Web.0 tools

Web 2.0 tools
On to talking about virtual tools and toys!
Commonalities of 2.0 tools:
Tagging: allows adding keywords or descriptions to content
Commenting: users can add comments to what’s posted
RSS feeds: Content can be “fed” to users via an automated program
Mash up: Combining music pictures data etc from multiple sources

I will put some basic information about each tool here, then try to do more exploring and playing later on.

Blogs are increasingly popular – over 27 million blogs exist.
A blog is:
A software tool
Content management system
Organized chronologically by date (newest entry on top)
Self archives by date
Includes links
Each posting is a unique URL so it can be linked to
Either web-hosted (such as this one on blogspot.com) or local-server hosted
Blogs usually contain:
Dated entries
Mission or goal statement
Catagories for post
Archives
Lists of other blogs the author reads
Navigational links
Contact Info
Frequently updated content
More later about blogs and how libraries are using them.

Podcasting
Audio content (think radio program)
Requires tools to create:
Audacity, iPodder or iTunes
An example is the DNR’s fishing podcast
Podcasts - DNR Newsroom: Minnesota DNR

RSS =Really Simple Syndication

Think of it as automated web surfing. Instead of checking 20 different sites or blogs to see what's new, your RSS aggregator checks all 20 sites and dumps new content into your account. Sites that have a symbol "RSS" or "XML" on the front page can be found by an aggregator. They contain a bit of code that allows them to be searched and new content pulled out.

bloglines.com is an example of a web-based aggregator

More later on these tools and how libraries are using them.