Library 2.0 posts

I have to admit – maybe I’m a keener – but I read all 5 of the discussions. It was just interesting to read about the how/why of Library 2.0.

My 2 favourites were Wendy Schultz and Michael Stephens. I really enjoyed Michael Stephens’ lists of traits needed for library 2.0. He seems to understand the future of libraries and how we, as employees of the library, must embrace these changes in order to keep current. He wasn’t advocating that technology had to be sexy or that we had to have all the latest gadgets and gizmos but that we needed to understand how what’s out there can help our patrons (or customers) deal with information. We must use these tools to enhance our services and be part of the technology community (otherwise we risk being left behind). This article really spoke to me and drove the 25 things exercise home.

Technorati

Technorati seems to be the place to go when you want to see the “what’s hot” at the moment stuff. The homepage items actually updated several times as I was searching through the site – can’t get more up-to-the-minute than that! And the information is varied, all the topics are covered. I think it would be especially interesting to hit the site on a day when a monumental event happens to see what’s there or even something not-so-monumental but still newsworthy like a politician putting their foot in their mouth (but that never happens). I did find out that Wii prices are expected to fall  . I did enjoy how you could easily refine your search through channels. I can see that I will use Technorati from time to time but don’t think it’s somewhere I will go to on a daily basis.

Delicious

I really enjoyed working through Delicious – it may be because I’m a bookmark pack-rat and tend to bookmark any site that’s useful to me even once. It’s great to find bookmarks easily based on keywords that others have already used to tag them. I played around a bit and found some sites that I think will really be useful for my daughter who is in French Immersion (French resources are not readily available when you live in southern Ontario).

I was sold and already signed up for a Delicious account as I get tired of bookmarking items on different computers and then trying to find them when I use another computer somewhere else (it’s like a phone number, once it’s programmed in – I never remember it). This will save me from having to remember those bookmarks, I can just sign in to my Delicious account and it’ll all be there. Perfect!!

Online image generators…YUM!!

Mmmm!!! Who know online image generators could be so delicious?? My brother and I used to make all sorts of ice cream creations growing up – some good, some not so much…This particular generator allowed me to make up my own B&J ice cream, so it reminded me of him and the fun we had as kids. There are so many fun online image generators out there – the list seems endless and so many great options. I can totally picture my kids and I playing around with them and making our own advertisements, billboards, etc. What a great tool!! Now I’m off to enjoy my virtual ice cream.

P.S. If anyone is wondering, it’s dark chocolate and banana base with chocolate brownie & PB cup chunks, surrounded with caramel and shortbread brownie swirls…not for the faint of heart!!

My new addiction – LibraryThing

OMG!!!! I always knew I would love Library Thing and had sort of looked around once or twice before…but I never realized how much I would LOVE LibraryThing. I had to stop myself from adding my entire library in one sitting…although I will do it eventually but maybe just a little bit at a time.   I have an excellent memory for storylines  and books I’ve read but this just pulls it all together for me. I love that I can enter when I read it or any other notes about it, like who may have recommended it to me. I’m going to recommend this one to all my friends…in fact, I think I’ll send out a Tweet on it right now

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Jabumafu

Twitter

I just joined Twitter – something I thought I would never do but then I also ignored Facebook when the rush first began…it was so simple to set up!!

Actually I can see now that I will probably enjoy it quite a bit although I’m not sure if I’ll be one of those people who send tweets from my cell so that I’m updating people on my every move or if it’ll just be a once in a while thing. But who knows…as with most technology, I’ll probably become addicted once I get into

Finding Feeds

It is mind-boggling how much information is out there when you take the time to search…I was already familiar with Topix and we actually have it set up with our hometown in NB on the homepage so it’s a quick way to see what might be going on there.

Now that I’ve set up Google Reader, I think I will just continue to add my interests to that one location. I’m thinking this one stop shopping is the way to go!

Google Reader

Where has this been my whole life??? What a great way to peruse through lots of things quickly and move on!!  I couldn’t believe all the categories and how simple it was to subscribe and unsubcribe based on my interests. There’s everything from recipes for dinner to market watches!!  I can easily picture how someone could get addicted to RSS and how it simplifies things in your life by quickly allowing you to see what’s new without having to enter into all the various blogs and websites. What a great tool!!

Technology

It’s amazing to my kids that the internet didn’t exist when I was their age…when we explained that to them, they wanted to know how we looked up dotcoms if we didn’t have the internet. And yet, it’s amazing to me at how much technology has changed in their short lives…Facebook, Twitter, Texting, etc. It’s great to see how different generations embrace technology to their comfort level. My grandmother was comfortable using an ATM or debit and she was in her 80s!! I think the biggest key to embracing technology is just allowing yourself to play with it and have fun! There’s nothing to fear out there and you can’t master it if you don’t play around with it. I just wish I had more time to dedicate to playing!!

Flickr mashups and 3rd party fun!!

People have created so many mashups with Flickr. There’s stuff to organize, stuff for fun and stuff to help you along.

A few of my favourites (besides the ones already mentioned in the 25 things post) -

bubblr – creates comic strips with Flickr photos

kubrickr – allows you to replace your WordPress header

foldr monitr – helps organize your Flickr photos