Week 9: Finale

It was a long haul but I’m finally done with 23 Things. There were a lot of exercises that I had heard about but hadn’t had the time to explore. If you pay attention to the changing world of technology, you here new phrases like, podcast, Flickr, and YouTube come up all the time. With the way technology is speeding ahead, you need a program like this to keep you focused on changes. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing between important advances and superfluous information. I don’t want to expend energy on a pop cultural fad that is here one minute and gone the next. I want knowledge and information about technology that will be here for the long haul.

I don’t know how much of the information I will incorporate into my daily routine. I’m not a big fan of blogging or newsreaders. My primary goal was to become familiar with these different areas. Although I may not be a Flickr junkie, one of the patrons frequenting my library may be. I don’t want to be left out in the cold when other are talking about a particular website. The best thing to say about this program is that it has made me feel more comfortable about the online world….at least until tomorrow when a million other things pop up.

Week 9: Downloadable Audiobooks

I’m familiar with NetLibrary and Overdrive simply by working in a library. I’m so use to going to those resources that I forget about Project Gutenberg. NetLibrary and Overdrive are great but there are little quirks that can drive me nuts. I know iTunes runs their brand like it is their own person fiefdom, but why can we have some compatibility between the software. The iPod is the dominant format. We are losing a large segment of the patrons due to the fact they don’t have mp3 players. Who wants to sit at the computer for 8 hours and listen to a book?

The audio titles on Project Gutenberg on the other hand offer a download for the iTunes format. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet so I don’t know if it’s legit. Project Gutenberg is great for those students who waited to the last minute to finish their reading assignments and realized all of the copies are checkout. There might not be contemporary items in the database, but young adults are more accustom to reading material off a computer then older patrons.

Week 9: Podcast Directories

I checked out three of the podcast directories and I think I liked Podcast.net and Yahoo Podcasts the best. Podcastalley seemed to be geared more toward amateur podcasters. I’ve got my own life over here, why do I need to watch someone else’s. I was more interested in the sites that broadcasted general information and topics of interest. Yahoo and Podcast had good interfaces that helped break down the sites into easy to search categories. I’m going out of town for a long weekend next month and I was able to find a podcast over my destination.

I did find several library related podcasts that I would like to explore further. It seems that libraries are starting to podcast their programs. Author talk, book discussions, and lecture series are all candidates for podcasting.

Week 9: YouTube

I don’t know about the rest of you but I find very little to dislike about YouTube. I know some of the video is of poor quality and there is tons of mindless stuff, but come-on, this site is entertaining. The one thing I don’t really care for is all the goofballs doing commentary or lip-syncing videos. I have wade through that stuff to view old outtakes of my favorite SNL skits.

I picked this skit because we were talking about it the other day and I just wanted to see if it was available on YouTube. Of course the fact that I think it is hilarious also figured into the selection.

Week 8: Web 2.0 Award Winner

I love playing with Google maps. It really doesn’t have any redeeming qualities that I see as far as using it for library purposes. Of course it can be used as a ready reference source if a patron needs directions. I like the fact that you could switch between map and satellite images. There is even a feature that lets you track gas prices around your area.

I’m sure there are ways you could incorporate Google maps into library services. I just don’t see the need. Like I said, it is a great source for directions and a few other oddities but patron participation would be negligible.

Week 8: Google Docs

Hey, this thing works pretty good for editing documents. I use to work in a system where there were a limited number of computers that had Microsoft Word. If I had know that this service was available, I could have referred patrons to this site. I can see why it won the Web 2.0 award. There are a lot of patrons out there that may not be able to afford to purchase the various Microsoft Office programs. These things are not cheap. The fact that many employers now request that you attach a resume in Word only compounds the problems.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I first started to explore this program. I was afraid this was some cheap imitation that wouldn't have the same quality as a Word document. The fact that it lets you save your document into any format amazes me. I don't know how many times I've had a patron come in with a document that was done in Works instead of Word and we would have a terrible time trying to open the document. I'm going to have to explore it a little more and checkout all the bells and whistles.

Week 7: Learning 2.0 Sandbox

Well, I did my duty and added my blog’s link to the Maryland Libraries Sandbox. I didn’t add anything to the sandbox itself, but I had fun reading what other people posted. Since we are in this thing together, I was interested to see what other participant had to say. Outside of the program, unless I have a connection with the individual or group, I wouldn’t spend time reading other people’s wikis.

The fact that anyone can edit the web page in a wiki bothers me. Just like Wikipedia. I don’t know who wrote these articles. Anytime a student comes into the library quoting an article from Wikipedia, it bothers me. I need cold hard facts backed up by documentation…not Joe Blow’s personal take on the Civil War. Basically, I like wikis for entertainment but for everything else I am a little skeptical.

Week: 7 Wiki's

Wiki’s are a great tool as long as you can keep people interested in maintaining them. A Wiki would be an invaluable source for Reader’s Advisories. It would be great to have staff and patrons review books online. I like the way Princeton Public Library developed a wiki for book lovers. In a larger system, it seems it would be very beneficial to have a site where staff and patrons could interact and recommend titles.

Week 6: Library 2.0

It was interesting to see some of the thoughts others had on the future of libraries. All of the articles had the same theme in common. The evolution of libraries will be fueled by technology. The article “Away from the icebergs” pointed out that technology has given people the belief that everything is at their fingertips. The fact is many services provided by the library are actually at their fingertips. Ill’s, electronic databases, and patron account access are just a few of the services offered online. By the time we get patrons comfortable with all of the advanced in library services that have taken place over the last few years, there will be a whole new set of services for me to get use to.

Week 6: Technorati

Technorati seemed to me to be the Google of blog tracking. There is an overwhelming array of stuff. You have to sift through so much junk just to find one relevant topic. It was fun to see what sites were most popular. I don’t use the web very often for entertainment so I liked the fact that Technorati showed me what blogs were popular. That way I can stay familiar with trends even though I’m not into that facet of the Internet.

Week 6: Del.icio.us

I think del.icio.us is a great tool for ready reference. There are millions of websites out there and you just want quick access to reputable sites. Del.icio.us makes it easy to access your bookmarks from anywhere. I hate to add bookmarks to computers that are being used by all staff members. Eventually the Favorites file becomes a hodgepodge of everyone’s links. This way I can have instant access to my favorites and have them categorized in ways that are easy for me to find.

Week 5: Rollyo

The Rollyo site was very interesting. It is like having your own personal search engine that only uses the sites that you trust. As a librarian, it is always a challenge to find reputable information on the Internet. This could help cut through a lot of the junk that sites like Google turn up.

My Rollyo Link

Week 5: Library Thing

Week 5: Online Image Generator

I got my name in lights with notcelebrity.co.uk

Week 4: Exploring Merlin

The Merlin site had a few interesting links to visit. As you can probably tell from my blog page, I really got into the link about widgets. Widgets are the little icons that display things like the weather or movie reviews. They seem to function like mini RSS feeds. They locate current information from a particular website and condense it in to an easy to ready box. I had way more fun playing with those things than using the search functions for different feeds.

Week 4: My RSS Feed

I know a lot of the people rave about RSS feeds but I still like the old fashion way. I'm a slave to the flashy graphics and colored pictures of my favorite sites. When I read the news, I want to see the front page headlines. When I look at ESPN, I want to see the pictures of the Cowboys beating the Redskins. The one big advantage to RSS that I did see is if you follow a lot of blogs. At least with this feature you can just read the most recent.

My Bloglines Subscription

Week 3: My Thoughts on Technology

I love new advances in technology but some of the changes seem excessive to me. I was watching the roll out of the new iphone and wondering why do we need a phone that does a million different things. I just want a phone that makes calls. It seems you can't even buy a cell phone anymore that doesn't take pictures or connects to the Internet. Like I said, I love technology. Bring on the advancements in home entertainment . GPS, satellite radio and HDTV are my kind of toys. I just want to make a call that doesn't involve playing music, taking a photograph, or checking my email. Don't even get me started on the new chat lingo created by text messaging. I received an email from my niece the other day and I needed a translation dictionary. Oh well, the times they are a changing.

Week 3: Flickr Mash-ups & Third Party Sites

My creation,
originally uploaded by mncarlson22.

I like this whole trading card thing. It is kinda fun. The fact that they have all of these options out there now is amazing. I just want to know where people find the time to do all of this stuff. You comb through all of the posts and pictures and realize how time consuming all of this would be. Maybe people look at this stuff as sort of a hobby – like scrap booking or coin collecting. I love the fact that we have all of these options now but I don’t see myself devoting much off work time to using them. Like I said, I guess we all have our own particular hobbies.

Week 3: Explore Flickr Exercise

Carroll Creek Iced,
originally uploaded by kmccmack.

I was browsing through the photos and it seems they have a whole group devoted to Frederick, MD. I thought it was interesting how you have the ability to join groups that are devoted to one medium. If I had the time I would have uploaded some of my photos just to have the ability to post them to my blog. I like this photo because I’ve never lived in a place that snows like this. It is hard for me to imagine the Carroll Creek area looking like this. I’m sure by March I will be just as sick as everyone else of the snow.

Week 2: 7 ½ Habits Easiest & Hardest

So which one of the 7 ½ habits is the easiest and hardest for me and why? Well of course the last one, Play, is the easiest. I think it should have been numbers 1- 5 on the list. I don’t understand people who can’t sit back and enjoy themselves. Just like those lottery winners who say they are going to keep working after they win. Come on!!! Move over and let some other person who is going to enjoy it have the money.

The hardest one would probably be number 1: Begin with the end in mind. I like tackling problems but if I don’t set a cut off date then I will over think it into the ground. I’m a planner not a doer. I probably would be better off setting a firm date or learning goal before I start any project.