1. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Understanding And Exploiting Web 2.0: What is Web 2.0? Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath Email B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk UKOLN is supported by: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/stimulate-2006/talk-web2.0/ About This Talk This talk will cover: An introduction to Web 2.0. Some of the key Web 2.0 technologies Web 2.0 characteristics such as openness and user focus About This Talk This talk will cover: An introduction to Web 2.0. Some of the key Web 2.0 technologies Web 2.0 characteristics such as openness and user focus This work is licensed under a Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat) Resources bookmarked using 'stimulate-2006-web2.0' tag

2. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 2 Contents What Is Web 2.0? Background & Characteristics Web 2.0 Examples Mashups  AJAX Blogs  Wikis Syndication  Social networks Comms  Mobile devices Openness  Long Tail Always beta  … Challenges Is it hype? Is it all good? Is it all bad? "No Web 2.0 without responsibility!"

3. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 3 Web2MemeMap, Tim O’Reilly, 2005 Characteristics Of Web 2.0 Network as platform Remix and mash-ups  Syndication (RSS) Architecture of participation  Blogs & Wikis  Social networking  Social tagging (folksonomies) Trust and openness Always beta Clean URIs Characteristics Of Web 2.0 Network as platform Remix and mash-ups  Syndication (RSS) Architecture of participation  Blogs & Wikis  Social networking  Social tagging (folksonomies) Trust and openness Always beta Clean URIs Web 2.0 What Is Web 2.0? Marketing term (derived from observing 'patterns') rather than technical standards - “an attitude not a technology”

4. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 4 Web 2.0 Exemplars Let's look at some examples

5. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 5 Google as a Web 2.0 Exemplar Google – developed GMail, Google Maps, … Uses AJAX to provide richly interactive interfaces Web 2.0 Is your campus map rescalable (without loss of resolution)? Or do you have a campus map in GIF format: poor quality when printed, not reusable, but at least you own it and you've got the University logo on it. (Northumbria is an exception ) You will still have work to do, though. For example is your building on the map?

6. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 6 GMail – Web 2.0 As An Application GMail – Google's popular Web- based email service Will new users be aware of desktop email clients Use of AJAX is providing the power of desktop client software for Web interfaces

7. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 7 Web 2.0 Google "auricle bath" for URL Blogs (1) Blogs seem to be ideal for use in HE: Use by students: sharing learning; reflections on learning; developing writing & social skills; … Use by researchers: sharing knowledge and ideas; maximising impact; … (plus above) High profile e-learning Blog from Bath Univ. Note reference to Podcast – another very relevant technology for HE. Keep informed of e-learning developments from Scott Wilson's (CETIS) Blog. Note use of an RSS reader (reuse of chunks). http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/scott/ http://www.technorati.com/ Use Technorati to search new postings in Blogs. Will you / your researchers) miss out? (NB ~ 100 hits for UCISA on 14/03/2006)

8. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 8 Blogs And IT Services (2) University of Warwick seem to be leaders in the UK with their Student Blogging service: Listen to Auricle Blog & Podcast with John Dale Note that "students will say and do the wrong thing" issue has been addressed! (Note this is nothing new) http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/johndale/ entry/student_mobile_ownership/ http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/johndale/ entry/student_mobile_ownership/ Want to engage with your users? Why not set up an IT Services Blog? Here John Dale has received 20 comments on a posting about student mobile ownership (a typical high response rate) Or read Owen Stephen’s Blog about recent UCISA conf. Want to engage with your users? Why not set up an IT Services Blog? Here John Dale has received 20 comments on a posting about student mobile ownership (a typical high response rate) Or read Owen Stephen’s Blog about recent UCISA conf.

9. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 9 Wikis (1) Wikis provide collaborative, easy-to- use Web-based authoring. Sounds ideal for HE: Students, researchers and support staff:  collaborative work  focus on content, not on authoring tools .. Web 2.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Warwick Issue: (for Web/marketing people) Shouldn't you be proactive in ensuring content is accurate, … Should you seek to lead in order to define structure? Issue: (for Web/marketing people) Shouldn't you be proactive in ensuring content is accurate, … Should you seek to lead in order to define structure?

10. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 10 Wikis (2) How can you not have a Wiki, for (e.g.) Systems documentation Better note-taking Student group working Collaborative research work … Should we be promoting/providing Wikis? UCISA/UKOLN event, Nov 2004 Yes. There could be real benefit and exciting possibilities in every area of institutional activities: teaching & learning, research, administration and user support. We need to get in there first and understand what users need and what they might do. We also need first make better use of wikis ourselves so we can.. Should we be promoting/providing Wikis? UCISA/UKOLN event, Nov 2004 Yes. There could be real benefit and exciting possibilities in every area of institutional activities: teaching & learning, research, administration and user support. We need to get in there first and understand what users need and what they might do. We also need first make better use of wikis ourselves so we can..

11. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 11 RSS RSS: Killer lightweight format Initially used to allow news to be embedded in others Web sites Now used for general syndication of content Use in Blogs helped in take-up Stands for Really Simple Syndication (or RDF Site Summary or Rich Site Summary):  Confusion over versions Most tools support multiple versions RSS

12. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 12 RSS JISC Services RSS Aggregator http://www.eevl.ac.uk/jiscnews/

13. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 13 RSS RSS As A Navigational Aid RSS feeds for structure of Cultivate Interactive created recently RSS file for home page (and similar) provides links to each issue RSS file for an issue provides table of contents for issue http://www.cultivate-int.org/

14. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 14 RSS RSS & OPML As A Navigational Aid OPML provides an import/export function for groups of RSS files Can also be used for navigation But I can provide such navigation using my CMS? Yes, but remember that the interface can be embedded on 3 rd party Web sites – which your CMS doesn’t manage Mashups – take the information to the people, don’t force them to come to you

15. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 15 RSS Searching RSS Space Technorati provides a searching service for Blog space/RSS space http://www.technorati.com/search/edina http://www.technorati.com/search/jisc Thoughts – if you want to be visible in Technorati, you’ll need to create RSS – or encourage others to Blog about you

16. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 16 RSS – An Email Killer? E-mail has its role but: Why send messages which time-out when many users will read them too late? Why not use delivery channels which are spam-free? Why not use delivery channels which are more suited to receiving information (as opposed to discussions)? Why not allow users to select their preferred channels? RSS: Syndication of content A light-weight standard used in the JISC IE View on Web, using one of many dedicated RSS viewers, Opera or Pluck IE plugin Shouldn't RSS viewers be standard on desktops? Shouldn't we be creating RSS feed for news alerts – and not just adding to email overload? Shouldn't RSS viewers be standard on desktops? Shouldn't we be creating RSS feed for news alerts – and not just adding to email overload? Google for "rss is opt-in authenticated email" See RSS briefing paper

17. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 17 Social Bookmarking / Folksonomies Social bookmark services introduced "folksonomies": User-defined tags Used for bookmarking, shared photos, etc. Comments: Librarians point out flaws in approach But can miss the potential benefits Web 2.0 http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/ events/workshops/ucisa-wlf-2004-11/ http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/ events/workshops/ucisa-wlf-2004-11/ Looks a good event – I'll bookmark it (with 'UCISA' tag). What else have I bookmarked with the 'UCISA' tag? I notice others have bookmarked the same page. Who are these other people? What are their interest? As well as resource discovery, social bookmarking can help: Identify impact Find related resources (cf Amazon) As well as resource discovery, social bookmarking can help: Identify impact Find related resources (cf Amazon)

18. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 18 http://www.flickr.com/ + “folksonomies” Issues Should you "claim your tag" (e.g. "iwmw-2006") and convention (e.g. "leeds-publicity", "leedsmet-graduation- 2006") for your photos, Blogs, etc.? Should you proactively make you photos, etc. available? Issues Should you "claim your tag" (e.g. "iwmw-2006") and convention (e.g. "leeds-publicity", "leedsmet-graduation- 2006") for your photos, Blogs, etc.? Should you proactively make you photos, etc. available?

19. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 19 Mobile Devices Potential of mobile devices in learning, research, etc. Lectures on iPods; student- created Podcasts;..

20. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 20 PDF Note that Talis (UK library vendor) are publishing Blogs and Podcasts about "Library 2.0" And UKOLN/CDNTL have also been experimenting Note that Talis (UK library vendor) are publishing Blogs and Podcasts about "Library 2.0" And UKOLN/CDNTL have also been experimenting

21. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 21 Are your University Podcasts available through iTunes? Aren't you missing out on a major distribution channel? (Note Student's Union radio shows are leading the way) Are your University Podcasts available through iTunes? Aren't you missing out on a major distribution channel? (Note Student's Union radio shows are leading the way) http://www.everyobject.net/static.php?page=interactive

22. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 22 Instant Messaging (IM) IM – popular, widely used, with benefits for collaboration, but banned in some places Meebo: Web-based IM client An AJAX application Issues: How do you ban it? Interoperability Doesn't it break WAI guidelines? http://www.meebo.com/ Should IT Services ban applications when there are trivial ways around such bans? What is the reason for such bans: ideology; resource management; support; security; …? Web 2.0

23. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 23 Web 2.0 Skype / VoIP VoIP is coming, so now’s the time to gain experiences. What are the implications of ‘free’ always-on telephony (i.e. it's not just about software) - you could be broadcasting this talk now! Skype is a good example of Internet telephony: Integrated voice, IM, Web (and now video) Can be high quality Free / cheap calls Conference calls Accessibility benefits  Proprietary  Network and management issues

24. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 24 Web 2.0: An Attitude Web 2.0 embraces: A variety of applications areas A set of attitudes and approaches These include: Openness The Long Tail 'Always Beta'

25. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 25 UK participants include: National Archives Natural History Museum Creative Commons, Science Commons, Open Access, Open Source, … are helping to drive Web 2.0.

26. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 26 http://creativecommons.org/ See "Let's Free IT Support Materials!" (EUNIS 2005 paper) as an example of what UK HE could be doing

27. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 27 Web 2.0: The Long Tail The Long Tail: In a global networked environment even minority interests are likely to have large numbers of users In a closed environment (e.g. your institution) minority interests may be unsupported:  Mac user? Sorry we only support PCs here Web 2.0

28. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 28 Web 2.0: Always Beta The term 'always beta' can be interpreted in several ways: The software is continually developing:  Agile programming; rapid prototyping  Rapid response from large nos. of users The software is disposable; the data is the important thing Web 2.0 applications and ideas are transforming our business processes – it’s the processes which may need to be changed or even discarded Web 2.0

29. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 29 Web 2.0: Just Hype? Some concerns over Web 2.0: It's just marketing hype? The name is daft Dot.com crash all over again But I've just spend a fortune on my institutional CMS Professionals point out the flaws:  Librarians don't like folksonomies  Networking specialists don't like Skype  HTML authors threatened by kids using Wikis  … Web 2.0

30. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 30 Web 2.0: Hype And Great Stuff With any new thing we can expect Hype; unreasonable expectations; … Dodgy salesmen Rebranding the old stuff … So we need to: Identify the food stuff Manage expectations Be able to recognise the strengths & weaknesses Use, purchase or develop based on our needs and be able to manage any deficiencies Web 2.0

31. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 31 Questions? Any questions Note resources cited in the talk are bookmarked in del.icio.us using tag '‘ stimulate-2006-web2.0 "