Tame The Web

I’ve been testing Twinkle… it too does things with the localization features of the iPhone 2.0 software. I’ve discovered Twitter folk near me in Mishawaka…but sadly Spider Lake is devoid of Twitterers right now.

This is fun, a little silly, but also a serious: what will localization do for us in the coming years?

Did this post to make sure that the WP app published correctly to my feed. Does it look okay folks?

http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/42288438/loopt-sms-mess

I’ll give you a minute for that to sink in, because if you’re a connected person, you may want to ponder the consequences of unintentionally sending creepy bullshit to colleagues and business contacts who are too busy to care what you’re “geo-tagging” at a given time. I know, because I’m one of them. Hi.

I am still playing with Loopt but this post is food for thought. My updates (I’m at the corner of…. or I’m in Spider Lake…) go to trusted friends on Loopt but also to Facebook and Twitter. Hmmm…

http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/index.html

Mobile technology is shaping the way we live, work and learn. Since education can now take place in the classroom or virtually anywhere, ACU is committed to exploring mobile learning technology that makes sense for our students and their future.

ACU leaders have given top priority to researching and developing a “connected” 21st century campus, integrating technology into course curriculum and campus life. Several pilot applications have already been developed for Fall 2008.

There’s a video as well:

A fictional day-in-the-life account highlights some of the potential benefits in a higher education setting when every student, faculty, and staff member is “connected.” The applications portrayed in the film are purely speculative; however they’re based on needs and ideas uncovered by our research - and we’ve already been making strides to transform this vision of mobile learning (mLearning) into reality.

Creating connections via a converged device in a university setting is huge. I applaud the forward thinking and sense of innovation that went into the charge of “researching and developing a “connected” 21st century campus.” The focus on students — they use technology in every aspect of their lives — does my heart good. Can you see your campus connected - students, staff, faculty — and using technology like this to learn and engage? What role might the library play?

This is a model to watch and ponder not only for universities but for university libraries. Again, take a look at the video before you decide to keep the ban on cell phone use at your library.

Oh! And what happens though. when IT hates the iPhone?

My Web friend from France Laurent shared this plugin with me for Wordpress:

http://imthi.com/wp-pda

Wordpress PDA plugin enables the wordpress blog viewable for PDA and iPhone browsers. It is really simple plugin which detects the browser agent and loads a simple theme on fly. The plugin comes with a theme folder which acts like normal theme with all the functionality of wordpress theme.

The image above illustrates how TTW looks on my phone. I don’t know how I feel about it - it loads quickly, but one of the best things about Safari on iPhone is how it displays the Web. I’ll leave the plugin turned on for awhile. Let me know what you think.

As instant message reference freed patrons from having to come to the library, text messaging reference frees them from their desks or laptops. Yale Science Librarians offer a text messaging reference service to meet this preference for mobility: patrons can text a librarian from study halls, classes, laboratories, dorms, offices, or even from the stacks without having to approach a librarian.

To deliver this service, we use an Apple iPhone which allows us to simultaneously provide instant messaging, phone, and email reference service. Using the iPhone also enhances our social networking services; we use it to post directly to our Twitter and Facebook accounts via texting. Using a mobile device instead of SMS/email

conversion software allows librarians to benefit from the same mobility our patrons now enjoy: we can even answer questions from the stacks.

The lack of programmatic precedents required us to devise new policies for implementing and evaluating this service, as well as a sustainable and scalable management model to ensure its success. Evaluating this service

provides unique challenges/opportunities because most SMS devices can save but not export text messages. Pushing a survey URL over text message is not feasible considering most mobile devices don’t support hyperlinks, so our library links to a simple evaluation form on our website. We also gather information about patron categories (undergrad, grad student, faculty, staff) and their departments by asking patrons to include their email address.

Marketing is not as easy as branding a screen name for IM reference, but advertising Txt a Science Librarian for example and having patrons add the number to their quick-dial list might be quite effective. Plus, by being so new and different it tends to market itself.

Text messaging reference is a great complement to diffuse and traditional reference services, so let’s give patrons

an opportunity to Text a Librarian!

Joe Murphy
General Science Librarian & Instruction Coordinator.

Kline Science Library, Yale University
(203) 432-9519
joseph.murphy@yale.edu

Yup, that was me:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/15/iphone-report-most-owners-left-treos-sidekicks-behind/

Not surprisingly, iPhone early adopters were “ten times more likely than other new phone buyers to have previously owned a Treo and three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile branded phone, such as the popular Sidekick model.” When it came to carriers, Alltel and T-Mobile were said to have lost the most customers to AT&T, as consumers who “switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers.”

On a plane two weeks ago, the entire exit row crowd had iPhones. The new icebreaker question: “Did you buy before or after the $200 price drop?”

No ATT Stores near TC! Oh iPhone, where art thou?

Originally uploaded by mstephens7

I’m in Traverse City for three weeks - a land not served by ATT/Cingular. Hopefully I’ll be able to order iPhone online tomorrow night. Wish me luck.