Global Neighbourhoods

About that Media Snack Meme ...

Jerimiah Owyang started a meme asking whether or not we respected "media snackers." My friends Kami Huyse and Geoff Livingston .  I don't much care for memes.  They seem a bit contrived to inflate links and that cheapens the quality of links or so it seems to me.

But I think, it's an interesting question, and I do believe social media is proving its self to be a great place to ask questions.  I find I get remarkably good answers without using memes.

I will answer Jeremiah's question because it is a good one. Media snacking is nothing new.  My parents were media snackers when they checked listings on TV Guide, or results of a stock they held, or the upper corner of the newspaper's front page to see the weather forecast.

Now we have social media and the quantity and quality of media snacks has improved.  They are popular with young people in particular because young people are driving social media, perhaps more than geeks these days.

It is not an issue of what I want.  It is more an issue of what those looking for entertainment and information want.  Social bookmarks divert traffic from my site. I don't particularly like that. But it's more important to me that because of them, we blogger, microbloggers, online video producers and social networkers have far greater opportunity to contribute to the body of knowledge as was evidenced on Twitter last night, when a moderate, but noticeable Earthquake shook up our physical community.

Facebook Israel is 1/3 larger than Facebook Silicon Valley

... and it's growing a lot faster. At this moment, [1 pm Pacific 11/31] Facebook Israel has 120,467 and it seems to be ticking up at about 20 names a minute. Silicon Valley has 83,772.

Ireland is also galloping along with 112,343. 

Twitterquake and Citizen Journalism

I was about to write a long and poignant post about my experiences last night when an earthquake struck the Bay Area, but I discovered  Scoble, as is often the case, beat me to it.
Scoble reported it exactly as I would have, so go read his post if you haven't already, then come back because I have a few thoughts to add, as I so often do.

Back already?

By the time the San Francisco Chronicle posted its first hot flash on the quake on it's 24/7 news site, 45 minutes after the avalanche of Twitter posts began,word of the quake had traveled several times around the world. The Chron add two very relevant points that Tweeters did not have. The magnitude (5.6) and the damage (no injuries).

This is something we've been talking about for years. People everywhere, walking around with internet-access phones are eye and ears for a global network. We have feet on nearly every street of the developed world.  We report what we see.  We do it fast and usually accurately.

Still, we cannot replace the discipline and structure of a professional news gathering organization. None of us thought to call the National Weather Service to get the Richter Scale  measurement.  Nor  did  we  call state police for injury and damage  reports.

My point is this: The world would be better served if we could braid the network of social media with the discipline of the traditional new gathering organization. So far, there are no good examples of this occurring and the world does not benefit from the chasm between an emerging institution and the obstinance of a crumbling one.

Double tri-latteral football

Bob Lagesse has the best stranger-than-fiction ending to a football game I've seen.Go watch his video on Stuffleufagus. However, I think he's wrong on the point of grammar.I didn't catch the phrase on the vid clip, but Bob quotes the announcer as saying,"doing a Trinity." Bob comments that the announcer effectively turned Trinity,a noun,into a verb. Sorry Bob, but I'm pretty sure the verb is "doing."

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Librarian Slides have beenreposted

My talk yesterday before the California Library Association went quite well considering I followed the awesome Craig Newmark and was last speaker on a Sunday afternoon where many people were heading out to airports.

As I'm annoyingly prone to do, Itweaked my PowerPoint until the very last minute. I have posted the new slides at Slideshare for anyone who wishes to see them.

My thanks again to more than 40 people who sent me thoughts on what to say.


Technorati Tags: CLA, Library

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Paula's Mom on her 1st Job & losing a parent

I've been playing a good deal with online video as a personal story-telling medium. My wife's mom does it better than I do. This one's in 2 parts.  At the very end, when I realized she was discussing her mom's death, I quickly flicked the camera back on.

She didn't know I was taping this second part until I told her. This is posted with her permission.

Library & BlogOrlando slides are up at SlideShare

I have finally taken Citizen Tara's advice and started using SlideShare. I have posted my slides from BlogOrlando as well as the slides I'll use tomorrow with the California Librarians Assoc.

In the past,I told attendees to email me if  theywanted to see my slides. This is simpler and faster.

Thanks,Tara.

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Stuard Henshall Reviews Social Media Club at Intel

Stuart Henshall has done a great job of writing up w2hat our panel said Monday night at Intel. I had a lot of fun that night because the audience, although relatively small, was highly engaged.

As moderator I did everything I could to make as much of the event as possible an interactive conversation between attendees and speakers. I will keep doing that whenever I serve as moderator. I've eliminated that part where the moderator is supposed to ask probing questions and then each panelist answers asthe audience dozes off.


Technorati Tags: Social Media Club, Stuart Henshall, Intel

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What I'll tell the Librarians

If nothing else, my previous post asking what I should say in a speech to the California Librarians Association, produced over 30 responses. Clearly people are passionate on the subject.  Clearly they also have a positive outlook for the need for libraries.

Below is my preliminary outline for talking points I will deliver at Long Beach Convention center this Sunday night. My outline was a mess a couple of days ago, but Ivan Chew, the Rambling Librarian has helped get me organized and focused, proving once again that librarians by their nature are both generous and well-organized.

Special thanks also to the 30 of you who contributed by joining the conversation. I have given credits to those of you, from whom I directly borrowed.  If you feel overlooked, lease let me know.

Everyone else. Please let me know how I can correct and improve on this.  There is still time.

1.    US Libraries may be alive & well

•    5 X Amazon.com customers
•    $14 b, more than running shoes
•    1 in 7 people have library cards
•    But there’s a storm coming?

2.    Storm Clouds

•    Fewer visitors
•    Fewer check outs
•    Miscellaneous beats Dewey
•    Stodgy “non-hip” image
•    Free no longer unique
•    125 YouTube downloads for every NYT paper read

3.    The Internet is:

•    An infinite repository of information
•    Every library can use it to provide infinite bookshelves
•    Let’s people everywhere share what they know and think
•    Inexpensive

4.    Internet is eating up everything

•    Traditional media
•    Geography
•    Local communities being replaced by global neighborhoods
•    Book-scanning
•    Digital-reading devices
•    Point: Libraries need to adapt or prepare for Jurassic Park

5.     What is social media?

•    2 guys at backyard fence
•    2 yrs from blogs 2 social media tool warehouse
•    About conversations, not tech
•    SAP Survey-Youth driven

6.    The Online Generation

•    College freshmen younger than the internet
•    Online more than on TV or phone talk
•    Influence each other
•    Teflon resistance to marketing as you know it
•    Changing habits. Changing culture. Changing everything

7.         Will social media kill libraries?

•    Of course not. Don't be silly
•    Nothing beats face-to-face
•    Library as community spaces.
•    Access for left out people
•    Many changes needed
•    ‘Online Generation’ spurns brick & Mortar
•    Global more attractive than local

8.    To Engage the Online Generation

•    Use social media to join  conversations
•    Become expert resources on how to use the tools
•    Use social media to eliminate physical boundaries
•    Librarians as Internet knowledge guides
•    Infinite bookshelf is hear.
•    Virtual books? The content is what’s relevant
•    Use real places to explore digital spaces
•    Bridge the digital divide
•    Go multimedia

9.         A few case studies

•    CSLibrary Casa Grandes Colo librarian uses Twitter/blog to engage in community conversations with community youth.  Those conversations coincide with a 30% uptick in traffic, mostly young people
•    LO-Fi Librarian, a UK Law librarian follows users on Facebook. Uses a Blogger/Facebook  not to look cool, but to deliver services, communicate with/users and raise her library's profile.” Also following users in facebook.
•    YALSA  has a blog that lsook at anything tagged 'Technology' for social networking posts.  Members  have been podcasting, Twittering (@yalsa), and posting bookmarks at del.icio.us for awhile. Part of their gaming panel took place in Second Life
•    The American Library Association lists their social networking tools on their wiki .

10.    Social media can

•    Let friends share what they’re reading
•    Let readers review books for local communities.
•    Let community tell library what they want

11. Librarians can

•    Use scanned volumes to give users infinite stacks
•    Serve as Internet guides to literature
•    Understand the power of discovery through tagging
•    Blog. Tell users  what’s happening through RSS feeds
•    Blog. Let users tell you what should happen

12. Librarians can also

•    Join a global librarian network. Share with a wiki
•    Use Twitter so people ca get info from mobile
•    A global librarian online network
•    Link/point to your users
•    Distribute current community information

13. A global network of librarians

•    Meet others like yourself
•    Share passion and authority
•    Learn about innovations elsewhere
•    Collaborate to solve problems

14. Barriers

•    Few
•    Requires change in focus
•    Significant time investment
•    Approval process.
•    Too many options. Choose wisely

15.  Special thanks:

•    30 people responded to my blog and Facebook questions
•    Name: http://www.aliconferences.com/conf/social_media_govt1207/day1.htm
•    Ivan Chew, Rambling Librarian  —Singapore
•    Lo-Fi Librarian, anonymous UK Law librarian blogger/Facebook user
•    Shawn Lea , Everything and Nothing
•    Rohit Bhargava, Influential Marketing Blog
•    Randi Mason, MLS, PRSA

If you are attending the conference, please let me know if this is what you want to hear.

Facebook Israel nearing 100K users, up 33% in about 9 days

Less than a week ago I reported on Facebook's phenomenal  growth in Ireland and observed th that Facebook seemed to be exploding in all countries where English was the primary language. A A Faceboo Group discussion primarily between Jeff Pulver and Moshe Maeir indicates that Israel, a country whose rimary language is Hebrew is about to cross the 100,000 member mark.  According to Jeff, it has sprinted up by 33% in the last nine days.

This in a nation whose population is 7.15 million. If the numbers prove accurate, that would mean about one in 70 Israelis are now on Facebook, with the adoption rate accelerating. That is truly amazing.


Technorati Tags: mashe maeir, jeff pulver, facebook, israel

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