Google Map with my own photo

Yo!! Done it..

I tried to embedded my own photo into Google Maps. I haven't done this before. I have tried to put markers on Google Maps on my previous post. This is what I have done:

1. Search for information on how to insert photos into MyMaps of Google Maps. I found this really helpful Google help site.

2. In the help site, it says I can add photos but those photos must be hosted on line. So, I went to my Picasa Web account and upload 2 photos which I took in Feb 2010 when I attended the Rare Books Seminar at the State Library of Victoria.

3. I then created a new Google Map and put my marker on State Library of Victoria.

4. The help site says 'click edit' and use 'Rich Text' or 'html'... I was like??!!! Where is my edit? And even when I found my 'edit' button and clicked into it, there was no 'Rich Text' or 'html' editing. Took me 1 hour to figure out, I need to install the beta version of Google Map tool bar!!! Furious!!!!!

5. Now I have my beta version of Google Map tool bar. I clicked on the marker that I have already placed on State Library of Victoria. A dialog box shows up and it allows me to add title, add description, add Rich Text, add Html; I even can edit the place details with place name, address, phone number, photos, categories and etc. (WOW!!) I have select to use the Rich Text.

6. Click the 'Rich Text' button, and another row of sub-tool bar appear.

7. Click the last icon, which is 'adding image' on the sub-tool bar. A script prompt appears asking me to enter the URL of my image.

8. Now I have to find my photo URL. I went back to my Picasa Web, and found my photo that I wish to insert into Google Maps. Right click on that photo, find the 'property' of that photo, inside there, I got my photo's URL.

9. Copy and paste that photo's URL into that script prompts dialog box in step 7.

10. Hit 'ok' button.

11. Click the 'saved' button on My Maps and done!!!!

Please see the following map for that photo of State Library of Victoria, taken by 'ME'!!!


View My city, my love in a larger map

I feel so satisfy when I have done this. Now I can go and shoot as many photos as I want on different libraries and interesting sites of Melbourne and 'enriched' My city, my love.

Try it out!!! It is fun!!!!

My first Yahoo Pipe!!

Hooray!! Have a try on constructing my own pipes using Yahoo Pipes, and success!!!! Yahoo Pipes is an easy tool to do some mashups on content around the web, especially for person like me who do not have any knowledge and training in API. It took me half a day to figure it up. I watched the "How to Build a Pipe in Just a Few Minutes" video from Yahoo Pipes homepage.

Learn How to Build a Pipe in Just a Few Minutes @ Yahoo! Video

Then, I started to build my first ever pipe.. (Excited!! and Scary!!!)

1. I need an Yahoo account in order to sign into Yahoo Pipe

2. Watch the above mentioned video.

3. Decide my Pipe's title: Latest Social Media News

4. Browse some social media sites which contain latest news or feeds in this area.

5. Back to my Yahoo Pipe page. Click "Create a Pipe"

6. Start building.. Drag a "module" I want to use from the "source" (tools on left column). I chose the "Fetch Site Feed" and add the URLs of the social media sites that I want to include. See diagram below.



7. Next, I filtered the feeds with some limitation. Link all the boxes together. The following diagram shows the Filter box and limitation rules that I set.



8. Type my pipe title, hit the "Save" button, then click the "Run my pipe".

9. Here is how it looks like in my Yahoo Pipes home page. It lists news about the latest social media sites.



10. I can add this list to My Yahoo, My Google, or get it as RSS, JSON, results by emails or phone. I can even embed it into Blogger, TypePad, Wordpress or iGoogle.



I chose the Blogger Badge because I want to see how it looks in my blogspot.

11. Done. Please refer to my homepage left column under my Twitter updates, there is a box showing the latest social media news.

Well, this is my first "kindergarten" level of piping or mashup skill.. I will dig more in the future. Very Interesting!!! I feel soooooooooooo satisfied after I managed to do this.. ^_^!! haha!! With this skill, I can make my own homepage with mashups content targeted to my own information needs.

My love with Twitpic

I saw my friend, Jer using Twitpic to post his photos, and it automatically sends a link to Twitter. So, I went to explore that site too and found it really handy to upload my own photos. Since I use Twitter a lot, this site is actually more useful for me than the Flickr.

Twitpic is an additional photo managing application offered by Twitter. If you have Twitter account, you can sign in with your Twitter username and password. You can even embed Twitpic gadget into blogger. Here is the simple instruction:

layout > page elements > add a gadget > search for Twitpic > choose the gadget "Twitpic Update".

Please scoll down to the bottom of my front page. You will see my most recent Twitpic photos with updates too. Twitpic Update is different from Flickr Photostream. Photostream only shows thumbnails photos; on the other hand, Twitpic Update shows the latest photos with description. Another good thing about Twitpic is, I can use my mobile for twittering and also uploading photos to share with all my followers.

This is very good tool to use in live broadcasting of an event. In February, I have observed how MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) has used Twitter and Twitpic to do a live broadcast on their concert event. For us as information mananger (to be), we can use microblogging linked to social photo and video sharing sites to run our special library events. VALA has used this for their big conference in February 2010.

How to embed Flickr gadget

I have Flickr account since January, 2010. I knew it for a long time, but too lazy to sign up a Yahoo account in order to use Flickr (arrgh!!! I hate this!! Too many accounts to manage). I used it more often in February when my baking classes started. I found that people who love baking also love photography (or it is only me???!!!).

I like collecting photos for making my presentation slides. Over the past few years, I have a role in my church to set up powerpoint slides for worship. That was my starting point in getting into photos collection, photography, learn to use photoshop and powerpoint.

I was quite happy when I found the flickr gadget in Blogger during week 3 into Web 2.0 Adventure. I have successfully embedded it into here. I think this is a right time to write down some steps that I have gone through.

1. You need to have Yahoo account in order to sign into Flickr. (cos Yahoo is the big boss of Flickr, I just realised that in January this year.. hehe... so slow)

2. Upload your photos into Flickr first. Uploading is pretty simple and straight forward. Choose photos from your pc photo storage file; upload; add description, tags, titles and organise them in files.

3. Go to blogger > layout > page elements > add a gadget > more gadgets > Flickr photostream in thumbnails.

4. You can drag the gadget to any location you like in the layout page.

5. Done.

I changed my Flickr photostream to the front part of my homepage. They are all about food.. haha!!

YouTube videos that I dearly loved!!!

Ok!! This will be a totally new adventure for me. I haven't attached any video clip ever in my life becausce I have no time to watch video online.

But, I know the effectiveness and powerfulness of multimedia tools nowadays in delivering short and visualised message to internet generation. Audio and video clips are often used in teaching, including both face to face and distance courses. Libraries have widely used them to introduce their promotion events, special activities, and online tutorial resources provided to patrons.

I'm going to try to embed two video clips from YouTube that I like the most. Both of them are related to my career. hehe!! I am learning to become a music librarian.



Woohoo!! Successful!!! The funniest classical music video, and they are so talented!!
Have a look!!

Here come the second one, I love this one, it is very informative and you will understand web 2.0 and social media more after watching this videoclip from YouTube.



I am going to embed another clip here from SlideShare. When I first saw this, I was "WOW"ed by the creativity of 21st century CV. SlideShare is an online community that users can share their presentation slides. In this SlideShare, the creator:Chris Ferdinandi created his CV using visual slides. Lets have a look here.

Social Media Resume

View more presentations from Chris Ferdinandi.

I have learned from the help section of SlideShare that embedded code only shows up if authors have agreed/chosen to share their content on SlideShare(for example) publicly.

I have a great fun time with video embedding today.. ^_^

Embedding LibraryThing widget

I went to dig out how to embed LibraryThing widget into here. I was thinking if I could embed the Delicious, I should be able to embed the LibraryThing too.

1. Find the widget tab or button on the top left corner of your LibraryThing homepage, as shown in the diagram below.

2. It was called "Make a LibraryThing Widget". In here, users can customise their own LibraryThing.

3. Refresh the page after you have selected your preferred setup. There is a refresh button on the bottom left side of that widget page.

4. Copy the html widget code as shown in the diagram below.

5. Back to your blogger Layout > Add a Gadget > HTML/JavaScript gadget

6. Paste the html widget code from LibraryThing into the content section.
7. Save it.

8. YourLibraryThing will be added to your blog like mine. (Please refer to the left hand column on my blog homepage, after my Delicious Bookmarks.)

Try it out!!!

Embedding Delicious widget

Last night I was testing myself to embed my Delicious bookmarks into here. I was so happy when I finally managed to embed it, YAY!! I couldn't write a post about how to do it because it was really late in the night, 1am. So, here is the post.

I searched the google for 'delicious widget for blogspot', and it introduced me this site, "25 great blogger widgets" by Mashable (oo.. just realised that I have followed Mashable on twitter for quite sometime). In that post, it recommends the "Delicious Linkrolls". Linkrolls allow Delicous users to have their latest Delicious bookmarks displayed as part of their website. What I did is, I signed into my Delicious account, then adjust some settings in this Linkrolls, then insert the HTML code into the hypertext of my blogspot page.

Here comes the problem. I don't know where to find a section to put this HTML code in my blogspot. So, I read "Google Blogger for Dummies" (hehe!!) on "How to use HTML/JavaScrip gadget window in blogger". BINGO!!!

1. Go to customise page
2. Click on "add a gadget"
3. Find the gadget "HTML/JavaScript", click the + sign
4. Set my Title
5. Copy and paste the HTML code provided by Delicious Linkrolls to the content box of that gadget.
6. Click save button
7. Woohoo!! My delicious bookmarks was successfully embedded into my blog.

I love this adventure of trying, seeking, testing and the joy of found it and use it....