Pod/Vodcasting… Blogcasting?
The first place I went for information on Podcasting and Vodcasting was Wikipedia. The articles seemed to gravitate around needing a specialized player for them, i.e. iTunes or Zune Marketplace, (even though it prompted me to look up Doppler Software, which is now an open source program, that was developed to aggregate these casts and add them to your media player, I am a big fan of upstart programmers that distribute a quality, free product) which allow you to subscribe to the Pod/Vodcast within the player itself. As for myself, I am more interested in using audio and video casting features through my blog. Wikipedia’s “See Also” section to the rescue.
Blogcasting is virtually the same idea as pod and vod, only simpler because you use the rss capabilities already embedded in your blog software and simply add the video or audio to your blog post for your readers to enjoy. This probably also helps in allowing your casts to be search-able through regular search engines by including text about the video, or audio, in the posting. The article also talks about RSS narrators which can read a text post and turn it into an audio file, virtually making a regular blog post into a podcast. The main difference, as far as I can tell, is that it allows the “followers” of your blog to simply hit “subscribe” on your blog and received your vod or pod cast in the reader they already use without the need for additional software. Since I am all about simplifying and making things as easy as possible for my readers (otherwise I might lose potential readers who don’t have, or don’t want, the additional software) I think that blogcasting is the format I would chose. Especially since I don’t imagine that all of my posts would be in an audio or video format.
I have never subscribed to an actual pod or vodcast. I have known about them and what they could offer me for quite sometime but have never felt like going through the steps necessary to add them to my iTunes, or taking up precious space on my iPod (I absolutely need at least 15 straight days of music on my iPod at all times). As soon as I started looking up blogcasts however, I subscribed to 5 of them of them immediately. Maybe I’m lazy but I like everything to come to me in a nicely rapped package. The fact that I can get video and audio casts within my reader where I already go to get read my blog subscriptions appeals to me.
Mashups
I have loved the idea of mashups since the first time I heard about them. Being able to piece together different parts of the web and build something specific to your needs so appealing to me. Maybe it comes from growing up playing with Legos and Lincoln Logs. I wish I had been in class last week because this is one part of Web 2.0 that really interests me. I occasionally dig around on a web site called programmableweb.com that has a compiled list of mashups which total over 3,000. I think I tagged it to everyone in class on del.icio.us about this time last month when I first came across it.
I looked around at both Yahoo Pipes and XFruits, I would have looked at Google’s Mashup Editor but it is still seems to be in BETA testing. Both of the working editors seemed easy enough to use from the information provided, I think I might try to build a mashup myself, maybe something like Everyblock.com which is a mashup between Google Maps and major city’s real-time crime statistics. Currently they only have them for Chicago, New York, and San Fransisco, but I assume they are working on other major cities. It allows people to keep track of crimes, and high crime areas, pinpointed on a map. Probably a helpful tool when looking for a home or something along those lines.
Mashups allow us to customize our web experience based on our interests and needs. This in itself is what Web 2.0 is all about and I feel are one of the best examples of what type of changes Web 2.0 brings us. I can’t wait to see how Google’s mashup editor turns out.
P.S. to Research Process
So I was checking my RSS feeds this morning and while reading AskDaveTaylor’s feed I came across a question/answer that is very relevant to this subject, I figured I should append my post and share it with ya’ll. The question asked of Dave was “Dave, any tips on how to get the best possible search results from Google? I spend a lot of time using Google and seem to have a hard time finding just what I want…” He gives some pretty helpful answers, as usual, right here.
Research Process
The first place I went to begin researching this subject was the website listed on the back of one of Mr. Batchelder’s books called “Web Search Garage” by Tara Calishain. The website, http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/, was actually her blog but didn’t really have a whole lot of useful information on research processes, just some updates and links to other blogs and news articles. None of the links seemed to have much research information either, I think she saves the good information for her books, to give people a reason to purchase them.
I found a pretty interesting posting called Feeling Lost in a World of Search Zombies on the Association of College and Research Libraries’ blog. It references an article by Jakob Nielson called Bridging the Designer-User Gap in which he discusses research stating that 24% of people in a usability study weren’t even able to successfully run a Google search. This data might be slightly skewed or over-exaggerated since he is trying to sell readers on his usability camp, but it is interesting to read anyways. Anyone who has a chance should read the whole article, there is some other good points in it as well that don’t relate to searching. While the Nielson article is a little off topic, the way it is discussed in the ACRL post brings it closer to home. The article has one statement that says, “Have we created a generation of search zombies who listlessly tap away at the keyboard with no strategy at all just hoping they’ll find some information, and then mindlessly settle for whatever their first Google page yields?” This does seem to be the way a lot of people conduct their research on the Internet, which is a good reason why a lot of people have trouble finding exactly what it is they are looking for.
Successful research requires forethought and planning, dependent on what the desired result for the search is, different avenues have to be explored. For example, I found an excellent visual search engine for searching images and videos called oSkope which presents search results in a pretty original way. Google has some of the best search tools available, but that doesn’t mean they should be used exclusively in all research projects. Beyond selecting the appropriate avenue to begin a search, deciding how to word your search is also important. Nicole posted an interesting article from Google called, Advanced Google Search Operators which everyone should read if they run into problems getting the search results they are looking for, or narrowing down the volume of results that are returned. I like to alter the way I input search criteria, look over the results, and then further alter them. Tags and links in articles are usually where I end up finding what I am looking for, the searching just brings me to something related as a starting point.
Communities of Practice
Community of Practice, or CoP, is a term that I had never even heard of until it was brought up by Mr. Batchelder in class. So far all of the research assignments have been term that I was somewhat familiar with, just not very educated on. That being said, this weeks research has been somewhat new ground for me. Even though it has a lot of similarities to collective intelligence, it is quite different.
I found a blog by Steve Dale, it is called Steve Dale Online and it has a lot of information and links to different communities, groups and sites. He seems to be doing quite a bit of good work in this field and seems to have connections to a lot of CoPs. Through his blog I linked to a site called Communities of Practice for Local Government which is basically a forum for different CoPs. It even includes a search engine for finding a CoP you are interested in and allows you to apply to join them. Some other websites I found with a lot of information about CoPs are Communities of Practice by Community Intelligence Labs and Communities of Practice: Definition, Indicators & Identifying Characteristics by Distance Consulting who used this table to describe the key features of some different types of CoPs.
| Group Types | Function | Basis of Membership | Basis of Cohesion | Duration |
|
Communities of Practice |
Develop members’ expertise and define their place or role in the community |
Self selected |
Commitment and identification with the expertise that forms the basis of the practice |
As long as members have an interest in improving the practice and maintaining the community |
|
Formal Work Teams |
Perform the ongoing work that has been assigned to the team (e.g., produce and deliver a product or service) |
Everyone who has been assigned to the team |
Job/performance requirements and continuing, common goals |
Until the work or the organization is reorganized |
|
Project Teams and Task Forces |
Accomplish a specific task or assignment, usually during a particular time frame |
As assigned by the management |
Project milestones and goals |
Until the project or task has been completed |
|
Informal Networks |
Collect and share information of common interest |
Reciprocal value and acceptance, that is, members obtain and provide information of value |
Perceived value in belonging and participating |
As long as people have a reason to connect and share information |
CoPs seem to be very helpful to people in the same, or similar fields of practice. Whether they are sponsored or self-organized, they allow like-minded individuals to pass on things they learn that might be useful to colleagues and other people in similar situations. As time goes on I believe our class will function more as a Community of Practice and less as individual students. We already help each other, in some ways, to find and learn about the different aspects of what we are learning, and to complete assignments, but we could be more proactive in transferring knowledge amongst ourselves.
Blogging Professionally
I guess the first thing that came to mind when asked to research professional bloggers is, “what type?” There are people that blog professionally as a part of their job, like Jack Cafferty of CNN who is a paid news anchor on The Situation Room, but also manages a very professional blog called The Cafferty File which gets hundreds of comments per article. He obviously is getting paid a salary through CNN, but I guarantee that is not where his income for blogging ends.
Then there are bloggers like John Chow (his website seemed to be down tonight), Matt Coddington, Darren Rowse, and Jeremy Schoemaker, who are solely self-employed and only blog about their niche, or what interests them (some of them mostly blog about how to make money blogging). Without looking at bank statements it is hard to tell who is making the most money doing this, but the second type of blogger definitely has a lot more freedom, and probably the most potential to make good revenue in this type of business. It seems the best of the best blog about a fairly narrow subject, that has a broad enough range of subtopics to allow them to continually come up with new information to post about. This seems like the best way to build a loyal following, as well as it apparently helps to boost revenue due to the way AdSense, and search engine technology works. Dave Taylor has an interesting article about this called How can I improve Google AdSense ad targeting on my blog? which I found very interesting.
Anyone interested in reading about how powerful Google is to a blogger, potentially in a good, or bad, way should do a Google search for John Chow and look for some articles on his run-in with Google. The most interesting this to notice is how his site is no longer anywhere near the top of the search results, even when you are searching specifically for his name.
Blogging professionally does not seem like the market I am really interested in getting into, even though I do believe I will be using them much more frequently. That may change as time goes on, but for now I still thin freelance web design is where I want to be, career wise. It definitely can be a good source of revenue for those people who either have a lot of quality information to dispense, or those who just enjoy talking incessantly.
Collective Intelligence and Collaboration
While thinking about collective intelligence I realize that it is something that I contribute to, and pull from, already in my daily life. The way I use it, usually, is more personal and less via the web. I do use Wikipedia and other online sources with user content and information, but, in most cases when I want to know how to do something or know about something I ask someone in my network of friends.
For example, I try to be a pretty well rounded individual, be a jack-of-all-trades of sorts. I enjoy having many different types of skills and experience in a lot of different areas. While learning about the things I am interested in I make friends in that specific field which I can then call on for information when I am unsure about something. It is like Mr. Batchelder was talking about, tapping into someone else’s knowledge bank, without having to store the knowledge yourself. Since I enjoy doing things like: mechanic work, home improvement, working with computers, and gardening, I have built relationships with people that have experience in those fields. When I run into problems working on my car I call my friend Terry who was a mechanic for several years and now is a clinical tech at Children’s Hospital. When I have trouble with a home improvement project I call my brother Danny who has owned and run a contracting company since 2000 and is now studying forensic engineering at UT Austin. Even though I am pretty well versed in computer hardware and software, if I run into a problem on the software side of things I call my old IT mentor from two jobs ago, Renee, who guides me through any problems I am having. My friend Kenton is an avid gardener, as well as the lead singer of the band I manage, so I go to him with gardening questions and suggestions. And, God forbid, if I injure myself doing any one of those things I can always call Terry, or my step brother Walter who is a paramedic in the Travis County EMS.
Building a network of the same type of acquaintances, and relationships, in the web design field will be the first step to having access to all of the information you need. These can be online contacts as well, but I much prefer the personal touch, it gives you someone to hold accountable if their advice turns out to be incorrect. In researching this subject I came across excerpts of a book by James Surowiecki that really caught my attention, I have ordered the book to be able to read the whole thing but you can read a blurb and an excerpt of The Wisdom of Crowds here. The book seems to touch on the whole subject of group intelligence, he uses the show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” as an example of group intelligence, the percentage of “ask the audience” vs. “phone a friend” coming up with the right answer. I hope the whole book is as interesting as the excerpt and blurb make it seem.
Knowledge workers and managing knowledge is another article that I somehow navigated to while researching collective intelligence. While it does not directly explain collective intelligence, it talks about knowledge workers which I feel is something directly related to collective intelligence. The term refers to people hired on at a company based solely on the knowledge they posses, which is a form of collective intelligence. It also highlights how knowledge workers must continue to expand and adapt their intelligence (seems to me like P.L.E.’s and the proper use of collective intelligence) to stay ahead in their field, and not be caught up in the next wave of corporate downsizing. Managing, and sharing, the knowledge you posses is one of the most important parts of collective intelligence.
Collective intelligence may very well be the most important tool a web designer, or other knowledge worker, can possess to be successful in the job market today. Keeping up with sources of knowledge pertaining to our careers keep us at the forefront of our industry and make us indispensable to employers.
Tools for Learning to Learn
I am currently reading the article professor Batchelder posted on the Fundamentals blog about learning to learn. I thought I remember there being another, older, posting on the subject from him but could not find it, maybe I imagined it. While reading this article, and the included list, I was astonished at how many tools I already use regularly are becoming considered learning tools.
I have always been a self-learner, I teach myself new things as I travel along in life, and come across things I am unfamiliar with or need to learn. I use Google religiously when I don’t know about things, but want to. One saying I use almost daily when asked a question I don’t know the answer to is “I don’t know, but I bet Google does.” I, for one, know that this is usually the best way for me to comprehend and remember new information. I never thought that this type of learning would become accepted as a form of teaching by so many respected learning professionals. I feel that having to go out and find the answer to your own questions makes the answers to those questions more valuable to you once you find them. The more valuable the information is to you, the more likely you are to remember it, right? (luckily this is not an English paper, I would be failing for jumping back and forth between 1st and 2nd person so wildly) Not to mention what professor Batchelder emphasized in our very first class about the technology we are learning changing so rapidly that we will have to be able to continue to learn the rest of our lives to make it in web design.
I am currently using only a small portion of the learning tools listed in this article, but I hope to be adding more tools to my learning arsenal as I find the ones that work best for me. Even in the 2 and 1/2 weeks since we have started class the way I use the internet has changed drastically, adding del.icio.us, google reader, worpress, and netvibes has aided in the way I search for, and compile, data. In my free time over the next few weeks I am going to go over this list in more detail and see what else I can add to my “frequently-used-sites-list” to expand my learning experience even further.
RSS Feeds and content aggregation
RSS feeds are the simplest way to bring website, news, or blog updates directly to you using a reader, or other aggregating tool, which updates you with copies or excerpts of information you chose based on your interest. This saves the web user time by not requiring them to navigate through numerous pages to check for new articles, blogs, videos or other types of information on all of the source pages that interest them. Using an RSS feed combined with a personalized web portal like NetVibes.com can give you the convenience of a single home page with all of the information that you are interested in compiled in one location along for ease of use. I found one article that does an excellent job of explaining RSS, its uses and the underlying technology involved.
Web 2.0 And The Business Model
Researching and writing about Web 2.0 seemed like a fairly easy assignment when it was first given to us in class. Only after I started my research into the phenomenon referred to as Web 2.0 did I realize it would be a slightly more difficult task than I though. The over abundance of articles online that simultaneously agree with and contradict each other made my head spin. Too many people seem to be throwing around the term and trying to bundle themselves and their work into the umbrella of “Web 2.0”, whether they belong there or not, because it is just the “cool place to be”.
Since I am in web design for the sole purpose of starting a second business I decided that researching what Web 2.0 meant to the business model would be the most valuable use of my time. I came across a pretty good article written by Ken Yarmosh at Technosight.com (http://www.technosight.com/web-20-business-models) in which he does his best to shed some light on this area. Since the term is more of an idea and lacks an absolute definition it is difficult to say with absolute conviction what it means to the business model other than a trend towards a more semantic web featuring asynchronous data transfer. The most informative part of this article to me was his breakdown of the two main types of Web 2.0 business models and what they represent to the new internet.
To me, Web 2.0 represents the idea that people as a whole are no longer satisfied with being force fed data compiled by someone with most likely completely different views and interest, instead we prefer to teach ourselves, decide what it is we are interested in personally, chose from who and where we receive our knowledge as well as allow other users to hear our views and possibly learn from us in return. Being able to do this conveniently with tool such as Mashups, feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.), social networking, tagging and blogging are what allows the average Joe or Jane to feel pride in making a personal mark on the web.
Any business that hopes to do well in a Web 2.0 era has to keep a few simple concepts in mind; unless you have developed some new technology so innovative and exciting that it sells itself, you will not succeed in this emerging new interactivity oriented, folksonomic (I may have just invented that word) market without an outlet for end users to be able to network, provide their own content, show their personalities and try to make their voices heard. You must be able to do all of these things with a twist that is both interesting and original while being so convenient for your end users to come to and use your product that they would have no reason to go anywhere else. After all, according to Metcalfe’s law, the bottom line in Web 2.0 business is - the total value of the service is roughly proportional to the square of the number of customers’ utilizing the service.
