Digital Media Labs in Libraries

Along with the recent announcement from IMLS & MacArthur foundation seeking 2nd round grant applications for 21st Century Learning Labs, there’s been a lot of news lately about libraries moving forward with this new service model.  Here at CML, we’re also moving forward with our planning in the digital media creation space and are working with four other prominent Columbus cultural organizations to create a network of learning labs for teens across the city.  I can share more on this in the future as our planning progresses. 

Anyway, there’s a lot learning organizations can learn from each other as we look to support new models for community learning involving digital media. YouMedia Chicago has of course received lots of national attention for the model they successfully launched.  But there was also an early prototype of this digital learning model with ImaginOn’s Studio I -- a space/facility that I had the pleasure to be involved with in developing when I was at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  I know there are others, but at the moment I don't have a very complete list to draw from:  

Here are few that I know of outside of the 12 awarded in the first round of IMLS/MacArthur Learning Labs grant:

• Digital Projects Lab @ Arlington Public Library 
• YouMedia Miami @ Miami Dade PL ( news story )
• Fab Lab @ Fayetteville Free Library
• Creative Technology Center @ Orlando PL (this was just announced)
  

If you know of more (beyond the list of 12 already awarded) please add to my comments.

It's good to be back

It’s been quite a hiatus since I’ve posted anything here. A divorce tends to do that to a person... halts you in dead in your tracks, forces you to re-prioritize your life and once you’re finally through what looks like at first is a very dark transition tunnel, actually makes you glad that it all happened. :)

Yup, life is funny that way.

Over the past two years – has it really been two years already? – I’ve had many people ask me if I plan to finally get back to my blog. Well, I guess if you’re reading this post, then you know the answer is “yes” … It’s just taken me a bit longer than I like. :)

You may have also noted with this visit, that I’ve decided to change my URL. LibraryBytes.com has served me well in the past, but as I move forward I’ll be changing up this site a bit. Not sure how just yet, but I’m pretty sure it will start with some minor tweaking to design and then who knows?

Thanks for finding me and my blog again. It’s good to be back. :)

PS: Please excuse the missing images and broken links for the time being. I still have lots of cleanup to do after 24 months of ignoring this site. :)

Rotterdam Talks

It's been a great two days in Rotterdam talking with folks at the DB Congres. For those in attendance here are the slides to my keynote and master class:

Keynote: Reality Check 2.010: 5 Trends Shaping Libraries & Digital Space

Masterclass: Creating a Culture of Innovation in Libraries

Columbus Neighborhoods

Yay! Columbus Neighborhoods is launching today and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s amazing to me how a casual lunch with a colleague can spark simple idea and three weeks later you’ve got a 34 page proposal outlining an amazing collaboration project between two great community organizations.
We didn’t get the grant that we applied for, but that didn’t stop us from moving forward. Sometimes ideas gain so much momentum that no matter what the obstacle is, you just find a way to make it happen.

So here it is… Columbus Neighborhoods, a community engagement portal celebrating Columbus’ rich neighborhoods. What make this project different from other community portal projects is that not only is content (images, videos & stories) contributed by the community, the community also has the ability to co-curate their own galleries from content contributed by others. It also integrates well into popular social media platforms.

WOSU Media is the Columbus Metropolitan Library's partner in this venture and I think we’re both thrilled with the results. In three months this project has moved from just a concept on paper to full blown web application that promotes community engagement on a large scale.

PS: Thanks Susan Meyer, WOSU Media for believing in this idea and collaborative partnership as much as I. Thanks Penny Phensuvabarp and Sam Davis at CML and Interactive Knowledge for your leadership and efforts in turning this idea into an amazing experience.

Thoughts on rewards of risk ...

I jotted this down in my ideas journal the other day ...

A risk management philosophy rewards planning
A risk taking philosophy rewards ACTION

What do you think?

2/25 addendum: ... and a risk aversion philosophy rewards avoidance.

Digital Media in a Social World talk

On my way out the door this morning to give my talk at DMSW event at OSU. Finally finished my slides. Here they are:

Social Media Edge- Feb 2010

View more presentations from hblowers.

Social Media = Social Marketing

There’s a slide from a keynote I did three years ago that compared the Wikipedia definitions for the terms Web 2.0 and Social Media. Three years ago what was interesting to me was that the definitions for each centered on the human interactions of sharing and idea exchange (discussion and collaboration) and the change I noted then was that the terminology had merely changed. Web 2.0 had moved mainstream enough, that people needed a less geeky (& more meaningful) moniker to call it by.

But tonight, in updating my slides for my DMSW talk tomorrow, I discovered something much more interesting and I might add slightly disturbing. Take a look at the opening definition of social media now.* It’s no longer centered on human connections and conversation. The definition has taken on a definitive marketing slant and touts sm as the use of technologies to "transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many)." Yup, simply put, it seems that Social Media = Social Marketing.

Anyway, here’s my updated slide with a new comparison of the definitions.



I labeled this image file "scary.jpg" What do you think? Do you agree?

Related Posts: Social Media, Snake Oil & Community Gardens

* Wikipedia editors note that this article has multiple issues including references, validation and slants towards personal reflection. There's definitely a lot of discussion on this topic and it's easy to see why.

Abbey is pretty demanding ...

... but it's important to listen to her. Her library is not the library I grew up with ... it's better! (at least i hope)



Video for VALA 2010, Melbourne, Australia

Social Media, Snake Oil & Community Gardens

[Warning: A bit of a personal rant here ...]

On Saturday morning I'm doing a talk for the Digital Media in a Social World conference being held at OSU. And while this is a topic that I've talked a lot about in the last four years, I have to say that personally I've become a little numb to all the hype today that is around "social media."

For me, many of the conversations and conferences around this topic seem to turn into a snake oil salesman dance. There are too many born-again marketers who seem to preach the gospel of the Facebook and Twitter while not in the least understanding that social media networking has never been about the product, the brand or the message -- in fact, it's actually never been about "media" at all-- It's is and always is simply about an individual's influence and personal relationships.

Anyway, so I'm speaking Saturday morning -early - and dusting off a keynote I gave well over two years ago. I'll be updating it a bit, but I have to admit there are parts that I wish I could just completely throw out. The good parts that I like are about the Es the build and create relationships. The bad parts that I hate are the relatively few great library examples that I have to show the community garden approach.

So now that I've ranted a bit, I bet you're wondering what my talk is going to be about. It's quite simply this ... that in order for your organization to flourish you have to stop approaching social media as a field of dreams and realize that it requires an organizational willingness to open-up and actively support community relationships that want and desire to organize their own community gardens.




Related post: Web 2.0, Social Media ... What's Next?
PS: If you were planning on coming Saturday, then you already the cliff notes version of my talk.

PPS: Slides to be posted later. As usual, I'm working on these up until the last moment.

Top Twitter Libraries

Just a little interesting find from NFI Research, Top Public Libraries on Twitter

Here's the top ten from the list:

15,000+ Followers
1 New York Public Library, New York, NY

4,000+ Followers
2 Houston Public Library, Houston, TX

2,000+ Followers
3 Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO
4 Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH
5 Hennepin City Library, Minneapolis, MN
6 Cincinnati Library, Cincinnati, OH

1,500+ Followers
7 Austin Public Library, Austin, TX
8 Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, MI
9 Boerne Library, Boerne, TX
10 Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library, Presque Isle, ME

See the rest here.

PS: Happy to see my Library listed here :)

The Impact of Learning 2.0 - Research Study

It seems that a month doesn’t go by that I don’t get an email asking me about a survey, study or research that demonstrates the impact of the Learning 2.0: 23 Things program. Up until now, I’ve only really had a few resources to point them to, including my own survey of program coordinators. But thanks to the research of Michael Stephens and the folks at CAVAL, there is now something more substantial.

The Impact of Learning 2.0 Programs in Australia

Here is one of my favorite findings:


Full study findings here

Thanks Michael & CAVAL!

Foursquare

It's been awhile since I've seen a new social technology emerge on scene that looked like it had that "explosion potential". The last real time for me was Twitter (and for all you FB apps fans, sorry I don't count Farmville) and that was nearly three years ago.*

But Foursquare is different, because it creates a new take on social networking by through local-based gaming that adds in the elements of GPS tagging along with localized loyalty rewards. As David King also notes, this new technology is worth exploring.

If you haven't explored Foursquare on your own yet, here's a informational slide deck to get you start:

How Foursquare Helps Consumers and Business Owners

View more presentations from 22squared.

* According to my twitter trail, my start date on Twitter was April 14, 1997

Thought of the week ...

I wish I knew who to attribute this quote to, but the closest I can get is that is was shared at ALA Emerging Leaders session this past week in Boston.

“Leaders do not provide energy, they release it from others”

I've been thinking a lot of leadership philosophies lately and wondering how many people in management positions actually think about their own? From some recent conversations I've had with colleagues in the field, I've come to realize that it's not really thought about enough, which leads me to wonder two things ...

1) how can you truly lead if you don't know yourself well enough to have philosophy?

2) how can you expect others to adapt and flourish under your leadership style, if you don't know what it is yourself?

Over the past two weeks I've been rereading the L3 Leadership manifesto. I think there's a lot to this approach that focuses first on leading yourself. If you don't where to start in thinking about or identifying your own personal leadership philosophy, the manifesto's 34 pages walks you through a great series of small exercises that helps you better understand your leadership potential.

L3 Leadership Approach

• L1—Leading Self: Total Life Leadership. Achieving personal mastery and work/life integration.
  
  
• L2—Leading With Others: Creating and sustaining Collaborative Advantage.
  
  
• L3—Cultivating The Best Place To Work: A culture of high engagement, retention, performance and productivity.”
  

Related posts:

L3 Leadership
My leadership motto

PS: Thanks Justin for blogging this & Karen for tweeting. Good stuff on a cloudy day to ponder and think about.

drooling ...

The images from the One Laptop Per Child's latest project, XO-3 has me drooling. Can't wait to see how this second refinement turns out.

Centers for Kicking A$$

Thanks Kathryn for highlighting this gem of twitter comment from Kathy Sierra. It's well worth the 2nd highlight :)