So, is MOLDI the worst acronym in the history of the universe or what!? I cringe every time I say to a customer, "let's visit the MOLDI Web site..."
Whew! I feel so much better now.
There are some problems with MOLDI. It's not the content - we have lots of content, although many publishers have exclusive deals with competing services and we'll never see their material.
Mainly, the problem is that the site is sooo Windows - it takes 10 screens to get to the download now button. The help pages are even more difficult; don't believe me? I dare you to read the entire Help - Troubleshooting - Adobe PDF eBooks page without flinching.
What I believe our customers want is a Geico experience: so easy even a caveman can do it. I understand OverDrive is working to improve the user experience. Good for them!
Of course those MP3 audiobook files are coming soon and, coupled with the promised Media Console for the Mac, many more customers will have access to our eServices. If we communicate the news appropriately, our digital checkouts could rise pretty dramatically. It's all about having the right tools and the right technology!
I gaze skyward and yearn for that glorious day when all files are DRM-free and play on all devices. And yes, I am familiar with the phrase "when hell freezes over".
Tuesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 22
Thing #21: Podcasts
I've been a subscriber to podcasts for years. Using the indespensible iTunes (a free download here for Mac and PC) at home, podcasts are downloaded and waiting for me to listen to. When I take my morning constitutional (that's a walk for you whippersnappers) I plug into my iPod and catch up with news from NPR and my favorite organizations - almost every large group has a podcast, it seems.
I used Podcast Alley to find a couple of podcasts to add to my Bloglines account. It's a fine service but it makes you work way harder than iTunes does; the Apple product doesn't require navigation through a Web site with glitzy graphics and eye candy, just a directory.
I noticed many of the 5 Featured and 5 Newest podcasts from Podcast Alley are naughty by nature. I guess some podcasters will do anything to build an audience.
I used Podcast Alley to find a couple of podcasts to add to my Bloglines account. It's a fine service but it makes you work way harder than iTunes does; the Apple product doesn't require navigation through a Web site with glitzy graphics and eye candy, just a directory.
I noticed many of the 5 Featured and 5 Newest podcasts from Podcast Alley are naughty by nature. I guess some podcasters will do anything to build an audience.
Librarians Of The World Unite! We Have Nothing To Lose But Our Snags!
Comrades, the capitalist pigdog Stephen Colbert featured the following video on his counter-revolutionary opiate for the masses known as "The Colbert Report":
And don't forget, Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia!
And don't forget, Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia!
Monday, October 20
Thing #20: YouTube
I've been a YouTube addict for years now. There's no better place to find all the political stuff I love, the Daily Show and Colbert Report segments, and weekly "New Rules" from Bill Maher.
Oh, and library stuff too, sure. Speaking of which, here's a cute homage to South Park promoting National Library Card Week:
I think YouTube can be a fantastic communication tool for libraries. CML has a lot of visibility on YouTube IMHO. Once a video is created it can be presented so many ways: YouTube, podcast, television broadcasting, Wed site, public meetings, staff meetings, etc.
Someday CML customers may make their own videos about their library and put them one the CML Web site. Won't THAT be cool?
Oh, and library stuff too, sure. Speaking of which, here's a cute homage to South Park promoting National Library Card Week:
I think YouTube can be a fantastic communication tool for libraries. CML has a lot of visibility on YouTube IMHO. Once a video is created it can be presented so many ways: YouTube, podcast, television broadcasting, Wed site, public meetings, staff meetings, etc.
Someday CML customers may make their own videos about their library and put them one the CML Web site. Won't THAT be cool?
Tuesday, October 14
Thing #19: CML Tool Box
How much is Google paying us to promote Gmail?
Just kidding, of course. As a gateway to Google's myriad free online services, Gmail blows all the other free email services out of the water. Many of the other tools look oh-so-familiar now that I've done 19 Things. I'm a bit surprised that Flickr or Photobucket aren't on the Tools list.
Note: time to update the page to reflect delicious' new name (sans periods).
Just kidding, of course. As a gateway to Google's myriad free online services, Gmail blows all the other free email services out of the water. Many of the other tools look oh-so-familiar now that I've done 19 Things. I'm a bit surprised that Flickr or Photobucket aren't on the Tools list.
Note: time to update the page to reflect delicious' new name (sans periods).
Friday, October 10
Thing #18: Exploring Web 2.0
I was scanning the seomoz.org award winners list and stumbled upon ColorBlender. Back in the day, before I was a student and I had spare time (sigh), I was a volunteer Webmaster and built sites from scratch. I know, what a quaint notion! Anyway, picking complimentary colors is not my strong suit so I relied on a color wheel and my own flawed color sense to create the palette for each site. Why didn't I know about ColorBlender then?
There are several cool tools on the site but my favorite lets you adjust RBG scales to create a color you like, then provides complementary colors including their hex code numbers for XHTML color control. By moving the RGB slides all the colors change at once.
It's almost too easy! Maybe I should have used this site when my wife and I were picking a color scheme for the first floor of our house!
There are several cool tools on the site but my favorite lets you adjust RBG scales to create a color you like, then provides complementary colors including their hex code numbers for XHTML color control. By moving the RGB slides all the colors change at once.
It's almost too easy! Maybe I should have used this site when my wife and I were picking a color scheme for the first floor of our house!
Thing #15: Wikis
Such fun! I first used a wiki in a Foundations of LIS class at Kent State. I was in a workgroup and we set up a wiki to centralize and edit a presentation about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). After the presentation, we added our final information to a wiki for all the presentations.
I poked around the OSU - that's Oregon State University - wiki. I'm borrowing parts of their organizational structure for a new AV Division wiki I set up a few days ago. We have so much information scattered around in notebooks, files, etc. and a single spot to put all of it should be very handy.
I poked around the OSU - that's Oregon State University - wiki. I'm borrowing parts of their organizational structure for a new AV Division wiki I set up a few days ago. We have so much information scattered around in notebooks, files, etc. and a single spot to put all of it should be very handy.
Monday, October 6
Thing #17: Online Productivity Tools
I began using Google Docs during an Academic Libraries class. We worked in small groups, and the groups shuffled members every week. Rule #1 was that everyone in the class was required to have a Gmail account.
For one assignment each group had to create a spreadsheet of detailed information about different research universities - number of students, size of library, that sort of thing - and we couldn't have done it if not for a shared spreadsheet on Google. It's an awesome, albeit basic, tool.
As Google and other online toolkits become more full-featured and reliable, Microsoft will have a tough time selling its top-shelf Office suite.
"Tell me again, why should I spend $600 on your productivity suite that's full of tricks I never use, when I can get one for free?"
I'm not willing to ditch Excel just yet, but the day will come, and soon.
For one assignment each group had to create a spreadsheet of detailed information about different research universities - number of students, size of library, that sort of thing - and we couldn't have done it if not for a shared spreadsheet on Google. It's an awesome, albeit basic, tool.
As Google and other online toolkits become more full-featured and reliable, Microsoft will have a tough time selling its top-shelf Office suite.
"Tell me again, why should I spend $600 on your productivity suite that's full of tricks I never use, when I can get one for free?"
I'm not willing to ditch Excel just yet, but the day will come, and soon.
Thing #14: Library 2.0
No startling revelations here, just an observation: my major Midwest Library needs to work on the "inviting customer comments" piece.
Of course, we have carefully planned public meetings and other formal opportunities for the public to tells us what they think of us. We also have blogs for customer feedback. I think we need a method for recording feedback and comments on individual items in the library's collection. One of the articles mentioned an experience where customers could "rate" items. Personally, that's my favorite part of Websites such as cduniverse.com and Amazon. I love finding other people who are passionate about the same movies and music that I am.
Isn't the library growing from a "come and borrow place" to a "come and do place" where people can share their common interests? I welcome Web 2.0 technologies as an easy way to collect and make transparent feedback from customers about our collection and our perceived value to their lives.
Of course, we have carefully planned public meetings and other formal opportunities for the public to tells us what they think of us. We also have blogs for customer feedback. I think we need a method for recording feedback and comments on individual items in the library's collection. One of the articles mentioned an experience where customers could "rate" items. Personally, that's my favorite part of Websites such as cduniverse.com and Amazon. I love finding other people who are passionate about the same movies and music that I am.
Isn't the library growing from a "come and borrow place" to a "come and do place" where people can share their common interests? I welcome Web 2.0 technologies as an easy way to collect and make transparent feedback from customers about our collection and our perceived value to their lives.
Thing #12: Twitter
I've been Twittering for about a week now. It's not a tool I'm finding very useful yet.
I installed the Twitbin extension for Firefox on my home Mac and have it running all the time. Oh sure, it's fun to see who's online and what they're thinking and doing, and tweets from my favorite organizations are interesting, but Twitter seems to divert me from my primary tasks. Distractability was already a problem for me and Twitter simply enables the ADD part of my brain to lose focus.
For folks who process their social network lives in information "droplets", I can see Twitter would be a valuable adjunct to IMs and text messages. Twitter could be a secondary way to communicate quick messages to customers who are online. It'd even be useful way to communicate withing CML - at least as useful as a quick email message.
If I was more committed to Twitter-style communication on a personal level - and if more of my friends outside of CML used it - I'm sure I'd value it more. As it is, it's an amusing and occassionally informative novelty for me.
I installed the Twitbin extension for Firefox on my home Mac and have it running all the time. Oh sure, it's fun to see who's online and what they're thinking and doing, and tweets from my favorite organizations are interesting, but Twitter seems to divert me from my primary tasks. Distractability was already a problem for me and Twitter simply enables the ADD part of my brain to lose focus.
For folks who process their social network lives in information "droplets", I can see Twitter would be a valuable adjunct to IMs and text messages. Twitter could be a secondary way to communicate quick messages to customers who are online. It'd even be useful way to communicate withing CML - at least as useful as a quick email message.
If I was more committed to Twitter-style communication on a personal level - and if more of my friends outside of CML used it - I'm sure I'd value it more. As it is, it's an amusing and occassionally informative novelty for me.
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