Heads up on a fun tool – Super Screenshot! It does just what it says – enter a URL, hit the Go button… and you get a screenshot of that website. Pretty cool!
CIL2008, Day 1: Widgets, tools and doodads for library webmasters
Speakers: Darlene Fichter, Frank Cervone
Firefox tools:
safecache: protects privacy, defends against cache based tracking techniques
safehistory: protects your privacy by defending your history cache
FoxMarks: automatically synchronizes bookmarks
FEBE: Firefox Environment Backup Extension – syncs extensions between computers
Other webtools for collaboration
meebo chat widget
LInkBunch: lets you put multiple links into one small link
DocSyncer: automatically finds and syncs your document files to Google Docs – this means everything.
Twhirl: desktop client for twitter
polldaddy: fast simple way to put a poll on your site
VisCheck: shows what things look like to a colorblind person…
Feng GUI: automatic alternative to eye tracking – creates heatmaps based on algorhythms…
Browsershots: creates screenshots in different browsers – service actually visit browser/PC combination. Cool!
Photoshop Express: coo new online photo editor
Think website distribution: get an “add this” tool – lets customers bookmark your stuff on different site
Google Gadgets: gadgets you can add to your site – things like countdowns
altavista babelfish translator: gets at the gist of what’s going on – not perfect, but good enough
Nifty utilities:
ProcessTamer: monitors CPU usage of processes, reduces the priority of apps that hop the cpu
FIle Hamster: real-time backup and archiving of your files while you work
Syncback Freeware: backup all files with a single click, scheduler to automate backups, versioning, incremental backups, machine to machine via ftp – encryption and compression, too.
LinkExtractor: pulls links off page
Moving large files: mailbigfile.com, slipload, yousendit, mediafire, panda (peer to peer)
reCaptcha – interesting…
anonymouse: check if resources accessible outside your ip range, or for privacy
Prism: app that lets users split web apps our of the website and onto your desktop?
Find more widgets:
widgetbox, google gadgets, previous cool tools presentations
CIL2008, Day 1: Fast & Easy Site Tune-ups
Speaker: Jeff Wisniewski
Keep content fresh
– Update your copyright date! You can use code to do this
– add a last updated script to your page (do it as an external script so you use one script in many places
– add photos to contacts! Goes a long way in increasing user’s trust in a website
Turn boring old contact info into exciting hCards
– using microformats extension – allows you to import contact info into your address book
Don’t use click here. Instead, use Current articles are available here (with current articles text as the link)
– “Current articles” – a trigger word, it’ll be highlighted as a link, so it’ll stand out more
Harness the awesome power of the 4 question survey!
surveymonkey.com
Great questions to ask:
1. what’s the purpose of your visit to our website today
2. were you able to complete your tasks today
3. if you weren’t successful, why not?
ps – ask for their email
Web 2ify your site
update look with web 2.0 stylr, etc
Use graphics when possible
Speed:
Yslow (firefox extension) – helps figure out why your page is slow
Exploit the user’s cache to speed up your site
For server admins:
– set certain file types to stay fresh/not expire
– image file types, css, js files, pdfs
– this helps speed
add an expiration date code thing in your .htaccess file – another speed thing
single image rather than multiple combined images will speed the site up – fewer http requests
eliminate inline scripts – call scripts externally instead
spring cleaning – tidy your homepage
validator – will automatically fix your css
CLEANCSS – it will unbloat your css, compresses it, etc
Move important info our of the blindness zone (top header area, far right, etc – “banner blindness”
Page titles
Google Webmaster accounts? sign up for account, get lots of goodies, including title tag analyzer
page titles – best way to structure:
document title | section name | library/site name
accessibility
add labels – screen readers read this, the checkbox text becomes clickable – not just the checkbox itself
make sure to use radio boxes and check boxes appropriately
Make your site social media friendly
add social bookmark links
– social bookmark creator – select bookmark service, it spits out html code to dump into your website
Q from me – is it dynamic?
Participating in Digital Community, or Lots of Links to David
I’ve been doing some thinking about all the different digital communities I participate in on the web, so I thought I’d create a list of them. It’s not a short list.
Things I use the most:
- My blog (it’s an active community)
- Flickr
- Twitter (as I write this post, someone else just started following me on Twitter!)
- del.icio.us
- AIM (I’m squagmar on AIM)
Video stuff:
- My videoblog
- blip.tv (I store all my videos at blip – they rock)
- YouTube (sometimes I post video here too)
- justin.tv (experimenting with this – they call it “lifecasting” – but in web years I’m an oldie, so it’s really just a new, easy-to-use webcam service)
Podcasting services (mainly experiments):
- utterz (easy-to-use mobile service – done from my cell phone)
- talkshoe (used mainly for the LITA election podcasts – not sure what to do with it now)
Music stuff (you can find me singing and musiking in a few different places):
- last.fm (newest stuff goes here)
- SoundClick (first place I put music – and it’s still around!)
- SoundClick for my 80’s college band (we so rocked)
- PureVolume (I have 4 songs here – not really doing anything with it)
Other things I toy with:
- Pownce (just friend people who friend me here – really nothing else since I’m good with twitter)
- Plaxo (link to people who link to me, not much else)
- LinkedIn (mainly link to people who link to me)
- Skype (davidleeking on skype)
- Second Life (Daweed Quatro in Second Life)
- MySpace (recently been actively used with some college friends who have just “discovered the web” 🙂 )
- LibraryThing (I go on LibraryThing binges once in awhile…)
Seeing this list, some of you will have different reactions. Some of you might think “Dang, David – that’s WAY TOO MANY things to sign up for!” while others of you are probably thinking “slacker – get with the program!”
Either way, I’ll say this – if you want to fully understand how the emerging web works, you have to experience it. You have to sign up, friend people (the more the merrier), and PARTICIPATE. There’s no other way to really understand what’s going on and how you might use it personally or for your organization. Reading about it won’t give you a full grasp – it’s like reading about going to a major league ballgame vs. actually going to one – two very different experiences.
Closing Question – is there anything you use frequently that’s NOT on this list? What do you like about it? Something on this list you don’t use? Why?
Tracking words with Twitter
Twitter recently added a Twitter Tracking feature that lets you track keywords and phrases that twitterers use while twittering. Just for kicks, I tracked the word library for 24 hours – every time someone entered the word library into twitter, I received the update… Here’s what I got back from Twitter:
First, my own test updates:
- testing something out – library
- Cool – I’m playing with twitter tracking. I’m tracking library – and it took like 10 secs from enering the word to getting the notification
Before you read the twitters, think about this – have you ever wondered what your customers think of you? Ever wondered what people think about [fill-in-the-blank]? This Twitter Tracking tool allows you to get a small, rather random glance at people’s thoughts on a topic.
{fyi – this isn’t all of them – not even half. And I removed most of the references to things like iTunes Library, JavaScript Library, and I think one World of Warcraft Library reference. Oh, and two library thing references and a library elf reference, too}
So – here’s what people twitter about libraries – I found this fascinating:
- met stefanie at the library by chance meeting. she picked out a book for me.
- @ the library with jay, testing netwerx
- The girl across from me at the library kind of has man-hands.
- heading home.. maybe a quick stop at the library?
- Sooo we’re back. It was okay. Bought some yummy bagels since I had a craving for ’em…got new library card and took out my book for 4MP!
- back to the library for the 4th time in 2 days 3rd time today if i dont get at least a c on this test ill die
- I really hate the campus library. No, I hate researching a topic I care nothing for.
- late night meeting with a client at the local library
- Yahoo! Hack Event today at the University of the Philippines College of Engineering Library and Computer Science Building Lecture Hall.
- finally started studying. law library.
- back at the library to file away to videos before hopping on a jet plane south
- Guy who hasn’t checked out a library book in 30 years. I totally introduced him to the art of calling us to put things on hold. He’s happy.
- library is surprisingly crowded
- More cellphone rudeness I wasn’t aware of: apparently it’s ok to take phonecalls in a public library now. Happened 3x in the last hour.
- All alone in a smelly corner of ASUs nerd library.
- Getting ready to read my new book from the library and going to sleep after. Have a good night!
- sunbathing outside state library. Wanna join us?
- Workers divided in vote on deal to end civic strike: Vancouver’s library workers have rejected a proposed…
- It’s just gonna take too much time for it to download before I can watch it. Gonna have to go to the library again.
- Yay Harry Potter 7 CDs are in at the library!!! I’m still on book 5, oh well, still exciting!!!
- Another awesome thing about the restaurant: it’s across a public library. I just got my first SF library card!
- this evening has flown by — busy, busy! but that’s the way I like it when I work late! I wish I worked for a library with wi-fi!
- getting irritated at this guy walking all about in the library, IT’S SO DISTRACTING!
- I found our Scienrtific library a great place to catch up on sleep. Much to the amusement of the security guard! 🙂
- Am back at Gotham Library for the morning, doing my old job. It’s very amusing, have caused a lot of double-takes.
- Amending my article about NZ music for the Radio Journal. Need a few more references – but they’re sitting in a library in Auckland. Damn.
- stalking people in the library for Research Method class… What a stupid assignment?
- What is the nicest library I can see in Rome/Vatican?
- just emerged from the “library.” draft one done. editing now.
- Time to get Gretel ready for story time at our local library. Must. Remember. Camera.
- I love finding an older picture on Flickr & seeing that it’s been viewed once. Like finding that library book that’s never been checked out.
- back from library forum, there are some really great ideas floating around the library
- I love my kids mondegreens. Kaya this morning – “dad, we have to take this library book back today or it will be over dude”
- I might have to start dropping elbows on these kids in the library that won’t shut the hell up.
- working from library today – walk through downtown and the sound of commerce ringing clear
- Back in the stinking library.
- Listening to a preschool story group reciting “Diddle Diddle Dumpling My Son John” with a teddy bear at the library.
- Library has ALL of the Thin Man movies! Thin Man Marathon! (with cocktails!)
- “The library isn’t good for books” Wow. Gwan UCC!
- off to the library to get some intense work done before dreamweaver/CSS class this evening (mix in some Game database work on the side pls)
- Research at the UM Map library on consumer water usage in Israel and Palestine
- sitting in the library missing my lesbians.
- sorry thelonedrifter, the library sucks
- @addisontodd that’s ’cause you’re illiterate… not the library’s problem
- Headding to the library
- Technically, you’re not supposed to use the reference computers for MySpace, but maybe if you to add the library’s page to your f-list …
- Library is packed with noisy beings, other languages and exposed underwear.
- in a library that’s not mine, leeching wifi and writing
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