Head Meets Desk (Part One)
A little while ago, I put out a call to the public library IT community to share their best (worst?) “Head meets desk” moments. You know, those times when they drove out to a branch, only discover that the thing…
Sunrise: a handy little tool
While there’s lots of ground-breaking technology happening right now, sometimes it’s the little things that catch my attention. I sign up for all sorts of new web things. If it’s in beta, I usually want an invite. I like testing…
Because you’re not getting much work done anyway (2012 edition)
It’s that time again! Time for MeanLaura’s annual collection of fun things on which you could be wasting your workday. Surely, you’ve given up solitaire by now, and there’s only so much Words with Friends or Temple Run you can…
Why your website layout matters
From a usability perspective, layout has always been important. If the tasks people come to do the most often are hidden, people leave your site, frustrated. Recently, with the advent of mobile devices of all kinds, layout has also taken…
Subjects go social: Welcome to Sulia
Yes, Sulia is yet another social network. However, unlike many of its brethren, Sulia makes no attempt to promote itself as the “next Facebook” or a “Twitter-killer.” Which is a positive, since its chances of becoming either are just about…
“There are no facts inside the building.”
This is one of the rare occasions where I would like to simply take all of the text from someone else’s blog post and simply plunk it here. Since I can’t really do that, I do want to share a…
What would YOU tell them? [Need help]
I need some help from all of you, this time round. If you are an IT professional in a library, or a staff member who has to deal with technology all day, you have probably had a moment or two…
Is Facebook still free?
The answer to that question is, in short: Sorta. Kinda. Maybe. This week, Facebook announced a new feature for Facebook Profiles (individual users–people–not Facebook Pages for brands/organizations). Users now have the option to “promote” their posts, meaning that more people…
Exclamation points. Don’t use them.
“Exclamation points, you see, are evil. “ James Chartrand, Men With Pens I’m fairly certain that I’ve talked about this in nearly every web-related workshop or presentation I’ve ever done; despite this emphasis, I still see exclamation points appearing on…
Thinking a bit about online advertising
Advertising your library online is tempting. The expertise required to set it up is minimal, and the allure can quickly overwhelm you when you realize that most of it is PPC (pay per click), meaning that you only have to…
Have you given much thought to browsers?
Lately, it seems that all I, as a web developer, hear, is about mobile web usage. There’s been a lot of posts on the Web about the forthcoming mobile apocalypse (Mobipocalypse?), where people will browse the Web with nothing but…
5 reasons why your library shouldn’t be cross-posting
I know, it’s convenient to use the exact same, exact content for your library’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. And, yes, I know social media takes a lot of time! But, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. And that…
Some lines about logos
In my job, I work with a lot of library logos. Especially because, when possible , I design around the logo. I don’t like to just create a template and stick a logo in it. I like the rest of…
Your email signature: good or not? Take the quiz
Recently, a friend complained to me that the email signature of one of her coworkers was ridiculous. It included a quote, a plug for one of the library’s services, a graphic and several other unnecessary elements. All of this detritus…
Want a better presence online? Get over yourself
I was recently asked to come up with a session for new library directors, about how to improve their libraries’ online presences. Not just websites, but their social media work as well. At first, a lot of disparate things tumbled…
Getting web images down to size
Generally speaking, most library staff I work with understand that, when you take an image off a digital camera, it’s huge. It’s easy to see that it’s huge; often, the photo may take up more than your monitor. So, most…
Is it theft? Yeah, it is.
Recently, I had the unpleasant experience of discovering that one of my custom graphics was appearing, without permission, on a library’s website. It appeared that the library had simply copied the graphic from the original site for which it was…
Here comes the Timeline (don’t run screaming)
Love it or hate it, yet another major Facebook shift is upon us–the advent of the Facebook Timeline format for Pages (it’s already been involved with our personal profiles for some time, as Facebook time goes). If you haven’t enabled…
Beware of “smelly” content
Many libraries give a lot of thought to how their website looks, and some even spend a significant time thinking about how people actually use their sites. However, one aspect that often gets overlooked is the content. Content especially…
Pin your hopes on Pinterest?
Every so often, a new social media site starts to make the rounds on the hype circuit. The latest of these is a new service called Pinterest. Pinterest is still in beta, and is currently invite-only. However, despite this,…
Because you’re not getting much work done anyway (2011 edition)
It’s that time again–time for MeanLaura’s annual roundup of sites you can be wasting your time on, instead of actually working. After all, the novelty of Angry Birds and Cityville does wear eventually. DISCLAIMER: There is probably no educational or…
Google + isn’t ready for prime time yet
Google Plus has been around for at least five months or so, and has taken off faster than any other social network ever has. Meanwhile, companies and organizations have been waiting anxiously for the service to allow them to have…
Writing so people give a darn
This week, the OPLIN 4Cast took a look at how social media does or does not affect attention. I thought I’d supplement that with something else that tends to lose people’s attention on the Web. All too often, when I…
Is this the right word?
Yesterday was a Sunday, which usually means that I can be found sitting at my computer, working on my second book, while the rest of the world enjoys…well, everything else. Suffice it to say, spending a gorgeous day inside working…
Stop checking in
I want to admit this, right up front. This is more of a rant than my usual, more considered posts. I want you to stop checking into your own library on Foursquare. Or Gowalla. Or Facebook Places or Google Latitude…
Where’s the payoff?
I’ve been doing a lot of teaching about social media lately, and one of the points I drive home constantly is that human beings are inherently selfish. When presented with anything new, the question in our heads is always and…
Website work starts with education
“Though art may be subjective, Web design is not. In Web design, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach layout, navigation, copy, white space, and other critical website components.”—Andrew Follett A lot of what I do…
Grown-up Easter eggs
This weekend, millions of children will be searching their yards in search of eggs and goodies allegedly left by the Easter Bunny. Chances are good that, if you’re a parent, you’ve already been noshing on those goodies*. In that case,…
Why library websites don’t win awards
I wasn’t able to share this at my Computers in Libraries presentation (not enough time!), so I wanted to post it here. What other issues do you see that consistently plague library websites?
Social search & grokking Greplin
Many times, only half-jokingly, I have told people that I have the memory of a sieve. That is to say, none at all. I suspect that, in this age of the information barrage, I’m not alone. How many times have…
Up to speed? The perils of using online speed testing
If you’re a library network admin, you are probably familiar with complaints concerning slow download speeds on your local network. “The Internet is crawling today! What’s wrong?” At OPLIN, this is certainly familiar to us, too. After all, many times…
Phishing: it happens, even in libraries
When the folks I work with at OPLIN suggested this topic, my first reaction was “Isn’t that too basic for MeanLaura to be covering?” All of my colleagues assured me, sadly, that it wasn’t. And then I, too, was sad.…
Time to queue up for Quora?
Quora is somewhat new (heck, it barely left beta 6 months ago), but already has gained major traction. Wikipedia describes Quora as an “online knowledge market. ” If you’re familiar with Yahoo! Answers or Ask MetaFilter, those are also examples…
Because you’re not getting much work done anyway (2010 edition)
The holiday season is upon us. Yes, you’re still working, but I’m betting that your brain is still curled up in bed (visions of sugar plums optional). The weather outside is frightful and cabin fever may be setting in. It’s…
Lock those virtual doors
What would happen if your library closed up at night and purposefully left the front door unlocked? Every night? Eventually, some unscrupulous individual would figure it out. He/she would have the run of the library at night, and could easily…
Stop putting out the “welcome mat”
The temptation is overwhelming. After all, libraries are friendly places, right? We wouldn’t want our patrons to think they weren’t welcome. It’s so nice and friendly to put a big “Welcome to our library website!” heading at the top of…
Ignorantiaphobia
It’s no secret, yet it’s not widely talked about. There’s a divide in library staff. It’s not between degreed and the not, and it’s not digital. It’s not about who uses Twitter and who doesn’t. This divide may not…
Web images: TANSTAAFL*
Recently, I heard about how a public library recently found itself in some very hot water. It ran afoul of a very large provider of stock photography. The library used a licensed photograph from a stock photo site without paying…
Making the most of your social media effort: Part II
(One concern I hear a lot of is “How do we find time for this social media stuff? We don’t have a full staff anymore and we’re already going nuts trying to do the things we have to do!” There’s…
Making the most of your social media effort: Part I
(One concern I hear a lot of is “How do we find time for this social media stuff? We don’t have a full staff anymore and we’re already going nuts trying to do the things we have to do!” There’s…
Got a Fiverr?
We all know that libraries are in a major budget crisis. What we don’t always know is how to cut costs. Well, I won’t make any claims that I can answer that question, either. What I will share with you…
What’s this TokBox thing?
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak about teens, tweens and social networking at the NEO-RLS Youth Services Symposium. One of the newer tools that I mentioned had everyone puzzled–no one had heard of it. That tool is rising…
Nibbling at Lunch.com
You know those sites that have a name that is in no way related to what it does? Lunch.com is one of those. Lunch.com is a reviews site, with the goal of changing the way people think about each other. …
What if you don’t have Photoshop?
What it comes to image editing, for either web or print, Photoshop is arguably the king of the roost. But let’s face it–Photoshop is darned expensive, and has a learning curve shaped like Mount Everest. Not to mention that you…
What is Second Life?
I admit it; I’ve put off writing about Second Life for a while. Mostly because I’ve gotten very tired of uninformed people making judgements about it based on the hype, rather than the reality. Last year, an ignorant speaker at…
Broadcasting with Qik
As more people start using smartphones (e.g., Droids, Blackberries, iPhones, et al), we’re also starting to see a lot more applications that can be downloaded and used on them. One I’ve been doing a bit of experimenting with is Qik…
Figuring out Foursquare
Physical locations in combination with the web are starting to hit it big, and is predicted to seriously take off this year. One example of an application that is rapidly heading that way is Foursquare. From Wikipedia: Foursquare is a…
Considering 2010 for libraries and technology
At the end of every year, lots of media outlets and assorted gurus make predictions about what is going to be happening in the next 365-odd days. But how often do libraries stop to think about what those predictions might…
How are you wasting time?
It’s the week before Christmas. Let’s be honest here…most of us are not thinking about work. If Twitter and Facebook are any indication, most people I know are physically at work, but mentally they’re caroling and gulping eggnog. (I plead…
Webinars that don’t drive people nuts
I’ve had the experience in the past several months of being both a regular presenter and regular attendee of webinars. I’ve learned quite a bit, being on both ends, and I would like to share what I’ve learned here for…
[GUEST POST] Can you see me now? (Or, how transparent are you?)
Today’s guest post is by Bobbi Galvin, Customer Relations and Support at OPLIN. The Global Language Monitor has released its list of Top Words 2009. Coming in at #10 is TRANSPARENCY. Transparency in this instance means putting all you do…
HTML 5: don’t get too excited yet
Yes, it’s finally coming. The last official release of HTML was in 1999 (yes, you read that right, 10 years ago) at version 4.01. At long last, the W3C* is almost finished with the specifications for a new version. Pay…
The Internet of Things
“The idea is as simple as its application is difficult. If all cans, books, shoes or parts of cars are equipped with minuscule identifying devices, daily life on our planet will undergo a transformation. Things like running out of stock…
Crowdsource and engage
I crowdsourced this week’s post. I asked (via Twitter/Facebook) library staff to tell me what their favorite technology is, and why. Here’s most of what I got: “I’m digging on Excel right now because I love turning lots of numbers…
Unsticking Glue
This week I’m chatting about a web application called Glue . I look at a good number of web applications, and some are useful. Unfortunately, Glue is not one of those. The premise of Glue is that it “shows you…
What is “The Real-Time Web?”
When Michael Jackson died on June 25, millions of people flooded onto Google News to find the latest information about what had happened. The spike in traffic was so massive that Google suspected a malware attack and began blocking anyone…
A tale of social media woe
Recently, a frustrated librarian contacted me because she wanted to discuss a situation that had occurred at her library. After hearing her story, I asked her permission to recount it here (and to keep identifying details confidential). In essence, here…
Listen up: you’re in charge!
It’s a pain, but security is each user’s responsibility, not just the tech’s.–Bobbi Galvin, OPLIN One of the most common misconceptions library staff typically have about their email accounts is that nobody would want to hack them. WRONG. Your email…
Building social capital
If your library is on Facebook, Twitter or other social media site, congratulations. You’ve started down the road to helping your library engage in new forms of communication and public relations. However, just being there isn’t enough, and it may…
Social Media in 20 Bite-Sized Pieces
“Winners take imperfect action while others are sitting around perfecting their plans.” –Kevin Nation Be the voice that is remembered, not just heard. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Be willing to put yourself a bit “out there.” Be human. Corporate…