Presentations (Thing #13)

deck slideshow presentations

First things first, any presentation would be 100x's easier on a tablet than on a phone.  If I had a tablet, this would be a whole different story.  In no circumstance do I ever see myself creating a presentation on my phone.  Editing?  Maybe.  But from start to finish?  No way.

That said, for Thing 13, I played around with creating a combo presentation about how awesome 23 Things MN and Deck are.  And I have to say, even on my phone, I enjoyed using the app.  It was a painless experience.  And, Deck does have a desktop version.  The desktop and mobile versions look identical and have the same features. So a Deck account is still worth it for me.

If for no other reason than this.  Too much text is something we are all guilty of!  

Also, creativity.  Not so much my thing.  Having built in styles is a huge bonus.  The bummer?  Most of the Styles you have to purchase or download.

Favorite thing: the desktop version has a place where you can "Rescue a Powerpoint deck"

Books, books, and more books! (Thing #12)

All of these apps would be awesome...IF my problem was not enough books, rather than too many books!

As it is, I can see some awesome uses for these apps in libraries.

Wattpad
First of all, I downloaded and signed up for this app, expecting it to be all no-name authors, similar to the dozens of self-published books our patrons write and donate to us every year.  I didn't expect to recognize a single name.  Most of it is that, of course.  But I was shocked.  There are also reputable and well known authors who are using Wattpad as a place to launch and explore new storylines or short stories, share teasers to upcoming books, or just to communicate with their readers.  Margaret Atwood, Ally Carter, Amanda Hocking, Kim Harrison, Marissa Meyer.  Just a few I stumbled across in the first couple minutes of browsing!

As a reader, I don't see the social media aspect as very functional or useful.

More importantly, is what I DO see this app useful for: NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month). And Wattpad agrees:  Wattpad Loves NaNoWriMo. Many libraries are active in NaNoWriMo in supporting local authors.  They host write-ins, open mics, roundtables, receptions, workshops, and more.  Recommending Wattpad as a resource for NaNoWriMo authors to share their work with each other is a great idea!  Fellow writers can edit and critique their work by commenting in-line throughout the story.

iStoryBooks
We all attended the awesome session at MLA 2013 by Kathy Kleckner about Screen Time and Early Literacy Development, right? No?  Well the session talked about how parents who believe media is educational are more likely to use it.  And children don't as well from a screen.  American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time for those 0-2.  They also recommend no more than 1-2 hours per day for ages 3-5 (which sounds like a LOT to me).  Media has no proven added value for children and early literacy.  Bottom line, don't replace "real world experience" with technology for children.  And the "real world experience" of handling a book is a key component of early literacy.

58% of parents say they use their device as a babysitter.  That said, if they are using their device as a babysitter, this isn't the worst app they could use, especially for children a little older, preschool or early elementary aged.  The stories are educational stories including stories about science, biographies, folklore and fairy tales, with printed text and audio narration.

I would be careful about recommending this app.  In a pinch, if you don't have a book handy and mom is busy talking to say a doctor or checking out in the grocery line, it will do (for those older than 2!). Still, it doesn't replace the early literacy practices that our beloved AV sets/Book & Bag kits offer.

Free Books & Audiobooks
Both apps are especially awesome for libraries that don't have a digital collection of their own.  Libraries with OverDrive powered digital libraries already have easy access to the "classic" eBooks via Project Gutenberg.  Libraries with OneClickdigital powered digital libraries already have a subscription to the most popular eAudiobook "classic" titles.   Both are max access in the same way the apps are.  Plus, that way they give us those crucial stats we need and love!  I can especially see school and academic libraries using these apps for classes, or even public libraries with Classics book clubs.

My favorite feature of Free Books is the "Surprise Me" option!  Because sometimes, who doesn't need a little serendipity?

Library & Reference (Thing #11)

Somethings old
OverDrive is kind of  "my thing." I love it. Not a day goes by that I don't use the OverDrive Media Console app in at least one form.  Audiobooks on my Android phone, eBooks on my Nook Color or Windows 8 computer.  Plus, I do our Digital Library collection development, teach training classes, and a large chunk of the tech support for the region in person, via phone and email.  For those of you who do the same thing, you know, tech support via phone or email is a whole 'nother ball game! You have to know what you are "looking at" without looking at it, to envision what your patron is seeing in your head.  Because of this, of all the apps I use, both personally and professionally, it is easily the app I am most comfortable and familiar with.

Our library also has had the Zinio for Libraries digital magazine service since November, and I also use that regularly.  Again I use it on various devices (Android, Windows, and the desktop Zinio Reader 4) so I am familiar with the different formats of the app.  Zinio is fairly user friendly, so we don't get as many requests for tech support, though Recorded Books & Zinio offering free patron support also helps.  The one big question seems to be that: 1) you go to your library's Zinio site to checkout, but you cannot read within the browser and 2) you read within the app, but you cannot checkout within the app.  I think part of this is because OverDrive has trained us to get books and read within OMC.  We've only had the service for a few months, but our use hasn't been quite what we expected.  The expected feature from Recorded Books, due sometime this year, of either opting-in to automatically checking out the next issue or being notified when the next issue is available (I can't remember which), will be a welcome addition!  For me as a user too.

I have also done quite a bit of work recently exploring the OneClickdigital service for our library.  I am personally not a fan of the way they have separate apps, 1 for eBooks and 1 for eAudio.  I approach our digital library searching for a title, and usually don't care which format I get the book in.  Other users are only interested in a single format, and would only search the appropriate app.  So I guess that boils down to individual preference.  The apps and desktop Media Manager seem to have some other kinks as well, and not as many features as OMC, but its still a viable service. OneClick is also developing new apps and adding new content, so I expect it will become more appealing as we move forward.

Currently, our library does not have a mobile app or even a mobile site, but it is something we know we need to work on.  I even saw a demo of a mobile catalog at some point...Quite frankly, our website in general needs work, and we know it.  I will be attending the LibTech Conference in March and I plan on attending some of the website sessions to learn some tips, explore mobile websites, and get some ideas for us as we move forward.  Relying on my "Intro to Web Design for Info Orgs" course from grad school, of course. ;)

Wow, can you tell digital library stuff is my passion?  All of that without even exploring something new! 

Something new
So here's the something new: ELM Mobile.  Duh, we have ELM Mobile. I've never accessed ELM on a mobile device before.  And it's awesome!  Overall, I actually like the layout much better than the desktop version. The home page is clean and wording clear : research now, ask a librarian, plan your research, view help videos, find your library, and like us on Facebook.

First, I spent time exploring the mobile friendly databases, the majority of which are EBSCO databases, though Britannica is available too.  Thank goodness Master File Premier is on there; patrons need their Consumer Reports.  Probably my #1 reason for referring people to ELM is for access to Consumer Reports.  Everything adapted wonderfully to my screen size, except the page to create an EBSCO account.  For some reason, that graphics and wording on that page were misaligned.

I tested the Ask a Librarian chat widget, and said hello to Librarian Beth in South Carolina!  I actually think I prefer the mobile version to the desktop of this widget. Yet another reminder of how much I'd like if our library participated in AskMN...

The Research Project Calculator and Find Your Library are identical in their mobile & desktop versions.  Not as mobile feeling as the other aspects, but not still fairly accessible.  Under the menu options: students, teachers, librarians, MN Community, About, FAQ, and Contact are very adaptable to mobile.  The ELM Learning Center page is also less so, but still accessible.

Overall, I give ELM Mobile two thumbs up!  I see people with tablets using it more than people like me on their phones, but its great either way.  Oh gosh, you know what really be the icing on the cake? MNLink mobile...

Promotion
I think our library system does a good job of promoting its Zinio & OverDrive services.  We promote them via blog, newsletter, press release, social media, and physical handouts in the library.  And they promote themselves by word of mouth.  In general, I think libraries do a pretty good job of promoting our flashier services, those services we have with the big $ contracts.

What we also do, is take for granted all of the wonderful databases and services available to us all via MN State Library Services, LSTA, Minitex, and...(who am I forgetting here?)  Not just the mobile version, but in general.  We aren't proactive in our promotion of ELM.  If a patron comes to us with a research question, sure we use ELM.  And we have the handouts, bookmarks, etc. laying around our branches.  But we aren't promoting it via blog, newsletter, and social media.  ELM isn't flashy, its something we're accustomed to, so we aren't excited about it.  Well, that changes now!  Exploring ELM mobile tonight was the kick in the butt I needed to be reminded of all the great resources available via ELM, the mobile version is a great bonus for accessibility, and I'm excited about ELM!

Another mile marker!

10 Things down, 13 to go!

My goal was 1 Thing per week for the duration of the program, but I'm having so much fun I can't stop.  And when you get snowed in...why not?

Sharing Photos (Thing #10)

Instagram
I've been using Instagram for quite a while now, and its a great app for sharing photos, one at a time!

I do think Instagram adding a video option was a mistake.  The sound is either on for all videos, and thus liable to play out loud as you're scrolling through your feed, or off for all videos, and then what's the point of a video? Except not to play out loud as I'm in a quiet place, scare me, and anger others. There isn't the option to turn your sound on for a single video while scrolling through your feed.

I find it fascinating that Instagram developed as a mobile app first and then a web version once it gained popularity.  It's also a rare thing that the mobile app has more features than a web version; on Instagram you can only view photos in the web version, not add them.

One of my favorite things about Instagram is that it is not built to be a place for mass sharing of photos, but intended to be a instant snapshot of what's going on in your day.  Usually just one photo per instance, so you have to be pickier about what photo you share.  Sometimes one great photo is much more effective and attention-getting, where multiple photos may get lost in the shuffle.

I see Instagram being successful for libraries with only one location, and much more difficult for libraries with multiple locations, especially considering you need to add from a mobile device.  Since our communications & social media come from a regional perspective, each of our 14 branches would need to have the app and access to a single account OR send their pictures to a single person who would then add the photos to Instagram, which then takes away from the "instant camera."

If I was a single independent library location, such as a college library or a library in a federated public region, I see would see myself posting images about daily life in the library as I stumbled across them.  Great new incoming books; mom & child snuggled up reading on the beanbag chair; teen snuggled up with a blanket, coffee mug, & homework in front of the fireplace for 6 hours; weird things we find in the bookdrop...  Here are examples of previous posts to my personal Instagram, that could have been posted to a library account with a few word tweaks here and there (my to our, etc):

(Dessert for #BookClub tonight!  Join us!)

Instagram is also a great place to host contests for patrons, requiring them to tweet pictures with a certain hashtag.  For example, for Hot Reads for Cold Nights Adult Winter Reading Program, instead of having patrons fill out review forms, they could  take a picture of the book cover, write their review in the caption, and use the hashtag #HotReadsforColdNights and tag @yourlibrary.  Its an easy way for you, as the library, to turn around and reshare them via your various social networks.

You can ask the same thing of patrons who attend your programs & events.  Its interactive and makes patrons a part of the documenting process!

Again, thanks to 23 Mobile Things MN for developing a list libraries on Instagram!

Snapchat
I downloaded and played around with Snapchat, and it's very easy to use, but I don't have a use for it.  My phone is private enough, I am cautious about who I sent what to, trust those I do share things with, and don't send anything I am not comfortable being out there in the digital world permanently.  I actually was shocked to see how many of my friends had it!  I didn't know that anyone did.

Privacy & temporariness is both the draw and the con of Snapchat.

"Teenagers and young adults like that their photos and videos are temporary. It gives them more freedom to share silly or private expressions, knowing that they won’t be stored for anyone to see again. There’s no record left behind for parents or potential employers to find." 

In a world where teenagers and children already have too much unrestricted access to the internet, early sexualization, and bullying, Snapchat provides an easier way for that to increase, without the risk of being monitored by parents or other adults.

An article on NPR, "Teens Dig Privacy," says that despite parental paranoia (I'm not a parent and I'm paranoid!) that Snapchat is primarily about sexting, it's not.  I'm sorry, but I don't buy it.   And they can't prove it.  

I don't see libraries adopting it large-scale at all, being extremely cautious about a lack of transparency. Also, since finding friends is connected to a mobile number, a library would have to have a separate number for that purpose (a Google Voice Number?) and find a way for patrons to know that number.

Taking & Editing Photos (Thing #9)

LINE Camera

Holy buckets!  I don't know how/where I would use this professionally currently, but personally...wow!  As someone with a hereditary double chin and dark circles under the eyes (thanks Sharbonno clan!), the Beauty feature is genius!  Overall, its a fun app with plenty of filters, frames, and other fun editing features.  If nothing else, a great place to spruce up your social media pics before posting.

The only thing missing is red eye reduction...which is about the only advantage Aviary has.

For both, I could do without the ads and the stamps/stickers.

ColorSplurge 

Also a pretty cool tool, which I would love to use if I did more graphics/marketing for the library.  Maybe when I do my Stuffed Animal Sleepover this year, I can make it look like the animals got into paint?  I see kids especially getting a kick out of seeing things in different colors than they belong.

Social Media Management Tools (Thing #8)

Let's be honest, I spend a good amount of time on social media, both personally and professionally.  Although I generally am of the opinion that the official app for said social media site is the best best, the more accounts I add to my list of managing or contributing to (another one this week), the better and better a social media management tool sounds...

HootSuite

HootSuite is fine for viewing your Twitter and Facebook feeds, though it doesn't allow you to view the news feed for any Pages you manage, just the Page's feed itself.  I also don't like that you can only search for Twitter contacts, not Facebook or LinkedIn contacts.

While you can at least like or comment on other's Facebook statuses, having LinkedIn connected to HootSuite seems even more useless, as the only thing you can do is view your news feed, see the most basic info about a connection, and post your own updates.

The only draw that would make me keep HootSuite is the ability to schedule posts.  As the only person managing our library's Twitter account, currently, if I am away for the library or on vacation, the account goes unmonitored for long periods of time.  And even days when I am at work, Tweets tend to come in fits and starts, when I have time on the desk amidst all my multi-tasking to browse through library news and post our announcements and events.  I especially like the auto-schedule feature, which allows HootSuite to determine optimal impact. 

The HootSuite app has a definite advantage over the web version.  That thing is so cluttered it freaks me out!

Cloze

“With Cloze people come first, everything else is secondary.”  Well, that's certainly true, though in my case most of the people were not people I know personally but were sports media personalities.  What's not true is Cloze's ability to predict the most important things.  Cloze is extremely Twitter heavy, and also appears to give emphasis to users with a high volume of Tweets.  I do not quite understand that algorithm!

The biggest pet peeve for me with this app was that if I wanted to go to an individual's full profile, at any one of the social sites we were linked, the buttons below would take me to the mobile website, not the app for the appropriate site!

Cloze was by far my least favorite of these apps.  Delete!

Buffer

Well, Buffer WOULD be the clear app of choice, IF it let you add more than one Twitter account or more than one Facebook profile/page without upgrading to the "Awesome Plan."  It is super intuitive, streamlined, and effective for scheduling posts.  Definitely the most user friendly.  But really, if you just have one Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. do you need a social media manager?  Buffer's Awesome Plan costs a whopping $8.50/month, for unlimited posts and to add 12 accounts.  Yikes.  

Lessons learned: I would use any social media management app to post but for the most part not to browse or search the sites, sticking to the official app for that purpose.  And for posting, HootSuite wins out.

Content Saving & Sharing (Thing #7)

A Pinterest convert

A year ago, I was planning a wedding, and every single wedding vendor I met with said, "Oh you're so lucky to be planning a wedding in age of Pinterest! Isn't it just great?"  Um no. Not at all. I hated it.   Because I didn't get it.  In typical librarian fashion, I was using Pinterest as a search engine.  I would search something like "pink bouquet blueberries"  and would see the same image over and over and over.  I much preferred Google Images, or even the search function at TheKnot.com.

It wasn't until Leann's Apps in a Flash: 23 Mobile Things Preview webinar, that I began to see Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool and was convinced to give it a try again.  (Thanks Leann!)  I am so glad I did.  In the meantime, I've talked to several librarians who have said their library's Pinterest has much greater interaction and more followers than their Twitter.  (And you know how much I love Twitter!) So, with permission from the powers that be, I started developing a Pinterest profile for our library.  So far, our content mostly consists of bringing our print read-a-like brochures into the digital word, but also includes fun boards like "Quotes for Book Lovers" and "Special Days and Months of the Year."

Though I still don't love the search function on Pinterest, it has gotten much better.

I much prefer Pinterest as a browsing tool, both browsing my Home Feed and browsing categories.  As such, I love the recommendations list from 23 Mobile Things MN for pinners to follow!  More great libraries/librarians to get ideas from, which will refresh my Home Feed more frequently.  One of the best things about our profession is the sharing that we do.

Pinterest is also a great place for us to share info we find elsewhere on the web with patrons & for them to engage with the content.  The ability to link & share to our Twitter account is also a bonus, though it would also be nice to be able to connect to our library's Facebook page.  Pinterest currently only allows personal Facebook accounts to be connected, even though we have a Business Pinterest?

The Pinterest app is super intuitive and easy to use!  Just as user-friendly as the web version (maybe even more so since I don't have the Pin It button installed on my work computers) with all the same features.  Anyhow, check out ECRL on Pinterest!

Woohoo!

Earned a badge for 5 Things!

And...after 2 1/2 years, my beloved HTC Sensation bit the dust.  I finally had to upgrade, to the Samsung Galaxy S4.  I will be completing the rest of 23 Mobile Things MN on the S4.

Creating & Editing Docs (Thing #6)

TRUTH: "When it comes to creating and editing documents, most people would probably still say they prefer using a computer over a mobile device. But there are some apps out there that are making creating and editing documents a little bit easier and we’re going to give you the heads up on some of them."

TRUTH: Polaris Office, which came on my Android phone, is not one of the above-mentioned "easier" apps.

I was really looking forward to exploring alternatives for Thing 6.

Cloud On
Sounds like a good place to start. I downloaded the app, created an account, and tried to add both my Google Drive and Dropbox accounts multiple times. Each time, this is what I got.




This left me very quickly frustrated. So over it. Moving on.

(I actually went back to the app the next day and both accounts had successfully been added, so I was able to poke around a little bit and it wasn't bad.  I don't know what the deal was in adding my accounts, but CloudOn had already lost me.)

QuickOffice
Where CloudOn lost me, QuickOffice hooked me! Instantly. It was very intuitive, and making working not only in Word on my phone tolerable, but Xcel & PPT as well! Wow. Both accessing past files from my Google Drive & SD Card and creating and saving new ones were a breeze. 

A computer is still obviously the #1 choice for creating and editing docs, but I will  no longer feel limited to my computer.  I will definitely be using QuickOffice as my default app for opening these file types in the future!

SignNow
A paper saving dream!

Where was SignNow when I was buying a house or planning a wedding? Seriously, with so many forms and contracts to sign, this would have been a huge savior.

I'm dreaming here, but I also would love to have a tablet at my library if for no other reason than for access to the SignNow app.

Currently, my library has a fax machine, but no scanner. The fax machine is connected to our one and only landline (there's hope of a new phone system in the near future!), so sending a fax prevents other patrons from contacting the library, staff from using the phone for other library-related duties, and requires staff time to send the fax.   In addition, with longer documents, the fax machine often times out and fails to send.  Printing & faxing also costs patrons $. Finally, many places patrons want to send their signed documents no longer even have fax machines.

Obviously, there would be some quirks and kinks to making SignNow a feasible option at work (patron instruction primarily), but a girl can dream, right?

Notetaking! (Thing #5)

Oh my gosh, is anyone else getting sick of creating new accounts? It would be nice once in a while if you could explore and experiment with apps, see their capabilities, before creating an account.  Having unused accounts "out there" bothers me, so if I decide to delete the apps, I will also delete my accounts.

I love organization.  I am constantly making myself lists, setting reminders in my Outlook calendar, and more. These apps should be so made for me.

Springpad
Some of Springpad's quick-add (or built in suggestions for) notebooks include Books and Movies, of which I already have preferred methods of tracking my to-dos and reviews. Goodreads and IMDB.  If I didn't already use those apps and have a built-in collection, Springpad would be a great place to start, but I do, so...

What I essentially see myself using Springpad as is a Bookmark manager.  Rather than having things I'm interested in bookmarked to a specific device, if I share the content to my Springpad account via the Clipper, I can access the info across any device.  Like Delicious of the old days, except much much better.

Springpad would also be an awesome tool for project management among colleagues, especially those in different locations.  Create a project notebook.  Share it with your collaborators.  Implement checklists, share documents, leave notes, use tags.  I will definitely be suggesting Springpad for future work projects.

Whereas Springpad seemed like a cool app for storing a broader range of information (pics, recordings, URLs, etc), to me, it seemed like maybe it was a bit clunky for a time-management/to-do list tool.  And it was missing some crucial elements, like prioritizing tasks, setting due time instead of just day, etc. So I moved on to...

Remember the Milk
Who doesn't want to try out a cute app with a title (and cow) like that?

Remember the Milk is exactly the opposite of Springboard's clunky.  It is a simple way to organize & prioritize your to-do list and create reminders for yourself via email, text, or web-browser.  As someone who is almost always multi-tasking, both personally and professionally, this is a great way to ensure nothing gets missed!

I was all excited about RTM.  I started loading tasks for both work and home, things I need to do tomorrow and long-range projects.  And then, came the reality check.

To me, the biggest benefit of a service like this is the ability to sync between web and mobile app interfaces. To be able to add info wherever I am.  Most likely adding work tasks on my desktop all day long, and adding personal tasks wherever and whenever on my mobile app.  Well, Remember the Milk only allows one sync/24 hours for the free account.  For $25 dollars a year you can update to a pro account with unlimited syncs.  Not going there.

Ultimately, I'll keep Springpad for bookmarking and project management, and keep searching for a task-management app.