Info 621 Virtural Worlds

This week we are studying virtual worlds. I totally want to create a Sutter's Fort virtual world, (I'd also like to earn a paycheck to do it, hah! Wishing.), as a Library Services and Technology Act project, with the goal being to create a 3D world that the kids could explore and "manipulate" the objects to learn about that time in history. There are supposed to be lots of virtual worlds for kids and I should probably look into them, too.

Anyhoo- the blog, SecondLifeUpdate.com, has a list of links that look interesting and helpful:

• Tutorial to Show a PowerPoint Presentation in Second Life
• YouTube Videos in Second Life
• Cool Ways of Streaming Video in Second Life
• Business Collaboration in Second Life with Immersive Workspaces 2.0 from Rivers Run Red and Linden Lab
• Open Loft Prim Sculpting Tool in Second Life

You can also develop a game in second life... I wonder if you can make the Sutter's Fort experience game like with tasks...? "Your goal is to survive the winter. You must grow your crops, make your tools, fortify against the elements, etc."

Other Resources:

• The Unofficial Second Life Wiki
• How to Build in Second Life
• Be sure to check out YouTube Videos, too.
• This list could go on and on, so I'll stop with: How to Replicate a Real-Life Building

Articles about Sutter's Fort as sources of information:

• Sac History Happenings: Fun and games at Sutter's Fort
• Sacramento Press: Hands on History at Sutter's Fort
• 
  

Web Design Journal: First Meeting with Client

Today I had my first meeting with my client, a small non-profit looking to establish an online presence which promotes transparency, establishes their authority and builds the confidence of their local (donating) community. It was an interesting experience because my primary contact for the web design project had obvious experience using the web for her own purposes, such as searching for products and surfing for general interests, but was inexperienced in the possibilities of exploiting the web to build relationships that would drive use of the proposed website.

One of our readings for class studied the various literacies young people have and use for various activities, most specifically to foster their social relationships through instant messaging. The reading made a point to distinguish between the deep, reflective reading that is taught and valued in academic environments, (which adults value), and the social literacy that young people adopt in the management of multiple social communication networks, often simultaneously. (Lewis & Fabos, 2005 ) This makes me wonder if my client is expressing her perspective of the use of the web onto her ideas for the use of the website.

For instance, I asked if she would be interested in allowing visitors to the site to upload their picture, to which she responded, "no." I didn't ask her for details for why she was opposed to the suggestion, but I made note to create a sample page of how allowing visitors to create content would be beneficial by showing examples of use of the organization's facilities or participation in the organization's events. However, she did show great openness to my needs as a student for my assignment and so I know I'll be able to create a social media rich site from which she can choose the elements her organization is interested in using.

Web Design Journal: Linking Accounts and Getting Started

One thing my social media class will do for me is get me more active on my LinkedIn account, as well as using Twitter to make conversation. The first thing our professor had us do was embed our tweets in both the Facebook and the LinkedIn accounts, which I did with my original Twitter account. I'm not so keen having Twitter on Facebook as none of the people I hang out with on Facebook care about "information." However, I definitely see the advantage of syncing the tweets to LinkedIn as I want to use both to attest to my information expertise. (Update: I figured out how to direct my tweets to just a specific group of people on fb. And, I notice, it only displays my tweets, not the tweets of those I'm following.)

My original Twitter account is @superbrarian, but as my prof wants all of our pages to be consistently branded, and Facebook and LinkedIn both say (Lynnette) Angie Hernandez, I decided to create another username rather than change @superbrarian. Well that was a hassle. Two Twitter accounts cannot share the same email, so I then had to create a new email address. And then, because I didn't want to have to remember a whole new login and password (I already have one for work,one for school and two personal emails), I enabled my preferred email to access the new one. I also had to go into Twitter and revoke permissions for LinkedIn and Facebook, wait for those accounts to "realize" they no longer had access to the @superbrarian feed (which took a few hours), and then re-set up the Twitter app again for the new Twitter account. Phew! Lesson to take away: Decide first which accounts will talk to each other, then act.

Here's the kicker, though... Once this course is over, I'll want to revert to @superbrarian, as that's how I've branded my vanity URL. Argh!!!

Info 621 First Assignment- Reflect on your Social Media Experiences

Our professor's first step in teaching us to be mindful social media users was to get us to reflect on our past and present social media behavior. I thought my first memories of social media were my use of it in college, but reflecting on it reminded me that my real first memories of the Internet are of my chat room junkie father when I was in high school. I remember this precisely because the week before high school graduation, in 1996, I was trying to call home for him to come pick me up because a dog had bit me and I needed to be stitched up, but the paramedics decided it didn't warrant an ambulance ride to the hospital. Repeated calls from the neighbor's land line ended in a busy signal and so I knew my dad was online. I spent commencement with a cast on hand and my arm in a sling, so you could say that my first memories of social media are not fond ones.

My current behavior toward social media is one of me, me, me. I consume content when I need/want it, but rarely do I contribute. No posts on people's blogs (certainly if I don't know the author), no comments in forums, retweet something I read on twitter? Never. And now I know why I don't have millions of followers (not that I want millions, or even ten followers :-) )! I've always said that I prefer to engage in real life instead of the virtual world (and I do volunteer, I am social), but now I know the real reason why: teenage angst. Tsk.