So Internet Librarian 2008 is over and it was another action-packed convergence of libraryland’s netizens. I find I don’t learn quite as much as I used to at these conferences, but being on stage a bunch of times (four, to be exact) will eat into the learning energies. And I do a better job of keeping myself informed and in tune with what’s going on in library land, so there are fewer surprises to be gleaned from others in this kind of structured info delivery environment.
That said, lots of interesting people and interactions. I’m saving most of my reflections on the conference for tomorrow night’s recording of Uncontrolled Vocabulary, which will focus largely on a wrapup of IL2008.
As for my appearances, they all went well enough. Here are the slides from my brief presentation on personal branding and online reputation management.
I was also honored with an invitation to take part in the Shanachies’ Tuesday evening session. Have to admit that you feel a bit of the rock star aura when you’re talking to “the Dutch boys.” It was a great privilege to be interviewed by Erik, Jaap and Geert and get to talk a bit about Uncontrolled Vocabulary to a new audience.
I also had the privilege of moderating this year’s Pecha Kucha (which a reliable source tells me is pronounced peh-cha-koo-cha with even emphasis on – and consistent cadence across – all syllables), featuring presentations by an all-star cast comprised of Rebecca Jones, Stephen Abram, David Lee King and Nancy Dowd. Here’s the video from that session:
Whether you were at the conference or not, feel free to drop by the show Wednesday night at 10 PM Eastern and join the conversation.
Howdy folks. Haven’t had much to say lately, but wanted to let you all know that I’m heading to Monterey early Sunday morning to take part in Internet Librarian 2008.
I’ll be on stage three times over the course of the conference’s three days. Monday, I’ll be talking about online identity, personal branding and reputation management as the first half of a session entitled “Making a Difference with Digital Media.” Later in the day, as part of the same track, I’ll be sitting on a panel discussing issues in public libraries. Not exactly sure what that’s going to be about, so I’ll be wingin’ it.
Between my recent vacation and the scurrying required to resume functioning after said vacation, I almost forget to mention that I’ll be in Columbus this weekend for PodCamp Ohio, which takes place Saturday, June 28th.
It looks like a decent lineup of presentations, but I’m mostly going to take in the PodCamp experience and connect with other podcasters. Since I’m not so concerned with the presentation content, I’ll be volunteering, probably at the registration desk or in the halls helping people find sessions. If it happens that you’ll be there, drop me a line and let’s connect in Columbus. You can also find me on Twitter with a new username: gregschwartz
As I suggested in an earlier post from last week, the Pecha Kucha session at Computers in Libraries was videotaped by Michael Sauers. That video is now available at blip.tv.
But let’s try to embed it here:
It’s almost an hour long, but well worth your time. As far as my presentation is concerned, which is second of the six, the video recording solves the two primary problems of the screencast: the low volume of the embedded audio clips and the lack of audience response. So even if you watched the screencast, I strongly encourage you to check out the video. Be sure to watch Greg Notess’ response as the skeptic (last of the six presentations) and stick around for the Q&A.
Unsure what was going to happen to the video recording of the Pecha Kucha, and wanting to share it with those who couldn’t be at Computers in Libraries this year, I went ahead and recorded a screencast of my narrative along with the slides and embedded audio clips. It loses a little something without the live audience, but you’ll get the basic idea.
Let’s try to embed the YouTube version below. The video in avi format at blip.tv is actually of superior quality, but I can only figure out how to embed the flash version and blip.tv’s doesn’t work for most people.
I have since learned that the original Pecha Kucha video is going to be posted on YouTube soon, so I probably spent more time on this than it was worth. Good practice, I suppose.
Earlier this evening, a group of nine Computers in Libraries attendees came together online to reflect on their conference experiences. The result is Uncontrolled Vocabulary #37.
I’ve already had one request for presentation slides from CiL, which seemed fitful motivation to create a separate presentations page. There, you can find a link to my Pecha Kucha slides, as well as my presentations from previous ITI conferences and beyond.
Update: Something’s not right with the Pecha Kucha slides. The file won’t open after the download completes. I’m working on it.
Update 2: OK, there’s now a semi-functional set of PowerPoint slides available on the presentations page, with appropriate instructions for downloading them.
I’m home safely after a few whirlwind days in D.C. Glad to be back with my family. Computers in Libraries continues to be an outstanding conference, well worth the hassle of travel.
I won’t be posting my conference thoughts here, as I’ll be saving those for tomorrow night’s episode of Uncontrolled Vocabulary, which will, unless I decide otherwise between now and then, be devoted exclusively to discussion of the conference. If you’re interested in being a part of that discussion, you are warmly invited and encouraged to do so. The show blog has instructions, but I’m happy to provide more assistance for new callers, so don’t be afraid to contact me.
Tomorrow morning, I hop on a plane and, with any luck, I’ll be in D.C. in time for the latter part of Gaming Night at Computers in Libraries. You can see most of my agenda for the next few days over on the conference wiki.
A number of people have asked me whether I plan to do anything Uncontrolled Vocabulary-related at the conference. Short answer is no, although I’ll have my headset with me. My experience is that it’s too difficult and too “outside the moment” to try and get a group together to do any sort of reflection/commentary on the experience while it’s still happening. The plan is to record Thursday night after the conference. Some people will still be traveling, but I think it’s the best option amongst less-than-ideal ones.
So if you’re going to be in D.C. (or are already there!), come harass me. Monday, I’ll be at my most identifiable in my shiny new Uncontrolled Vocabulary t-shirt, but I’ll be my loud, boisterous self the rest of the time. See you there!
