Friday TechTips

Today I want to pass along an important upgrade to an oldie but a goodie: Skype. A few years ago Skype was on the cutting edge computer-to-computer voice and video chat. What really set them apart was the ability to purchase credits and use Skype as a voip service allowing you to make calls from your computer to land line telephones, and vice versa. Since then the field has become crowded as both Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) now offer the same services. However my personal opinion is that Skype is still best in class when it comes to video and voice quality in a computer-to-computer “call.” We recently used it in a library presentation to video conference with another librarian who lives in Missouri. I simply pre-arranged the chat, initiated the call during the presentation, turned on my laptop’s webcam and voila, free video conferencing!

The reason I’m mentioning Skype this week is that they’re preparing to release version 4 which will offer an updated user interface and other enhanced features. You can download the Windows version here:

http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/beta/

A few possible uses include videoconferencing with remote colleagues or calling in to family and friends while away on business. The main requirement is that each user have a webcam as well as built-in microphone or headset w/microphone. Download it and give it a try! If you’d like to test it out, let me know. My screen name is andy_morton.

Today’s tip is a little late as I had to get access to some photos of my kids in order to demonstrate today’s site: Animoto. Animoto is a new service that lets you upload photos, pick a soundtrack (or upload your own), and Animoto will automatically build a slide show for you. There are A LOT of sites and local software that will do this for you. What makes Animoto unique is that it uses web mojo to “analyze” your photos and music to create a unique (and flashy) slide show. You’ll also have two options of slide shows, free ones up to 30 seconds in length, or longer ones that involve a small fee.Here’s the breakdown:

• Create an account
• Decide what kind of slide show to create (free or fee)
• Upload your photos OR it can automatically pull them from Flicker and other photo hosting sites where you have accounts
• Choose one of their songs or upload your own
• Hit Submit

It’s that easy and gives you something to do with the photos you take this summer! Here’s the example video I’ve created:

http://animoto.com/play/S3KrCc5HGeq1gQ0Est9rnw

Have a great weekend!

Last week I provided a very brief introduction to what Web 2.0 is all about (using the web as a service, sharing content, distributing content using RSS, etc., etc., etc.). This week I want to direct you to a site that covers all things Web 2.0 and actually awards sites based on functionality and voting from actual users.

http://webware.com

I’ll highlight two parts of the site which are very beneficial, the Newbie’s Guide, with links directly off the homepage to various sites, as well as the Webware 100 Awards Site. Each year Webware receives several thousand nominees and goes through a weeding process resulting in users voting to select the top 100 sites and services.  The winners are a combination of sites including standards like eBay and Amazon, as well as up and coming services like Vimeo, Twitter, and so forth. I think it will be well worth your time to review the winners and learn more about what each service offers. You’ll also see that many of these sites now interact with each other, letting you move your personal information and other content back and forth.

Let me know what some of your favorites are!

Good Friday afternoon everyone! After a short tech-tip hiatus due to vacation, I’m back and ready to continue our ongoing discussion.

After reviewing the feedback I received both from the survey I distributed and personal comments, it appears there is a need to delve a little deeper in the meaning of Web 2.0. It’s certainly thrown around very casually, but what does it actually mean?

Here’s what Wikipedia, a quintessential Web 2.0 tool, has to say about the topic:

"Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users."

This is a rather nebulous statement and can be applied in a vast assortment of scenarios. Here are a few examples: sharing knowledge by updating Wikipedia articles, providing feedback about a product on Amazon, sharing party pictures on Flickr (and commenting on them), pushing out updates on Twitter during campus lockdowns, etc. The list is endless!

Web 1.0 consisted of static pages, sometimes hard to update, that contained information that easily and often became outdated. Web 2.0 instead uses tools and services which makes it much easier to distribute your content as well as keep it up to date. In my opinion, what it really boils down to is that we’re using the web to better understand ourselves and those around us.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some of the sites and services with you that are considered to be "best of breed" in the Web 2.0 arena.

I hope this brief explanation has been helpful. This could easily be a VERY lengthy message, so instead, check out the Wikipedia entry! You might find yourself so intrigued that you’ll leave a comment, just look for the "discussion" tab at the very top of the page.