I usually spend a good 30-60 minutes making an intro slide for each presentation I do. I figure that the intro slide will be up there on the screen for 15 minutes or so before the session starts and people seeing it can start to get a sense of the session and the presenter and how they fit in as an attendee. And frankly, it’s just fun to try and take something that is not intrinsically beautiful (PowerPoint) and make something pretty or interesting to look that is appropriately evocative. Sometimes it works better than others, and themes tend to run in stretches, but the effort is always made. Most times, I’ll post a screen shot of the slide to flickr and often use it here on the blog as well. Well imagine my happy surprise a couple of weeks back when I saw the web site the folks from Inland Northwest Council of Libraries (INCOL) that had done the work for me. Check this out!:
It’s a little silly and a little funny and says what we’ll cover and shows them who’s gonna be yapping at them for two hours. Fun! Thanks to who(m)ever whipped this little number up at INCOL. Nice work.
Oh, and btw, if you are in Coeur D’Alene this Friday, I still think you can get a ticket. If you’ll be there, pop in and say howdy!
These are the fabled “$100 laptops” we’ve been hearing about for some time now. While they do cost more than $100 (twice that in fact) the concept is no less fascinating. Now, for two weeks only, you can buy one and give one in a sort of “donation bundle”. Not saying to plop down your $$$ here, but at the very least it’s an interesting initiative. Lots of potential for library reach here. At the very least a nifty gadget, right?
One Laptop Per Child: Give One Get One
A few weeks back I asked a question on my facebook profile page just to see what would happen. Would people answer? Would they think about their answers, be funny, rude, or ??? Here’s what popped up. All in all a lovely snapshot, from a (mostly) fine bunch of thinkers. Thanks for sharing your answers. New questions will pop up soon. Having said that, you know, I didn’t ask any of these folks if they would mind if I posted their answer on this blog. Is that an issue? Hmmmm…… If it bugs anybody who posted an answer lmk, but since the profile page is public there didn’t seem to be any violation of privacy. Yes?
Also, here’s a picture of my facebook friends, in handy wheel form, revealing connections between folks mapped on the wheel. It’s a handy, interesting and revealing device. Ahhh, sweet data visualization. You will see below that, well, I hardly have any friends on facebook that aren’t library staffers (or at least connected to at least one other Libraryland person on facebook). Try making your own friend wheel on facebook to see what it reveals about you! Hmmmm, think of the possible ramifications! 
(click to find path to larger, readable version):
In fairly huge social networking news, if you aren’t using (or at least monitoring the maneuvers of) facebook much lately, you might consider firing up your account again. They have been adding outside app functionality (with a few hickups, natch) in ways I’d hoped might show up on a social library web site first. *grumble* The facebook Developers Platform will help you make your own if you are smarter than me in this regard. I lament that this didn’t show up in Libraryland first, but you know, I also wish I could have written Sgt. Peppers and wishin’ don’t mean I’ve got the chops, brother! Still, it’s made the weekend more interesting watching people/friends/colleagues dive in over the weekend. Superpatron (Edward V.) said it best via twitter when he sent out the message “You got your facebook in my twitter!”. I love you, you glorious geek!
In other, more lighthearted social networking news, Tweet Volume is a tool that tells you how often words are being used on twitter. Hmmm…anybody else see the word occurrence below as telling?
Thanks to thefreerangelibrarian for the Tweet Volume heads up. KGS, you are the bomb.
Have you heard about the Ikea Hacker web site? It is themed around real projects people have completed that creatively use IKEA products. There are some pretty interesting projects posted on occasion and it can be a really fun and inspiring diversion if that sort of thing is your bag. While this isn’t *exactly* library related, if you count the fact that I finished my recent decorating project at the new place specifically for a party I hosted for WebJunction folks, well then it counts. Regardless, I am pleased as punch that the folks ’round Ikea Hacker way decided to post one of my very own Ikea hacks. There are actually several hacks in the single image posted, which makes it sort of like a “Where’s Waldo” for the Ikea dork set. If you are so inclined, here is a link to the post. Enjoy!
PS-Added value to this story: The connection to the image and the Ikea Hacker site was made through a group on flickr. Social software in action again, y’all!
“Quicklists…make it easy to collect videos you want to see, then sit back and enjoy!”
Users want this on their library web sites, right? Users want this capacity on every library web site, don’t they?
PS- Why aren’t libraries the kings/queens of the user generated content arena? They could be, right? Why not?
