UContent: The Informat...

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Nicholas Tomaiuolo

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UContent: The Information Professional's Guide to User-Generated Content

by Nicholas Tomaiuolo

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 5 ratings · 3 reviews

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Published 2012 by Information Today

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Sep 13, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I requested UContent through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program, so I can blame only myself if the book wasn’t intended for me. It turns out that “Information Professional” really means librarian and those of us who are book lovers, blog writers and information junkies don’t make the cut. There is a touch of condescension while the author defines his audience. To be fair, though, Tomaiuolo doesn’t exhibit any more professional self-importance than any other expert in any other field would ex...more I requested UContent through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program, so I can blame only myself if the book wasn’t intended for me. It turns out that “Information Professional” really means librarian and those of us who are book lovers, blog writers and information junkies don’t make the cut. There is a touch of condescension while the author defines his audience. To be fair, though, Tomaiuolo doesn’t exhibit any more professional self-importance than any other expert in any other field would exhibit—perhaps less, while making clear his audience is the professional librarian.

So was there anything here for me? You bet!

Tomaiuolo defines UContent as “the production of content by the general public [such as bloggers] rather than by paid professional and experts in the field”, and not generally considered a reliable source of information. But Tomaiuolo recognizes that there can be nuggets of information out there that can be used by “information professional.’

The material is presented in a logical manner. Each chapter considers a separate UContent source. Topics include blogs, Wikis (including the grand-daddy Wikipedia), podcasts, online product reviews, self-publishing, and citizen journalism. The author also considers information sources within Facebook, Yahoo!Pipes, Flickr and custom search engines. He explains tagging & folksonomies, as well as cybercartography.

Tomaiuolo discusses in some detail the source of information in each category of UContent. His research appears to be extremely thorough (there are copious endnotes in each chapter). He includes an interview in each chapter with a professional in a related field – a professor of journalism, a self-published author, and so on. He also includes well-established on-line sources that will provide updated information before another print edition of this book could be published.

Nicholas G. TomaiuoloNext, Tomaiuolo performs a surprisingly balanced assessment of each subject’s use, and its relevance for the information professional. He describes how libraries might contribute to the Content (for example, having blogs or being on Facebook) and also how librarians might find relevant information and use it in their own environment, both for their own use and use by the public.

Each chapter of UContent is a veritable goldmine of information. I enjoyed reading it through like narrative non-fiction, although it isn’t that. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about using the Internet and finding information thereon, but Tomaiuolo taught me lots I didn’t know (what is/are folksonomies anyway, and why should I care?)

This book should become the bible of UContent reference for libraries. It is also a first-rate handbook for students doing research using the web. You’ll want to buy it and refer to it frequently. It’s well worth the investment!

For the rest of us non-professionals, it’s a valuable overview of web content for any blogger or generator of other UContent, plus it’s interesting to read, and it’s full of useful data. For us, I rate it a solid 4 stars.(less)

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Sep 09, 2012 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Do you sometimes feel a little lost and confused about all of the possibilities for libraries and patron interaction when it comes to Web 2.0 tools? Well, Nicholas Tomaiuolo has produced a book that will help you get caught up on some of the trends. You don’t need to be a power user to understand his presentation on each topic. He uses plain and simple language for the average reader.
Each chapter is dedicated to a specific web tool or type of tool. Starting with the Gutenberg Project, the massi...more Do you sometimes feel a little lost and confused about all of the possibilities for libraries and patron interaction when it comes to Web 2.0 tools? Well, Nicholas Tomaiuolo has produced a book that will help you get caught up on some of the trends. You don’t need to be a power user to understand his presentation on each topic. He uses plain and simple language for the average reader.
Each chapter is dedicated to a specific web tool or type of tool. Starting with the Gutenberg Project, the massive online collection of classic materials that have passed into the public domain, through spaces like Facebook, Flickr, citizen journalism, self-publishing, and allowing patrons to provide reviews on library catelogs, Tomaiuolo has created a basic guide for libraries and librarians as to how to make the Web work to increase patron interaction and help our users create and share content through the library.
One of the nice things about the presentation of each tool is that Tomaiuolo presents them with the eyes of a newcomer. He provides a brief introduction of the history and evolution of the tool, often interviewing something who played a major role in the development of the tool or a librarian who would be considered a power user, before presenting the pros and cons of library uses of the tool. Examples of specific libraries and how they each use the tool are also presented, giving the reader a chance to see how beneficial use of such tools can be.
Tomaiuolo’s presentation does not rely solely on research from the professional literature and the interviews he completed. For each tool, he registered an account and worked with the tool itself to see how easy (or not) he found the experience. His insight into the use of Project Gutenberg and Wikipedia are perfect examples of such.
Considering the topic, it will probably not surprise you to learn that this book is more than just a book. There is a parallel website ( http://web.ccsu.edu/library/tomaiuolo...) that provides direct access to the websites and tools discussed throughout the book. And according to the book, Tomaiuolo is planning to maintain and update the site with new resources as they develop as well as dropping others as they fall out of fashion. Visiting the site is also a great way to get a sneak peek into the book and its content.
Tomaiuolo teaches online research skills courses for both Central Connecticut State University and the University of Maryland University College. He also writes for Searcher Magazine. His first book, The Web Library, was published in 2004.
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Aug 01, 2012 Andrew Shuping rated it 4 of 5 stars

This detailed and well written book, provides a chapter by chapter breakdown on various user-generated content sites, such as Project Gutenberg, Wikis, Blogs, and more. The author provides first hand experience in a number of chapters of how he submitted an item, such as to Project Gutenberg or Wikipedia, allowing the reader to follow along as he navigates how the products work. He also provides background and history to the products, as well as interviews with people familiar with the material....more

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Mar 11, 2013 elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jun 01, 2012 Chantal rated it 5 of 5 stars

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