link and so move the discussion over there. Which is, in its way, just as effective.
For me, I'm going to make these 23 Things Things about getting better organisation of my Twitter feeds, and maybe looking at something like Tweetdeck, so that I can see results from multiple Twitter accounts at the same time. Given my history with monitoring programmes that don't run through Firefox (I love my browser!), I don't hold out much hope, but I'm willing to give them a try...
I've had a personal Twitter account for some time, and as soon as I can come up with a username I can live with, I'll set up a work one (answers on the back of a postcard, please...) Initially, I think my sheep-like tendencies were why I got an account - everyone else seemed to be doing it, so I decided I would as well - and over time, more of my friends have headed over there. I don't update very much, mostly using it for seeing what my friends are up to and picking up links to interesting articles. In that regard, I seem to be the user that this article is talking about.
Yes, Twitter can be horribly mundane and boring, but there can also be some interesting debates sparked, and trending topics can tell you what people are talking about. I like Tweets from organisations and from people who know what they're talking about, and I think that having a work account would actually be good for me. At the moment, I have various library people on my following list, and they get mixed up with updates from friends and Radio 4 items.
It's amazing how involved Twitter discussions can get, considering the character limit, and I've noticed that the really intense ones tend to move off-Twitter after a while, because people get frustrated at not being able to make their whole point, so they make a blog post, Tweet the link and so move the discussion over there. Which is, in its way, just as effective.
For me, I'm going to make these 23 Things Things about getting better organisation of my Twitter feeds, and maybe looking at something like Tweetdeck, so that I can see results from multiple Twitter accounts at the same time. Given my history with monitoring programmes that don't run through Firefox (I love my browser!), I don't hold out much hope, but I'm willing to give them a try...
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Joining the dots. Or not
I've had a LinkedIn account for a while, but once again, 23 Things has me updating the gadgets I'd forgotten about, and possibly remembering why I didn't use them in the first place.
The interface at LinkedIn is far from intuitive, but I definitely see the value in having a professional online network, as distinct from those provided by Facebook, Twitter and even Blogger. I know several people have raised concerns about privacy on LinkedIn, which is worth thinking about, but more concerning is that Facebook is also searchable. There's the fairly notorious case of students being hauled up in front of the Proctors because they had pictures of themselves being 'trashed' after exams, something the university authorities frown on (and fine for). I think there's something very useful about it being the first thing that comes up when an employer types your name into a search engine! Because like it or not, that's what happens nowadays.
I've added a few more people to my LinkedIn network and am going to hopefully make better use of it over the next few months. I'm not sure it'll ever be more than a handy sideline for me, but it would be handy to have somewhere that people can see about me without my having to list CV-type-stuff in my blog. That's definitely something to mull over.
The interface at LinkedIn is far from intuitive, but I definitely see the value in having a professional online network, as distinct from those provided by Facebook, Twitter and even Blogger. I know several people have raised concerns about privacy on LinkedIn, which is worth thinking about, but more concerning is that Facebook is also searchable. There's the fairly notorious case of students being hauled up in front of the Proctors because they had pictures of themselves being 'trashed' after exams, something the university authorities frown on (and fine for). I think there's something very useful about it being the first thing that comes up when an employer types your name into a search engine! Because like it or not, that's what happens nowadays.
I've added a few more people to my LinkedIn network and am going to hopefully make better use of it over the next few months. I'm not sure it'll ever be more than a handy sideline for me, but it would be handy to have somewhere that people can see about me without my having to list CV-type-stuff in my blog. That's definitely something to mull over.
Fess up
Okay, I have to be honest at this point and say that I'm not a huge fan of Facebook. It's not that I don't see its value, quite the contrary. When I've lost someone's email address, being able to find it again is terribly useful. It's also handy for keeping track of birthdays and seeing photographs and suchlike, but there's something about the small update window and the sheer volume of...stuff...that gets posted that puts me off Facebook. Not every platform suits everyone, and Facebook is definitely not for me.
On the other hand, I don't think that libraries can ignore the fact that Facebook is HUGELY popular (with people who aren't me), and having a presence can only be helpful. One of the things I do like about the Law Library's Facebook page is how much we can incorporate into one page. There's ways to search our catalogue as well as COPAC and WorldCat, and a widget showing our Delicious links. One of the best bits is that we can use a selective posting thingy to feed our Tweets into Facebook, which means one post puts updates in two places.
One concern I've seen coming up in lots of people's 23 Things blogs is how many different possibilities there are to 'network' using the internet. It's true that there are a plethora of options and that not everything will reach everybody. But I think that's always been true. There's never been a good way to reach everybody, and one of the joys of the internet is that we can connect all the scattered means of communication. We can link together our Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and LibraryThing accounts in each place, so it doesn't matter where people go, we're there.
That has to be a good thing, doesn't it?
On the other hand, I don't think that libraries can ignore the fact that Facebook is HUGELY popular (with people who aren't me), and having a presence can only be helpful. One of the things I do like about the Law Library's Facebook page is how much we can incorporate into one page. There's ways to search our catalogue as well as COPAC and WorldCat, and a widget showing our Delicious links. One of the best bits is that we can use a selective posting thingy to feed our Tweets into Facebook, which means one post puts updates in two places.
One concern I've seen coming up in lots of people's 23 Things blogs is how many different possibilities there are to 'network' using the internet. It's true that there are a plethora of options and that not everything will reach everybody. But I think that's always been true. There's never been a good way to reach everybody, and one of the joys of the internet is that we can connect all the scattered means of communication. We can link together our Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and LibraryThing accounts in each place, so it doesn't matter where people go, we're there.
That has to be a good thing, doesn't it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)