Casting Your Web

1. Casting Your Web Communicating research through Web 2.0 and new media A presentation to the University Research Magazine Association, May 2008

2. What is this Web 2.0? Technologies that allow data to become independent of the person who produced it or the site it originated on. • Planet Bob on YouTube • Planet Bob embedded in ASU Research

3. Web 2.0 lets users pull information from a variety of sites simultaneously, combine it in new ways, and deliver it on their own sites. This is called “mashup.” • Housingmaps • Yahoo Pipes (shopping example)

4. Members of the cast An introduction to some new media “personalities”

5. Podcast Bio: Online audio content delivered via RSS feed. Enjoys: Posting regularly, providing new content on a specific schedule. Favorite hangouts: On the computer or any MP3 player.

6. Podcast, continued Favorite roles: • Traditional news stories or interviews • Musical recordings • Author readings • Self-guided tours of university attractions

7. Video Podcast Nicknames: vidcast or vodcast Bio: Online syndicated video content, also delivered via RSS. Favorite hangouts: On the computer or a video iPod

8. Phonecast Bio: Audio or video content delivered to cell phones or other mobile devices. Unique traits: Can be live or on-demand, unlike podcasts which are on-demand only. Doesn’t require user to download from PC. Sent directly through carrier’s network.

9. Webcast Bio: A media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media. Can be live or pre-recorded. Unlike other cast members, webcasts are not always syndicated content. Popular roles: Live events that may have limits on audience size or that may attract viewers from distant places.

10. 2006 12.7% of Internet users in the U.S. 18.4% of Internet users in the world. 2008 29.5% of Internet users in the U.S. (132% increase) 48.8% of Internet users in the world. (165% increase) Who’s listening?Internet users who say they download podcasts: Source: Pew Internet 2007

11. Who’s watching? • 57% of Internet users have watched videos online. • 48% have ever visited a video-sharing site like YouTube. • 15% visited a video-sharing site “yesterday.” Source: Pew Internet 2007

12. Who’s calling? • 75% of American adults own cell phones. • 58% of American adults have used a cell phone or PDA for non-voice data activities like texting, email, taking a picture, or looking for maps. Source: Pew Internet 2007

13. African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to use cell phones or PDAs for non-voice data applications. This is striking because these groups lagged in “desktop” online access in the late 90s and early 2000s. Source: Pew Internet 2007

14. Who is the future? Surprise (not)! Teens are using Web 2.0 and new media more than any other age group. • 70% talk daily on a cell phone • 60% send text messages daily • 54% use instant messaging • 47% send messages daily on social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook) • 39% share artistic creations online • 28% have their own blogs Source: Pew Internet 2006

15. universitas discipulus in her natural habitat

16. Casting your web widely The web can extend your message into places, and to people, it normally wouldn’t have reached. And it can do so at a very small cost. TELL ME MORE!

17. Step 1: Get comfy • Get an RSS reader and subscribe to a few feeds. • Join a site like My Yahoo! or iGoogle and add feeds, gadgets, etc. • Get accounts on sites like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, del.icio.us. • Search your institution’s name on the above sites and see what you find.

18. Examples • Searching “Amherst College” on Flickr • Searching “ASU” on YouTube

19. Step 2: Promote your stories • Put social bookmarking links on your stories (example) • Get an account on these sites and add your stories. • Consider alternative media. (example) • Jump on the feed wagon!

20. How to create a feed • Use blogging or content management software that automatically creates a feed. • Use a program that lets you turn stories into feeds (like Feeder). • Program the feed manually. (see instructions here and here)

21. Live nude feed! <?xml version="1.0"?> <rss version="2.0"> <channel><title>Endeavors magazine</title> <description>Research and creative activity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.</description> <link>http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/</link> <item><title>Winter 2008 issue now online</title><description>Some of the stories you'll find: A Life at the Bench | The Bug Zappers | Guatemala City's Dirtiest Secret | Why be Happy? | The Magic Man</description><link>http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/win2008/index.php</link></item> </channel></rss>

22. Step 3: make your multimedia easy to find • Transcripts make your podcasts searchable and ADA compliant. (example) • Adobe Audition lets you insert markers at specific times to create content log. (example) • Use graphics to mark multimedia • Create a “multimedia” section.

23. iTunes U (podcasts and video) YouTube (videos) Learnoutloud.com (podcasts) Gcast.com (podcasts) Podomatic.com (podcasts) Ourmedia.org (podcasts and videos) Syndic8.com (feeds) Dmoz.org (any sites) Newsisfree.com (any sites, but feeds preferred) Rssfeeds.com (feeds) Step 4: Add your content to directories

24. The Grand Finale A little mashup just for URMA: http://www.urma.org/newdigest.html (see the pipe)