Social Software. Enables people to connect or collaborate through computer- mediated communication and to form online communities People form online communities.

Social Software

Social Software Enables people to connect or collaborate through computer-

mediated communication and to form online communities

People form online communities by combining one-to-one (e.g., email and instant messaging), one-to-many (Web pages and blogs), and many-to-many (wikis) communication modes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software

Social software works bottom-up. People sign up in the system (for example, by downloading an IM client and registering an ID there) and then they affiliate through personal choice and actions (I add you to my buddy list, and you decide to remove me from yours). http://www.darwinmag.com/read/050103/social.html

Blogs, RSS & Instant Messaging

What is a Blog?

A weblog (usually shortened to blog) is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles (normally in reverse chronological order).

The first blog was created in 1994

What Makes It A Blog?

Updated regularly with newest entries at the top Easy to use interface Ability to interact with others Not static Postings are automatically archived and searchable Available for syndication (RSS/XML)

Why Have Library Blogs

Build positive relationships with patrons Maintain and upgrade reputation Promote library events Responsive to patron feedback

BPL Blogs

Latest News Digital Collections Catalog Department

RSS

"RSS" stands for Really Simple Syndication

It's a Web tool that lets you create a personalized news experience by building an ad hoc online network of friends, experts and news sources. Minutes after they post a new story or blog entry, it arrives on your screen as a headline and short summary or in its entirety. Call it "news that comes to you”.

Free RSS Readers (also called feed aggregators) available (Yahoo,

Google, NewsGator, etc.)

RSS

Patron Bottom Line: RSS makes reviewing a large number of sites in a very short time possible.

Library Bottom Line: RSS permits instant distribution of content updates to patrons.

RSS may be to the Web what TiVo was to TV

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is real time communication between two or more people using computers, PDAs and cell phones.

Instant Messaging

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project (2004)

53 million Americans use IM 11 million use IM at work. 75% of online teens IM 42% of online adults IM 50% of IMING teens (32% of all teens) IM every day

Why Have Instant Messaging

The library can take advantage of this technology to provide real time (like the telephone) reference services to our patrons.

For many, not being available via IM is like not having a telephone number.

IM can make reference services relevant to a whole new group of users, while serving existing users even better.

Hearing-impaired individuals are giving up their traditional TTY/TDD systems for instant messaging.

Public Libraries with IM Service

Lansing Public LibrarySt. Joseph County Public LibraryMarin County Free LibraryWestmont Public LibraryCass District Library

BPL’s New Look

New design will launch in September