Information You Can Use in Business and Life

Google Display of URL's and Website Hierarchy Helps Search

Google is starting to roll out an improved display of the navigation used to land on a webpage. The searcher will be able to see keywords. Note the improvement it would add to the link below describing the new features. Perhaps something like  BlogGoogle>Search>URL Improvement

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-site-hierarchies-display-in-search.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMKuf+%28Official+Google+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

World Bank Data added to Google Search

In Google's, this week in search round up,World Bank data has been added to search. Examples from Google are listed below.  This is a useful when looking for statistics and comparisons across countries. Google currently has 17 World Development Indicators available in a Google search.

"Adding World Bank data to search

We have added World Bank data to search. This makes finding global facts like life expectancy, electricity use and birth rates a lot faster and easier. The Public Data feature also lets you make comparisons across countries. Here's what the feature looks like when it appears in your search results:

Example searches: the worlds life expectancy, electricity use germany"

From Google official blog.

A Collection of Social Network Stats for 2009

Here is a collection of stats on social networks. Jeremiah Owyang collected the aggregation of statistics and reminds us no one single metric is a good indicator, it is important to look from different perspective and sources. One that stood out from his perspective is that blogs and social media are now the "4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email." This gives direction to SMBs and entrepreneurs who are using social media for some, if not all, of their marketing. 

Social network stats 2009  

Thanks to Barbie Keiser for the resource.

Small Business Development Center - a Few Business Links for Class

Hi All,

Here are some of the links that might be useful to you. We will cover some in class and others are for you to explore.

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Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy BC (or Beyond College)

I have been asked why I work with adults out of college on information literacy training. I am officially (okay I know am the only official at this point) coining this group "Information Literacy BC" or "IL BC". There are several solid factual reasons which I have listed below, plus I simply love working with this group of adults. Here are some facts on the classes I teach.

The ages range from mid 20's to mid 80's. These trainings have been topic specific,such as using IL BC to find jobs, or for small to medium sized business owners to grow their business. Classes also include general IL techniques with a focus on the specific information needs of the group. The needs of IL BC learners are different than a college student and different within stages of their life. For example, IL BC learners don't need to cite their work (such as APA, MLA) in a format that is required for scholarly work in college. What they do need to know is how to "cite" in their world. These include bookmarking on a home PC, saving information to a USB stick in a library, or social bookmarking to find again and share with others. They have a need to Conclude their information literacy quest (conclude is C in IN PFAC, a model used for adults needing IL BC) which includes different ways to "cite", save, share what they find. See previous post on IN PFAC for more details of this model for lifelong learners.

Why Offer Information Literacy Training for adults Out of College (BC or Beyond College)?

1. Adults  average approximately 73% of their life beyond college and in need of education in varying stages of their life  (2009 life expectancy estimate is 78.1 years for adults 16-65 years in the United States, ("Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine").
2. Most working people will make numerous career changes during their lifetime of employment that require further education.
3. Individuals who are not in the paid "work world" still have information needs or questions and need quality information.
   
4. A healthy democratic society requires literate citizenry to take “advantage of educational opportunities, manage their finances, participate in government, secure jobs, manage health care and make choices that otherwise affect their lives.” (The Aspen Initiative)