Question of the Day: Alt tags and EXIF data (images)

Q: Do alt tags for images really matter? Does EXIF data really matter? What is EXIF data?

A: A group of us on facebook had an interesting discussion about EXIF data.

yes, alt tags are important, especially for reading machines for visually impaired and other technology that translates websites (esp. for 508 compliance), but I agree that spending alot of time fixing them is probably not worth it for what you do.
I think the jury is still out on blogger being a bad thing. When google first bought blogger, ... See Moreindividual posts were skewing higher than the actual websites... google looks after its own, so using blogger is probably a good thing in the long run.
Plus, it is becoming more and more about a collective approach, being everywhere, but not concentrating results anywhere. I'd say if all of your content was on your own domain that would be much worse in the long run. Wes, there is no need to worry with SEO (don't throw things at me, my SEO friends) because google changes its algorithms regularly.... and google is not the only browser is se land. Having good content that is relevant, have established presences on the web both in a namesake and social media (one of google's ranking algorithms at one point WAS length of domain presence), and making a reasonable use of metadata (exif, description, admin/rights, etc.) is probably the most important. We are moving towards RDF/semantic and tailored results, so one day ranking will be completely personalized and this notion of ranking as we know it will no longer exist. Of course, then the metadata will become even more important... but the tools have to get better first. Just my thoughts... ;-P

Your digital life

Stressed: Organize your life and de-stress !

For librarians, stress comes from many sources: building renovations and other changes in physical spaces; interactions with colleagues; changes and problems with technology and systems; new or outdated policies and procedures; more demanding workplaces; multitasking; institutional culture; and family, health, and life situations. Even managing stress can itself be a stressor. Stress not only impacts productivity and morale, but getting out from under the avalanche of work may seem impossible.

Although there are a variety of methods to manage stress, one powerful tool for managing stress is organization. Organizing your workspace, both physical and virtual, can help you not only de‐stress, but the act of organizing provides an opportunity for evaluation and reflection, which can bring about new ideas or even new approaches to old problems and workflow.

Sorting and reorganizing can literally encourage “thinking out of the box,” since outdated organizational systems are being evaluated and analyzed. Clearing clutter can help clear your mind.

How do you begin to find time to organize and tackle all of the bits of stuff that we collect in the course of a work day?

• Evaluate your workspace and time. Consider everything that you do and interact with as a resource. What do you spend most of your time on and how do you use that time?
• Evaluate your priorities.
• Cultivate your support network.
• Learn to multitask effectively. Not every type of work lends itself well to multitasking. It may be that work needs to be sorted out as to the amount of energy, focus, and time it takes.
• Date and put a version on everything. Adding a date in a procedures document can help establish what is current and what is outdated (and perhaps should be deleted, recycled, or shredded).
• Manage people resources. Is your open‐door policy so open that you rarely get work done until your colleagues go home?
• Schedule, schedule, schedule!

Full article: Fay, Robin M. (2013) "Stressed? Organize (Or Reorganize) Your Workspace, Part 1," Georgia Library Quarterly: Vol. 50: Iss. 4, Article 9.
Full article at http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/vol50/iss4/9/

One world, one blog - merging identities, merging blogs

robinart 2006ish

So, I had a personal/art blog over at my domain (robinart.com) from 2004-2007 (prior to that, it was just a very simple site). This blog was an early experiment in using a CMS (Content Management System); originally, a photoblog (more about  the software & history here); later, a place to talk about software, my projects, and life in general. It was a good run, but I'm not really blogging in that way anymore  (mostly due to Facebook and other social media outlets). So, on that note, I'm going to merge all of my blogs here together. ALL of my blogs - that means (old) book reviews, health ramblings, technology, art, blogging, and more.

Yes, changes are afoot in more ways, than one. I need to simplify my virtual life a little. I will keep my domains for now although I will begin to mirror them - robinfay and robinart will be mirrors. I haven't quite decided what to do with my scattered social media - flickr, twitter, linkedin, etc. but those are on the list to tackle too. My newly designed sites will be aggregates of my content. Actually, I have been thinking about doing this for a while, but finding the time and motivation... well...  

So, that is the scoop. You probably won't notice any difference unless you go back through the history or search for particular topics. What you will see is a lot more art. So, for the 8 readers I have (ok, there are more of you than that... lol)

Catching up...

I know I've been woefully lax about posting to contentdivergent lately. Lots of news and updates coming soon. I attended the International Literacy Conference (presented on the ACRL literacy standards for Visual literacy through a lens of digital objects, specifically images), presented at COMO (metadata in a social world; linkeddata) and attended a regional IT conference. I did not make it drupalcamp this year. Oh, and then a gig on Lost in the stacks.

On burning books - thoughts on books as sacred object vs. knowledge holders

I stumbled across an interesting post from a librarian who created a display for banned book week. Of course, this wasn't just any old poster session about Banned Book Week -- no, this one actually contained books that she had burned. Responding to some feedback about this particular display and her actions, Jessica blogged these thoughts:

Personally? I love books. Love them to pieces. I'm a bibliophile of the first order. I love the smell of old books, the soft *crack* when you open a new hardcover book for the first time, and the rustle of pages turning. I grieve when someone tells me they don't like to read, because reading is such a huge part of my life.
Professionally? I'm a librarian, not a curator of a collection of books. Books are just one (sometimes small) part of what I do for a living. Further, being a librarian means I get rid of books sometimes......

 I get rid of them, most times without the slightest regret, because books are NOT sacred objects. They are just objects.  

On the other hand, information (and access thereto), education, and learning ARE sacred.  

----- 

Postcards from the Deep
http://www.facebook.com/RobinFayArts

 I sometimes use snippets of book pages in my artwork and while I haven't received any negative feedback about it (YET), I am sure some wonder why *I* as a librarian would do such a thing.

However, the books I use are not books as art or sacred objects - no first editions, no significant literary works, etc. (Yes, it is a subjective criteria). The book as a medium to communicate information has little intrinsic value beyond its information; however, when it approaches a level of art through quality paper, bindings, illustrations, marginalia, printing technique, number of the printing or edition, among other characteristics, then it moves from a container of information to a sacred object. In some cases what is sacred is what we - archives, libraries, museeums - say so.  

Even knowing a particular book was unloved or unappreciated enough for no one to want it, I do feel a moment of sadness when I rip out pages of a book or cut it up. In spite of my educated viewpoint in terms of book as communication device vs. sacred object, I wonder if I am still destroying knowledge or extinguishing a human voice. However, I am also giving new life to the book and truly making it into a sacred object - a one of a kind piece of artwork.

Information is important, the medium, not so much (as long as it is accessible). There are books to me that are sacred (an early edition William Wordsworth collection of poetry that I own; the book I wrote and illustrated in 2nd grade), but for the most part, no.Obviously the book I wrote in second grade has no value beyond sentimentality, but that is important, too.

Reference: http://letterstoayounglibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/10/burning-books-been-there-done-that.html

Musings on the illusion of Facebook friendship

I'm going to have to say that Facebook has been an interesting social experiment. In terms of brands, businesses, and institutions, I think it is a great tool in marketing and building community support. In terms of personal accounts, I'm just not sure. Maybe moving everyone to a page platform where it is public or private (sounds very twitter like, mmm?) would clarify things.

Because if you know that everything you post is truly public, you WILL behave differently. You may behave better, or worse, but it WILL impact how you behave. I've always believed in standing behind your words. It's part of why I publicly blog and tweet. If you have to hide some of your words from some people, then maybe you need to reconsider. I also continue to be amazed at how much people are willing to reveal about themselves on a 3rd party website... I've always argued that calling a network "friendship" was an awful idea... but the more I think about it, the more brilliant I see it to be. I admit, I've been guilty at time in terms of buying into the "friendship".

More than once a coworker or friend casually mentioned an event planned by a mutual friend/coworker that I wasn't invited to ... Part of me doesn't take it seriously and brushes off the slight(?) (is it? what if I didn't know about it?), but a little part of me wonders why. ..and then there has been watching relationships implode, explode, and form... and then there are the people who suddenly takes me out of their network ("unfriend" - what a horrible word, right?) for whatever reason. No words, no apologies, no cares... and why should they? It's a network...but yet, that "friend" word hangs over it...

How about those who use Facebook to lurk, spy and gossip about colleagues, friends, family (or even former friends, relationships, etc.) ? By allowing them into our network we allow them the opportunity to see some part of us that our IRL (In real life) relationships may not see, especially since Facebook encourages such an easy mixing of professional and personal connections. Or they may get a slanted image based upon what you post (which can be good or bad). Facebook can humanize administrators, supervisors, teachers, doctors, judges...  anyone in a position of power or with a limit to access by allowing a glimpse into their "real" lives (albeit through the constructed lens of Facebook). Facebook can also devalue your worth, too, if what you post doesn't meet the expectations of your network.  If you primarily post personal stuff then your network may have no understanding of what your work is like - how well you are respected in your particular field, how smart or talented you actually are. Some would argue that you should filter your posts for select groups in Facebook, to solve that particular problem. Of course, your privacy settings only affect your settings, so if you comment on a friend's post, depending upon your settings and THEIR settings,  what you post may show up to others outside your network. So...

What Facebook has done is build a network - that is really all it is... but by using that "friend" word, they have implied a relationship, which is often misinterpreted and allows us to get lazy with our real relationships. We rely on Facebook to invite people to events, announce births, deaths, divorces, new significant others and everything else in between. Most people assume that what we see on Facebook is the real person (but even Rembrandt is on Facebook, so that can't very well be true... )

We mash it up with our social network (be it face to face or virtual), our friends, our colleagues, our families, our peers...

Perhaps, the biggest question is: are we allowed to be human and to what extent? I have friends who blogged through relationship problems, adoptions/family issues,  health issues -- in some cases, under a pseudonym. How would their "friends" have felt to read some of those writings, which were painfully brutal in their writing?  

Many of us already make decisions about what we post and what we don't. I've had a few different versions of my social media policy, most recently here   (an earlier version is here) but it basically comes down to standing behind your words.  Yet, politics, social issues, and religion/spirituality are deliberately left out of my social media presence. All of which are strong core beliefs for me (and only discussed with very few people) So, self-censure...  Some would then argue that what I present is a very slanted view of me.. true. 

A lot to think about isn't it? Almost makes you wonder if it is worth it. Quit Facebook?

..but should you? My answer is no at least not now. For now, Facebook is a good space to connect with others and one of the most active on the web. How you connect, how you shape that lens, is up to you. If your Facebook account was suddenly published on the web -- all posts (not messages), how would it stand up against your digital identity, your online persona? The fact is mine is inline with what I've publicly written and posted elsewhere - perhaps, skewed a little more to the irrelevant, personal, or silly with at times, a more casual use of language, but for the most part, the way I represent myself on Facebook is the same elsewhere (minus photos of myself, which I do not post online generally).  However, that doesn't mean that I want everyone to see my silly cat photos, either, because the reality is, we do judge people by what they post online and I'd rather be judged by the artistic and intellectual content that I create, rather than the fact that I'm a fan of LOLCatz (oh, no, I've outed myself..) ;-)

... this article particularly interesting in that it is someone who left Facebook but then ended up returning.  

References:

http://www.quitfacebookday.com/

http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/reconsidering-facebook/

On being TOO connected / Information overload

This is somewhat humorous...
Definitely some truth in there, tho..

Search terms (a case study: article on automation and staffing)

I always find it interesting to see what search terms people use to find what they are looking for (or not looking for). On that note, I thought I would share a quick behind the scenes of keyword searching for my article, The Effect of Automation on Academic Library Staffing: A Discussion . There is no abstract or keywords attached to this title, so the results are truly from within the fulltext searching. These stats are generated through the Bpress statistics tool.

The paper was  originally presented at COMO in Sept 2012; published as part of GL Quarterly in the Spring issue (April 2012). There have been 79 downloads of the article. Many of downloads were generated from direct links, such as via social media tools,   via the journal issue table of contents, emails, or other direct links.  

I've loosely grouped the searches together in terms of overall theme.

• Search queries include:
• on staffing:
• library staffing unit
• responsibility of cataloging unit in academic library
• the duties of automated staff in academic library (hmm... we are robots?)
• change (impact) in nature of work:
• the effect of automation on production  
• academic libraries maintaining shelf list cards why 
• library cataloging department academic making changes
• outsourcing cataloging in libraries 2012
• on academic libraries (general):
• recommendation given in an automated academic libraries
• academic library white paper or position paper
• URLS: 
• My library's URL (that's interesting - I guess they wanted to see what had been published from library staff and faculty from my library) 
• the paper URL  (did not download the paper)

Digital literacy: Are social media skills required for success?

Interesting article about the impact of social media on employee skill expectations and the rise of social media training programs. 

“Pamela Tate, president and chief executive of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, based in Chicago, said digital literacy, including understanding social networking, is now a required skill. They are essential skills that are needed to operate in the world and in the workplace,” she said. “And people will either need to learn through formal training or through their networks or they will feel increasingly left out.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/education/digital-skills-can-be-quickly-acquired.html?pagewanted=all

and social media/skills and the digital divide :

Digital Divide and Social Media: Connectivity Doesn’t Endthe Digital Divide, Skills Do

Facebook kills library's historical profiles

Sooo… Facebook has already killed the historical profile accounts which were written about well... just about everywhere (Google Joe McDonald)  although it seems like they also killed a potentially great PR and marketing campaign. 

“While McDonald and Lewis initially only had friends who were distant relatives, their lists of connections swelled from just over 100 each to more than 1,000. They were featured in Mashable, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Yahoo! News and the UK’s Daily Mail.
Lewis and McDonald posted historically accurate status updates about their lives, photos of campus events such as “hop” dances and “Rugby Football matches” and listed musicians such as Scott Joplin and writers including Jane Austen among their favorites. Their profiles were hailed by many experts as a powerful example of social media’s power to bring history to life for a digitally absorbed generation.
But, as fake profiles, McDonald and Lewis clearly violated the first rule of Facebook registration: “You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.”

http://mashable.com/2012/01/11/facebook-kills-fake-historical-profiles

ACRL new media/visual literacy standards for higher ed

“The increasing dominance of images and visual media in contemporary culture is changing what it means to be literate in the 21st century. Today’s society is highly visual, and visual imagery is no longer supplemental to other forms of information. New digital technologies have made it possible for almost anyone to create and share visual media. Yet the pervasiveness of images and visual media does not necessarily mean that individuals are able to critically view, use, and produce visual content. Individuals must develop these essential skills in order to engage capably in a visually-oriented society. Visual literacy empowers individuals to participate fully in a visual culture…”

(Direct link to standards is at http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy)

-----------------------------------

We are pleased to announce publication of the new Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (pdf) by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL).
The Visual Literacy Standards include:

• an introduction to and definition of visual literacy
• a brief discussion of visual literacy and higher education
• a brief discussion of visual literacy and information literacy
• suggestions for implementing the Standards
• key sources and bibliography
• 7 standards, 24 performance indicators, and 90 learning outcomes

The Visual Literacy Standards provide, for the first time, a common framework for visual literacy learning in higher education. The learning outcomes included in the Standards provide new opportunities for visual literacy teaching and assessment, and support efforts to develop measurable improvements in student visual literacy.
The Standards were developed over a period of 19 months, informed by current literature, shaped by input from multiple communities and organizations, reviewed by individuals from over 50 institutions, and approved by 3 ACRL committees and the ACRL Board of Directors. For a history of the Standards development process, please see the Standards project blog.
The Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education are a project of the ACRL Image Resources Interest Group, and were authored by the Visual Literacy Task Force – Denise Hattwig (chair), Joanna Burgess, Kaila Bussert, and Ann Medaille.

-          From http://acrlvislitstandards.wordpress.com/

Job hunting using linkedin

For those of you job hunting (or posting jobs), have you seen what linkedin is doing to help you? 

LinkedIn Jobs now brings you guaranteed applicants,
in 3 simple steps.
Sign up for the LinkedIn Jobs Guarantee and post your job on LinkedIn now through November 19, 2011. Follow three easy steps and the additional terms below, and we’ll guarantee at least 10 applicants.
1) Complete ‘Skills’ and ‘Company Description’ fields
2) Select a standard Job Title from the prompts
3) Share your job to your LinkedIn network or Group

the great unfriend-a-thon

An open letter to my friends on facebook:
I hope we can be adults about this but just like a garden, my Facebook network  is in need of a little maintenance. I need to weed out the folks who aren't using Facebook anymore. It's also apparent that Facebook is not the most efficient place to network professionally with some of you - perhaps, you could be transplanted  over to linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinfay) or Google+ (georgiawebgurl) or my page  (http:/www.facebook.com/RobinFayArts) as I revamp that to include more technology stuff.

Statistics have shown that at MOST 150 people is about the limit to which we can have a meaningful network - I'm well over that. I don't want my Facebook account to turn into Twitter, either (tho you can network with me there, http://www.twitter.com/georgiawebgurl, too, just make sure to DM or @ me to give me a little nudge), and while I know I can use lists to whittle down my news feed - what's the point? If I don't want to network/communicate/share with you on Facebook, then why would you I keep you in my network (and conversely on your side?) And if it's all one sided (all me) then again, what's the point?

So, for some of you this will be the last status update you see from me. If I unfriend you, it truly doesn't mean that I don't respect you or like you IRL. It just means that Facebook is not working for us. That's all -- and if your feelings are hurt, I am really sorry about that.

Peekyou, search across the web, social media & more

peerindex (a reputation management/metrics site) has launched a new search engine called peekyou (http://www.peekyou.com).

It searches across facebook, linkedin, twitter, friendster, myspace, several people search engines (intellius, spokeo, etc.) and even wikipedia. Results include email addresses, phone numbers, documents, web sites, and public records (although some of those results are offered through paid services like through peoplesearch or spokeo).

An interesting idea even though search filtering is rather limited.

For those of you interested in privacy, according to the website:
PeekYou will:
1. Index only public web content
2. Always respect the user privacy preferences of social networks
3. Allow individuals to opt-out from its service simply and easily

PeekYou will not:
1. Purchase app/developer data from social platforms
2. Index an individual's medical or financial information
3. Knowingly work with any individual or business that violates these rules

Big changes to Facebook privacy (an overview)

So Facebook is rolling out new changes to your news feed (you may have it already). On the plus side for privacy: You can control who sees stuff that is posted about you (like tagged photos) which finally closes one huge privacy leak (changes will not affect older photos but you can retrospectively change them - tomorrow's blog topic!). You can also limit old posts - an interesting idea for possible use for pages (part of tonight's post which publishes in the morning)
 
Facebook now makes it  extraordinarily easy to add location info (data) into your post (use this carefully - I can see where it would be very useful to include that info with events, but please please please remember public = everyone on the www. Think before you tell people where you are or will be ...) So, as always, it is up to you to decide how much info you want to share.

The first time you see your new settings you'll be guided through the process (you can read about the changes here); after that your settings will apply to all new posts. Settings can be changed via the little buttons at the bottom (and you can still set some default (override) settings via your privacy page.

• What's on your mind [default]: same as before for the most part
• Say who you are with - when you @ someone it tags them 
• If you don't understand how this works, when you tag someone it shows up in their feed and their friends can then see your post too (depending upon their privacy settings).  You now have final control over that privacy setting.
• You still control who sees your status update. If you already have a custom status update, that should stick (but it's worth checking). The big news here is that you can control whether friends of your friend who tagged you can see the info (or photo).

I can see some good uses of tagging location as it will make for an an easy way to add location for direction purposes for events, but I won't be using it like foursquare (will you?)

...and don't forget to take a look at your new privacy page which has been  "simplified" - it looks better, but I think there still needs to be an Advanced or ALL that shows exactly all settings for everything on all page (vs. splitting them up into sections).

Always doublecheck your settings any time Facebook rolls out changes. You don't want to get caught unaware. Now would be a good time to go through your applications, removing any old games or apps you no longer use. Also, if you are not seeing everyone in your stream, do not forget to change that via  Recent> Edit Options> Choose All
 
In a nutshell, the biggest changes I see are

• Giving control over content posted by others to you.  From Facebook: "We removed a setting that limited whether the friends of people you tagged could see a post. Now you control this by choosing who you tag and approving tags other people add to your content. Your old posts won't change - unless you limit older posts.
• Finally changes the terminology "everyone" to "public" since that is what it is. From Facebook: "Also, we've changed the label for "Everyone" to "Public," but your posts will still reach the same people."
• Made it easier to add location / geo  info.

Call for proposals: Connecting, Assessing & Innovatinges

Call for Proposals Due September 7: ELI 2012 Annual Meeting

Submit a preconference seminar or session proposal by September 7 for the ELI 2012 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, and online, February 13–15. This year's theme is "Taking the Pulse: Connecting, Assessing, and Innovating." We will explore a rich matrix of themes that capture key opportunities and challenges facing the teaching and learning community. Some of the questions confronting us include:

What are the new challenges and opportunities associated with digital literacy?  What are the methods and ways we have to assess the effectiveness of our innovations, practices, and programs?  What are best practices in the emerging field of learning analytics?  Are social media and social networking living up to their potential to accelerate our progress toward active learning engagements?

The full online and face-to-face program will be available mid-fall. Register today; this event will fill up quickly.

Question of the day: Declutter your inbox and how to conquer email overflow

So, a question came up about how to handle huge volumes of email. There are alot of different approaches out there, but here are a few ideas that work for me:

• Think before you send:
• Don't cc EVERYBODY. Some people may not need individual workflow emails, just an occasional project update is all that is needed for some people. 
• Don't use return receipt WITH read request acknowledgments. If someone reads your email obviously, they got it. ;-)   (and you will just add to your emails!) Also, think about why you are using return receipt and read request -- is it really necessary?
• Use web based discussion groups instead mailing lists, when possible. Do you have to be on a mailing list? Do you have to keep one? Would a Google group or project group work better (and reduce your email, too)?
• Subject lines - use them. Make them straight to the point. 
• Save a copy of your emails in a sent folder vs. cc'ing yourself. Don't add to your inbox.
• Reply to the original sender not the group. More than likely your email applies to a particular person vs. the group at large. Think before you send.
• Manage your inbox better.
• Don't subscribe in multiple formats. If you get news through your reader, don't subscribe to email or phone alerts.  
• Unsubscribe to anything which is no longer relevant to you. You can always subscribe later.
• Filter. Set up filters to organize info.
• File. File. File. Seriously. Strive for a zero inbox.  If you can't bear to delete it, put in a folder or label for later. Get it out of your inbox. If it's a deadline, put it on your calendar. If it's a todo list, put it on your calendar. If it's a procedure, put it in a document (and then put it on your intranet or the web - wherever you put such things).
• Decline. If you do not need to be part of a particular email discussion, it is okay to ask why you were included. If you just need a project update, it is okay to tell the group that. 
• Generally, you do not need to read each and every email. Search and delete or scan and delete.
• ...Delete.Delete. Delete. Delete.
• Use your tools. 
•  If you use email for work, keep your work and personal (and perhaps, networking/social media) emails separate. Stick to it. If someone emails you at the wrong address, forward it to the "correct" email address, and answer them from there (also explain that they need to use this address)
• Use threaded email if at all possible.
• Use social media appropriately. You may be able to cut down on some email by using social media message, blogging, or tweeting.
• Sometimes a phone call or IM is the quickest way to resolve something.
• Use RSS feeds instead of subscribing to news or blogs delivered to your email - that way you can use your reader to quickly scan headlines or just search for relevant topics.  
• Use virtual calendars, project management tools, collaboration tools, etc. to keep your inbox clean.
• Emails are not meant to be the archive for procedures, policy decisions, etc. Document appropriately.

Google tip of the day (privacy settings)

If you're a Google user (any of their products) don't forget that you can review and change your settings for all services you use via the Dashboard. I always forget just how handy the Dashboard is for updating settings across the Googlesphere.

https://www.google.com/dashboard/

..and don't forget you can turn of search history which directly ties your account to your searching.

It's social media day - what are you doing

Today is social media day (follow it on mashable), like most days, I posted a few new pix http://on.fb.me/i2BShM , did some tweeting, checked in at linkedin, and blogged. So what are you doing? #SMDay