Thing 24

Well, this was by far the most difficult excercise for me. Websense would not let me onto two of the Podcast directories. I was able to access Yahoo, and finally figured out how to search for podcasts that weren't just music that you had to pay for. I still didn't have much luck finding anything library-related that seemed useful to me. I finally took Matthew's advice and went to WHRO and subscribed to one of their podcasts - "Halloween Haunts" for my google reader.

I'm not sure I get the full concept of this. I guess podcasts could be somewhat useful in the library world. It's all a little over my head at this point...

Thing 23

I like YouTube! It's fun! I searched QVC bloopers, and found one of a man falling off a ladder that he was trying to sell on the air. I watch QVC all the time, and can't believe I missed this one:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LRvEsonVXWA

One thing I do find frustrating is that the videos tend to be grainy and jumpy, and they often seem to freeze up. Plus the sound quality isn't the greatest. It could be handy to use YouTube to post storytimes and things of that nature, but I think the technology would have to improve somewhat to make it worth the effort.

Thing 22

I like retreivr and Flickr Color Pickr. Both are really fun to play with, and I can see how they would be amazingly useful in the creation of images. I especially like the color pickr. It was interesting to see the different images that came up for each color that I chose. And the retrievr is wild! It's not that easy (I didn't think) to draw with the mouse, and I often didn't get the results that I expected, but it was always interesting!

Thing 21

I think tagging is very important with photo-sharing sites because it allows people to find photos that interest them. This is one way that communities build on Flickr. People with similar photographic interests can communicate and share with each other. It's very interesting to search by keyword on Flickr and see what's out there. Could be handy as a source for photographs to use for library purposes, with permission, of course. And I love the way members friends and families can communicate with each other on the site. Very innovative!

Thing 20 continued

This is a picture of me (with braids) and my sisters and cousins. We look like we're having a good time, don't we? Although my sister Becka (far right - littlest one) doesn't look too thrilled. We used to call her Princess Storm Cloud, because she would cry at the drop of a hat.

Thing 20

Flickr is neat! I had a good time playing with it and searching for all kinds of photos. Here is a picture of some factory ruins on Belle Island in Richmond:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34902269@N00/522439676/

Belle Island is in the middle of the James River in downtown Richmond. When I was a teenager my friends and I would cross over to the island on rocks when the river was low. It was eerie - like a deserted city all overgrown by vegetation. We would hang out there all day, swimming in the river, sunbathing, and exploring the old deserted buildings. Now they've made the island into a park with footbridges from the banks of the James. The city holds concerts, festivals, etc. there. It's very cool and much safer, but doesn't hold the "charm of the forbidden"that it had 40 years ago. (Jeez...has it been that long??)

Thing 19

I explored One Sentence, Facebook and RealTravel. Honestly, I can't see how these (with the exception of Facebook) would help us much with library business. But One Sentence is great fun, and RealTravel could really help me personally! Facebook is similar to Myspace, so it may be beneficial for the library to have a profile there.

All of these sites make for fun exploring!

Thing 18

Well, Technorati is very interesting! A very good way to search for blog entries on particular topics. I'm not sure how valuable this really is, though. Would a google search bring pretty much the same results? Technorati's advanced search is nice, though, and it's handy to be able to search tags. I also like the blog directory.

Thing 17

I see how sites like Del.icio.us could be very useful for a group of people who are working on or interested in the same topic. These sites offer yet another way for people to share their interests and discoveries with others. I'm not sure how useful they would be for finding definitive answers to research questions, since there is no real way to be sure that the tagged and bookmarked items are accurate. (Or is there? Maybe I missed something in all those podcasts and articles...) Anyway, yes! These have the potential to be very useful tools.

Thing 16

Uh, oh. I already have a myspace page which I created last year. I was trying to change some things on it as directed in Discovery Exercise Option 2, but I can't figure it out! HELP! My poor page is not doing well. I guess I'll have to get one of those tech-savvy colleagues of mine to help me.

I do enjoy messing around with myspace, but I don't visit my page as often as I should - it's one more place to check for messages, etc., and I'm not sure I really need that at this point...

Thing 15

Social networking sites are really about...putting oneself out there for everyone to see. Sites like myspace enable each individual to have just that - his or her own space to manipulate, decorate, and use as a tool to connect with others. Each participant has a creative outlet and a way to communicate with friends and strangers. The possibilities (and the fun!) are endless. It's easy to see how people become "addicted" to social networking sites, and I think it's especially important to help kids learn to have fun doing other things (like exercise!) in addition to playing on the computer.

I also see the business value of social networking sites - they could be handy in professional communication, as well as business marketing, etc.

Thing 14

It was easy to add to the RA wiki! I liked it! I'm not sure what is meant by "tags" and "keywords" in this context, but that's ok. At least I felt like I was able to figure this one out without too much help. Fun!

Thing 13

My thoughts on wikis: I like the idea! Similar to a blog, but more organized and with more of a purpose. Some of the ones I visited were interesting. I'm not sure about library applications, except maybe among staff, but I do see some possibilities along the line of readers advisory or online book clubs. Very intriguing.

Thing 12

Well, I tried several times to ask a question using IM during the specified hours, but always got an "offline" message. The one time I got an "online" message, I had to help a customer at the desk, and didn't have time to ask my question. I can see how it would be hard to multitask while doing IM reference! I guess the staff member who's doing it would ideally not have to be doing anything else. I guess all the kinks will eventually be worked out...

Thing 11

I do think that IM reference can be useful for public library customers, and the technology can also be helpful for staff in certain instances. I think the issue is getting staff to the point where they are familiar enough with it to feel comfortable helping customers by way of a mode of communication in which speed is an important issue. In libraries we have always tended to work more slowly with our customers, putting lots of thought into our transactions. But these days it seems that customers are often more interested in speed than in quality.

But I see how IM is a valid way to communicate with some people, and the more people we reach, the better. Right?

Thing 10

I like Topix.net. It's fun to look for interesting feeds! And I find that it's very easy to add them to my google reader. I've also been visiting some of my favorite web sites to see if they have feeds, but so far not many of them do. It seems that feeds are mostly geared toward news information.

The adventure continues...

Thing 9

I have just finished creating my RSS feed on Google Reader! Yay! The only problem is that I haven't figured out how to use it effectively quite yet. I'm not getting the information I thought I was getting in my feeds, so I keep adding and deleting them. Oh, well. I'll figure it out.

I like the idea of feeds. I think they could help us keep up at work and in our personal lives without having to go to lots of different sites to gather information. Libraries could use these to keep up with news in the profession, as well as important blog posts, etc.

Thing 5

My thoughts on Web 2.0 as of November 3:

It seems to me that “2.0” is simply a natural progression from what we’re calling 1.0. Why are we using all this jargon? Sometimes I think we make things more complicated than they really are in order to feel like we’re on the cutting edge. Technology always evolves, and the bottom line is that we, as librarians and as consumers, always do evolve with it sooner or later.

I’m not sure I understand what we mean by “library users shaping services” in relation to Library 2.0. I feel like our services have always been shaped by our customers’ perceived needs and actual requests, at least as far as our budget will allow. Are we just talking about customers feeling like they are contributing? Is this feeling intensified if it’s electronically-oriented?

Thing 2

For me, the easiest habit is PLAY!! (And it's the hardest habit to break.) The hardest habit is to view problems as challenges. I want everything to be easy and correct - the first time around!

Well, I must say - this blog is even better now than it was last year! Does anyone agree?