1. Online Stammtisch 17th July 2007 Frankfurt am Main How useful are Weblogs, RSS-Newsfeeds Wikis and Podcasting to information specialists? Michael Fanning Online Consultants International GmbH Unterreut 6 D-76135 Karlsruhe Tel. +49-721-9212-909 Fax +49-721-9212-913 [email_address] http ://www.oci-gmbh.com

2. Contents Part 1: Introduction – Setting the scene Part 2: Applications – Weblogs, RSS-Feeds, Wikis and Pods! Part 3: Usefulness - Criteria for assessing potential benefit Part 4: Web 2.0 – A personal view…

3. Online Consultants International GmbH Online Consultants International GmbH are first and foremost information specialists . Our business is to help our customer’s business, be it a private or public sector organisation, increase productivity through better use of its information and knowledge assets . Drawing on over 20 years’ experience in the market for legal and business information, we have designed a range of products and services to address two core needs. Firstly, the need to identify and evaluate an organisation’s information and knowledge assets and thereby understand the role they play in the organisation’s success. Secondly, to optimise the organisation’s information and knowledge assets and thereby increase productivity by reducing costs through efficiency gains and by being able to exploit, and profit from, a competitive advantage. Our products and services strive to offer practical solutions to pressing business problems. They are essentially knowledge-based resources targeted to address knowledge-based problems. For flexibility and scalability, Online Consultants International GmbH transfers knowledge both as a specialist publisher and as management consultants .

4. What is Web 2.0? … ..social media? Studylounge wer-weiss-was Web 2.0 OpenBC Facebook flickr YouTube MySpace Podcasting RSS-Feeds Wikis … ..social software? del.icio.us Weblogs

5. What is Web 2.0? „ Web 2.0: What does it really mean? Even though there are masses of recipients, the Web 2.0 is not a mass medium in the traditional sense. The Web 2.0 lacks the uniform underlying structure needed for this. As a result of this diffuse structure, all attempts to define the Web 2.0 become entangled in IT abbreviations (e.g. Atom, AJAX, API, RSS, SVG, XML, XUL) and visionary consultant-speak (e.g. prosumer, mini-preneur, generation tekki 2.0, collective intelligence, user generated content, citizen journalism, wisdom of the masses and ecocast). For unlike the Web 1.0, the Web 2.0 does not represent a basic technical innovation. With offers such as Blogger.com, Del.icio.us, facebook, Flickr, GarageBand, Habbo-Hotel, MySpace, Linkedin, Spoke, Open BC, Studylounge, YouTube, Wer-weiss-was and Wikipedia, the Web 2.0 merely documents the realisation that the internet was never just a digital market place but always a social forum for exchanging opinions and knowledge.“ Source: Deutsche Bank Research Media industry facing biggest upheaval since Gutenberg Media consumers morphing into media makers, Economics 59, 12th October 2006. page 8.

6. Contents Part 1: Introduction – Setting the scene Part 2: Applications – Weblogs, RSS-Feeds, Wikis and Pods! Part 3: Usefulness - Criteria for assessing potential benefit Part 4: Web 2.0 – A personal view…

7. Weblogs 1. What is a weblog? A blog (a portmanteau of web log ) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) or sexual in nature (adult blog), and are part of a wider network of social media. In May 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 71 million blogs. Source: Wikipedia (14th July 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

9. Weblogs 3. Pros and Cons Pros As user: easy to set up, operate and contribute to efficient means of keeping up to date on a subject As provider: efficient and focussed means of disseminating information can be used in combination with RSS-Feeds, wikis, pods etc.     Cons x x x x As user: difficult to identify useful sources difficult to assess quality of information and its reliability As provider: requires dedicated editorial input and resources easy to set up, operate and contribute to

10. RSS-Newsfeeds 1. What is an RSS-Newsfeed? RSS (which, in its latest format, stands for "Really Simple Syndication") is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually. RSS content can be read using software called a "feed reader" or an "aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds. RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data Source: Wikipedia (14th July 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

12. Pros As user: easy to set up, operate and aggregate efficient means of keeping up to date on a subject As provider: efficient means of one to many information distribution can be used in combination with blogs, wikis, pods etc.     Cons x x x x As user: difficult to identify useful information difficult to establish criteria for aggregation As provider: requires dedicated editorial input and resources requires regular fulfillment of target audience expectations RSS-Newsfeeds 3. Pros and Cons

13. Wikis 1. What is a wiki? A wiki is a collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it. Adopted in enterprises in the early 2000s as collaborative software, common uses of wikis included project communication, intranets, and documentation, initially for technical users. A wiki enables documents to be written collaboratively, in a simple markup language using a web browser. A single page in a wiki is referred to as a "wiki page", while the entire body of pages, which are usually highly interconnected via hyperlinks, is "the wiki". A wiki is essentially a database for creating, browsing and searching information. A defining characteristic of wiki technology is the ease with which pages can be created and updated. Generally, there is no review before modifications are accepted. Many wikis are open to the general public without the need to register any user account. Source: Adapted from Wikipedia (14th July 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

15. Pros As user: easy to set up, operate and contribute to systematic and structured access to information As provider: low cost means of capturing collective knowledge low training requirement and maintenance     Cons x x x x As user: universal access challeneges objectivity and quality lack of cohesive editorial structure and regulations As provider: requires regular collective collaboration to be effective requires regular monitoring to maintain quality Wikis 3. Pros and Cons

16. Podcasts 1. What is a podcast? A podcast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term "podcast" is a portmanteau of the name of Apple's portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast; a "pod" refers to the iPod, and "cast" to the idea of broadcasting. A podcast is a collection of files (usually audio and video) residing at a unique web feed address. People can "subscribe" to this feed by submitting the feed address to an aggregator like iTunes. When new "episodes" become available in the podcast they will be automatically downloaded to that user's computer. Unlike radio or streaming content on the web, podcasts are not real-time. The material is pre-recorded and users can check out the material at their leisure, offline. Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically, using an aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom. Source: Adapted from Wikipedia (14th July 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

18. Pros As user: relatively easy to set up, operate and aggregate alternative means of keeping up to date on a subject As provider: provides a personal touch to communications focusses resources on information delivery     Cons x x x x As user: difficult to integrate into established work-flow difficult to intergrate into current information systems As provider: requires dedicated editorial input and resources requires dedicated production resources Podcasts 3. Pros and Cons

19. Contents Part 1: Introduction – Setting the scene Part 2: Applications – Weblogs, RSS-Feeds, Wikis and Pods! Part 3: Usefulness - Criteria for assessing potential benefit Part 4: Web 2.0 – A personal view…

20. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 1. The information perspective … consider the following…. When posing the question……. How useful to me and my organisation is the information obtained from these applications? … .when coming to your answer: ?  durabiity ?  usability ?  re-usability ?  source ?  reliability ?  authority ?

21. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 1. The information perspective – Food for thought! LexisNexis Suvey on Information Profesionals Use of Web 2.0 and Knowledge Management to add value to their organisations A web survey was emailed to a random selection of approximately 1,500 Lexisnexis IP customers during the month of May 2007. 107 completed surveys were returned. In order to participate in the survey, participants had to confirm they qualified as an IP as understood by the SLA. The results were announced on 3rd June 2007. - 93% use intranets for managing and distributing information - 93% access company websites at least weekly (or more often) - 92% access news websites at least weekly (or more often) - 57% viewed collaborative workspaces important for the future Web 2.0 - 51% viewed portals as important for the future - 44% viewed wireless as important for the future - 39% access weblogs at least weekly Web 2.0 - 34% access wikis (frequency was not given) Web 2.0 - 16% access video podcasts Web 2.0 - 15% access audio podcasts Web 2.0 Source: LexisNexis Press release from 3rd June 2007 http://www.lexisnexis.com/about/releases/0980.asp

22. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 2. The services perspective … consider the following…. When posing the question……. How useful to me and my organisation are the services offered by these applications? … .when coming to your answer: ?  commitment ?  reputation management ?  risk assessment ?  business case ?  approval ?  resources ?

23. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 2. The services perspective – More food for thought! Herausgegeben von der Kommission für One-Person Librarians des Berufsverbands Information Bibliothek BIB. Erscheint als PDF-Dokument zum Herunterladen aus dem Netz in der 1. Auflage 2006. Zitiervorschlag: Wikis erstellen / Edlef Stabenau ; Jürgen Plieninger. Hrsg. Berufsverband Information Bibliothek / Kommission für One-Person Librarians. – 1. Aufl. – 2006. (Checklisten ; 16), http://www.bib-info.de/komm/opl/pub/check16.pdf Berufsverband Information Bibliothek e.V. OPL-Kommission Have a go! There is help out there… Checklisten Liste 16 Wikis erstellen von Edlef Stabenau und Jürgen Plieninger

24. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 3. The strategy perspective … consider the following…. When posing the question……. How useful are these applications to me and my organisation in relation to the strategic development of information and knowledge management within my organisation? … .when coming to your answer: ?  HINDRANCE ?  HELP ?

25. Assessing the usefulness of Web 2.0 applications 3. The strategy perspective – More food for lots of thought! Clearswift Survey Finds Web 2.0 Still Not Understood by Most U.S. Companies Clearswift Research Suggests Companies Are Still Uncertain about the Impact and Role of Social Media Sites on Business; Security Issues Still Not Being Addressed Completely IT and business decision makers research was commissioned and conducted by Clearswift. Total sample size was 939 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between February 13, 2007 and March 1, 2007. The survey was conducted online. - 34% of organizations do not monitor their employees’ use of the Internet - 51% of businesses do not know whether they have lost confidential information via social media outlets - 20% of IT and business decision-makers do not have a policy governing appropriate use of the Internet, including social media sites - 20% of organizations do not allow blogging at work while 45% do not have a policy on it - 39% of IT and business decision makers consider social media to be relevant to today’s corporate environment, while 36% do not see social media as relevant to their businesses - 13% of organizations are not aware of social media and have no policy on it Source: Clearswift Press release from 9th May 2007 http://www.clearswift.com/news/item.aspx?ID=1186

26. Contents Part 1: Introduction – Setting the scene Part 2: Applications – Weblogs, RSS-Feeds, Wikis and Pods! Part 3: Usefulness - Criteria for assessing potential benefit Part 4: Web 2.0 – A personal view…

27. What is Web 2.0? - Or rather what is actually new……. … ..social media? Studylounge wer-weiss-was Web 2.0 OpenBC Facebook flickr YouTube MySpace Podcasting RSS-Feeds Wikis … ..social software? del.icio.us Weblogs .…after all….

29. What is Web 2.0? Answer: A marker indicating era defining developments 1750 1975 1950 1900 1850 1825 1800 1775 1875 1925 2000 The Agricultural Revolution French Revolution Charles Babbage begins work on his difference engine Mary Schelley returns to England The so-called „modern age“ Web 2.0 The Industrial Revolution The Digital Revolution ? „ Media industry facing biggest upheavel since Gutenberg“ Deutsch Bank Research, Economics 59, 12th October 2006

31. Online Stammtisch 17th July 2007 Frankfurt am Main Thank you for listening! Michael Fanning Online Consultants International GmbH Unterreut 6 D-76135 Karlsruhe Tel. +49-721-9212-909 Fax +49-721-9212-913 [email_address] http ://www.oci-gmbh.com