Try-vertising- real live example

According to the Freakonomics blog, after Monty Python created its channel on YouTube and loaded its sketches, sales of Monty Python DVDs increased 23,000%

iTunes - bumps in the road

So I started playing with Smart Playlists with the idea set one up that dynamically creates a playlist of tunes that I haven't played in a while. Then each time I sync my ipod, I get a fresh set of tunes. I set it up properly, but it displays and sync the same songs over and over and over. A little research at my trusty library revealed that this function to dynamically update your smart playlist works in odd numbered versions of Itune but not even numbered versions. I suspect with version 8 that Apple's desires was to push folk toward the genius playlist over the smart playlist.

Plus another beef, when you rent movies off itunes, you can't load them directly on classic or version 5.5 or previous ipods. Rats.

LATI Blog: Good Stuff

The Maryland Library Associate Training Institute Blog (LATI Blog) is a great tool to keep your reference skills tuned up and share what you have found. Recent posts include the best place to start to look for a job, how to create great adult programs and how to create great teen programs.

AskUsNow! adds Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace links

Did you know that our 24/7 reference service AskUsNow! is also reachable via Twitter , Facebook , and Myspace ? Not only can you ask your question any time of the day or night, you can ask from your favorite social network and micro-blogging service. Through the main site, www.askusnow.info they answer an average of 150 questions per day.

To see what other things the folks as AskUsNow! have going on, see their staff blog. You can also buy AskUsNow! swag or chatchkeys at www.cafepress.com/mdaskusnow

Reading on the Rise

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) issued the results of a their periodic study of the reading habits of Americans. For the first time in 5 years, the percentage of American reading is increasing, up from 46.7% in 2002 to 50.2% in 2008.

Other highlights include:

• There were 16.6 million more adult readers of literature in 2008
• Young adults show the most rapid increases in literary reading. Since 2002, 18-24 year olds have seen the biggest increase (nine percent) in literary reading, and the most rapid rate of increase (21 percent). This jump reversed a 20 percent rate of decline in the 2002 survey, the
• Online readers also report reading books. Eighty-four percent of adults who read literature (fiction, poetry, or drama) on or downloaded from the Internet also read books, whether print or online.
• Nearly 15 percent of all U.S. adults read literature online in 2008.
• For the first time in the survey's history, literary reading has increased among both men and women.
• Since 2002, reading has increased at the sharpest rate (+20 percent) among Hispanic Americans, Reading rates have increased among African Americans by 15 percent, and among Whites at an eight percent rate of increase.
• Reading is an important indicator of positive individual and social behavior patterns.