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Entries 22 Total

ebert on blogging

Oct 4, ’08 9:29 AM

If you’re ever feeling down on social software and blogs, you could do worse than to read Roger Ebert’s Confessions of a blogger:

I knew I wouldn’t have to interact at such depth with a blog, but, frankly, most of the blog comments I read online were not ones I was eager too receive.

Now I know I was wrong. I started this blog in May, and it has enriched my life. I have been astonished by the high quality of the comments received. I have also been educated, amused, moved, corrected, encouraged. I personally read all the comments that are submitted, and after four months I have received not one obscene message, not one illiterate message, not one hostile message. Those few comments I have not published were not dumb or offensive, but simply things like well-wishes that I didn’t think most readers would be interested in.

Your comments have provided me with the best idea of my readers that I have ever had, and you are the readers I have dreamed of. I was writing to you before I was sure you were there. You are thoughtful, engaged, fair, and often the authors of eloquent prose. You take the time to craft comments of hundreds of words. Frequently you are experts, and generous enough to share your knowledge.

Reading the comments, for example, on my entries about special effects and 3-D, I found people who make a living in those fields, speaking from direct knowledge. There have been comments from directors, producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, critics. I seem to hear from who I need to hear from.

Comments (0)

catch and subscribe

Mar 12, ’08 2:28 PM

LISNewster extraordinare Blake asked me to take part in a conversation for LISTen, the LISNews podcast. The topic was the flap caused by downsizing at the Wausau Public Library in Wisconsin and the convo participants included Andrea Mercado and Nate Hill. Here’s a link to episode #12 of LISTen which was a good discussion, if I do say so myself.

I was already familiar with Andrea’s work but hadn’t yet seen Nate’s blog which is titled Catch and Release. After taking a look I subscribed straightaway. He reports on a Brooklyn Public Library fundraiser filled with 20-30somethings and booze, and also shows us his neat looking org chart displaying where a library website could fit:

More, please!

Comments (0)

let’s learn from the salsa amigos blog

Dec 18, ’07 7:54 PM

Maybe you know that I’m a bit obsessed with bicycles. Two of my bikes are made by a smallish company (owned by a bigger company) called Salsa. I’ve been subscribed to their Amigos Blog for quite some time. They give updates about their product line, report on cool rides they’ve done, give occasioanlly talk about their personal lives. They do a great job reminding readers that Salsa is a company made of people.

Recently, they’ve been doing something different and really neat. They’ve been directly soliciting input about their company from blog readers. They’re being user-centered. Here are the types of questions they have been asking. Not that you necessarily care about the bike bits, but pay attention to the casual, friendly tone of their posts, and the questions they’re asking.

#
Imagine a bunch of little Salsa Pepperman Elves running about and building all sorts of Christmas presents for the good cycling people of the world. Santa Pepperman is looking over his crew of elves making sure everything is just right. Now, imagine asking Santa Pepperman for just one new product from Salsa Cycles. What would “IT” be?
#

#
Greetings folks. As you know we’ve been having a lot of discussion about designs and materials. Well, we are still having these discussions and we’ve got more questions. Today, I want to ask you for your feedback on cut to length seat tubes and press in bottom brackets.
#

#
Salsa is taking a look at our packaging and we have a few goals:

Minimize the environmental costs by using minimal packaging, recycled materials, and recycleable materials when possible.

Obviously the packaging needs to accomplish a few other things as well:

Protect the product during shipping, sufficiently and efficiently brand the product, and possibly provide for efficient display of the product on the sales floor.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on bike part packaging. Please identify whether you are a consumer or bike dealer and shop staff.
#

#
So, here goes….

Carbon fiber is everywhere in the bicycle world! Heck, we use it already on bars and seatstays on our successful Mamasita, Campeon & Moto Rapido frames.

Do you, our readers & customers, want Salsa to offer complete carbon frames and/or complete bikes?

If yes, what models or categories would you like to see?

If no, why?

Lastly, if you respond, could you please identify yourself as a dealer or a consumer?
#

(I couldn’t find permalinks for their posts)

They don’t have to take every piece of advice or request that people make. Most importantly, they’re letting their customers (and fan base) have a say and that’s valuable to the fans, even if Salsa doesn’t take their advice. It shows they are interested in their customers, and who doesn’t like to have people interested in them? Beyond this, Salsa *can* use this info to get new ideas, as a general guide, or maybe even confirm hunches. They can mine the collective intelligence of people enthusiastic about their products.

It takes a bit of guts to open up your company (or institution) like this. Many organizations might be afraid of what they’d hear. I haven’t seen this type of exchange on a library website, but think this is what we should be aiming for.

Please let me know if you’ve seen libraries actively soliciting input about library services or materials on their website.

Comments (2)

let’s learn from the salsa amigos blog

Dec 18, ’07 7:54 PM

Maybe you know that I’m a bit obsessed with bicycles. Two of my bikes are made by a smallish company (owned by a bigger company) called Salsa. I’ve been subscribed to their Amigos Blog for quite some time. They give updates about their product line, report on cool rides they’ve done, give occasioanlly talk about their personal lives. They do a great job reminding readers that Salsa is a company made of people.

Recently, they’ve been doing something different and really neat. They’ve been directly soliciting input about their company from blog readers. They’re being user-centered. Here are the types of questions they have been asking. Not that you necessarily care about the bike bits, but pay attention to the casual, friendly tone of their posts, and the questions they’re asking.

#
Imagine a bunch of little Salsa Pepperman Elves running about and building all sorts of Christmas presents for the good cycling people of the world. Santa Pepperman is looking over his crew of elves making sure everything is just right. Now, imagine asking Santa Pepperman for just one new product from Salsa Cycles. What would “IT” be?
#

#
Greetings folks. As you know we’ve been having a lot of discussion about designs and materials. Well, we are still having these discussions and we’ve got more questions. Today, I want to ask you for your feedback on cut to length seat tubes and press in bottom brackets.
#

#
Salsa is taking a look at our packaging and we have a few goals:

Minimize the environmental costs by using minimal packaging, recycled materials, and recycleable materials when possible.

Obviously the packaging needs to accomplish a few other things as well:

Protect the product during shipping, sufficiently and efficiently brand the product, and possibly provide for efficient display of the product on the sales floor.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on bike part packaging. Please identify whether you are a consumer or bike dealer and shop staff.
#

#
So, here goes….

Carbon fiber is everywhere in the bicycle world! Heck, we use it already on bars and seatstays on our successful Mamasita, Campeon & Moto Rapido frames.

Do you, our readers & customers, want Salsa to offer complete carbon frames and/or complete bikes?

If yes, what models or categories would you like to see?

If no, why?

Lastly, if you respond, could you please identify yourself as a dealer or a consumer?
#

(I couldn’t find permalinks for their posts)

They don’t have to take every piece of advice or request that people make. Most importantly, they’re letting their customers (and fan base) have a say and that’s valuable to the fans, even if Salsa doesn’t take their advice. It shows they are interested in their customers, and who doesn’t like to have people interested in them? Beyond this, Salsa *can* use this info to get new ideas, as a general guide, or maybe even confirm hunches. They can mine the collective intelligence of people enthusiastic about their products.

It takes a bit of guts to open up your company (or institution) like this. Many organizations might be afraid of what they’d hear. I haven’t seen this type of exchange on a library website, but think this is what we should be aiming for.

Please let me know if you’ve seen libraries actively soliciting input about library services or materials on their website.

Comments (2)

a response from the Arleta Library Bakery * Cafe!

Aug 22, ’07 7:50 AM

Don’t you just love the connecting power of blogs?

The owner of the restaurant mentioned in my previous post “because good food is long overdue” found it via an ego search and added some neat comments!

Thanks for your thoughtful post. It’s refreshing to find someone appreciating our use of the library concept rather than condemning us for our lack of books!

We called our restaurant the Arleta Library Cafe for many reasons-none having to do with the presence of books for lending-which include:

1. Libraries are public spaces where people go for self-enrichment, relaxation, and engaging with others; we wanted to reinforce our commitment to spaces that encourage these activities

2. Once upon a time, there was an Arleta Library (not too near us, mind you) which stood at the nexus of a bustling neighborhood where streetcars converged and pedestrians conducted their daily business. Since the decline of “streetcar neighborhoods” like ours in the postwar years, people have increasingly relied on automobiles to run their daily errands-including their trips to the library. We aimed to remind people of the notion of having all services in a neighborhood within walking distance.

3. Our lack of books allows us to encourage conversation about libraries. “This is a library? Where are the books?” “Why would you expect books simply because it’s called ‘library’?” I think communities would be well served by investing in tool libraries, toy libraries and more means of “sharing” in this age of mass-production and overconsumption.

I’m sure there were more, but reverent kitsch (as you pointed out) was certainly primary among them.

Loving where the conversation takes us,

Sarah Iannarone

Owner, Arleta Library Bakery * Cafe

Spot on!

Comments (0)

libraries can learn from rivendell bicycle works

Nov 27, ’06 11:55 PM

riv bikeDon’t you love it when different spheres of your life collide? Today I saw an Interview with Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycle Works that contained a few good acorns for libraries. The interview and the pullouts might make sense with some more context.

RBW is a small company that makes high end bicycle frames that has a strong (read: cult) following. “High end”, you say? Their flagship bicycle frame, the custom made Rivendell, costs $2750 and takes two years to get to your house (…don’t worry, the production frames are only about $1400 and come much quicker). Their frames are beautiful, practical, and well made. Grant Petersen, the personality behind the company puts out a journal-esque catalog called the Rivendell Reader that is infused with his voice and character. Our library newsletters and websites should be more like it. For a sampling, there are some good bits in their online catalog. Here’s part of a description of the kickstands they sell:

When Barbara Torres ordered her Rivendell with a kickstand plate and couldn’t be talked out of it, I said fine, and that was that. Two others followed, and I’ve since put one on one of my bikes (see the cover of RR30), and my daughters insist on them and my wife wants one. I don’t think every bike should have a kickstand, just lots of them. They weigh as little as 9.5 ounces, are simple to use, keep your bike from falling over, and are cheap. Most of the bikes in the world have kickstands, because they’re shopping and commuting bikes. That’s not dorky, just smart.

Everyone should be authentic when writing on library websites/weblogs, but the writing should strive to highlight the humans of the institution. This sure does.

On to the interview. Most of the questions at the Push Button For interview are cycling and fly fishing related, but read this one in relation to our OPACs and services.

In your catalogs, web site, and in The Rivendell Reader, you write a lot about simplicity. Why is simplicity important?
Simple things make people feel smart, or at least competent, and complication has the opposite effect. If people feel smart and competent, they’re happy, and happy people are nice to other people, and it all starts or stops with how hard it is to use something.

Regarding running a transparent organization, it seems to come so naturally that he doesn’t quite grok the question.

You run Rivendell as openly as any company I’ve ever seen. Is there a conscious philosophy behind that?
Well, I wouldn’t call it a philosophy, but I don’t distinguish between “me” and “my company” when it comes to things like keeping secrets and telling the truth. It’s hard to keep secrets, so it’s best not to have any, but beyond that, I’m not exactly sure of what you mean by “open.” Is that it? If it isn’t, just clarify it and I’ll try to answer it.

Comments (1)

weblogs, they work

Jul 28, ’06 11:46 AM

When I talk to people about using weblog software for library projects I always mention that the clean code it’ll spit out is advantageous. This clean code, along with dynamic content makes it easy for search engines to index, increasing the chances of your stuff getting noticed.

As of yesterday, I have a really great example of this that also servers as a reminder of the positive impact that libraries can have on the web. In the TFML inbox yesterday:

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

I am trying to trace an old friend of mine, [XXXX], that I lost contact with over the past 8 years. In the search engine I found the link below and would be grateful to receive a copy of this article, so I can check whether the deceased is the person I am looking for.
I live in Frankfurt/Germany.
Thank you for your attention.
Best regards
[XXXX]
[gives link to an entry in the TFML obit index]

We no longer had the newspaper so I had the obit faxed over from a nearby library and emailed the text to Germany. Today, a response was waiting for me.

Dear Aaron,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Unfortunately, [XXXXX]
is the person I was looking for. I am stunned that he died more than 3 years
ago, while he was still quite young and had so many plans.

The patron went on to give the story of how they knew each other, then ended with this:

In the past few years I “googled” him unsuccessfully, but only now traced
him on Amazon’s search-engine A9.com, in case you are interested how I
discovered your website. What would we do without the internet!

Again, thank you very much, and although I feel quite sad now, with your
information I can close a chapter in my life.

Sincerely, [XXXX]

Wow, just wow. Let’s not underestimate the impact libraries can have by putting quality content on the web through our own websites and in other receptacles. Our dispersed digital branches go far beyond the boundaries of our communities. Even small libraries secondarily serve people around the world.

Comments (5)

western springs history synchronicity

Apr 22, ’06 1:07 PM

Wow. Something really neat happened on the TFML’s Western Springs History website. I recently posted an essay titled “Memories of Western Springs” by long-time resident Don Kennedy. Half coincidence, and half the power of using weblogs to get community input, a librarian from Ohio added an amazing comment to the post:

Mr. Kennedy & librarians at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library,

I arrived at your website as I contemplated attendance at a program in Columbus, OH where Mr. Aaron Schmidt was to be a featured speaker. (I am an academic librarian and an adjunct library school instructor.)

A “small world” event happened this evening as I browsed the library web site. I was looking for links that would give me information about that speaker when I stumbled upon a name so very familiar to me in the history of a town where I’ve never been but a person and a place that my very existence depends upon: Mr. Kennedy, you have “made my day”!

Western Springs did ring a very distant bell with me. I have longed to visit there (even though I had no idea where “it” was) ever since we drove to the area with our oldest son as he began his studies at The University of Chicago back in 1988.

My parents have been gone many years but I have wonderful photos of them on their wedding day (after they eloped from Marion, Ohio). The pictures were taken at the church in Western Springs, with Mom’s cousin, Rev. Stubbs, who married them. I have always wondered if I could ever find that church just to see it.

Now, the next time I come to Chicago I will be able to find the church for sure. I’ll just go to the library where they have so wonderfully preserved the history of the town and I am sure I’ll get help to find what I’m looking for.

So, thanks Mr. Kennedy. And thanks in advance to the librarians who I know I’ll be able to count on.

Sincerely,
Susan D. Scott
Pataskala, Ohio

What are the chances of that, right? And it’s unlikely we would have heard about this if the website wasn’t as two-way as it is.

Comments (1)

western springs newspaper obituary index

Apr 20, ’06 9:45 AM

You all may get a kick out of the Western Springs Newspaper Obituary Index. An industrious Magazines Desk employee was interested in indexing obits from our local papers, and naturally we wanted this index to be online. The obvoius solution was to use WordPress:

Quick and easy database creation. In fact, I didn’t have to do anything, WordPress did it all. Yay. Fully searchable.

Easy data entry This is Beth’s project, and she’s very dedicated to it. I wasn’t going to have the time to enter code myself, and there wasn’t time to show her how to write code. It took literally 4 minutes to show her how to log in, make an entry, select a category, and post.

So each ‘record’ in this database is a blog post. Categories were put in alpha order by

< ?php wp_list_cats('sort_column=name'); ?>.

I had to get the posts within a category display to be in alpha order too, not the usual bloggish reverse chronological. Luckily I found this code on the WordPress forums:

< ?php if (is_category()) { $posts = query_posts($query_string . '&orderby=title&order=asc'); } ?>.

The static front page is produced by semilogic’s static front page plugin.

It isn’t the prettiest website I’ve ever seen, but it’s functional. And it’s sure a great example of how weblogs can be so darn handy.

n.b. People can’t make comments on the obit index. I wasn’t quite comfortable with giving people the opportunity to talk about the deceased. “Online Grieving @ Your Library” has an odd ring to it.

Comments (11)

status of walkingpaper

Nov 10, ’05 11:01 PM

Thanks for bearing with me during this transition and all of these ‘meta’ posts. I’m glad that the feed from this site seems to be working, tho I’m still getting a red [!] in Bloglines. If you’re getting this too, and it bothers you as much as it bothers me, you can use these feeds directly:

http://www.walkingpaper.org/feed
http://walkingpaper.org/comments/feed

I like that the old feed contained both entries and comments, maybe some of you didn’t. I could consolidate these two with a third party (like feedburner) but don’t really like that idea. At any rate, now you can pick and choose.

There are a number of new things at this site, and I’d like to take a moment to point them out:

–General usability. Every page has a title telling you where you are. Many people entered the old site in one of the category based archives through google and probably had no idea where structurally they were. Also, I’ve detracted away from close to complete minimalism, and made my links (except permalinks) red. This is easier than having links black and underlined, especially when there are book titles underlined.

–Search. This is a nice thing to have, but perhaps my implementation makes you want to cry. It is a ‘live search’ type feature and I’m not convinced it is particularly usable.

–Popular posts. Here you will find posts that have either generated conversation, see significant traffic, or I otherwise like.

–Date based archive. Isn’t it wierd that there’s no default date based archive in textpattern. I never bothered to work one up for the old site so there never was one. I don’t think calendars are necessarily the most useful navigational tool, but it is nice to be able to see posts from certain months.

–Newish categories. Better categories. These will likely get refined even more.

–Tags. To complement the categories. A cloud of tags can be seen on the archive page. Sadly, there’s not a great solution for users adding tags, but I’d love to try that out. It was a fascinating excercise to tag all of my posts, and the result informed me about the subjects about which I’ve been writing.

–About page updated. This has been slightly updated to include a short list of some likes and dislikes. Just for fun.

–Custom 404. With a picture of a mean lion. Try it out.

–Newish commenting. From what I’ve read, I’d be wise to put in a spam control plugin ASAP. Anyone have a favorite? Comments on the old site were disabled after a week, and this prevented any spam from getting in. Period. It may have done so at the expense of usability tho. Not long after the new site was up, someone and I started to have a conversation about downloading at the October 24th post titled that was quick.

There two known issues with the new site, well, three if you count the red [!] in Bloglines. The biggest known issue is old links into walkingpaper. As of now, they redirect to http://www.walkingpaper.org/old with a bit of an apology. Either Blake and I are going to figure out how to correct this the ‘easy’ way, or I’m going to have to do some matching of post ids and redirect things manually. Ouch! The other issue is that this layout fails a bit in FireFox/Mac, which really shocks me. Any suggestions are welcome. And please do let me know what other bugs you find.

Comments (10)