Res XXIII

23 Things was an interesting experience. As someone who does not use the internet often this program was a great way for me to learn more about the web 2.0 technologies that are out there. Some of my favorite Things were Flickr and LibraryThing, both of which I plan to continue to use after this is all said and done. I definitely see how many of these web 2.0 technologies can be used in a library setting, and I hope that many of them will be used someday. Valete!

Res XXII

I took a look around Project Gutenburg and listened to some of the e-books. I definitely prefer the human read books to those read by a computer, the tone of the computer voice just made me really antsy. I like the idea of downloadable books and if I had internet access at home, you can bet I would be using Project Gutenburg all the time. There was only one aspect of the site I did not like - I found no browsing categories, no spot that listed the mystery or non-fiction books that were available. Something like that would be very helpful to me, since generally I don't know what specific book I wish to read (or listen to) only that I'm feeling a bit mysterious or romantic today.

Res XXI

So I have to say I found most of the podcasts that I listened to kinda boring. Maybe it's just that I didn't stumble onto any one topic I found particularly interesting, but one thing is for sure, if you're going to do a podcast, please don't have a monotone voice - it only makes me fall asleep faster! One interesting podcast I did run across was a library podcast done by teens for teens. The teens reviewed books and movies and although the one I listened to did not sound very professional, it does seems like something our library could do on our website, or on the Teen 'Zine site.

Res XX

Res XIX

I looked at several of the 1st place web 2.0 awards winners and I liked most of them. Fuzzmail was very interesting. I don't think I would ever use it - I think it would require me to be a bit more talented in the planning and composing aspects of e-mail writing - but I do think it would be neat to receive a fuzzmail from someone. I also really liked Pandora and the concept of building my own radio station.

Res XVIII

If only I had known about this in grad school.  Having all your documents online sounds like a wonderful idea.  No more worrying about if your word processing software is compatible with the college computer's software, or with your classmates stuff.  Its all online and easily accessible!  If I had internet access at home, you can bet this would be one of the new technologies I would be using at home.  Eh, who knows, maybe someday I will get internet just for this feature, hmm... probably not .  And now it's time to see if I can post this to my blog...

Res XVII

I must admit I was expecting a little bit more from the sandbox than what I found. It was rather easy to use, which made it fun. There were also some interesting favorites pages that I visited, but all in all I found the whole thing slightly bland. Oh well.

Res XVI

Wikis are good. I think a wiki on the library website would be a wonderful thing. Just imagine the possibilities. Customers could write reviews of books and do there own readers advisories. Librarians could write about their favorite books, make lists of must reads and do various other things to share and promote a love of reading. Wikis are a great way to build up community relationships and share knowledge and resources, things the library is already a pro at doing.

Res XV

In some ways I think Library2.0 is a great thing. So many people these days work, shop and play via their computer and the internet, that it is almost unthinkable that that the library not be apart of that. On the other hand, there are still thousands of people who do not have the internet, who do not know how to use a computer, and who want nothing to do with either. How do we support both? I think the next few years are going to be difficult, not only for the library and its collection, but also for the library's customers. We will all have to adapt to a new way of doing things, teachers will have to realize that an on-line encyclopedia is just as good as the on the shelf kind, and we as librarians will have to think up new ways of getting real books into the hands of those who only read blogs.

Res XIV

I had been wondering for some time now how one goes about getting their blog "noticed" by the world and with the help of Thing 14 now I know. Technorati was a fun site to explore, but I don't think I will be visiting it much. As I've stated before I'm not a big Internet user, I don't spend a lot of time looking for and reading other people's blogs, so Technorati is not really for me. But at least now, if I ever do decided I need to read a blog on bee keeping or on the latest technological gadget, I know where to go to search for it!

Res XIII

Del.icio.us is a neat site, but once again I don't think I will find much use for it as I don't do a lot of bookmarking. I do, however, see how other people and especially other librarians might find this site useful.

Res XII

I must say it was difficult for me to come up with a subject to create a search for on Rollyo. I generally just use Google when I need to find information on something, so I don't have a huge repertoire of much used and trusted search sites on any one specific topic. But after much thinking I was able to pull something together - a search engine for Classical info (although I do have to admit that I found several of the sites used in the Classical search through Google). All in all, I think I will stick with Google. It seems faster, easier and, as other people have mentioned in their blogs, limiting yourself to just a few sites is an easy way to overlook some new site that could prove quite helpful.

Res XI

I love LibraryThing, it makes me so happy. It is also something I knew about and used before my adventures in 23 things. The best part is, now that I'm fully moved into my new apartment I can start adding all my books that were hidden away in boxes. Hmm ... at the rate I'm going I might need to upgrade my LibraryThing account - 200 books just isn't enough!

Res X

Res IX

I found the feed for the MERLIN site and now I too am a subscriber. As for all those search tools, they were all pretty easy to use, except for maybe Syndic8, which was just a little too complicated. Finding useful feeds from those sites, however, is another matter entirely. There is just so much information to go through and half of it doesn't seem at all pertinent. I think I will just stick with the feeds I have now, and only add those that others suggest or that I run across while on my normal internet outings.

Res VIII

Hmm ... RSS feeds. This is something I have been hearing my co-worker talk about, but hadn't had a lot of experience with myself. Now that I've tried it, however, I see that RSS feeds are awesome. As someone who has to keep up to date on all the latest and greatest YA books, this tool will really come in handy. I have already signed up for a couple of book related feeds, now it's just a matter of remembering to check my Bloglines account every once in a while.

Res VII

I'm not sure what to say about technology, I'm not fond of it, in fact don't even have internet access at home!! But I do have to say that I really like some of the technology I have been exploring lately. The fact that I can go to Flickr or MySpace and see what my friends and family are doing, even if they do live all the way across the country, is a great thing. Who knows, maybe someday I too might be persuaded to join some of these sites ... and then I might even have the desire to access the internet from home.

Res VI

I really had fun playing with all the different Flickr mashups. I especially liked the mosaic maker and the spell with Flickr. Unfortunately I don't really see how I can incorporate many of these programs into my day to day life. These programs are, however, I great way to kill some time on-line ;)

Res V

I must say it is a very bizarre feeling to find a photo of myself on Flickr - a site I had never even heard of before this exercise. But look there I am, and wow does that picture bring back some good memories. Hmmm ... I wonder how many other random pictures of me a can find on this site?

7 1/2 Habits of Life Long Learners

Like everyone else, the hardest habit for me is the view problems as challenges. For the most part I do view every problem as a challenge, but it is not an instantaneous thing. I always have a moment or two of panic whenever I am first hit with any sort of problem. Yet after every moment of panic comes the moment when I realize, "Of course I can do that, I just need to figure out how!" I guess my goal is to lessen the time between panic and realization to the point that I don't panic at all. As for the easiest habit, what else could it be but play. You learn so many wonderful things when you just have fun and play. In fact, I recently learned that I am unbeatable at Shoots and Ladders ;)

Res III

Ecce...my blog!