End of the Line ?

I have really enjoyed completing the 23Things program.  I introduced me to some new Web applications (even some that my kids didn't know about!) and I look forward to even using some of them in my work life or home life.  I appreciate all of the work that it took to organize the program, so a big THANK YOU to the LDC. 

I would recommend the program to anyone who is feeling lost in the technological revolution.  Even just knowing more about the Internet and what tools are available makes such a difference in a person's tech comfort level!  More than ever, it is important to keep current.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Okay, this week was a great way to end off the 23 Things program.  I created my Wordle from my blog and then put it up for display at my desk -- my teenage kids would be so proud!  Then, I took a look at LibraryThing and got totally hooked.  I very quickly added the books I have enjoyed in the recent past to my "library", and I will definitely use this as a source for disovering new titles to consider. 

Gee It's Swell !!

I created two maps with Community Walk and found it to be a very easy tool to use, except ... when I wanted to change or edit a point on the map using the path function.  Then I found the mapping tool to be very frustrating and difficult to figure out.  I still haven't edited the points, and my second map is the poorer because of it!

I don't have any experience using GIS in a more formal capacity, and I wonder how user-friendly the mapping tools for research or professional use are.  Probably, like everything else, it takes practice and time to become proficient with these tools, and with understanding their applications.

I have used Google Maps for planning driving holidays for the past 3 years, and have found it to be extremely helpful in deciding where to stop and when!  The distance between points, and the average time it takes to drive there, have been remarkably accurate in my experience.  I am using Google Maps once again to plan my holiday in July!

Thost Wacky Widgets!!!

Yep, these are cool.  My countdown is for my holiday to Arizona in June (yes, I know it will be +40 or more; I plan to sit by or in the pool).  I particularly like my quotations widget and have read some rather profound words from the most unlikely people!  I can't really think of any other gadgets that I might want to use that don't already exist -- there seems to be a widget for everything already.

Digging Diigo

I like this week's "Thing!!"  I have always been annoyed at how long my list of favourites is on the browser of my home computer.  I had no idea that there might be a better way of keeping track of websites that I visit frequently, or for that matter, of pages from websites that may or may not be accessible in the future.  What a great tool for doing research on the Web, but also for accessing those sites that I tend to go back to time and again (for example, Hugh's Mortgage Calculator -- he's got a great one that we use over and over again when preparing a yearly budget for our household).  I will certainly sign up for an account and will add the toolbar to my home IE browser.  I hope to get more familiar with Diigo in the days to come!

Tweet Tweet

Okay, it's a cute bird.  But (see my Facebook post) I still don't quite get the appeal.  Why would I want to be interrupted (via my smart phone, if I had one!) to find out the latest tweet about Jimmy Falon?  Or even be up-to-the-minute with the news about the latest natural disaster?  Or to be given the riveting  update that my best friend has found a great deal on pork chops out at Costco?

Like the RSS feeds, this is toooooooo much "I-just-don't-care" information.  Sure, we are living in the communication age; but I think with the explosion in the WAYS in which we communicate that we have lost the ability to discern the WHAT of which we communicate.  We lump all this information together and can no longer distinguish between the rose and the stinkweed.

So, I am not likely to tweet anything.  Alas!

If it's Friday it must be Facebook

I am already a member of Facebook; but, I have to confess, I only use it to play Lexulous (a Scrabble rip-off) with my relatives.  I very rarely post anything.  Although I do like to see some of what my "Friends" are up to, I confess also with getting annoyed with how often some of them post stuff!  Really, do you need to update the world with this kind of minutae 4 or 5 times a day?  It  makes me wonder about how much time they spend on their computers, creeping on Facebook. 

The whole social network phenomenon is a bit beyond my comprehension -- not that I don't understand how it works, but that I don't understand WHY people are so addicted to it.  I relish my privacy and am a firm believer in my personal life being just that, personal.

But, like all recent innovations, if you can get people to actually sign up to follow your communications on Facebook, then it is an excellent, and most important, FREE, method of promotion for the Library.

But I still don't get the appeal ....

Flickr

This is one of several photo management and sharing services available on the internet. I have liked Webshots for a long time, and members of my family use Picasa. I may use something like this for personal photos in the future, but so far have not found a pressing need for it.

I found it very frustrating to try to embed a photo from Flikr due to the copyright issues most users place on their photos. Two summers ago, our family took a driving trip down the Pacific Coast Highway in Oregon and California.  Here is a Flikr photo of the kind of scenery we saw.   Spectacular.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rscottmilliron/92862859/

Love is a Metaphor podcast

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/irrelevantshow_20110114_43821.mp3

A Plethora of Podcasts

I have known about podcasts for some time, but never thought that I might have occasion to listen to them. How nice to discover some brief comedy sketches from the CBC podcast service!

It seems that these days, anyone can become a "journalist" or "broadcaster" through the use of blogs, YouTube and podcasts. Is it a good thing that the media giants no longer "own" news and entertainment? How reliable are these other sources -- and what biases do they bring? The age of being spoon-fed our information is long-gone -- more and more we have to count on our own decision-making abilities and select from an ever-increasing smorgasbord of information. Kind of overwhelming sometimes, I think.

Charlie Bit My Finger - Most Popular You Tube Upload Ever !!

You Tube

I am a fan of You Tube.  It's not just about the quick, funny little vignettes such as (my personal favourite and most popular You Tube upload ever!!) Charlie Bit My Finger.  I have watched full-length dramas, especially those from the BBC, that are uploaded with ever-increasing video quality and excellent editing.  I recommend the 2010 version of Wuthering Heights, starring the marvelous Tom Hardy; you can enjoy this entire production for free on You Tube.  Nuff said.

Wikis Wikis All Around

I had previously taken the Wiki Fundamentals class offered by Campus ITS, and found it to be very helpful in understanding the role of Wikis on campus.  It seems to be a great supplementary tool for classroom instruction.  In the Library, I can see that wikis can have a role to play in committee work.  Again, though, all members of a group have to be comfortable in using the wiki in order to have it work successfully.  Good for sharing information, but maybe not so good for creating shared documents?

Friday's Findings

Well, I finally got to make my Prezi today.  It is a fairly easy-to-use tool, and I like that it is web-based.  It would be good for quick and simple presentations.  Here's a link to my Prezi:

http://prezi.com/jpfans9qvow4/mayer-and-botti/

If it's Wednesday it must be Word Processing

So, Google Docs.  Well, it seems to be a pretty decent elementary word processor, certainly adequate for home-use applications like letter-writing and such.  And how nice that it is free!  Although it probably is no better or worse than WordPad which comes already loaded on most pcs. 

As for the ability to share and collaborate on documents -- yes, I can see that this might be very useful for group and committee work.  When we get to the Wiki week, it will be interesting to compare using a Wiki to using Google Docs.

I accessed the "23 Things" spreadsheet, but couldn't find where to open a new Google spreadsheet if I wanted to use one for myself.  Will keep looking!

Regarding RSS feeds

Well, the jury is still out as far as I am concerned regarding the RSS feeds.  I think that the number of items in the reader can become overwhelming and end up being just more white noise rather than anything truly useful.  I guess I need to learn a better way to manage the number of feeds that come through, and I only have 3 subscriptions going!!!!

As for how useful it might be in a library -- that would depend on what kind of information is going out on the feed.  For example, if every branch library posted their new resources every week, that would soon become overwhelming and likely ignored by patrons.  Changes in hours of opening and advertising special events or new equipment/services might be stuff people would appreciate knowing.

Tuesday Tidbits

Still working on the new part of "23 Things"; will have to search for other RSS feeds that will be of interest to me!  Somehow all the news sites just end up being depressing and udating the same difficult stories.  Hopefully I can find some positive news out there!

Mid-Week Musings

So, it is Wednesday, and hopefully the end of this brief but bitter coldsnap!  Registered my blog with the "23 Things" team yesterday, and have changed the title of my blog to align with the other snappy titles from library staff!  Am having fun exploring all the options available with this "thing".

iGoogle Page

I am really enjoying exploring all of the add-ons that are available for the iGoogle page.  Favourite so far is the Quote of the Day!

New Horizons

So, this blogging is brand new to me.  I had seen blogs on the web, but did not know how they were published or organized.  I hope to learn much more as I follow along with the "23 Things" program.