At our library, our staff take turns manning the IM service every hour. This past hour I had four IM's. As you can see below, we're receiving a variety of questions over IM. Student received an email that a book she requested through OhioLINK was in. She was needing to know where to go pick... Continue Reading →
IM, Email, and “Who am I talkin’ to?”
The 'brary Web Diva wants to know "should staff who share a "departmental" IM screen name identify themselves when responding to an IM?" Stop by her blog and leave a comment. It's an interesting question, and her post prompted me to think about the issue a little more. We've been using Trillian with our IM... Continue Reading →
Email is for Old People
The Pew Internet Study on Teen's and Technology is now available. Of particular note is the section on IM. An excerpt follows: For many years, email has been the most popular application on the internet - a popular and “sticky†communications feature that keeps users coming back day after day. But email may be at... Continue Reading →
Keeping Up with Technology
Meredith has written a great post advising library school students where to go to learn more about technology. My library school offered some basic computer courses which helped to build a decent foundation of technical knowledge. However, I've always been a hands-on kind of person, so I looked for a various ways to apply classroom... Continue Reading →
A Favorite Feature of Trillian
One fo my favorite features of Trillian is the ability to send everyone in a contacts folder the same instant message. Some possible scenarios when this might be used are as follows: You need backup at the reference desk Printing is down, and you can't wait for people to learn about this in an email.... Continue Reading →
Educause Webcast on Blogging, RSS, and Podcasting
Educause is offering the following webcast: Narrowcasting 101: Using Blogs, Podcasts, and Videoblogs in Higher Education When July 21, 1-2 EDT. Cost: About as cheap as it gets (Free!!!) Where to Register: Follow this link right here What's it about: A key element of the new Web is narrowcasting, which includes Weblogs, podcasts, and video... Continue Reading →
Podcasting 101
iLounge has a nice Beginner's Guide to Podcast Creation The walkthrough is quite easy to follow, but there is one catch: Amazingly enough, this first step is the one many podcasters skip: develop a plan. Before you start recording, think about what you want to say, and organize your show accordingly. Make notes, prepare your... Continue Reading →
Using Social Software to Understand Patrons
Scott Douglas' latest writing is sure to grab some attention, especially since the post was highlighted on Library Stuff. I am sure many will raise issues about the stereotypes of librarians. However, I was more interested in Scott's exploration of a social software called Myspace. Scott describes his first experience with MySpace: I saw many... Continue Reading →
IM Versus Web-based Chat
There has been a great deal of chatter (pun intented) around the blogosphere about IM versus Web-based Chat. It began with Aaron at Walking Paper linking to an a blog post that analyzes an article that he co-authored with Sarah the LiB. Stephen Francoeur puts in his two cents here and links to another analysis... Continue Reading →