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| dbking, via Flickr |
| Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. |
On Monday I’m giving a private workshop in DC for staffers at a science publishing organization.
The main reason they want me to talk to them is, as far as I understand it, they’re feeling a bit pressured by being asked to do more and more online. Also, they’re simultaneously intrigued and overwhelmed by the new online options for multimedia, publishing, search and research, conversational media, and productivity tools.
Yeah, it is a lot to keep up with. Especially for folks who have long been immersed in a very different model of media (print and broadcast).
I only have an hour to guide them through some options, so I want to be sure to hit the ones I think they could immediately use and experience benefits from. So I intend to start by asking them about their biggest concerns, immediate needs, and major areas of curiosity. Then I’ll choose from this list of options to give them whatever they most need.
I’ll update that list after the workshop to add other links that we’ll discuss…
Feeds (RSS)
- The point: Efficient, organized way to follow a myriad of sources or topics
- Google Reader (set preferences in your browser for feeds)
- MyYahoo, iGoogle (very simple customized home pages, includes feeds but doesn’t say feeds/RSS. Non-geeky, but limited)
- How to spot a feed
- Search feeds
Social bookmarking
- The point: backup brain, categorization (tags), finding stuff again, sharing
- Furl (archiving)
- Del.icio.us (blog posting feature)
- Connotea (science)
- Show serendipity through tags, using tags as filtered search feeds
Blogging
- The point: site traffic, incremental reporting, reputation building, discovery, connections, backup brain
- Mindset: Blogging without the time sink
- Strategy: Don’t treat as a writing assignment, blog the process, blog your learning curve, blog incremental events.
- Can be used internally or externally
- Comments (conversation) as important as writing
Shared docs
- The point: Collaboration, publishing, reduced “which file” confusion.
- Google docs, Zoho
Specialized search engines
- Everything 2.0 is a good list.
- Find more at Tara Calishain’s blog ResearchBuzz.
Firefox (open-source free web browser)
- Gives you more freedom to use the tools you want (via add-ons, especially search bar add-ons)
- Also more secure against malicious sites.
- I recommend: Del.icio.us complete
GTD tools: David Allen’s GTD productivity system
- The point: staying organized without losing your mind.
- GTDinbox (Gmail)
- GTD for outlook
- Lifehack.org: General productivity resource
Audio: Having fun with more than text; Engaging audiences in different ways.
- Microphone and audio interface: I use a Shure SM58 mic with an M-Audio Midisport USB audio interface.
- USB mics also can work, not as great quality, though.
- Free audio software: Audacity, Audio Hijack Pro
- Not-free audio software: Audio Hijack Pro (Mac only, $79), ProTools (PC and Mac, various options from $75-500)
Screencasting
- The point: To demo something done on a computer — video with audio, including pans, zooms, captions, etc.
- Mac: SnapZpro movie capture for video capture, Audacity for audio capture/editing, and iMovie to bring it all together.
- PC: Camtasia.
Photo, video sharing
- Flickr, Picasa — free.
- Flickr groups can be useful for event coverage or involving readers or communities.
- I find lots of pics to illustrate blog posts via Flickr Creative Commons search plugin for Firefox
- Piknik: Online photo editing, integrates with many popular services.
- Video sharing: Blip.TV has best features, easy uploading, easy embedding, can connect to events listed in Upcoming.
- Others: YouTube, GoogleVideo: Popular, but flakier, clunkier, more limited than Blip.TV.
- Embedding video can be fun. Try it! Here’s a good one.
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