A CNN report last night said that the word "blog" is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. The same report also cited that 62 percent of all Americans have never heard of a blog and wouldn't know what one was if they saw it. I wonder what percentage of that 62 percent read the OED.... Continue Reading →
Balancing Work and Pleasure
With all the business that we conduct via email, the web, blogs, and other online mechanisms, it is often very difficult to unplug. Even at home, the computer can call out for you inviting you to check email, read a blog, fire up your aggregator. Before you know it, that casual glance at the computer... Continue Reading →
Blogging and Internal Communications
Steven Cohen and Meredith Farkas have recently posted about using blogs for internal communications. At my library, we use a blog to disseminate library news, and I have a blog that I use to complement my library instruction, reference, and liaison activities. Both blogs are primarily used to communicate information to the library's public users.... Continue Reading →
Stop Following Me
The big three, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN (I bet you thought I was talking about cars) have implemented rules for NOFOLLOW. A good explanation can be found in this article from ResearchBuzz!. The article gives a pretty nice explanation of how comment spam works, as well as this current method to address the problem. Links... Continue Reading →
Listserv activity dwindling, but overload continues
There is an interesting thread going on over at Web4Lib. Bernine Sloan initiated the conversation by stating that the message volume for the list has decreased. The numbers: > YEAR TOTALS > 2004 2919 > 2003 3324 > 2002 3892 > 2001 4591 > 2000 4645 > 1999 4521 > 1998 4566 > 1997 6521... Continue Reading →
How to write a good cover letter
With this rampant librarian shortage 😉 and all, it helps to have all your stuff together when applying for a new job. Christine over at NextGenLibrian has a pretty good write-up of what to do and not do with your cover letter. I have served on a couple of search committees, and it truly is... Continue Reading →
RSS: Real Sports Syndication?
Way to go ESPN! This is just another example of RSS working its way into the mainstream. ESPN.com now has RSS feeds. ESPN is calling their feeds "News Feeds" in order to demystify some of the tech jargon. The link above takes you to a page with the list of available feeds, as well as... Continue Reading →
So What Is RSS Anyway?
Several folks have been posting today about simplifying the RSS jargon. I agree that simplifying the names for the technology might make things a little easier. I am teaching a class on RSS for a second time, and this discussion of nomenclature reminds me that I need to check all of my handouts and workshop... Continue Reading →
What Libraries Are Doing With Blogs
blogwithoutalibrary.net has a really nice collection of libraries that are doing cool things with blogs. It's definitely worth checking out for ideas if you are looking to get your library blogging. Also worth a look if your blog has gotten a little stale and you're looking for some fresh ideas. It's good to see that... Continue Reading →