Data Gathering, Evaluation and Management

Searching, Social Bookmarking and RSS feeds

This week’s tasks have had a profoundly influential effect on the way I gather, evaluate and manage web-sourced information. I had no idea that there are so many search engines tools and services available and I have enjoyed investigating the options. I have found some useful tools and have been impressed by the information search and management features of some tools/services. This week’s tasks have also given me the opportunity to spend more time exploring the features of tools most critical to information gathering and management - social bookmarking tool, Diigo and my RSS reader.

New Media Sources of Information.

Democratic publishing and content creation is both the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ when it comes to extracting appropriate information. It is important to determine authority, motivation (is the data sales based?), credibility and reliability.

Howard Rheingold in his article “Crap Detection” says: -

“We are indeed inundated by online noise pollution, but the problem is soluble. The good stuff is out there if you know how to find and verify it. Basic information literacy, widely distributed, is the best protection for the knowledge commons..”

H, Rheingold. 2009. Crap Detection 101. Available: http://newstrust.net/guides/crap-detection-101. [Accessed 27th Feb 2011].

In Walter Jesson’s blog post, “The Real-time Web and Characteristics of New Media”, he suggests that new media sources of information are more credible than traditional sources because of their independence and timeliness - amongst other characteristics. Read more here:

Jesson, W. (2009) The Real-time Web and Characteristics of New Media. Expressing Scientific Insight, [blog] 3rd December, Available at: http://www.walterjessen.com/the-real-time-web-and-characteristics-of-new-media/ [Accessed: 27th February 2011].

Other Relevant Activities This Week

I have set up Diigo to send my weekly bookmarks to my blog. This may be a mistake in terms of cluttering and complicating the blog. I will monitor this feed and probably delete it.

I have set up Google Analytics on my blog. It will be interesting to look at this data over a period of time.

Whilst I was searching for data, I set up some YouTube RSS feeds to use for daily updates on my planned Facebook fan page. I am sure that this will be an invaluable resource and time saver for my fan page project.

Facebook as an aggregator – I have become much more aware of the capacity of Facebook from working through the tasks, both as an aggregator and as a convenient way of logging in and linking with other services.

Answer Garden – whilst searching for multimedia tools, I came across Answer Garden and will be adding the question “What’s your favourite search tool/service?” Please enter a few of your favourites here. Thanks.

Search Tools and Services

Twitter Search
Pros: Easy to set up a Twitter search either by saving a search or by using hash tag search. Easy to save any finds to favourites to store and view later. I have set up Diigo to bookmark all my favourite Tweets (with links) to my social bookmarking library – an added convenience.
Cons: The wide range of open tweet content and tweet quality enforces the need to both sift through streams of inappropriate posts and to check the credibility of a tweet (checking the history of past tweets by a person, checking the bio of twitterer, being cautious of those with few Tweets or those new to Twitter, contacting the twitterer directly to check).
See Twitter guide to checking.

Facebook Search
Pros: Good for searching people or places.
Cons: Not so good for searching topics. Makes lots of links to Wikipedia or to entries without content. Limited search due to closed nature of Facebook.

Quora
Pros: Anyone can post/answer a question on anything.
Con: Anyone can post/answer a question on anything. Need to register. I spent a lot of wasted time on Quora, considering the credibility of material (questions and answers), and disregarded most of it. I found lots of unanswered questions. Questions/answers seemed to deviate steeply away from my search requests for information. About as good as a Christmas cracker, for finding a good joke. Why does this exist? Ask Quora.

Google Alerts
Pros: Easy to search and a convenient way to get plenty of results on a daily basis through email alerts. Definitely will use this again.
Cons: Results were not always what I was looking for. Lots of sifting though irrelevant items and adverts.

Social Mention
Pros: Claims to “searches the universe for social media content”, such as blogs, comments and micro blogs and questions. Covers wide content search across web2.0 content.
Cons: Searching the universe takes time and was particularly slow at loading results – the information I found was vague. Spent lots of time sifting through irrelevant subject paths with no useful finds – not this time anyway.

Cite U like
Pros: Free service for managing and discovering scholarly references. Good for searching academic areas of work/interests.
Cons: No good for lighter/non-academic topic interests.

Scibd
Pros: A “social publishing site, where tens of millions of people share original writings and documents”. Nice mission statement - Scribd's vision statement is to “liberate the written word”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribd
Log in is through Facebook. Has built in bookmarking feature for building up collections/list of information. Searches PDFs, Word docs and PowerPoint presentations that have been self published. Good place to store (contribute) and share documents and articles that have been self produced.
Really nice Readcast function – “Reading should be social! Post a message on your social networks to let others know what you're reading” Posts your chosen read directly to Facebook or Twitter.
Cons: Usual amount of irrelevant invalid and non-credible data to trail through. Good filtration is needed. Gems to be found. My favourite.

YouTube Search
Pros: Wide range of content to search = plentiful results. Most relevant content results from search request. Easy to set up RSS feed for results.
Cons: Only any good for information in video format.

UCPDWEP

What is your favourite search tool/service?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Unnamed (weekly)

• A News Literacy Guide from NewsTrust.net - Crap Detection 101

  Howard Rheingold's view on the importance of information filtering and the need to establish the credibility of source information. Rheingold outlines his methods and tools for sifting information.
  Note: mentions; easywhois.com - to find someone who owns a site and "link:http://......" to see others who have linked to that page.

  tags: datagathering Week 4 Suggested Reading Rheingold Crap Detection

  • "Every man should have a built-in automatic crap detector operating inside him."
    —Ernest Hemingway, 1954
  • The first thing we all need to know about information online is how to detect crap, a technical term I use for information tainted by ignorance, inept communication, or deliberate deception. Learning to be a critical consumer of Webinfo is not rocket science.
  • "Who is the author?" is the root question. If you don't find one, turn your skepticism meter to the top of the dial. And use easywhois.com to find out who owns the site if there is no author listed.
  • When you identify an author, search on the author's name in order to evaluate what others think of the author — and don't turn off your critical stance when you assess reputation. Who are these other people whose opinions you are trusting?
  • More good questions to use as credibility probes: Does the author provide sources for factual claims, and what happens when you search on the names of the authors of those sources? Have others linked to this page, and if so, who are they (use the search term "link: http://..." and Google shows you every link to a specified page).
  • don't trust just one source
  • think like a detective
  • try to find three different ways to test a source's credibility
  • Know how to use online filters
  • Using the search facility on Flickr or YouTube enables you to see a stream of images or videos, and automatically subscribing to that search through "RSS" means you can continue to see visual reports stream in as others upload them — in real time
  • "crowdsourcing the filter" by growing populations of trusted editors who would collectively identify the good stuff
  • steps to take to verify a tweet, including, among many other tips, checking the history of past tweets by a person to see what context you might find before the claim about a news event was tweeted, checking the bio of twitterer who makes a claim, being wary of news tweets from someone with very few previous tweets or who joined very recently, use Twitter's reply feature to engage the twitterer directly
  • Dispute Finder Firefox Extension "highlights disputed claims on web pages you browse and shows you evidence for alternative points of view."

• Designing A Facebook Fan Page: Showcases, Tutorials, Resources - Smashing Magazine

  Showcase Of Well-Designed Facebook Company Fan Pages http://bit.ly/dvTl99

• RT : QR codes - early successes - simoncobb's post

  @lmcnicoll RT @tombarrett: QR codes - early successes - simoncobb's posterous http://bit.ly/i6zbTP @ictast great to hear of your success!

• Jakten på den perfekta lektionen: Groups, Networks and Grabbing the Mic in cck11

  Groups, Networks and Grabbing the Mic in #cck11 http://bit.ly/hVE9nD

  tags: cck11

• 10 Ways to Use QR Codes in Your Classroom | Technology Teacher | Diigo

  Practical ideas to use codes in the classroom and link and info on QR code generating

  tags: qrcode classroom

• THEORY - Face to Facebook

  Really good article relating to Facebook.
  Virtual identity, virtual management, corowdsourced targeting, Facebook face recognition experiment.

  tags: facebook Week 4 Suggested Reading virtual identity

• social capital: civic community and education

  General article on social capiital - section on social capital in organisations

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks social capital

  • Social capital for starters
  • Groups and organizations with high social capital have the means (and sometimes the motive) to work to exclude and subordinate others. Furthermore, the experience of living in close knit communities can be stultifying - especially to those who feel they are 'different' in some important way.
  • Defining social capital
  • 'Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social interactions... Social capital is not just the sum of the institutions which underpin a society – it is the glue that holds them together' (The World Bank 1999).
  • Community connectedness is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous difference to our lives.
  • Exhibit 3: Bridging, bonding and linking social capital
  • A growing body of research suggests that where trust and social networks flourish, individuals, firms, neighbourhoods, and even nations prosper economically

  • Social capital in organizations

  • Better knowledge sharing, due to established trust relationships, common frames of reference, and shared goals.

    Lower transaction costs, due to a high level of trust and a cooperative spirit (both within the organization and between the organization and its customers and partners).

    Low turnover rates, reducing severance costs and hiring and training expenses, avoiding discontinuities associated with frequent personnel changes, and maintaining valuable organizational knowledge.

    Greater coherence of action due to organizational stability and shared understanding. (Cohen and Prusak 2001: 10)

• Connectivism

  Networked and social learning.

  tags: connectivism Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

  • Connectivism Glossary
  • Amplification
  • Resonance
  • Synchronization
  • Information diffusion
  • Influence
  • Enacting new domains of knowledge
  • Connected specialization

• Connectivism

  Moving learning theories into the digital age
  Connectivism principles/Organisation knowledgement/Networks, Small Worls and Weak Ties/ Th cycle of Knowledge Development (personal to network to organisation)

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks connectivism

  • An Alternative Theory
  • Networks, Small Worlds, Weak Ties
  • Connectivism
  • Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired.
  • Implications
  • Management and leadership
  • Media, news, information
  • Personal knowledge management in relation to organizational knowledge management
  • Design of learning environments

• Week 1 - What Is Connectivism? ~ CCK11

  See reading list for What is Connectivism

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

• Week 2 - Patterns of Connectivity ~ CCK11

  See reading list/resources for Patterns of Connectivity

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks social network analysis

• Social Network Analysis

  Good explanation of social network analysis - giving examples

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks social network analysis

  • Social network analysis [SNA] is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers, URLs, and other connected information/knowledge entities. The nodes in the network are the people and groups while the links show relationships or flows between the nodes.
  • Degree Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, and Closeness Centrality.
  • What really matters is where those connections lead to -- and how they connect the otherwise unconnected
  • A node with high betweenness has great influence over what flows -- and does not -- in the network
  • Closeness Centrality

  • Network Centralization

  • Network Reach
  • Boundary Spanners
  • Peripheral Players
  • Applying Social Network Analysis

• Networks4newbies Powerpoint Presentation

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

• Week 5 - Groups, Networks and Collectives ~ CCK11

  Collection of resources on Groups, Networks and Collectives form Stephen Downs

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

• How Some Folks Have Tried to Describe Community

  A collection of definitions of community

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

  • described a set of attributes captured the essence of "connection" as manifest in community in terms of relationships. He uses words like "feeling part of a larger social whole," "web of relationships," "an exchange...of commonly valued things," and "relationships...that last through time creating shared histories.
  • supportive of all its members, accepts individual styles and fills in gaps when/where needed in order to sustain itself and for the good of the whole
  • Communities are characterized by three things: common interests, frequent interaction, and identification
  • "People on the net should be thought of not only as solitary information processors, but also as social beings. People are not only looking for information, they are also looking for affiliation, support and affirmation...
  • Howard Rheingold, the man who coined the term "virtual community" (and later suggested that that might have been a mistake!) offered in his book, The Virtual Community, "Virtual communities are social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace."
  • intellectual virtual community
  • functional virtual community
  • People often think that blogs, forums, wikis, and other tools are community. In actuality, those tools are just that - tools. They can help you to build community, but they aren't actually "community"
  • We find community in networks, not groups. Although people often view the world in terms of groups (Freeman 1992), they function in networks. In networked societies: boundaries are permeable, interactions are with diverse others, connections switch between multiple networks, and hierarchies can be flatter and recursive.

• Personal Networking - A Computer is a Social Network

  Abstract ; Computer networks are social networks. Social affordances of computer supported social networks--broader bandwidth, wireless portability, globalized connectivity, personalization--are fostering the movement from door-to-door and place-to-place communities to person-to-person and role-to-role communities. People connect in social networks rather than in communal groups. In-person and computer-mediated communication are integrated in communities characterized by personalized networking.

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

  • Computer networks are social networks. Social affordances of computer supported social networks--broader bandwidth, wireless portability, globalized connectivity, personalization--are fostering the movement from door-to-door and place-to-place communities to person-to-person and role-to-role communities. People connect in social networks rather than in communal groups. In-person and computer-mediated communication are integrated in communities characterized by personalized networking.
  • Computer networks are social networks. Social affordances of computer supported social networks--broader bandwidth, wireless portability, globalized connectivity, personalization--are fostering the movement from door-to-door and place-to-place communities to person-to-person and role-to-role communities. People connect in social networks rather than in communal groups. In-person and computer-mediated communication are integrated in communities characterized by personalized networking.
  • A Computer Network is a Social Network

  • The Network Revolution

    We find community in networks, not groups. Although people often view the world in terms of groups (Freeman 1992), they function in networks.

  • The Social Affordances of Computerized Communication Networks
  • Communities Transcend the Group and the Locality

    The proliferation of computer-supported social networks is fostering changes in the ways that people contact, interact, and obtain resources with each other

  • The Rise of Networked Individualism
  • Is Community Viable Online?
  • Specialized Relationships
  • Specialized Communities
  • Is There a Place for Physical Space in Cyber Space?
  • The Impact of Cyber Space on Community

• Groups vs Networks: The Class Struggle Continues

  Slide presentation on Groups vs Networks

  tags: Week 3 Suggested Readings culture groups communities networks

• Social Network Theory

  Summary of Social Network Theory and list of other links re SNT

  tags: culture Week 3 Suggested Readings social network theory

  • Social networks have also been used to examine how companies interact with each other, characterizing the many informal connections that link executives together, as well as associations and connections between individual employees at different companies. These networks provide ways for companies to gather information, deter competition, and even collude in setting prices or policies.

• New animation: Intellectual Property Rights in the Web 2.0 world : JISC

  The six-minute animation is accessible and colourful, portraying in a light-hearted way some of the issues involved via three typical case studies: a researcher, a lecturer and a student. These examples pinpoint areas where confusion exists, or even where many may not consider IPR to be an issue at all, and signpost back to the online diagnostic tool for further guidance and information.

  tags: copyright Week 3 Suggested Readings intellectuual property rights

  • Intellectual Property Rights in the Web 2.0 world
  • The six-minute animation is accessible and colourful, portraying in a light-hearted way some of the issues involved via three typical case studies: a researcher, a lecturer and a student.
  • The six-minute animation is accessible and colourful, portraying in a light-hearted way some of the issues involved via three typical case studies: a researcher, a lecturer and a student. These examples pinpoint areas where confusion exists, or even where many may not consider IPR to be an issue at all, and signpost back to the online diagnostic tool for further guidance and information.  
  • Web 2.0 has revolutionised education and practice, and in a very positive way, but there is a lack of understanding regarding copyright, and whether it applies. The basic fact is that IPR holds just as strongly with Web 2.0 content as it does with more traditional forms.
  • The animation highlights the issues in a very approachable way, and we hope this raises awareness among users in HE and FE to take IPR within their Web 2.0 activity seriously.’

• Warning to abusive bloggers as judge tells site to reveal names | Technology | The Guardian

  Example from the Guardian of social media and defamation, specifically blogging and "cloak of anonymity"

  tags: defamation Week 3 Suggested Readings

  • anonymous internet postings may face expensive libel claims
  • highlight the danger of assuming that the apparent cloak of anonymity gives users of internet forums and chatrooms carte blanche to say whatever they like.
  • Exposing the identity of those who post damaging lies in cyberspace is a growt
  • h area for libel lawyers.
  • "This case illustrates an increasingly important legal issue: proving who is responsible for the publication of anonymous material on the internet. This is likely to be a significant issue in defamation cases in the future."
  • The next move was to apply for a court order requiring him to reveal the identities of "Halfpint" and the other fans behind what the club's lawyers described as a "sustained campaign of vilification".
  • But the judge decided some fans, whose postings were merely "abusive" or likely to be understood as jokes, should keep their anonymity.
  • Court orders obliging websites to disclose the identity of users posting anonymous defamatory remarks began in 2001.

• Can hyperlinks be libellous, or are they just mere footnotes? | Law | guardian.co.uk

  Example from the Guardia of social media defamation case relating specifically to hyperlinks.

  tags: defamation Week 3 Suggested Readings hyperlinks

  • whether a link to a web page that contains defamatory statements about someone is actionable.
  • Can the web pages a publisher links to inform the meaning of an article?
  • statements must not be taken out of context. In defamation cases the whole publication is relevant for the purpose of deciding what an article means; it should be read in its entirety, even if it continues on another page, and passages and headlines shouldn't be read in isolation.
  • when a defendant publisher has linked to someone else's web pages, that content may be treated as part of the whole publication when it comes to deciding what the words complained about mean.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Groups, Communities and Networks - summary of my notes and references

sliderocket code

Thought that I would put my a summary of my research notes on groups, communities and networks somewhere online to keep safe. I made a very short PowerPoint presentation incorporating some video resources that I had used and links of reference and then I tried out some different options. SlideShare was discounted, as payment was needed for an upgrade to use media files. Then I remembered that Sharon had used SlideRocket for the module 1 presentation. SlideRocket was very accommodating and I was impressed with the functions. Once I had uploaded my PowerPoint to SlideRocket, I needed to add the media again. On the negative side, I was unable to upload a Google Video that I had used as a reference (not sure why). Also, I was not able to re-size the media boxes to fit my page design. I did think about using Google Docs but thought I'd try something new.
What was meant to be a quick upload of a PowerPoint of my notes turned into a bit of a learning curve. Here’s the public Slide share link
UCPDWEP

Reflection on YouTube Video

Making this video has given me the opportunity to reflect upon key issues explored whilst researching online privacy, security and reputation.
Attitudes on the subject seem to vary from highly fuelled to flippancy, with a range of opinion spanning the uncertain mid ground. It seems that there remain many unresolved questions relating to measures of privacy and safety.
To what extent do we have true control?

Yes, there are steps we can take to be fully informed about the terms and conditions, and the privacy policies for social networking sites. Yes, we can follow guidelines for setting privacy limits on the sites that we use. Yes, we can conceptualise our online reputation – we can monitor it and if we feel the need, provide a “defence” or engage in a conversation of challenge.
However, as our online and off-lines lives converge and as we increasingly become a society of online networks, what can such safeguards really guarantee?
It is clear to see that sacrificing our privacy/safety, in part at least, brings all the rewards that social media and the Internet has to offer. I find the sociological impact that the digital world is having on our increasingly networked lives very interesting.

I have drawn my inspiration for the video from Andrew Keen’s article, “Sharing Is A Trap”, featured in this month’s Wired Magazine. Andrew Keen is a great and often controversial commentator on all things web2.0. The themes and flavours of my video are based on this article.

Andrew Keen’s article, “Sharing is a Trap”

To find out more about Andrew Keen

Andrew Keen’s website/blog

I found iMovie fairly easy to use, once I had familiarised myself with all the functions and features. I would have liked more control over the text – so apologies for the small captions (not a chance of seeing the credits). I experimented with a few screen-casting tools to incorporate into the video. I had problems downloading screencastle in order to import into iMovie (due to flv files). In the end, I turned to SnapzProx, on a 15-day trial. I will have another go at screen casting in a more instructional way later. I used lots of YouTube videos to guide me through the process of compressing and uploading my iMovie into YouTube.
UCPDWEP

YouTube Video - Online Privacy, Security and Reputation

Online Reputation – Some Initial Thoughts

rep·u·ta·tion

n.

1. The general estimation in which a person is held by the public.

2. The state or situation of being held in high esteem.

3. A specific characteristic or trait ascribed to a person or thing: a reputation for

At a professional level, maintaining a good online reputation is about ensuring that your online profiles, networks and online-behaviour, reflect the appropriate standards and expectations for your profession. What is deemed as appropriate will vary from profession to profession, with the expectations/perceptions of schoolteachers, as role models of society differing from the expectations/perceptions of television celebrities as role models – who may deliberately pursue provocation. For some maintaining a “good reputation” is about “behaving badly”. Reputation is a slippery and somewhat subjective concept.

“To begin developing an online reputation, consider how your personal or company brand should be perceived. What is your brand identity / what is your value proposition / selling point / unique voice? Once you have developed the image you would like your constituencies to perceive, develop a strategy..”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_reputation#Online_reputation

Content posted through your personal online networks could also have an affect on your professional reputation and the reputation of your employer.

“The disclaimer currently reads: "Scottish & Sober-ish.. Civil Servant. This is my personal account, personal views. Nothing to do with my employers. What I retweet I may or may not agree with."”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12393893

"The fact is, your personal and professional lives are colliding and blending like a 99 cent frozen margarita on Cinco de Mayo — and that trend will march onward, not backward."

http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/160504

Generally speaking, maintaining a good online reputation is about being guided by an awareness of and sensitivity to the potential effects that your content may have on others. A quip, intended for a close friend on Facebook may be seen in an offensive way to “a friend of a friend”.

“Concern over reputation is sometimes considered a human fault, exaggerated in importance due to the fragile nature of the human ego. William Shakespeare provides the following insight from Othello:Cassio: Reputation, reputation, reputation! O! I have lost my reputation. I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_%28social_concept%29

Like good offline reputation we need to maintain usual standards of moral behaviour/codes in the online environment. It is important to remember that in the online world everyone is a witness and what you say as text, in a photo or in a video could be archived, shared and used (possibly for your defamation) across the world. A good online reputation will ensure that you will be held in esteem by your followers and friends, who in turn may offer recommendations, which may extend your networks and deliver professional/personal opportunities. Good reputation will help to establish you as a leader and expert in your field.

“Social Capital is created every time you do something positive effecting your household, community or country.When you do any kind of activity online or offline you are creating social capital. Everything you do - either posting a photo, comment, review, doing volunteer activity, or complaint - your input can be turned into social capital if you document and save it in a proper place..”

http://www.socialpulse.com/view/social-capital

Monitoring Reputation

When I tweeted “#ucpdwep Changed my blog to Blogger. Wordpress just not Google enough”, Wordpress replied to me! Clearly, it has become important for businesses to monitor reputation and to challenge negativity towards their brands.

“Listening creates the opportunity to take action and resolve internal problems or deal with malicious information, both of which can negatively influence your corporate, and even personal, reputation.”

http://blog.kgbpeople.com/2010/12/20/online-reputation-%E2%80%93-what-does-it-mean-to-you/

“Quite literally, ‘You ARE what you publish,’” says David M. Scott, author of the books World Wide Rave and the best-selling The New Rules of Marketing and PR. “What I mean by that is whatever your company publishes online (and what others publish about you) IS your reputation. So if you are not in the social media sites, you don’t exist. But others are talking about you..”

http://www.missuall.com/fighting-a-bad-online-reputation-keeping-a-good-one/

Opportunities To Improve Your Reputation

Following #hashtag topics – I followed #technology and #elearning and received a bombardment of tweets. I can see how topic streams can deliver live information, events, news etc from experts working in these fields, offering opportunities to make connections with key people and to retweet timely and relevant information to my own followers.

Joining Diigo groups – I joined EdTech group and Technology Integrated in Education group in Diigo. I have received one weekly update from the EdTech group, supplying a handful of interesting bookmarks to use as reference material and to share with others. Again, this is a good way of connecting with key people in a particular field and benefiting from subject based collective intelligence.

LinkedIn – I can see how using LinkedIn, the professional social networking site, could be used to meet other professionals in a field of work and to extend professional networks. LinkedIn is a way to promote your professional skills and experience, make “good contacts” with the intention of furthering your career and/or establishing/promoting yourself in your professional role.

“Make Your LinkedIn Profile an Online Reputation Management ..55 million users aren’t here to share inane details about their life, but rather to meet other professionals in their field, expand their skill sets, and promote their positive reputations on the web.”

http://www.reputation.com/how_to/optimize-your-linkedin-profile-for-the-web/

UCPDWEP

Defining and Identifying Web2.0 - Prezi Presentation

Defining and Identifying Web2.0 on Prezi

Dave White’s Visitors and Residents Principle

The Visitors and Residents Principle categorises the way individuals engage with the Web. It implies that Web-user fluency is not reliant on age or technical skills but instead focuses on issues of motivation and culture. To summarise - Residents “live out a portion of their life online” and hold a strong online presence/identity. Residents see the Web as a social space. Visitors, on the other hand, engage online to complete specific tasks and then leave without making a mark. The Visitor sees no need for online networks and views their privacy as being paramount.

The principle becomes even more interesting when we look at the two different user characteristics and apply them to specific social media tools in an organisational setting.

In Twitter, a Resident organisation/brand would be highly visible and very active, posting many times a day. It would be able to easily build relationships of trust, cultivate networks by responding to followers’ tweets quickly. The organisation/brand would gain reputation as being a listening and responsive organisation. The Resident would always be present and poised to transform a tweet into a business opportunity or a follower into a customer.

The main drawback for the Resident organisation is that it needs to work hard to maintain a respected Twitter presence by constantly pumping out tweets and instantly responding to followers. Demands of this nature can be draining on staff time and resources. An organsiation wanting to keep its finger on the Twitter pulse needs a dedicated employee, constantly adding to the Twitter stream. The quality of tweets may be sacrificed in favour of quanity, in an attempt to keep up with the fast pace of the Twitter stream, where five minutes equates to an eternity.

The Visitor organisation in Twitter is not burdened by the demands of keeping up a presence and of instant interaction. It will log-in and tweet items of specific company news or events and log-out. It will not be too concerned about the twitterings of followers. The drawbacks for the Visitor organisation are the missed opportunities for networking and interaction. Visiting risks losing followers (potential customers or business partners) due to inconsistent activity or inactivity.

For the Visitor organisation, Twitter is a business information service. For the Resident organisation, Twitter is a business community.

I am not very familiar with Facebook but I would assume that the organisational benefits and drawbacks for each motivation characteristic would be similar to those mentioned above. Do you agree that this is the case? Is Facebook a “residential platform”?

Links with relevance to the Visitor Resident Principle: -

Dave White’s presentation on the Visitor Resident Principle

Dave White’s blog is also well worth a visit.

Andy Powell’s blog mentioning Twitter as a residential platform

Prensky on Digital Natives and Immigrants – Part 1

Prensky on Digital Natives and Immigrants – Part 2

Prensky on Digital Wisdom

Sapiens Digital - Digital Extensions and Enhancements

Bryony Taylors post on Visitors and Residents

UCPDWEP

Welcome

Here is the blog that I will host for my learning on the DMU University Certificate in Web Enhanced Practice (UCPDWEP). Please find here my course related ramblings, from moment to moment, as I mull things over and sprout ideas. I am a novice of many things and so I welcome and woo you to comment on my posts with your advice, insights, experiences and opinions. Please feel free to keep me on track, take me “off-roading”, broaden my view, challenge my thinking, help me to see and understand things.

I look forward to our conversations here with light and lively energy and with the freedom of a learning mind.

UCPDWEP