Conclusion

This blog was dedicated to Web 2.0 and its technologies. As I mentioned before in other posts Web 2.0 is all about people. Web 2.0 is characterized by networked communities in which users contribute content, interact, and collaborate. Because of the easy access and great applications Web 2.0 technologies provide, students have become more involved with the internet. Libraries worldwide are becoming socialized institutions - taking information to users in the time and place that they need it, and in a format that they can have input into it. 


I hope this blog provided a clear view of what Web 2.0 is and showed you some of the new technologies out there and how to use them. Personally my favorites were the RSS and Google Apps. 

Glimpse the Future

Libraries have often been on the cutting edge of introducing new technologies - change is essential if we are to continue to provide information for the modern student in the format, time and place that they need and expect it. There are many other 2.0 technologies out there that we don't even know about. 


Exploring one of 2.0 technologies: Virtual world
A virtual world is a genre of online community that often takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment, through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects[1]. Virtual worlds are intended for its users to inhabit and interact, and the term today has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of avatars visible to others graphically.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is, among other things, about the Semantic Web and personalization. Focusing on the computer elements, Web 3.0 is where "the computer is generating new information", rather than humans. 

Google Apps

Today, Google is not just a search engine. It provides many valuable services such as 'Google Apps'. Google Apps is a service that provides independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites.


One of the services that Google Apps provide is Google Docs . Google Docs makes sharing documents extremely easy. Instead if sending and attaching documents through email you can just post them online where only trusted people whom you give access to can edit and make changes all in one document.


Another application provided by Google  is iGoogle.   iGoogle (formerly Google Personalized Homepage and Google IG), is a customizable Ajax-based start page or personal web portal much like My Yahoo!, and Windows Live Personalized Experience. Google originally launched the service in May 2005. Its features include the capability to add web feeds and Google Gadgets. You can customize your homepage and basically add whatever you want.

Social Networking

Networking is very important. When you travel you look at a network, and when you need help you go to your network of friends. Social networking simply makes connecting easier for you.


What is Social Networking  ?

•  A social network service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people.

Social Networks exist to help people keep in touch professionally or personally. Social Networking sites provide users the freedom to add pictures, slideshows, video and audio excerpts, give virtual gifts and even custom designs.

Types of Social Networking services:

Social Networking in Libraries:

With over 274,000,000 people using social networking sites (2007), libraries should be “going where the users are”! According to OCLC (2006) 89% of College students start an information searchwith a search engine… only 4% start with a library web site or database! 18.1

Many libraries worldwide are using social network sites to:

Speak the language of their patrons/clients

Show them the library

Podcasting

What is Podcasting?

A podcast (or non-streamed webcast) is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. The word usurped webcast in common vernacular, due to rising popularity of the iPod and the innovation of web feeds. it is simply a recording that has been made available in a usable format on the internet.

In 2005 podcast was named the “word of the year” by New Oxford American Dictionary. The word “podcast” comes from joining Portable on Demand (pod, like iPod) and “cast” from Broadcast”, Podcast!

How to podcast?

There are many, many podcasting directories and finding tools out ther, below are just four of the more popular ones. iTunes - the most widely known service associated with podcasts, not just for Apple users. Almost anyone with an Internet connection and some inexpensive audio equipment can produce a podcast and make it available online. T o start podcasting you will first need to create a podcast with Audacity the record your podcast and lastly publish and distribute it.

Podcasting and Libraries:
Podcasting is very famous when it comes to libraries. Many libraries are using podcasts to group their programming or to share other information such as book or even movie reviews. This process makes everything easier in the library. There’s really no end to how you could use podcasts in a library. You could record book talks, book discussions, author readings, oral histories, or stories for children or teens and post them online.

Images and Video

What are popular image sharing sites, and how they work?

Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others (publicly or privately). This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images.To use these sharing sites you would only need to register  in them, create an account, agree to their policies and then start sharing photos.

Flickr and Facebook are some of the most known image sharing sites.Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to host images that they embed in blogs and social media. In September 2010, it reported that it was hosting more than 5 billion images

Video Sharing Sites

A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video.

YouTube is an example of a Video hosting service. The company is based in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos. Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, evenmedia corporations including CBS, BBC, Vevo and other organizations offer some of their material via the site, as part of the YouTube partnership program.

How to create an account?

What is a Wiki?

Wikis in Plain English

What is a Wiki?

A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative works. Examples include community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems, and note services. The software can also be used for personal note taking.

Wikis serve different purposes. Some permit control over different functions (levels of access). For example editing rights may permit changing, adding or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules can be imposed for organizing content.

Wikipedia is one of the world’s best known wikis

How to create a Wiki? 

Wiki software vs free Wiki sites

There are three ways I know of that you can make a Wiki with, one way is to download a Wiki script and then upload it onto your hosting space. The other way is to pay a Wiki hosting service to run and host your Wiki. The last way is to sign up and create your own free Wiki at a site.

3 Ways To Make A Wiki

1. Use a free Wiki service
2. Download Wiki software and upload and install it to your hosting space
3. Pay for a Wiki hosting service that will give you what you need to run your Wiki and host it for you

Tagging and Social Bookmarking

A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an Internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. Tags are generally chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system.

Tagging was popularized by websites associated with Web 2.0 and is an important feature of many Web 2.0 services. It is now also part of some desktop software and allows users and the reader to describe, summarize and link by subject what is written and read in blogs and websites.

Examples

Within a blog

Many blog systems allow authors to add free-form tags to a post, along with placing the post into categories. A post may display that it has been tagged and those tags are usually a web link leading to an index page listing all of the posts associated with that tag. The blog may have a sidebar listing all the tags in use on that blog, with each tag leading to an index page.

For an event

An 'official' tag is a keyword adopted by events and conferences for participants to use in their web publications, such as blog entries, photos of the event, and presentation slides. Search engines can then index them to make relevant materials related to the event searchable in a uniform way. In this case, the tag is part of a controlled vocabulary.

Social Bookmarking on the other hand is a way for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them. Descriptions may be added to these bookmarks in the form of metadata, so users may understand the content of the resource without first needing to download it for themselves. Such descriptions may be free text comments, votes in favor of or against its quality, or tags. 

Example: del.icio.us

del.icio.us, is a web-based social bookmarking manager which enables users to bookmark web pages and add tags to categorize their bookmarks. It is very similar to the “Bookmarks” or “Favorites” folders in Firefox or Internet Explorer, except much better.

What is RSS:

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed,” “web feed,” or “channel,” contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.It is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.


RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually. You ensure your privacy, by not needing to join each site's email newsletter. 


How to use RSS:
An RSS feed is a text-based headline with a link, and usually a short summary, that is shot over to you as soon as it leaves your favorite news site’s clutches.

You may have noticed that when you try to click on one of the orange, rectangular buttons, you just get a squirrelly looking page of code. RSS is written in XML (Extensible Markup Language), similar to html. That’s all fine and good, but why can’t you read the feed? Well, that’s because you needs an RSS feed reader to make it work. Some readers automatically take you to the full article, while with others, you must use their application’s RSS button.

What is a blog?

Blog is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Blogs can be edited by one or more users. They work on a system of ‘posting’ - the input of contributors and organizing this content with categories and tag words. Blogs are easy to create and work with

In the 20^th century news were produced professionally. If any important event happens reporters write about it and then it goes to a certain group of people that decide what appears in the newspaper, in other words, news were limited and general. On the other hand, news in the 21^st century is both professional and personal. When people discovered blogs everyone was able to become a reporter and publisher for free with the freedom to write whatever you want. People can write about general topics, discuss personal issues or even share daily diaries.

This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI&feature=player_embedded#! Will lead you to a video on Youtube that explain about blogging and how to create and use a blog. One famous example of a blog publishing service is: Blogger.

Blogging: To create a blog you need to follow 4 easy steps:

Step 1: choose a free blogging software 

Step 2: Register for an account and create your blog

Step 3: Select Your Domain, Theme and Other Options.

Step 4: Start blogging.      

Web 2.0

Web 1.0  is an old internet that began with the release of the WWW to the public in 1993.  It only allows people to read from the internet and not edit anything. It refers to the state of the World Wide Web, and any website design style used before the advent of the Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 on the other hand allows us to read and be authors of it like Wikipedia allows everybody to write articles of what they think something is and people can just edit it. It's all about writing, peer-to-peer, blogs, RSS, tagging and sharing.  

Web 2.0 examples: 

-MSN
-Skype
-Wikipedia
-Blogger
-My Space
-Facebook
-Youtube
-MetaCafe

What is Library 2.0? is a loosely defined model for a modernized form of library service that reflects a transition within the library world in the way that services are delivered to users. The focus is on user-centered change and participation in the creation of content and community. The concept of Library 2.0 borrows from that of Business 2.0 and Web 2.0 and follows some of the same underlying philosophies.

Our Changing World

The world goes through drastic changes on a daily basis. In the past people used to store information and important data on papers and shelves but today everything is stored online. Accessing information, videos or pictures is only one click away. People can create, organize, critique and understand information. Almost any person can edit data online. Moreover, people can blog and interact with each others easily.

People everywhere need to appreciate the changes that have happened in the World Wide Web and and some of the characteristics and preferences of the 'millennial' student of today also known as the Net Generation.

The World Wide has a huge impact on people everywhere. Students today spend , more hours online than in class rooms. Today's generation is always connected to the World Wide Web whether its work related or just for fun. In today's world people read less actual books yet they read millions of emails online. If you ask a student about the time they spend on their studies and the time they spend online you would be surprised. Students spend no less than 5 hours online and only 3 hours on their studies. The Web has become a big part of our lives. We connect, interact, read, write and edit all through the World Wide Web

ILN Workshop & Program

ILN is a number of workshops that allows you to meet face to face too get in touch with others and see how they're doing. This blog helps provide a better understanding of Web 2.0 which is all about participation and involvement.

ILN is a workshop is an introduction to a weekly learning program all about Web 2.0 and libraries tailored to our ILN community in the Gulf.

The program will be available online to ILN participants, and can be worked through either individually or as a “community of learners”.

Introduction

Hello my name is Fatema and my blog will discuss 23 topics that will help you discover interesting information about the Internet and Web 2.0 and become familiar and comfortable with 2.0 technologies and opportunities. Hopefully this blog will encourage exploration of Web 2.0 and new technologies by everyone.