Thing 23: Virtual Worlds

A virtual world is a computer-based immersive environment in which users control their surroundings through the use of a personalized "avatar" (a virtual representation of oneself). Virtual worlds enable avatars to manipulate and interact with virtual elements or other avatars in a two- or three-dimensional setting.

assignment:
1.
public diplomacy can use AVATAR to promote awarness of issues such as saving energy, environment and facilitated information. example, how saving environment save future generation and vice versa damaging environment with irresponsible actions kill the coming generation and deprive them from resources.

2. creating virtual books might help spread knowledge.

3. we can use virtual worlds in teaching how to use encyclopedia, teaching English, social networks and courses like this one : Learning 2.0 : 23 things to do .

Thing 22: The Mobile Web

As mobile phones become more and more common, the technology that powers them becomes much more sophisticated.

Learn More About It:

1. Read 7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes (Educause)
2. Read 7 Things You Should Know About Location Aware Applications (Educause)
3. Read the Wikipedia entry on the Mobile Web
4. Read I am Here: One Man's Experiment With the Location-Aware Lifestyle (Wired)
5. Read How To Sync Google Services With Your Mobile Device (Mashable)
6. Watch the video "The Fourth Screen"

assignment

went to dotmobi to check how the our site is displayed in a mobile (doesnt show)

but from my mobile, i can see the site highlights and tabs.

Thing 21: Short Message Service (SMS)

In most cases, text messaging is used in place of making voice calls and more often than not, text messaging is much cheaper. In some countries, social networks and websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google have incorporated text messaging into their frameworks.

1. SMS is the most widespread way of communication in Oman especially with the introduction of new mobile technologies like Blackburry and Iphone. it is easir for people with busy scheduls. the government. also sms is very popular with mobile prepaid cards subscibers.

Here, we have used sms to announce for our IV programs and scholarships before.

Thing 20: Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is making content on your Web site more likely to come up in a keyword search. According to the Wikipedia article on the topic,

Because search engines are the most common ways people will find a Web site's content, it is important to tailor your site so that engines can easily find what they are interested in. The Diplopedia article, Search Engine Optimization Tips, has several simple ideas on how you can do this.

• Create useful and engaging content
• Use common language -- opt for terms that people most commonly search for
• Create meaningful titles -- search engines weigh heavily on page titles when determining search results
• Increase your connections by encouraging inbound links -- the more people link to your site, the more apt your site is to come up higher in a search results list
• Determine your connections -- using Google, do the following search to find out a sampling of other sites that link to yours: link: your URL (there is a space after the colon). For example, this search:
  "link: http://xyz" results in a list of over 20,000 Web sites that link to U.S. Embassy Nairobi's Web site.
• Use internal links to take people to relevant, related content on other parts of your site.
• Analyze site statistics. See Thing 19.
• Use appropriate keywords.
  *Google Trends can help you do this. It shows how often a particular keyword or keyword phrase is used, and where in the world it is used the most. You can also compare the usage of two similar terms. For example, go to Google Trends and search for h1n1, "swine flu". Note that in some parts of the world, swine flu is used almost exclusively, whereas in other areas, h1n1 is used. You can use this information to make sure that your site is using the appropriate keyword for your audience.
  *Google Ad Words can give you ideas of other keywords to use. Simply type in a keyword or phrase and the tool will give you the search volume for that particular term and ideas for other keywords to use.
  *Google Insights for Search lets you compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories and time. You can find out what the world is searching for here.
  Do not add blocks of keywords to your metatag area simply to improve your site's ranking. This can results in the search engine banning your site.

Assignment:

1. I used the word Iftar Vs Breaking Fast (the time when Muslim eat after fasting in the month of Ramadan):

Iftar generated

1.Turkey (highest)
2.United Arab Emirates
3.Pakistan
4.Netherlands
5.Germany
6.Austria
7.India
8.Belgium
9.United Kingdom (non)
10.Canada (almost non)
while breaking fast generated:
1. Malaysia (highest)
2.United States
3.Canada (medium)
4.Australia
5.United Kingdom (low)
6.India (lowest)

2. i brok down the search to region: Oman. The words Iftar and breaking fast have no result. it only accepts the word Ramadan which had high ranking.

3. Now go to Google AdWords and type in a keyword or phrase that you commonly post information about on your Web site. Note how often that term or phrase is used in searches. See if you can find another keyword that means the same thing that is used more often:

i typed the word visa vs. trave to USA. Travel to USA has more search results than visa

4. results of face book in Oman using Google Insights for Search: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=face%20book&geo=OM&cmpt=geo

Thing 19: Web Site Usage Statistics

Studying Web site usage statistics, or otherwise referred to as Web analytics, is a very important exercise for many reasons. According to the Web Analytics Association, "Web Analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage."

Using Web Site RankingsThere are a few companies that retrieve information about Web site usage internationally. The most popular and most accessible is Alexa. Alexa has a list of top sites by country where you can see the 100 Web sites that are accessed in your country most frequently.

Google AnalyticsMany Webmasters use Google Analytics to measure their Web site's or blog's usage. This free service gives insights into a site's traffic. You can create custom reports on a myriad of data. Google Analytics can help a Webmaster or a blogger determine how to market a site or blog in a more effective way.

* assignment: i have browzed the list of top sites by country choosing my country Oman.
* The top and the top 5 sites in Oman are:

• Google
• youtube.com
• Yahoo!
• omantel.om
• Windows Live
• مجموعة ترايدنت العربية

The top social networking platform in Oman

• Facebook
• سبلة عمان
• Blogger.com
• Maktoob.com Inc.

I am the webmaster of the post. it is very good to know the statistics of the visits to our site.

Thing 18: What's New With Search Engines

Custom Search EnginesA custom search engine is a site that allows you to search only those resources you have selected. This could be useful if you want to select a bunch of authoritative sites on a particular topic and limit your searches to them. We discuss two of the most popular custom search engine services here.

• Google Custom Search Google Custom Search allows you to create your own search engine. Let's say that you are researching a topic such as nuclear non-proliferation. You know that there are a few sites that have a lot of information on this topic and you want to have a search engine that just focuses on it. We created a custom search engine called Nuclear Non-Proliferation. This engine indexes three sites: the Federation of American Scientists (http://www.fas.org), the United Nations (http://www.un.org), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (http://www.iaea.org). Note that you can add a link to this search engine to your blog or web page.
• Rollyo (Roll Your Own) Rollyo is similar to Google Custom Search. You can try searching other search engines, called "Searchrolls" or you can create your own after registering for the service.

Search Options in Google: In order to use Google's search options, you must be signed in to your Google account. If you do a regular search when you're signed in, you'll notice a link before the search results called +Show options. If you click on this link, several options will appear on the left side of the window, including ways to narrow your results by date, format, and view. You can also comment on Web sites that you find interesting, and you can move results up on your list if they are useful to you. The comments that you make can be personal (only available to you when you're signed in) or you can make them public so that others can read them.

Semantic Web Search Engines: Semantic search is a way of retrieving search results based on semantics. Semantics is the science of language and the connection or meaning of words. Computers can search for and present information but don't really understand the meaning of the words that make up the documents. The semantic Web is about having data attached to documents that enable computers to understand the information better so that searchers can obtain more relevant results. The semantic Web has not been realized yet, but many researchers, including Tim Berners-Lee (the inventor of the World Wide Web) are working on it. Some say that the semantic Web will be Web 3.0. Semantic search uses a semantic network to map meanings and relationships of words. Some examples are:

• GoPubMed -- This is actually a semantic interface for PubMed, the National Institutes of Health medical database
• Hakia
• Powerset -- Uses information solely from Wikipedia
• True Knowledge - Requires free registration
• Yebol

assignment

Loading

Thing 17: Books 2.0

i love this topic and wondered about the printed books .
i loved the resources provided here. i think most of the people especially from my country do not know about this.

• Google Books: has a variety of online books
• LitLovers LitLovers began as an online course and has grown into a literature community. Look here for ideas on how to start and run a book club, how to discuss a book, and more.
• Kidsreads and Teenreads Kidsreads and Teenreads are great places for young people to find information about their favorite books and authors. You can find book reviews, interviews with authors, games and other information here.
• Wired for BooksWired for Books is a project sponsored by Ohio University. It provides audio interviews with famous authors, including major prize winners.
• another wonderfully resources: e-Books Electronic books, or e-books, are read on your computer or a mobile device such as a cell phone or an e-book reader such as a Kindle. We have listed a few places where you can find free ebooks.
• Ebooks on America.gov
• ebrary Discover offers over 20,000 free e-books with a $5 registration fee.
• BooksInMyPhone
• Google Books for Mobile Phones
• The Online Books Page Lists over 35,000 electronic books, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania.
• Project Gutenberg was the first producer of electronic books.
  NetLibrary Did you know that NetLibrary has lots of free ebooks in its catalog? The Ralph Bunche Library also subscribes to hundreds of proprietary ebooks that you can read.

Audio Books Here are some resources to help you find and download books in audio form and "bookcasts."

• LibriVox LibriVox provides free audio books from the public domain. You can listen from your computer or on a portable device such as an iPod.
• Open Culture Open Culture links to several audio books, including university course materials, foreign language learning resources, and more.
  Facebook ApplicationsThere are several applications on Facebook that focus on books.

Here are just a few:

• Visual Bookshelf
• WeRead (BooksiRead)
• WorldCat

very usefully and definitely will use when i make presentation of social media