FreePint Newsletter 224 - Podcasting + Social Web Browsers
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FreePint
"Helping 79,000 people find, use, manage
and share work-related information"
ISSN 1460-7239 15th February 2007 No.224
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ONLINE FORMATTED HTML VERSION
IN THIS ISSUE
-------------
EDITORIAL
By Monique Cuvelier, Editor, FreePint
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Vasyl Pawlowsky
FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva, from Dow Jones
JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
Librarian Consultant
Information Services Manager
Knowledge & Information Researcher
Assistant Librarian
Junior Researcher
Assistant Information Officer
TIPS ARTICLE
"Beyond Music: Integrating Podcasting into Your Business"
Written by Matt Chapuran
REVIEW
"Music Distribution and the Internet:
A Legal Guide for the Music Business"
Written by Andrew Sparrow
Reviewed by Jeremy de Beer
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Life of the Party: Social Web Browsers"
By Stephanie Taylor
EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE FORMATTED HTML VERSION
FULLY FORMATTED PDF VERSION
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*Searching, but not finding, costs your organisation time and money*
Download a copy of IDC's newest white paper, "The Hidden Costs of
Information Searching" and learn how Factiva can help you improve your
efficiency and make a real difference to the bottom line.
Download your copy at
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*** Don't sign your 2007 contract until you read this ***
December: VIP compares the 'Big Three'
January: Editor comments on Thomson exit from news arena
* Factiva, LexisNexis and Thomson news services compared in the Dec 06
* Jan 07 issue organises chaos of layoffs, Thomson exit and
other factors
Subscribe or purchase single issues:
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*** ABOUT FREEPINT ***
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EDITORIAL
By Monique Cuvelier, Editor, FreePint
I'm about to share a dirty little secret. Anyone close enough to me to
have seen my desk, my handbag or my car will tell you it's not such a
deep secret. But here it is:
I steal pens.
If they're not chained down, I'll swipe them. I love pens of all
kinds, but particularly those I don't own. In my defence, I usually do
it without thinking. I sign a form and later notice I own a new pen.
While I'm sure a headshrinker would have a name for my pen
kleptomania, I think it's a symptom of a condition many of us have,
one that's becoming more prevalent: open ownership.
In a corner of my mind, I believe no one can really own a pen, which
makes it OK for me to snatch a few. Really, who owns anything these
days? Music is so easy to take that the global music industry reported
a 3 per cent fall in 2006 music sales. Images are so freely available
that people don't know if they're stealing (check out the Bar
to read more). And even the nature of
how we browse the web leads us to give and take.
We examine ownership in this and the next issue of FreePint. Stephanie
Taylor measures up two social Web browsing tools that freely deliver
original materials, such as blogs and images. Then we look at audio
issues in a piece from Matt Chapuran on how podcasts are benefiting
businesses, and a review from Jeremy de Beer on a book that detangles
law and digital music (also check out ResourceShelf's related ROTW
).
When you're done reading this FreePint, pick up more news from VIP
, which this month examines another hot topic
for information professionals: research in Asian-Pacific countries.
And don't turn your back on your pen cup. You never know what might go
missing.
Sincerely,
Monique Cuvelier
Editor, FreePint
e: monique.cuvelier@freepint.com
w:
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2007
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Vasyl Pawlowsky
Based in Kyiv and working independently as an editor, translator,
writer and facilitator for Western journalists and researchers, I find
the following five sites useful and at times entertaining:
* In communicating thoughts clearly using the written word, at times I
turn to automatic jargon-finding software Bullfighter
for assistance in
tidying up pieces I am writing or editing.
* Finding the geographic location of a name can prove difficult
without a good gazetteer. An online tool that I find useful to
accomplish this is the Geoname Server at
.
* Foreigners often ask me about wi-fi hotspots in Kyiv, and I can
usually recommend one of my favourites. However, Hotspot-Locations
can help many who travel with
their wireless-enabled notebook close at hand.
* When trying to find out how critical security levels have affected
airports worldwide, use World Airport Codes
for details ranging from
airport codes and abbreviations to runway lengths and security.
* When recently trying to write engaging Ukrainian-language broadcast
material, I stumbled upon Radio Nostalgia Network
. It's entertaining and provides a glance
into what radio was during its golden era.
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Vasyl (Bill) Pawlowsky has spent over the last seven years in Ukraine,
working in a variety of areas other than his professional training as
an information specialist. He has worked on democracy development
issues, as a journalist/editor at two Kyiv-based English language
publications, Head of Information Services at a leading Kyiv-based law
firm for three years, and now is a freelance consultant, editor,
translator and writer and international media facilitator, assisting
international media on getting the story right.
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On the Ticker: Use DocuTicker for Full-Text Resources
Find free full-text reports put out by government agencies, NGOs,
charities and other public interest organisations. Recent additions:
* Foundations for Future Growth in the Remodelling Industry
* The Employer-based Health-Insurance System (EBI) Is At Risk
Subscribe to the weekly ResourceShelf Newsletter for highlights,
capture the RSS feed, or visit daily .
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FREEPINT BAR
By Monique Cuvelier, Editor, FreePint
In Association with Factiva, from Dow Jones
More copyright talk is bouncing around the FreePint Bar, as is
discussion about Andy Warhol, booze and smokes. Interested? Read on
for highlights, or jump into a discussion at:
* Basic stats and recent news are expensive information when you turn
to services such as Factiva and Companies House. A few are
discussing the best and most economical way of finding data on UK
companies and consumer brands
. VIP
has done the hard work for you by
evaluating many products. The February issue focuses on finding
Asia-Pacific data.
* Andy Warhol may have often thought about soup and bright colours,
but copyright might not have topped his list of concerns when he was
reproducing images of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's chicken noodle.
One would-be artistic reproducer is concerned about the law; take a
look: . More legal help is in
this issue's book review.
* Dissertation-topic questions are common among students at the
Student Bar. When one came asking about how to craft a thesis on
finance or management, the posting solicited some sound advice on
finding good topics. Read the full story
. Digitisation of dissertations
continues to be a hot topic .
Keep your eyes on FreePint for future coverage.
* Booze and smokes are always interesting research topics, but they
can present hurdles for researchers. One is looking for free or
cheap data on German spirits for a uni project
and another isn't having any
joy locating prices for cigarettes in the last decade
. Both topics may lead to some
interesting feedback for a separate study on potential trends in the
NHS -- including lung transplants
.
Like what you see on the Bar? Tell your friends by forwarding this
newsletter.
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Monique Cuvelier is Editor of the FreePint Newsletter. She has served
as editor of several publications and her writing has appeared in
Publish, USA Today, Bankrate and many others. Learn more about her at
.
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The FreePint Bar is where you can get free help with your tricky
research and information questions .
Help with study for information-related courses is available at the
FreePint Student Bar .
Subscribe to the twice-weekly email digests at
.
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ResourceShelf Resource of the Week:
Music ... and File Sharing
Explore the latest posts in mobile search, search engine news,
podcasting and more.
Visit to subscribe to the free weekly
newsletter, capture the RSS feeds and search the database.
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JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
The Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise information-
related job vacancies.
The newly redesigned Jinfo Newsletter now features a CV Makeover, in
which a job seeker's CV is critiqued and revised by specialists in the
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This is an important and visible role, leading a small team
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Recruiter: HLS
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Knowledge & Information Researcher
Must have experience with company databases & press sources.
Recruiter: Instant Library Recruitment (Tribal Group Plc)
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Assistant Librarian
Subject librarian work, liaison with curriculum departments to
purchase suitable resources & production of subject related guides.
Recruiter: TFPL Ltd.
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Junior Researcher
Ideal entry position with a leading global financial services
organisation which is looking to recruit a Junior Researcher.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
Assistant Information Officer - Maternity Cover
Maternity cover for a role which is in transition and will not only
change, but may lead to a more senior role in around 6 months time.
Recruiter: Evangelical Alliance
Country: United Kingdom
[The above jobs are paid listings]
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TIPS ARTICLE
"Beyond Music: Integrating Podcasting into Your Business"
Written by Matt Chapuran
On 30 June 2005, podcasting came of age when Apple announced that in
the first two days podcasts were offered on iTunes, users subscribed to
more than one million of them. Although podcasting enters the lexicon
as a descendent of broadcasting, it isn't limited to typical news and
entertainment formats. Nor are podcasts difficult to produce: they are
easy to integrate into your existing business model.
Podcasts are a means to distribute files, typically MP3s for audio
content or MP4s for video content, although a podcast can carry
literally any digital content.
'A podcast is not a kind of show', points out Tim Douglas, co-host and
co-creator of the Boston Sports Massacre, a US-based podcast that
'aired' during 2005. 'It's a method of distribution. Content is
created and then distributed through the Web'.
An RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed carries an XML file, which
contains information about the podcast's name and location. Once a
podcast has been subscribed to, the XML file prompts the user's web
browser to download new content when it comes online. These files can
later be downloaded to a portable MP3 player, such as an iPod, and
listened to or watched (as the case may be) when convenient.
Aggregators, such as iTunes or Juice
organise and categorise
podcasts, helping users to finding the content they want.
Booting up
----------
In discussing the genesis of the Boston Sports Massacre, Douglas says,
'My partner and I knew we could talk about sports and that people
around the world were somewhat rabid about sports'.
Creating a podcast for your business needn't be much more complicated
than that. Douglas drew upon his local network of friends, one of
whom had a home recording studio, to polish the podcast to a
professional level of quality. Another found a service that
would manage the organisation and creation of the podcast's XML file
and RSS feed. (See
for a list
of host companies). The partners purchased a web domain for $25
where the podcast could be found, and also listed the podcast on
iTunes.com for free. As simple as that, with virtually no IT
infrastructure, their podcast was created.
Getting online
--------------
At the same time, Dr. Richard Savel, an intensive care unit physician
practicing in New York City, was using his commute to contemplate the
value of podcasting and its new methods for distribution. He convinced
the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) to sponsor a regular
podcast that would provide content of interest to its membership. 'I
was blessed with a voice that sounds pretty good on radio', Savel
says. With some Internet research, Savel was able to acquire all the
equipment necessary to produce a podcast in his home for less than
$1,000. Among the equipment Savel acquired was:
* An SM58 dynamic microphone from Shure, Inc., $99
* A UA-25 USB audio interface from Roland Corporation, $239
* An Innkeeper PBX digital audio hybrid from JK Audio, $459
* Audacity software program, free from Audacity.
The audio interface allows the microphone to link to the computer
while the audio hybrid facilitates recording phone interviews by
'cleaning' the recording's background noise. The Audacity program
mixes the recording.
In the year and a half since launching his podcast, Savel has produced
more than two dozen podcasts. Before SCCM conferences, Savel
interviews speakers so that conference participants will have a
flavour of each session before registration. He has also recorded
keynote addresses for later use.
'The challenge of recording at the conference,' he says, 'is that you
have to find a breakout room that's acoustically okay'. But as a
podcast producer, Savel can travel light, bringing just his laptop and
two microphones to the conference to record on-site interviews.
A typical 20-minute podcast takes Savel about six hours to complete,
including preparation time. Savel begins by researching his topic,
interviewing his guests and trimming out any 'uhms' or 'ahs' from the
recording before editing it into usable product.
For Savel, part of the selling point of podcasting is that not only is
the podcast available both on the SCCM website as well as iTunes.com,
but even the most computer un-savvy individual can receive new
programming instantly simply by hitting the 'subscribe' button at
either location. The initial hurdle was not cost, technical expertise
or infrastructure. Instead, Savel needed to 'explain what it was and
how to do it' in order to earn key buy-in support. Once the initial
podcast was complete, the segment has been essentially self-running
with no ongoing costs other than Savel's time.
'It's a labour of love', he says. 'It's a lot of work, but it's
important to me. It's one of the most important things I've worked on
in my career'.
Building the business model
---------------------------
Eli Ingraham has been a producer at public broadcasting company WGBH
in Boston since the podcasting explosion began.
'The hardest thing is keeping up with the open-content revolution,'
she says. 'New media formats and distribution channels are evolving
faster than we can develop new business models and metrics to support
them'.
WGBH was the first public station in the States to make use of the new
technology. While she admits that it's sometimes difficult to follow
the multiplicity of offerings, she says, 'The diversification and
personalisation of content is worth it. There are podcasting camps now
inviting people to learn how to make podcasts at home or on the go'.
Outside of the traditional realm of the entertainment or news
podcasts, businesses are incorporating this new communication
distribution technology into their marketing and promotion plans.
Ingraham points to a winery podcast where every week the owners
discuss a different kind of wine.
'Through an informal conversation, the podcast provides information to
communities of interest,' she says, noting that the podcast then
directs users back to the winery's website.
Podcasters are also experimenting with advertising and sponsorships,
including spots usually at the tag or tail of the program. (Savel's
podcast, whilst lacking sponsorship, does include a stock tag at the
beginning of each episode, noting that the opinions contained therein
belong solely to the guests and not to SCCM).
'It's still in the beginning stages', Ingraham says. She says pricing
is not yet as standardised as it is for traditional media buys.
Podcasting's future
-------------------
When asked about the most exciting innovators in podcasting today,
Ingraham points to PodZinger and dotSUB as two organisations that are
moving the technology forward.
PodZinger uses voice-recognition software to create an agile search
engine ideally suited to podcasting. At PodZinger.com, users can type
in a keyword search and receive audio and video responses which then
allow them to begin listening to the podcast from the moment the word
or phrase is found.
PodZinger CEO Alex Laats says, 'Podcasting has opened doors for
getting your message out, but it is all about getting your wired
content found. With PodZinger, we let the audience get the most out of
podcasts by giving them direct access to what interests them the
most'.
Also creating excitement is dotSUB, which allows content owners to
make their video podcasts available for translation into any number of
languages. Once a text transcription is created for a piece of film,
dotSUB's software easily allows a user to create a line-by-line
translation. DotSUB allows content providers to penetrate world-wide
markets by enabling native speakers to create their own translation or
provide professionally hired translators with a tool that claims to
require no training to use.
DotSUB's software can also be embedded onto a user's website so that
translations can be kept inside a single URL. For example, a
multinational company's CEO could load a training video onto the
dotSUB site as an MP4. After either creating an initial text
translation -- appearing as subtitles in the final product -- or after
hiring dotSUB to perform the transcription, the CEO would provide the
specific URL to employees in country branch offices with instructions
to use the dotSUB software to create a native translation. The next
morning, all of the company's employees would have access to the video
either in the original language, in their native language, or in any
other language in which a translation had been prepared. The video
could remain available on the dotSUB website (where the owner has the
ability to limit access) or the video could be embedded into the
corporation's home site.
'It's a multi-level paradigm shift', Smollens says, 'but there are
many CEOs out there who are not afraid of embracing it'.
At the end of the day, podcasting will make its mark by potentially
making any company or employee capable of providing content. Get
started putting together your own podcast by reviewing these features
and resources from FreePint:
"MP3s, Podcasts and all that"
By Nick Luft
Bar Discussion "Best format for podcasting?"
"Gleaning consumer intelligence from blogs and podcasts"
By Patrice K. Curtis
"How Libraries Are Applying Blogging, Podcasting and RSS Technologies"
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Matt Chapuran is a writer, actor and affordable-housing analyst living
in Boston. His work regularly appears in Lowe's For Pros, an online
journal with technical and business advice for plumbers, electricians
and property management professionals. He can be seen selling wrap
sandwiches (and rapping) in a commercial for the Maine Lottery. He can
be reached at .
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** Share the Wealth - Forward to a Colleague **
Who wouldn't welcome a free pint? Please *forward* this newsletter to
colleagues who find, use, manage and share work-related information.
Have a suggestion? We want to know about it. Send your comments to
, or submit via our Suggestion Box at
.
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yet invaluable in ensuring that web addresses don't appear unwieldy...
Thank you!" Knowledge professional, Scotland (January 2007)
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REVIEW
"Music Distribution and the Internet:
A Legal Guide for the Music Business"
Written by Andrew Sparrow
Reviewed by Jeremy de Beer
Music is among the most captivating topics in cyberspace. On almost
any given day, headlines highlight something new happening in the
online music industry. Often the story involves litigation against
anybody threatening traditional business models. Lawyers obviously
aren't the only people interested in these developments, but legal
issues do permeate all aspects of distributing music via the internet.
So it isn't surprising that lawyers are tackling this topic more
frequently. Leading information technology law practitioner Andrew
Sparrow is among the latest to do so.
In his new book, Sparrow attempts to offer insights into the legal
aspects of conducting music-related business online. His focus is on
British and European law, but there are occasional references to other
jurisdictions, including the United States. He writes for those
involved with various facets of the music industry, including
composers, publishers, performers, managers, executives and, of
course, lawyers. Although Sparrow does touch on timely topics like
podcasting, ringtones and the Creative Commons, the book contains
little in the way of cultural commentary. Unlike some more general
works on trends in digital music, this is a technical and practical
account of the range of legal challenges associated with
internet-based music businesses.
Throughout the book, music businesses are broadly defined. They
include not only online music services offering digital downloads, but
also internet retailers of physical products such as CDs or
music-related merchandise. In a way, that makes the book more about
e-commerce generally than about the music industry. Sparrow canvasses
an array of topics relevant to any internet business, including
matters such as online sales and contracting, consumer protection and
privacy regulations, website terms and conditions and other topics of
general application. His analysis is presented in the specific context
of music businesses, but on many issues there are few legal
differences between this industry and others.
There is only one chapter on the crucial and complex matter of
intellectual property rights in music. It addresses some of the most
recent litigation, legislation and licensing practices. However, it
leaves out important issues regarding royalty payments to the record
labels that own sound recording rights, thus presenting only a partial
picture of the rights-clearing process.
The author has nevertheless created a useful resource by probing the
basics of the broad and diverse set of legal problems confronting
those working in this area. Few other books about online music offer
any analysis of matters such as advertising regulations, electronic
payment systems or international conflicts of laws.
Sparrow structures the book in a way that might have been improved.
For example, rather than dealing with contract-related issues in one
section, discussions of offer/acceptance and electronic signatures
appear at opposite ends of the book, with the part on consumer
protection tucked somewhere in the middle. Some chapters contain long
quotations reproducing passages from legislation verbatim, without
offering much explanation or analysis of the statutes.
On the whole, this book might be a worthwhile addition to the music or
internet law specialist's library. Most readers, however, will still
need to seek legal advice after reviewing Sparrow's work, as it often
just flags and introduces the key areas of concern.
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Jeremy de Beer is a law professor at the University of Ottawa's
Faculty of Law. He holds degrees in law and business from the
Universities of Oxford and Saskatchewan. His research revolves around
various aspects of technology and intellectual property. Professor de
Beer has published widely on these topics, and acts as a consultant on
related legal, policy, business and strategic issues. He teaches,
among other things, Digital Music Law, a unique interdisciplinary
survey of developments in the global music industry. He is online at
.
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Related FreePint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the FreePint Bookshelf
* Resource of the Week on Music and File Sharing
.
* "Notes on the Net: A trawl around the Music Sites" By Carey
McIlvenny
* "Classical Music Web Sites" By Martin White
* World Without Secrets: Business, Crime and Privacy in the Age of
Ubiquitous Computing Written by Richard Hunter, Reviewed by Stephen
Lafferty
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the FreePint
Bookshelf at
* FUMSI: Share Information
Related links:
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
* or Amazon.com
To propose an information-related book or resource for review, send
details to Monique Cuvelier, Editor of FreePint .
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*** Researcha :: Immediate pay-as-you-go company data ***
Access hard-to-find data on UK company directors, original company
filing images and company data for Austria, Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
Researcha is free to search and view basic details, with convenient
report delivery .
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FEATURE ARTICLE
"Life of the Party: Social Web Browsers"
By Stephanie Taylor
You may think the Web browsers we currently use are fine. They've
helped the Web grow to its present state, keep us connected and
disperse information with no trouble. So why would we need a new breed
of browser?
Social Web browsers are the latest buzzword application. Designed to
support the Web 2.0 trend of online sharing, they make it easier to
share resources. They address the two sides to sharing, whereas old-
school browsers address only one. Social Web browsers let you share
information with other people as well as let other people share with
you. The Internet is not a static database of hyperlinks anymore. It's
moved on from the old days when it was a super-efficient, enormous
encyclopaedia you read like a book. Now it's a virtual party where you
circulate and introduce yourself, talk about your interests and find
like-minded people. You can chat, share resources, set up a community
and interact.
So what has social browsing to offer to the information professional?
A conventional browser lets you do the searching just for yourself and
save bookmarks to your own hard drive. Searching and saving are all
you can do. Social Web browsing offers a high level of integration,
and focuses on the sharing elements of the various applications. In
theory, sharing resources can increase your chances of finding
relevant material. It can open up new ways of accessing information,
such as sharing your favourite bookmarks and photos and in return
seeing the favourite resources of someone else who shares your
interests. It can mean being able to comment and chat with groups of
people on topics of shared interest and being able to tap into a
collective knowledge. So, potentially it has a lot to offer. The
social browser is the tool that promises to help you manage all of
this interactivity.
Comparing two players
---------------------
I started my journey into social Web browsing by using two fairly new
tools: Flock and StumbleUpon
. Both are social Web browsing tools that
concentrate on discovering and sharing online resources in two
different ways. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and both
have something of interest to offer the information world.
The concept of Flock is one that is familiar to information
professionals under another name that was flavour of the month not
that long ago: the portal. Essentially, Flock gives you access to all
the disparate parts of social networking through one user interface.
It also acts as an aggregator and can (if you choose) handle all your
logins to these applications. The Flock 'unique take' is that it
includes an internal browser, and all the other applications fit it.
So far, so good. Flock makes online storing and accessing of your
photos, bookmarks, blog, tagging tools etc. nice and straightforward.
But the real social aspect of this browser it is how easy it to share
all these things with others, and for them to share heir links and
content with you. Social networking in action.
StumbleUpon focuses on discovering sites and managing links through
tagging, bookmarking, reviewing your finds and then sharing all of
this through a personal homepage. It also puts a selection of search
engines there. It sits in your existing browser as a set of additional
buttons. You can't access your blogging software through StumbleUpon,
so posting to your blog is done externally. You can upload photos, but
this is handled by an internal photo application and you can't access
any existing photo applications you might already use such as Flickr
or Photobucket via the StumbleUpon interface. If you already use
photo software, this means either changing to the StumbleUpon photo
application or uploading everything twice to integrate within this
system.
But the big guns of social browsing from this social browser is the
StumbleUpon button. This takes you to random sites based on a
ticklist of your own selection of interests. You then rate the sites
-- 'I like them!' or 'No more like this!' -- and StumbleUpon builds
an ongoing profile of your preferences. In theory, this means that it
will learn your likes and dislikes and, over time, become more
accurate in offering you sites that match your interests. Once you
access a site, you can bookmark it, tag it and review it then make it
available to share. You can search for other users who have similar
interests and view their shared links, tags and reviews.
Plusses
-------
The feel of both is very casual, and at first, I was a little
sceptical of their use for an information professional. My initial
reaction was to relegate them to the something I should know about
because end users would probably be using them. But on closer
examination, I found quite a few features that were either useful or
potentially useful in both browsers.
Looking at Flock, I liked the easy-to-use interface. I could easily
select the blogging software, the social bookmarking system and the
photo software I wanted to use. I could also simply select my
preferred search engine and customise the news/media page with my RSS
feeds and links. I could include my logins to the various tools I
chose to use and let Flock sign me in automatically if I wanted.
Practically, I found that it really had the potential to make sharing
quicker and easier. I can open my blogging software and my photos are
accessible in the same Flock interface. I can search for online
resources and save, tag and share my finds. I can share via email, or
join the Flock community and chat and share. I can open my Flock
homepage to the world so people can see what I'm using, what I'm
looking at. I can easily access the hot sharing sites of the moment
like YouTube and MySpace, and I can set these up so that others can
see what I'm looking at and using there too. And I can save this all
online. So professionally, I can keep all my resources in one place on
my hard drive but I'm not chained to any particular network for
access. If I'm working on site or from home, I still have access to
all my resources if I take a laptop.
Drawbacks
---------
But -- and it's a big but at the moment -- there are some things that
need work. The biggest drawback I found was that I am bringing
together all my online resources -- which I could previously use no
matter what computer I was on -- onto one computer. If I access the
resources that Flock brings independently, I can log in to them
individually on any machine with an internet connection. But if I
access these same resources via the single Flock interface, I must
access them on the particular computer where the software is
installed. So I'm trading the great flexibility of storing and
accessing online. I'm not sure there is a feasible technical
workaround for this, given that everything is hanging on a browser,
but without being able to login to a central location, I'm losing one
of the big innovations in the applications I'm bringing together. If
this could be sorted, then Flock would be a very powerful tool. Not
only could you build your own personal portal of resources, but you
could also share specific resources with end users within the
community.
The other issues I had with Flock are less significant. I couldn't
work well with the latest version of my chosen blogging software,
although it was listed. Only two photo options are supported too. I
suspect that these kind of things will be resolved over time. Flock is
still quite new and I can accept teething troubles and/or agreements
yet to be agreed with different software companies. If I'm moving my
tools to a single interface, though, I want to get to select my
preferred tools and would want a wider range of the standard
favourites.
StumbleUpon does have a login, so can be used on any machine. It isn't
a browser, but sits within the browser. At the moment, it is only
available with Firefox or Internet Explorer, and again I'd like to see
more choice here, but, again, it is early days. StumbleUpon doesn't
handle blogging and it's a potential drawback that it doesn't
integrate with any of the popular web photo applications such as
Flickr and Photobucket, offering instead, an internal StumbleUpon
photo application. I already have a lot of photos in my Flickr
account, for example, and would be reluctant to either move this over
to a new system or duplicate them in StumbleUpon.
After all, though, StumbleUpon concentrates on searching and managing
found resources. On this front, it is an interesting tool. To find, or
"stumble upon", websites, you begin by completing a ticklist of
interests. This is a sketchy framework, with great detail in some
areas and little in others; 'cats' appears as an option, but not
'dogs'. Technical and online interests are represented at a greater
level of granularity, but the categories and sub-categories are not
standardised and seem very patchy overall. These are further refined
as you use the tool, but again the sub-groups were uneven. This makes
it unreliable in the spread of matches you will get.
Clicking on the StumbleUpon button gives you a website that matches
one or more of your categories. By giving the website a thumbs up or
thumbs down, you add information to your profile and in theory get
more accurate matches over time. I say in theory, because the matches
are made against user-generated tags. And this is where I start to
have a problem. I am wary of user-generated metadata. I know it is one
of the foundations of social Web browsing, but for an information
professional it can be unnerving! It is inherently inaccurate and that
leads to all sorts of complications for the serious searcher. That
said, I found some useful sites in StumbleUpon and some interesting
sites I would never have encountered in my usual, more conventional
and accurate searching. It's not a tool for precise information
matching, but the clue is really in the name. It re-awakened my sense
of surprise at all the information that is available online and got me
out of my comfortable rut of old reliable favourites.
And this is, I think, the biggest thing that social Web browsing has
to offer to information professionals at the moment -- an alternative,
adventurous source of new material. Don't throw out your tried and
trusted search tools, but do have a look. I guarantee you'll be
surprised at what you find! Longer term, the trend of sharing that
these new tools encourage is going to be very interesting and, I
think, increasingly valuable as it becomes refined. I'll be exploring
further, adding social browsing into my tool kit as a wild card for
now, but definitely a useful tool, and keeping an eye on new releases
and forthcoming developments. And maybe we'll meet up and share
resources sometime.
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Critical Eye Communications
is a new company set up
by Stephanie Taylor who has over 10 years experience in the library
and information sector. This has included a grounding in academic
libraries at the John Rylands University Library Manchester, before
progressing to work on projects delivering electronic document
delivery solutions to academic libraries throughout the UK. She has
also worked on the 'other side of the fence' in a software house
producing document delivery and information management solutions.
Stephanie can be contacted at:
.
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Related FreePint links:
* "Get a (Second) Life" By Jill Hurst-Wahl, VIP
* "An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation" Written by
Mark Levene, reviewed by David Stuart
* "2001 to 2006: Five Years of Information Architecture" By Karen
Loasby http://www.freepint.com/issues/211206.htm#feature
* "Holiday Express: Taking the Mobile Web on Holiday" By Gary Price
Related links:
* Flock
* StumbleUpon
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A look back at what FreePint covered at this time in previous years:
* FreePint No.200 16th February 2006. "Health intelligence sources in
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* FreePint No.177 24th February 2005. "Website Usability" and
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Sources on the Web" and "Poisons, Potions and Toxins - Toxicology
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Using the Web"
* FreePint No.32, 18th February 1999. "Environmental Information on
the Internet" and "New Library: now comes the action"
* FreePint No.8, 19th February 1998. "A New Light on the Horizon" and
"Current Awareness Research on the Internet"
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