[Web4lib] ALA Connect: Not Just Another Social Network

[McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]]

Colleagues/

 

It's Here /  It's Here / It's Here > ALA Connect

 

/Gerry 

 

ALA Connect: Not Just Another Social Network

 

It's like Facebook-but for librarians," we've said, all-too-simply (and
inaccurately) in categorizing ALA Connect, ALA's new centralized virtual
space.

 

That's a facile comparison to make, but really Connect is more than
that. Not just another social network, ALA Connect will help members
engage in ALA business and network with others. It's a single virtual
location in which ALA members can collaborate and work on division,
round table, and committee projects with an impressive spread of tools:
blog-like posts, online documents, group calendars, surveys and polls,
chat rooms, discussion forums, and RSS/email alerts to track progress. 

 

[snip] But ALA Connect effectively reins in all the would-be unofficial
online channels and tools and puts them under one roof, officiating them
under the ALA brand. [snip]

 

ALA Connect FAQ

 

ALA Connect replaces the existing Online Communities service that ALA
currently offers as a virtual, collaborative, workspace online. [snip]

 

[snip]

 

Every active ALA group already has a space in Connect automatically,
because we've pre-populated it with data from our membership database
(iMIS), and we synchronize member data nightly, so we'll always know
which committees you're on and which other official ALA groups you're
part of.

 

Both ALA groups and communities use the same types of tools. By default,
each one has blog posts, online documents (like wiki pages), a calendar,
polls, a chat room, a discussion board, and images (logos, pictures,
etc.). The group can use whichever of the tools it finds valuable.

 

Non-members will be able to register in Connect to create a free
account, but they will only be able to view and add to public content.
[snip]

 

>>More And Links>>

 

[ http://tinyurl.com/dzqfq7  ]

 

Enjoy !

 

/Gerry

 

Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

Science and Technology Librarian

Iowa State University Library

Ames IA 50011

 

gerrymck at iastate.edu    

 

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Hugo 

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