Discover your inner (and virtual) social butterfly with Lookmarks, Connotea, CiteULike & mmmmmm�Yummy!

This week the BRAIN_blog takes a look into the exciting world of social bookmarking, one of the hottest trends online. Websites like the ones we�re about to explore ask the question, �Why keep your bookmarks to yourself when you can share them with others?� Bookmarking is useful, naturally, but it does have its limits � can you feel them? You�re tied to one computer when you bookmark a site � and out of luck if you need to find that site from anywhere else! Bookmarks can be organized it�s true � but can they be searched? Aha! Do I have you yet? For these and other fun features read on as we get social on this week�s edition of the BRAIN_blog!

1) Lookmarks is a fantastic site that helps you organize bookmarks � and so much more! Along the same lines as del.icio.us (which we blogged about way back in January) and Furl (brought to you in March) Lookmarks allows you to create links that are searchable AND � be still my heart � accessible from anywhere! When you add a link, you give it a �tag� � a keyword or phrase that helps describe it. Access your links from wherever you are (can you tell I�m excited by that?) and search on a tag to find the information you need. You can also see what other users have tagged with the same word or phrase � this is where the whole sociable thing comes in! These types of tools are excellent ways to not only organize your own stuff but to see what others are doing. Interact with other users and gain more resources and information � it�s too good to be true! Search by tag or search by user � the user name search feature is particularly handy for groups, teams and other collaborative types. Get started with Lookmarks by signing up for a free account. Once you do that, you can easily import the bookmarks from your browser. Just click on �Add Links� on the top left of the homepage, go to �Upload your bookmarks� and follow the instructions. Add the �Lookmark this!� link to your Favourites and new links can be added with a single click � tag your link, and you�re good to go! Oooooh there is even an RSS feed available for the site so you can keep up with the latest links and news from Lookmarks. You can also subscribe to your own list of links in an RSS feed so you always have them at your fingertips � it�s so easy to share them that way too. Are there any other features? You bet! With Lookmarks you can also save links to music and other audible files in order do some podcasting of your very own � talk about the ultimate in sociable! More features, details and information await at www.lookmarks.com!

2) So…you�re getting the hang of this collaboration thing and want to get even more interactive online? Well, great! In addition to Lookmarks, I also read about Connotea this week – yes, another way to save and share your resources with friends and colleagues! Created by Nature Publishing Group (the people who bring you Nature magazine), the ideas for Connotea come from the same ideas as del.icio.us with some special features added to make it more useful to scientists. One of these special features is the automatic addition of bibliographic information when you save a page from PubMed, HubMed, D-Lib Magazine, etc. So it�s social bookmarking with a bit of a twist! Connotea lets you keep links to the articles you read and the websites you use – and most importantly, find them again – crucial, no? Share your research with people doing similar research and discover new links and articles by checking out the resources that others are using. Like Lookmarks, Connotea supports the use of tags, so you can organize the related links, articles and electronic books, and have them accessible from anywhere (I cannot get enough of that!) There is a list of the most popular tags right on the Connotea homepage, which is really handy not only for the Connotea community, but for anyone looking for relevant, legitimate information in a particular subject area. Popular tags this week are �human evolution�, �Avian Flu� and �HIV�. Connotea users can also set up their own user groups for even more collaboration � the possibilities are limitless! Ready to get started? Connotea has a fantastic tutorial (available in Flash, Windows Media or Quick Time) that helps you do just that!

3) I�m also really digging CiteULike and the groovy things it can do. Designed with academics in mind (it was created by an academic after all) but accessible to everyone, it, like the other sites we�ve been discussing, lets you store and share information and connect with others sharing and storing this information. CiteULike has some added features that are worth mentioning, including the site�s ability to extract bibliographic information for the links (articles) you are saving. This certainly helps when it comes time for the bibliography, no? Also, the left sidebar has a heading �Journals�, and the subheading �Browse current issues� underneath. Through CiteULike you can access tables of contents and often full-text articles from 6499 journals in a wide variety of subject areas. [think of the party when they reach 6500!] CiteULike also lists its most popular tags on the right sidebar for easy searching, and allows the creation of groups (like Connotea) for like-minded researchers and individuals wanting to take the social aspect one step further.

4) Another site that is blowing my mind with its coolness is Yummy! And it�s not just the name that�s fun! Yummy! is another fab social bookmarking tool, but its specialty is organizing PDFs! Ooooooh you say, and I concur � this is a fantastic tool with lots of great potential. It�s still in alpha stage � pre-beta, therefore a little rougher than beta with more chance of bugs, etc. but it�s still got a lot of social bookmarking goodness at its heart. So why a social bookmarking site for PDFs? Well let�s stop and think � PDFs are documents � often lengthy, wordy, documents. Sometimes they are user manuals or books and reports on specific subjects � things that you may just want to keep separate from your bookmarks, Lookmarks or Favourites. For instance, let�s take Macromedia�s Flash, as an example. Chances are if you�re a Flash user, whether beginner or aficionado, you have the Macromedia site bookmarked or otherwise saved. Using Yummy! allows you to save the Flash user�s manual for easy finding � rather than having to search the site (or your bookmarks) each time you want to find something. So it�s definitely a timesaver. Also, because Yummy! has that social aspect to it, not only can you save your own documents here, you can search others� tags (tagging is just SO good) and find even more relevant information on your subject. So perhaps an updated manual, another version or even another publication that you had no idea existed, but could prove to be very useful. The mind reels. The only danger with Yummy! at this point in time is the disclaimer on the home page (remember � it�s still in alpha) �Warning! Anything you do here might not be here when I am done rebuilding Yummy.� It�s fair warning, and makes sense while they work on what will be the final product. But I say go for it -start tagging with Yummy! and see where it takes you!

Social bookmarking is definitely where it�s at. Join together and be part of a larger community. Delve into resources found and shared by others, share your own resources and interact with people with the same interests, or doing the same sort of research – it�s beyond exciting!!

The Yin and the Yang of Research Tools

A big thanks to my colleagues e-Lizabeth and Gaye for their amazing contributions to the BRAIN_blog while I was off galavanting across the Philippines! Thanks, guys! For those fans of e-Lizabeth, have no fear, she�s still here�she will continue to contribute her witty and thought-provoking articles to the BRAIN_blog so watch this space! (As a teaser, tune in next issue when she uncovers the wild world of social bookmarking!) Holy cow� lots has been happening in LibraryLand while I was off savouring balut and other fine Asian delicacies �this week we feature: 1) very serious library research-type information and web tools and 2) web tools for fun, exhilaration and excitement (well, aren�t they all really, when you come down to it?)

1) Yes, Virginia, the Hamilton Spectator is still available online via the Library @ Mohawk!
There has been a change in the method of accessing the Hamilton Spectator online at the Library @ Mohawk. Before, access was through the database �Virtual News Library� (VNL). As VNL no longer carries TorStar publications (including the Hamilton Spectator), the Library has purchased a new database of Hamilton Spectator articles. Look for the link �Hamilton Spectator (Proquest)� to access the full-text of the Spec (including today�s issue) back to 1991. In addition, access to Hamilton Spectator articles is available in the database �Canadian Reference Centre� with a one day lag time and an archive back to September, 2002. To access, follow these steps or view a quick 1.5 minute video tutorial to watch the process in action!
1. click �find articles from newspapers� from TheBRAIN home page just as you did before the change.
2. A list of the Library�s newspaper databases appears. Select �Hamilton Spectator (Proquest)� or, if you are at IAHS, select the link beneath that has the note �(IAHS only)�.
3. The database is launched and from the next screen you need only click �Continue.�
4. From here you can enter your search terms into the Search box.
5. There is also a Date Range drop-down box. Note that from here you can narrow your search to specific dates or search specific ranges (last 7 days, last 3 months, etc.)
Your search results comprise a list of full-text articles. Note that, like the Virtual News Library database, the classified sections and advertisements are not included in the database.

2) There�s more to life than Google: SMEALSearch for business researchers
In the “there’s more to life than Google” department…from the Penn State SMEAL College of Business, SMEALSearch is a specialized search engine for the field of business. According to the web site, �the search engine crawls websites of universities, commercial organizations, research institutes and government departments to retrieve academic articles, working papers, white papers, consulting reports, magazine articles, and published statistics and facts.� In addition, SMEALSearch performs a citation analysis of the academic papers and lists the most cited papers first in result lists. Some other neat features of SMEALSearch are: suggestions of related articles, and links to easily send an article to a friend, rate an article or provide comments on it. Excitement galore for the business researcher!

3) Inside Scoop on Desktop Search Tools…Revealed!
In previous issues of BRAIN_blog, we mentioned the new Google and Yahoo! desktop search tools. There is actually a whole gamut of these handy little critters and a research group from UW-Madison has released a comprehensive study that outlines the features and evaluates 12 of these new tools. The University of Wisconsin E-Business Consortium ranked the 12 tools and found Copernic 1.5 Beta with Coveo to be the best and easiest to use while Yahoo! Desktop Search 1.1 Beta came in second and Wizetech Archivarius 3000 3.14 third. The report contains lots of nifty charts and comparisons so check it out for the full scoop!

4) Help now available for indecisive readers
Do you secretly have difficulties deciding what book to read next but are too shy to talk to your local Librarian? Private and confidential help is here in the form of an online book recommender system called Whichbook.net. Rather than choosing by author or genre (ho hum), WhichBook.net lets you choose by the type of experience you want to have (for example, predictable/unpredictable, happy/sad, etc.) You can also choose by type of character, plot (quest, conflict, etc.) or setting. The recommendations include a short excerpt from the book as well as suggestions of similar titles. Don�t be surprised when the �borrow� link presents you with a map of England �this tool has been developed for British libraries�.so you will need to take the extra step of searching your local library catalogue for the titles you find. For everything you wanted to know about your next read but were afraid to ask…look no further!

5) Tired of reading?
Tired of reading your news online? Now you can watch it too. Yahoo News now provides access to Reuters video clips as well as new video from CBC and AP Television. You have the option of searching for feeds (top bar), choosing video by topic from a drop-down or selecting feeds by provider (AP, Reuters, NPR, Washingtonpost.com, and CBC.) Of course that value in this really depends on your Internet connection�.here at the college, it took about 5 minutes for a 2 minute CBC news story to load in my browser (and yes, there are commercials!)

6) And a little something special for all you podcasters�
Podcastersout there will be interested in learning that podscope (the search engine for podcasts, of course!) now includes audio and video content in its search. The interesting thing here is that every word is searchable within a podcast, even though it is audio or video!

Technology, technology, technology!

Lots of tech news & tech tools on this week�s edition of the BRAIN_blog! Plus the lowdown on both the Connections Conference and the Student Success Symposium held here at Mohawk College last week…read on for all this…and more!

1) Rock on, Mohawk College!

The college was abuzz last week with two and a half days of dynamic presentations, demonstrations, workshops and special guests! The brand new Student Success Symposium kicked off the week on Monday and Tuesday, and was followed by the 3rd annual Connections Conference on Wednesday. Did you miss any of the action? Check out the wrap-ups and access the presentations here:

>Student Success Symposium Documents
>Connections �05

2) Brainstorming � 21st century style!!

Ah, the flipchart… The reliable old flipchart has been around for decades, helping presenters and groups make their point, generate ideas and create plans. A group of proactive people eventually asked, �What if you could do this type of brainstorming/presenting on your computer…without having to rely on the dried out marker and the big pads of paper?� Okay, maybe they didn�t ask that exact question, but the folks at >MindJet no doubt had something similar in mind when they came up with the idea for >MindManager X5 Pro. A visual collaboration tool, MindManager lets you capture ideas electronically as you go along in your meeting, and all notes are ready for immediate distribution � no transcribing needed! Items are captured in a structured format and group members can see the results, as well as have a better idea as to next steps, goals, action items, etc. Go from brainstorming to planning to implementation with MindManager, as it integrates seamlessly with Word, PowerPoint and MS Project. Use it to quickly create dynamic presentations as well. There�s much more to MindManager than can be explained on the blog, so do yourself a favour and check out their site. Download a free 21-day trial, or check into the information about purchasing the various licenses they have for MindManager. As a bit of an aside, the BRAIN_blog usually does try to bring you the newest, hottest, free-est tools and information out there. Occasionally though, there is a tool that is so cool and exciting that it deserves mention � even though there is a cost involved

3) New Kid on the Academic Block!

A brand new website devoted to current news, commentary, career information and much more in the area of higher education � what could be better? According to the website, �>Inside Higher Ed was founded in 2004 by three executives with decades of expertise in higher education journalism and recruitment. We believed that higher education was evolving quickly and radically, and that the time was right for new models of providing information and career services for professionals in academe.� And they do deliver. News is added daily, and you can search for older news items by keyword, author, educational institution, etc. You can also sign up for their �News Alerts� email service, and you will be sent a daily email review of the top stories. They don�t have an RSS feed option (darn it!) but as the site says �Today, the site contains only a fraction of the features and services that you�ll find here soon…� Wow � if what they�ve got now is a �fraction� stay tuned folks, they�re going to be big! Check them out and see what you think…will they eventually give the >Chronicle of Higher Education a run for its money? Discuss…

4) New in the Technology Realm

What�s the next big thing when it comes to technological development? If you don�t know, be sure to have a look at >Ten Emerging Technologies from >TechnologyReview.com. The website claims, �Of the numerous technologies now in gestation at companies and universities, we have chosen 10 that we think will make particularly big splashes. They’re raw, but they’ll transform the Internet, computing, medicine, energy, nanotechnology, and more.� TechnologyReview.com has been doing these sorts of lists for a few years now, and you can also check out some of their other �top tens�, such as >10 Emerging Technologies that Will Change Your World from February, 2004 and the >TR10 Follow-up from April 7th of this year. I especially liked the follow-up article for the simple reason that anyone can say �oh this is going to be big� but it�s nice to see that TechnologyReview.com keeps an eye on the trend as it develops and then keeps their readers posted. It�s only common courtesy!

5) YaGoohoo!gle � Say what?

Nope, it�s not something you yell out when you roll up a rim and win at Tim Horton�s…although I guess you could…but I wouldn�t know because I never win anything…and yet I keep buying, don�t I…but I digress…. >YaGoohoo!gle is actually an interesting website blending the names of two of the most popular search engines/directories on the web into a neat way to compare results from both � at the same time. It�s a pretty cool concept, and one developed by Asgeir S. Nilsen. According to the YaGoohoo!gle >blog, Asgeir originally posted the site as an April Fool�s Day joke on >Slashdot but the idea took off and has become extremely popular! The YaGoohoo!gle blog includes search tips and more information about the site and it�s concept. Try a search yourself and see what you think � you have to admit, it�s an interesting way to see your search results!

6) Saturday Night�s All Right for…Googlefight!

Add this to the list of crazy Google-based tools. It�s not an official Google site, of course, but >Googlefight lets you enter two search terms that can then fight it out to see who generates more hits on Google. Just enter the two terms (I tried Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles) click on �make a fight� and you�ll get a cool little graphic while it searches, followed by a bar chart showing you who reigns supreme on Google. Now, we at the BRAIN_blog certainly do not condone fighting, and we also encourage you to say no to drugs. But a good old-fashioned Googlefight can make the day interesting indeed! Incidentally, the results of my search are in: Diana 1,540,000 / Camilla 591,000 � thanks for coming out, Camilla!

7) From the ridiculous to the sublime…or something like that…

Yes, the above two sites were a little on the ridiculous side (but fun, you have to admit!) so I now bring you the sublime with yet another fantastic innovation from Google � >My Search History! Eureka, say those of us who have used Google, found some great stuff, and then immediately forgotten what we searched and found. My Search History lets Google show you what you�ve searched and which search results you�ve clicked on, and you can manage your searches and search history from any computer! There is also a calendar feature, to let you find the search you did on a particular day, and because you can search your whole history full-text, you will be able to find any query you typed and any results page you viewed. Google will also include useful information such as the number of visits you�ve made to a specific website, and the last time you viewed it. It�s easy to get started � if you have a Google account, just log in and get set to save what you search! If you don�t yet have an account, you can get one >here. For more details on and the exciting features of Google�s My Search History, check out their excellent >Help page!

UPDATE! JYBE 2.0

Last time, the BRAIN_blog brought you information about >JYBE, a great tool that allows you to co-browse the web. Well >JYBE 2.0 is here with brand new features including co-scrolling, collaborative text entry (see what the other person is typing in search boxes), password protection for JYBE sessions, and more!

9) UPDATE! Be our MOHAWK-GUEST!

The Library @ Mohawk invites you to break free…and go wireless! Now in the e-Library @ Fennell, the Rotunda and the Library @ Fennell, members of the Mohawk community with personal laptops can get on the web via the wireless network. Go wireless to access MocoMotion, browse the web, do research, search for library materials and much, much more! How does it work? It�s easy – once your computer detects the wireless network, simply click �Connect� and you�re in on the MOHAWK-GUEST network. No password, no key � just all web all the time. Well, not exactly all the time. For now, MOHAWK-GUEST is available from 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday through Friday.
Printing, FTP and peer-to-peer functions (such as Kazaa) are not currently available, and as of now, there is no technical support, but we think wireless is truly the way to go, and we�re excited at the Library @ Mohawk to be able to bring it to our users!

Thanks for checking out this extra-long edition of the BRAIN_blog!