Thing #23: Take a short survey

TA-DA!

Yes, I'm finally done! But, I must say the "23" Things is a misnomer. On many of the things there are multiple, multiple items to look at and that doesn't even include the challenges. It's not very realistic to ask busy library staff, some who work public desks 4 hours a day and then have other duties, to try and do 2-3 hours of 23 Things and say you can devote 15 minutes a day to it. It's just not true! Many of the things take quite a bit longer.

That being said, I think the program itself is interesting and worthy, but like most anything in life you get out of it what you put into it! I've heard some people bitch about it, I've seen some people make a party out of it. I fell somewhere in between. I figured I would bitch some and enjoy some and who knew I would actually learn much more about Web 2.0 than I ever expected. I will however be happy to get some of my time back, because I think my brain was ready to explode. I'm quite hoping after this, everything else is just going to be "cruicin' thru life"

but somehow, I know that's only until the next thing comes along...

Thing #22: Staying Current aka "Kowabunga, Dude!"

Like riding the surf, this has been an ever-changing tide of emotions. Some elated because of newly discovered toys and tools, and some that sinking, sort-of "oh-crap" feeling when the technology just plain failed me. Lots failed me, or I found incredibly redundant. I may have scared off a few people with my "Adult Content Warning" but, hey-- I've seen worse things on our public internet stations!

That's not to say I haven't learned a lot here-- I have.
Looking back to the very beginning of my 23 Things blog, I can only quote myself again:

"I am personally not afraid of the technology, I am just unhappy that more often than it should it does not work to full capacity. We get the same complaints from our patrons, OFTEN!"

I have embraced the technology, I just don't think it embraces back!

Until I find the Web 2.0 products that actually have some staying power, I'm definitely not in any hurry to keep jumping on the next great bandwagon. Never was, never will. Neither do I want to sign up for more spam e-mail, worms and viruses. Can you say "Conficker" or "twitter-worm?" Definitely job security for our Automated Services folks!

The odds of me keeping up with this blog are slim to none, but the reality of me learning about and using new technologies is always a definite maybe! I learn something new everyday on this job. You HAVE to. It's a given. In fact, I was just emailing a soon-to-be library school graduate that when I was in school there was no internet yet. No online catalog, no databases, no downloadable anything. This job is "beta forever!" In order to function at all I have to keep learning...
In contrast, his degree was entirely online. Who do you think has had to learn more?

I only hope that NEFLIN keeps its promise by keeping the 23 Things website intact and all the attached bloggers blogs up, because realistically there was no way to go through everything that was listed. I would like to be able to refer back to some of the lessons and read some other writings at my own pace instead of based on a deadline. Looking back now, I can use some of the tools I learned about and I'm thankful that the creativity of others actually made this somewhat fun! There are some really talented writers out there. Maybe they will continue blogging? For me, I've got patrons to wait on!

Oh noooo, here comes another wave...

Thing #21: Gun Salute (Student 2.0 Tools)

I have never been one who has been military-minded, but this whole challenge has been sort of a test of our organizational skills. We've had to be more disciplined, (not unlike our soldiers) and set aside devoted time every chance we could to these 23 Things. Now all I have to say is, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... I'm actually seeing light at the end of this 23 Things challenge!
HOORAY for me!
WOW! How cool is the Assignment Calculator? I wish I had something like that when I was in school. I feel so cheated sometimes, not having the internet, not having online classes, not having Web 2.0 back then. I guess this challenge sort of helps me make up a little for that "lost time."

Because I live in a college community and many of my patrons are college students, I'm sure this can be useful. I don't see it as the perfect organizer because it is limited by predetermined Subject areas of the assignment, but for those students who just don't know how to get started on their research, it looks FANTASTIC! The beta version looks promising too. If they ever get a keyword search capability it might be even better.

I am going to bookmark it as a favorite for sure. University of Minnesota Libraries also shares the Open Source Code for the calculator, so Kudos to them for being nice enough to share!

I didn't find the Research Project Calculator nearly as exciting, but I think it was more about the "process" than anything else. The teacher resources may be more useful, but our Youth Services staff tend to deal with teachers more so I doubt I'll be going back to this supplemental page unless I get a teacher/patron who needs some support material or planning advice.

Can you think of any uses for library projects—could you use it to help manage a timeline for a project of your own? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...ROTFLMAO!!!

Thing #20: Books 2.0

I do work in a busy public library and every time a patron asks where a book is on the shelf it tells me they are still interested in books and reading. When they can't find it and I can, I joke that it is "job security."

No matter how many reading formats come and go, I think the printed word will still have its followers. I do believe there is definitely a place for digital and online reading, and digital literacy is important to our future. However, it should be supplemental and not a replacement for our printed sources.

I'm not likely to do anything on my phone except call my mom and my husband. I am too cheap to pay for the extras. I am not addicted to my cell phone. I am not a gadget freak, and am usually one of the last people to get the "latest" thing which means by the time I get something new it is on its way to being obsolete. I have never been a follower or one to be part of the larger crowd. I beat to my own unusual drum.









I just bought my first laptop this year and already I heard they are coming out with a thinner, less expensive netbook!
OF COURSE!!!

For Readers' Advisory I have always been partial to our subscription databases but especially NoveList. I've also used What Should I Read Next? and What's Next? on occasion and have found them useful. As far as Online Book Communities go, I will not be visiting them because even with all this social networking and sharing I feel that my reading is very personal to me and and I don't really go with the crowds. Like I said, my own drum.

The Book Group Resources could have helped me with a reference request I had just last week with a patron who was trying to start her own book club!
I guess the point of most of this is not so much that we try it all, or join it all, but just to be aware of what is out there.

I had heard of LibriVox a number of years ago even before we decided to purchase subscriptions to downloadable audiobooks. It's been bookmarked on our "Great Links" under Books and Bookfinders for a long time.

There are so many places to get opinions/reviews these day. I am wary of it all. Everyone's got one. I'd rather just have my own or use the sites that are standard, like the retail bookstores and Amazon. I tried searching for nonprofit info on BookBrowse and this is the message I received. No search results for "nonprofit" were found in our "Books in Detail" database. When I do that same search in Amazon under books, it gives me all kinds of recommended subject options as well as tools to narrow my search further (i.e. format, binding, nonfiction, release date, and starred review.) I'll stick with what works, thank you very much!

And forget about the book swapping sites. Hasn't anyone ever heard about FREECYCLE or Craigslist? So many free things given away at these two sites. You can get anything, not just books! LOVE THEM!


And then there's Project Gutenberg... this is the best site when you've got that kid who just HAD to have that classic read yesterday and all copies are checked out and he's #23 on the list of reserves!!!

Thing #19: Other Social Outcast Networks

So I read just today that social networking may actually have a more positive effect than we could have even imagined. The AP reported that a young man in Fargo, N.D. used Facebook to create a page to recruit volunteers to help make sandbags near the rising waters on the banks of the Red river. When social networking is used for good, then you really have to applaud the technology.
Fargo uses social networks to fight floodwaters




However, there is such a thing as technology overload...

If Gather is the new MySpace for books, then it could already be "out of fashion." It seems like there's a new social networking space popping up every day. What's hot today, may not be hot tomorrow.





It's as much a personal choice as deciding what brand of laundry detergent to buy... assuming one even uses laundry detergent!!!


Ning has potential, but it's really not much different than the "groups" listing on Facebook.

I do like that I was able to search both without creating a new account. That makes them useful without the committment.

The WebJunction article Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library actually made a more convincing argument for the use of social networking in the library, then anything else I have seen thus far. Maybe it's because the language was actually easy-to-understand. No techno-jargon gobbledy-gook.


I have been a member and fan of Last.fm for a long time. I don't really use it for networking, but it's a great source of pleasure for me when I need to concentrate at work and tune out what's going on around the cubicles in the office, so I tune in here. No downloads required, no MP3 players necessary! Just pick some "cruicin'" music and I'm on my way...

Nibbledish (formerly OpenSource Food) appeals to me because I like to cook, and while it looks yummy, I don't know how it differs much from one of my all-time favorites All-Recipes.

It's obvious that there's a networking place for everyone these days, I'm just not convinced the library is the place to be facilitating that. Of course, I guess the awareness of these sites by staff, and being able to find more places for unusual information will be useful on that one day when that one patron comes looking for the Model Shipbuilders: The Shipmodeler's Online Community or any other unusual group I can't already find via another search method.

Shamelessly pilfered quote

Okay, so this is a REALLY LONG article called Ten Trends & Technologies for 2009 by Michael Stephens

but I couldn't let it pass without sharing this little nugget from that article...

"What does this mean for libraries?

It’s not the library blog or wiki, or Bookspace, or GoodReads, or Meebo embedded librarian on the results not found page, it’s people..and connections. I think that’s what “The Hyperlinked Library” has always been about. It’s about meeting people where they live and providing them with services they need or want. It’s about encouraging them."



'nuff said?!

Thing #18 – My Facebook is taking up MySpace

Lee LeFever at Common Craft makes EVERYTHING sound good! I've been trying to think outside the box with all of this technology, but with so much to choose from I feel more trapped inside than set free. There is just too much out there and it is coming at warp speed.


I previously had an account on MySpace just to see what all the hoopla was about after attending a library conference a few years back. Truth is, I had no other friends that were really participating at that time, so I sort of gave up on it, but it did allow for more creativity.

I know our library has a few different MySpace pages, including our own Adult Services Dept. The problem is many of our patrons use "UrbanChat" as a social networking site. Why don't we have a presence there too? If we are going to involve people through social networking sites, then we should be on ALL of them and somebody needs to commit to keeping them up-to-date.

During that time I also had a local(real live in-the-flesh friend) encouraging me to join Facebook instead, as early as two years ago, but I declined because at the time I just thought it was dumb to have to different "friend" sites, or even have them at all. Then I went to my 30th high school reunion this summer and found out so many of my classmates were "catching up" this way. I've had a Facebook account ever since and it's like a crazy addiction if you let it get that way.



I try not to, but when a classmate of mine nearly died in a fall and had brain surgery, they created a Facebook page to keep all of her friends updated on her medical progress. They are also using her "page" as part of her therapy, with well-wishes for recovery and the belief that it is helping her to regain some of her memory. Now THAT is a positive for social networking. Bringing people together who may not necessarily have the means to travel long distances to aid in the recovery of a friend!
Powerful stuff.

For library applications at this point it just seems a little silly to be "friends" with your patron, especially since so many other web applications are coming into existence that will promote and act as a network to the library.

This week for the assignment I did look at some of the "library" groups and I just had to add myself to Don't Mess With Me, I Worked in a Public Library.

For those that use Facebook, we can all agree that we are HERE! Some of us to find long lost friends, some to find long lost love, and others to totally toot their narcissistic horns! Six degrees of separation, indeed. This is legal voyeurism at its finest. Although, I must say it has been wonderful to catch up with some of my compadres, it has also been awkward in some cases. Who to "friend"? Who not to "friend"? And how bizarre it is when you make "friends" with your own cousins...

Then there are all the APPLICATIONS!!! OMG! Who has all this time, 1) to create them and 2) to constantly play with them and keep score? I don't and I don't even have kids. For a couple of months I even got in trouble with my cell phone. NEVER EVER type your cell phone number in anywhere. IT WILL COST YOU! (and I have since learned my lesson...)

Recently, I found a couple of articles and opinion letters in the local college paper that sort of struck me when I read them about FB.

Facebook frenzy: The new opiate of the collegiate masses

Fleeting Facebook fad nothing more than selfish endeavor

Columnist misses point of ‘25’ lists

Facebook listers not just time–wasters

I'm not saying I will never share 25 things about me, or more personal information about my life-- but the truth is if anyone really wanted to know that stuff about me I'd think they would already be responding to pics and events I've already placed online at FB or sending me a personal message directly. Some have through their comments. Some have not bothered to reply back to my messages or comments, even though they've made me a "friend."

My guess is most people are just curious to see what information they can see, and that's basically where it ends unless you want to continue a further relationship with someone. It's been wonderful to keep up with "news" from people, but where do you draw the line?

Perhaps someday I will consider it a "project" to scan old, historical photos but like most people, I have a real life, a real job, and with real faces. My e-mail address is posted on my FB account if anyone ever wants to just say hi or to seriously get to know ME, but I am trying to live in the present with hope for the future, and that means I need to spend more time away from the computer.

Do you hear me NEFLIN? It's ME, "cruicin"-- MORE time away from the computer! ;-)

Thing #17: Two Peas and Some Podcasts

How ironic that just last week I was invited to a training on podcasts through and open source tool called Audacity. Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. The trainer, Paul Alford from the Citrus County Library System, not only taught us about what podcasts were, but showed us how to make and edit our own. It was very exciting, though in my position unlikely that I'll be the one actually creating podcasts for our library. I thought it was a little strange that he was so versed in the product and yet his own library system was not creating any podcasts at this time-- just teaching classes to the public.


Oh, the Audacity...



I watched the “Podcasting in Plain English” from the Common Craft Show and still find their videos the easiest to understand on most topics. I realize now that they use Thing 16-- YouTube to post and "promote" their downloadable videos. Thank you Common Craft.

I went to Podcast Alley and searched under "cruise." The results listed... We Found: 89 Results for "cruise." I tried to listen to CDATA[Hot Cruise Travel Deals, but could not get it to play. It was also not very up-to-date. Then I just sort of browsed through the Travel podcast and found a great one called The Mail Buoy. Bringing you news, tips and specials from the cruise line industry. Visit us at www.mycruiseplanner.info I just wish it gave the length of each podcast, so I knew how long I would be listening. From there I browsed around the site and listened briefly to some Top 10 Podcasts, and to some of the 5 Featured Podcasts.

They had a really great definition of What is a Podcast?

At Podcast.com it was too much work to have to try and sift through things. Despite the fact that they offer both audio and video, I was not allowed to just listen w/o downloading first or joining. I have already joined too many new THINGS for this project. I am putting the kibosh on that. I think it would just be easier to go to websites that I like and see if they have podcasts.


Looked at Gcast and thought, if my grandma could do it THAT would be a trick!!! She's been dead for 30 years.

FREE? Really? Aren't they all... as long as you can stand a little advertising on the side or some spam in your inbox? It did however lead me to GarageBand which I thought was a very cool site for up and coming musicians.

Having done a Google search under "podcast" I discovered, plenty of other websites, offering the same such services. For me it's like YouTube, only for your ears.

PodcastBlaster
MyPodCast
Podcast Pickle
"It is better to travel well than to arrive."--Buddha

Thing #16: You Better, You Better, You Bet-- You Tube a.k.a. Did You Know 3.0?

What can I say but OMG! The world has become so small because of instant video and people have become infamous because of them...

The good, the bad, and the ugly-- the entertaining, the educational, the enlightening, and the inspirational. Who doesn't love to pass along a great YouTube video these days? I just read a news story about a kid in Florida who is helping his unemployed dad find a job via a video he posted on YouTube and the responses he's gotten were very positive.

The video is included on this link. How Do You Get A Job? Ask For One

YouTube seems to have become the catchphrase for video online just as Kleenex has become the household name for tissues, and Scotch has become the recognized name for adhesive tape.

YT definitely has a place in the library, from filming our own programs and announcements to be shared on our website, to passing along a good training video on workplace safety to a patron.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Prangstgrup!
Will have to check out more videos by them... but my favorite video these days is a mind-blowing testimony to the fact that no matter how many "THINGS" we try to learn about, technology is moving much faster than we can keep up with!!! I was so fascinated by this one (including the music) I just had to share it with my coworkers before we even started our 23 THINGS.

Did You Know 3.0

Thing #15: Rollyo: Roll, Roll, Roll your own...

Well this is a very different take on the whole "search engine" concept, and it helps to narrow down searches to specific websites and resources and make it more personal. I'll bite. Often it timed out, so that was a problem-- but when I was able to get on I went to Explore Searchrolls and it brought up some featured lists, i.e. Searchrolls of Note, Most Popular, Recently Added, and High Rollers.



It did not explain what High Rollers were but by looking at the list, it appeared to be either by some "named" expert in the field, or some recent celebrity-type. Either way, I'm not sure I would trust it that much. C'mon... Online Shopping By: Debra Messing??? Okay, okay I FINALLY found the dictionary-definition some pages deep "top bloggers have all rolled custom search engines. You can be a High Roller too if your searchroll becomes popular with the Rollyo community. Think of it as our version of Star Search." EGAD!!!



No one knows what's become of Sam Harris either?? Find THAT on Rollyo!!!
Just to be sure and try it the way it was meant to be used, I looked under the Gluten-Free Search searchroll and did a search under the term recipes and though they did limit to VERY reputable sites, it came back with a search error. Sorry, we encountered a temporary error
processing your search. Please try your search again, and if you continue to experience difficulties, please let us know. I'll have to try again, but I'm already discouraged.* Why on earth would I waste the time to roll my own, when most of the time I just need to find what I need and move on? *(when I came back a second time to search, it did let me in but the searches were no more relevant that using Google or Yahoo even when I changed the search terms to "gluten-free recipes" within the Gluten-Free Searchroll!)

This might be more effective for an organization or group that needs to have their own ready-reference sites available for searching, or for larger libraries that break down their departments by subject but I don't see this as very useful for my needs. Maybe I'll revisit it for "collection development" later on, and grab an eggroll to snack on while I'm thinking about it. Now there's a "roll" I can get excited about... (no double entendres, no puns intended!) OMG! Even found 'em Gluten-Free, but on Flickr!?

Gluten Free Homemade Egg Rolls

Thing 14: Online (This is) Productivity? Tools

Really?? Improving my productivity? Is this a joke?

I am learning TONS here on the 23 THINGS site, but it's done


for my productivity!

As far as having a customized home—or “start” page— I chose My Yahoo! because I have already been a Yahoo user for many years. It only seemed natural to organize something that would actually be useful for me.



MySpace Countdowns

I couldn't get the recommended countdown clock to work, though I tried several times to cut and paste the html code, so I found my one and customized it from a MySpace code and I like it much better.

The Google calendar looked pretty easy to use, and even though it is newer and has drag-and-drop editing, I don't go into Gmail often enough to warrant the usage. I guess Google is sticking their collective software wherever they can these days, and I'm not sure if the absolute diversification is working for them? The older version YAHOO calendar looks more like the email that I currently use, and since I already use that, it makes more sense to go to the "familiar." According to the article, YAHOO has an update already in the works.

I started to watch the Scrybe video and I felt like I was on the phone with one of the tech guys from Norton/Symantec. I had to go to YouTube to see a larger version of the actual video overview just to understand what was being said and discovered the video was created over two years ago in Oct. 2006. It all looks very slick and if it works, then the potential is phenomenal-- however even on their own website it says "Scrybe is temporarily not accepting more direct beta invitation requests" which tells me that it's not really up and running at this point! All the endorsements seem to be for the hope that it will do all the wonderful things it promises. (Kind of like our politicians!) Now here it is March 2009 and is Scrybe actually functional?

I'm not much of a list maker, so those tools hold no interest for me-- but I did look at the article on productivity tools and discovered that I had already used Google Docs and Spreadsheets in a sharing capacity with a statewide committee I am on. We were able to edit the same document even though we all live in different parts of the state. Now THAT was productive! As for the other apps and resources, some were overlaps of things we've already seen, and some are SO new and foreign, that I'll only have time to explore them when I'm retired. By then, I'm sure something else will have come along.


CutePDF
PDFConverter
Zamzar

all have some potential for use in my personal life and in my work life, now that I know about them. I can't wait to show this to my husband, who refuses to buy the Microsoft Office Suite of products for his home computer. When he sends me a $%&*#@#@!~^%#@#!MSWorks doc, NOW I can convert it to Word.

Zamzar may be good for patrons too, who often bring in their own flyers or homework they started on another computer somewhere else and with a different app, but need to finish up on the library's computers. I'm not crazy about the commercial pop-up ads, but if it could cut down on the disappointed looks, the "what am I going to do's?" as well as the "oh-no's!" then it's definitely worth a try...

Thing #13: My Library Thing-a-Ling

Oh my thing a ling, my thing a ling
I wanna play with my Library thing a ling a ling

Well I signed up for an account here, but again this is another technology that I will have to take time to sit at the computer for and input my information. It seems like with all the time I'm spending with the technology, I will never see the light of day or a cruise ship! ARGGGHHHH... I can tell you I am not one of those who embraces technology when I am on the high seas. I leave it at home. One book I chose was fairly popular! http://www.librarything.com/work/book/42539963

I can however see the potential for creating booklists and groupings of books to be shared for particular tastes or recommendations. There are many times I am looking for the ultimate in "urban" fiction, and now I can just check here! I searched using the Tag info: urban fiction and found a nice beginning list.

I think it's fantastic to give to patrons who absolutely need a list of books they HAVE read, or want TO read, HOWEVER, and the BIG BUT here is that this is limited unless you purchase Library Thing's membership. A free account allows you to catalog up to 200 books. A paid account allows you to catalog any number of books. Paid personal accounts cost $10 for a year or $25 for a lifetime. It's reasonable, but I don't like limitations. This is why I stopped using Flickr. Our library will soon allow patrons to create their own profile from a "My Discoveries" module in our AquaBrowser catalog.

I may be able to use this to organize a collection of books I am responsible for purchasing at our library. It may be helpful to get feedback from others that don't work with me and get a different global perspective.

On a personal level I won't be taking the time to catalog my own collection of books at home.

Found the LibraryThing Local.

I did also create an account on Shelfari because I wanted to see if there were any major differences. Shelfari allows you to import your lists from other places listed like Amazon, Delicious Library or Goodreads and even Library Thing. I even added an actual bookshelf widget. How cool is that?

P.S. I just got through reading runnergirl's blog at 23 Beach Lane and I felt compelled to comment on her(?) Thing 13. This is a direct quote from her and I couldn't agree more.

"You know what it is -- I'm feeling overwhelmed by all that is available via the internet. So much of it seems like just one more thing to do, to know, to use instead of something else. What I have to remember is that by participating in 23Things, we are all being inundated with technology week after week for learning purposes only. It doesn't mean I personally have to use all this stuff; I just need to get acquainted with what's out there."

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

I just HAD to take a small break and read some other bloggers Neflin blogs! They are wonderful, entertaining, and informational.

I had been feeling a little overwhelmed with all this, only because it's getting to be MUCH MORE than the original 23 THINGS I thought I signed up for... be that as it may, I am blogging along and don't feel quite as frustrated as I did in the beginning. I consider this my half-way point and feel justified in blogging, just to blog.

NO THINGS ALLOWED!


However, I must quote bostwickblogger who may have had some trouble making it out of the starting gate. "Wow! It only took me two hours to register for this blog. What fun!!!"

(Two hours? Do I know that feeling!)

Thing #12: 'O wai kou inoa? Wiki, What is your name?

"the content of a wiki depends on the knowledge and commitment of participants."

While in theory a Wiki has a lot of potential, and even I admittedly have used the biggest Wiki, Wikipedia for quick and dirty information when I'm totally clueless, the truth of the matter is that there is no real authority to back up the content accuracy. I suppose that's the problem with most of the information found on the internet these days. Again, my grain of salt theory.

This article from the BBC News
Editorial row engulfs Wikipedia
pretty much sums up the basic issues.

1. I watched the Common Craft video on Wikis and now I am not as much in love as I was before! They do make things easy to understand, but this was a little bit oversimplified. Maybe because I already had some familiarity with wikis, PBwiki, Wetpaint, etc. I had previously attended a Neflin workshop on the Bells and Whistles of Blogs and Wikis and discovered there, that out in the WWW there was a plethora of applications to choose from and found them to be not as easy as all that.

2. I actually liked the St. Joseph County Public Library's Subject Guides. They appeared to use it much like a community Rolodex. I've been wanting to have something like that at our library for MANY years. My guess is that only staff have access to updating it. The Book Lovers Wiki, developed by the Princeton Public Library has some great things too, but our library already has some serious review info on our website like Bookletters and its BookPage reviews and interviews. I think the Book Lovers Wiki would be more apropos for a smaller library setting.

A library staff wiki has great potential for updating information in a timely manner. We tried using one already in our department for ready reference responses to email, and in theory it's great-- that is 1) if you can get it set up working the way you want it to in the first place, and 2) if you have people dedicated to maintaining its accuracy and timeliness. I would really like to see this one brought back to life.

We already have an "intranet" but it is not as user-friendly. We also have some "shared" folders on our server, but the documents take up a lot of space there. I think a wiki would allow more people accessibility and it would save space and time when it came to document sharing.

3. Added my two cents worth on the Neflin wiki... I really did!

Having done that I then went to the Core Competency blog of the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, Wiki, Wiki, Wiki! and was fascinated to find out the word "Wiki" comes from the Hawaiian phrase "wiki wiki", which is commonly used to indicate something fast. Are we SURE this is 23 THINGS?!! By the time I'm done, I'm sure it will be more like 67...


I have been to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County library in NC. They always seem to be a step ahead of everyone so it's no surprise that the 23 Things project originlly came from them, even though it's loosely based on Stephen Abram's "43 Things I might want to do this year." I agree with one of the comments posted there...

Vinnie Boombots said… "A wiki can never be an authoritive source, but there's no harm in using them as a starting point. If you find something that answers your question, you can verify that elsewhere, having something to go on."

Well put Vinnie!!!

Thing #11: Social Misfit, er um Media!

Okay, forgive me but I am from the “olden days." Ya know when we actually put cards in the card catalog, and there was no such thing as the internet or "social media!" Did I mention this before? Did I mention this before? Did I mention this before?


Am I getting "old-timers" disease already? The only technology I can recall was having a copy machine in the library and that in itself was a big deal. Today we still have patrons only coming in to use the copier (if you can believe it?)


I guess it can be interesting to find out what's "popular" but I've never been "in" with the in-crowd. It's definitely difficult to keep up with everything that is out there, so I suppose this is a handy way to consolidate or have a clearinghouse for preferred information.

I didn't care for any of it really, but I will say that since the Newsvine website has stories from established media organizations, it appeals more to my sensibilities.

1. I watced the “Social Media in Plain English” video from the Common Craft Show. I'm beginning to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Common Craft people. They should do ALL staff training from here on out!!! Of course I still think "social media" should be taken with a grain of salt, as opinions are like a*******s, EVERYONE's got one! And the grain of salt is better left for the ice-cream makers.

2. I explored the sites and though all seemed to have some sort of a subject menu, Mixx was too busy, Digg was popularity-based, Reddit just seemed like rambling nonsense, and Newsvine at least had some of the top wires listed. Of these, again-- Newsvine is the only one that really speaks to me, socially or intellectually.

3. So I learned how to share. Not only did I share, but I replied too. What a good person I am! :-) I found the most appropriate article and I shared it to the site I least disliked, but you probably could figure that out by now, duh--Newsvine.

Thing #10: Tag, Your IT and I'm Delicious!

1. It's funny that on this assignment we're being asked to tag (label) when I have been tagging my posts all along! I feel like I've got this one in the tag, I mean bag!








I previously had a Delicious account, but I wasn't really crazy about sharing my bookmarked items with the general public, I mean they're MINE, and I'll admit I'm basically selfish! I'll share when I'm good and ready. What's mine is mine! Talk about big brother getting into all of your goodies. I'm sure he's watching over my shoulder as I type my blog... That is until I discovered I didn't have to share with everybody, as I could edit my "Network Privacy" and make my own bookmarks private.


Then after I FINALLY figured out how to export my considerable amount of bookmarks from my work computer and import them back to Delicious, it was like an "AHA" moment. It did not put them in subject folders like I already had them, and the only option for sorting is either "alphabetically" or "most recent." It was kind enough to add instant tags to my just imported bookmarks, and I suppose that's where the tagging/labeling comes in handy, but quite frankly I don't have the time to do this now. I hope the instant tags are relevant for searching later on.

It seemed much easier for me to create a folder and just throw them in the folder!

The fact that Delicious lets you access your bookmarks from any computer is very appealing, but it will only be a great timesaver once I've invested the time in sorting and tagging the bookmarks in a much more usable way other than the two default sorting methods. As far as it being "Delicious" in that the social aspect of the bookmarking service rates highly with many, but for me... I'd rather be offered a big slice of fresh carrot cake, thank you very much. Now THAT's delicious! mmmmmm....



And while we're at it, can I share this great recipe website?


All Recipes is one of my personal favorites.

Awesome Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2. DOH! “Social Bookmarking in Plain English”
Why didn't you put this video FIRST? I'm going to have to look at ALL the videos this Common Craft Show produces, because they make everything so easy to understand. I a may even start recommending some of their videos to my patrons. After viewing this, I think my "anti-social" viewpoint of Delicious has just changed. Actually, I still don't have that much time to go back and tag, but at least now I do see the relevance. YAY!


3. Looked around NEFLIN23things Delicious account and picked "blogs." I found an interesing link to the Top 25 Librarian Bloggers (By the Numbers)

4. digg
digg.com/

People have saved this 53923 times, and 7693 wrote notes. It was first bookmarked on 05 Dec 04, by streetblader51.

5. I tried several times to save my "Network badge" script and it failed every time? I followed the instructions, so I don't know what went wrong. Running out of time... argggghhh!!!


P.S. I briefly unfurled Furl but did not have the strength at this time to sign up for yet another account, so I merely used this mostly as a search engine. Even through the search box and the "Explore" menu, I was able to find some interesting websites so it's worthy of keeping as an extra tool.

Thing #9: Sharing - It's electric...slides, photos, databases

I don't know why I had such a hard time with Mosaic Maker from BigHugeLabs, but I did. Maybe it's because I had to upload individual pictures from my computer instead of my Flickr account, but I wanted it to be ELECTRIC! You know the assignment said to add some pizzazz to your Web page or blog. Well I'm pretty certain my travel pictures couldn't cut it, but maybe some of these will.

I briefly viewed SlideShare and felt it was certainly a great resource for PowerPoint type presentations. Definitely could "borrow" some ideas here.


PictureTrail offers some very cool Photo Flick Slideshows!

After spending SO much time on Thing #8, I was determined not to do so on this assignment, and I can see already how it can suck all my time away like an energy vacuum...

As mentioned earlier, for photosharing I already use KodakGallery,Photobucket,and Snapfish and that's enough!!!

Thing #8: Communication - Web 2.0 Stylin' and Profilin'

Okay now this blogging stuff is getting serious. First off I have to say that communication styles are as different as the personalities around us. Just look at all the 23 Things Blogs. As I look at some of the ones my coworkers have created, it is amazing how much their personalities actually shine through on their blogs. Of course, technology has made even the most shy come out of their shells and explore new ways to send a message from point A to point B and those with some creativity got even MORE CREATIVE!

I LOVED this quote from Flymolo77's "Thing 8" YouTube video - How Blogs are born: "Why waste it on us when you can have the whole world ignore it?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was so much to go through at this lesson, I didn't think I would ever get through it but let's just say for now am "stylin' and profilin'."

The thing that bothers me about today's communication is how much of it interferes with everyone else's "space." A ringtone that's too loud and obnoxious! A group of teenagers gathered around an UrbanChat webpage. A man who appears to be having conversations with himself, only to turn to the left-- on his earlobe is a "bluetooth" headset. At least from a social standpoint, an IM is a straight line, direct piece of information sent exactly from a sender to a receiver without too much interference sans the bells and whistles to indicate the IM has arrived.

I enjoyed the How Stuff Works website. It was VERY thorough. How Stuff Works usually is.

1) Instant Messaging-- The explanation given for this was outstanding, and I was not surprised by their "Coming Soon" message.

"IM technology is constantly changing. New features are rolled out so frequently that a roundup like this is almost obsolete before it’s posted! MySpace­ is developing an IM service, which could have a considerable impact on the IM world. The next big thing could also be location-aware IMing, in which services pinpoint users’ locations and allow them to communicate with people who are IMing in their areas. AOL has introduced a plug-in for IM users who have WiFi capabilities—their locations are tracked using WiFi hot spots, and users can open a map to find out where people on their buddy lists are. Meetro, currently in beta, is a multiservice IM service that encourages users in the same area to chat and view each others’ profiles and pictures. This technology isn’t yet available for cell phones and mobile devices, but you can bet someone is working on it."

With that said,
1a.I watched the video from the University of Buffalo and thought it was a clever marketing campaign, but we are already using IM at our statewide Ask-A-Librarian service. I know we continue to try to improve and market this service all the time.

Personally, I have chatted on Google chat with friends, and especially one of mine who lives in Montreal, so we can save money on phone bills. I've also used YAHOO messenger and Facebook chat at times when I see friends online.

1b. IM me
Instant messaging may be controversial, but remember, we also debated telephone reference
By Aaron Schmidt & Michael Stephens -- Library Journal, 4/1/2005
This article has some valid points, but for a very busy reference desk it is not very practical. If at least one staff person can be "dedicated" to this task so as not to be juggling phones, in-house patrons and IM all at the same time, then this might have more value.


1c. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

2) Text Messaging (SMS—Short Message Service)
Good for upcoming news and reserves, I suppose... but I don't want to pay for this service on my phone so you have to find the folks who are willing to do so. They already argue about the DVDs they don't remember checking out and aren't willing to pay for so why would they want to pay for messages that weren't coming from their friends? Maybe some of our patrons in the higher income-tax earning brackets might find this a useful tool, or if they had unlimited texting plans.

3) Web Conferencing
I really like this technology especially when travel budgets are falling and the expectation for staff development is still increasing. I have attended many "webinars" and some were better than others. My problem has always been sound quality and mostly when it has been a "shared" or group webinars. I have also attended various committee meetings and "conference" calls online which were successful. Sites like Doodle and GoToMeeting offer shared places for long distance web conferencing and online meetings. Even document sharing is possible. This afternoon I attended a webinar via Microsoft Office Live Meeting. It worked fine using a phone and a my computer except for the crackling on our lousy phone system. Perhaps we should consider replacing the old technology before jumping into the new?

I haven't used OPAL yet, but I like the real ones.


Just ask me about Coober Peedy!

3a. WebJunction Quick Guide to Web Conferencing-- I read it. No surprises. Hope to be more proactive with WebJunction.



3b. Of course I took a very brief look at the Archive of Travel Programs and though there was some useful info, some of it was dated. I imagine some of the OPAL Podcasts might be interesting, if I actually had time to listen to them.

Our library has been using email reference for quite a few years. As a result, our patron base has expanded to even national service. We offer reference and scan articles and obituaries and send them via email to patrons who are not even library card holders. Has it improved productivity? I'm not sure. I think it takes more time for staff, but in most cases it saves the patron a trip or a phone call. It certainly does help the people who are long distance.

Thing # 7: Online Image-- Talking about MY Generators

So here's another thing now that adds some fun and creativity to my Web sites. YAY! The problem is, I am not the one designing any websites around here.

Oh well, I do very much enjoy the "fun and creativity" part of this assignment and I can see some aspects of this being used in my private life for some great party planning!!! I'm sure quite possibly this could be used for designing in-house displays, program/marketing posters and as suggested for PowerPoint presentations. I'll have to think about that one...

I initially went to The Generator Blog and tried to open several different pages and had problems just to get them to open. It may be because it was the afternoon on a Friday and it typically slows down to a crawl here. I may have to come back to this at a later time.*

On Image Chef I customized Surfs Up without any problems, except that you have to keep their "logo" unless you pay for the premium service.



I thought Letter James was like most any other photo sharing website that offer the same products these days, including Kodakgallery and Snapfish. Perhaps the only difference was the "AlphaPicture" image personlization service. No matter which, you'll still end up paying.

Carleton College's trading cards were a cute idea, but I'm VERY sure I would not want that information out there for the general public at our headquarters library. I do see the potential for something like this for updating bookmarks and booklists (if these graphics truly fall in the "public domain" under copyright) as well as other information resources such as our "Street card" that has basic needs info for our homeless population.

As I played some more I did my own Google search for "image generator" and found Image Generator Links 2009 and from there found many different links including the Dummies Book Cover Maker (4 styles, change the cover on the DIY learning book covers)
It seems they will publish "dummies" books for almost EVERYTHING these days!!!



*Update to the The Generator Blog
I still found a lot of broken links, and some really useless sites, but I must admit I also had the most fun here.
Web Economy Bullshit Generator


Soft Drink Generator


If I come up with the new taste that everyone loves, maybe I can actually PAY people to run the Web 2.0 technologies for me...

Festisite: Personalized money



Yeah, I'd love to print my own money! Wouldn't THAT be an economic stimulus??? I wouldn't have to invent a new soft drink, drive in to work, blog about 23 things...

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming, er um, job duties! :-)

Thing #6: Flickr Mashed 'taters, I mean Mashups

Okay, so now I'm really thinking there are people out there with too much time on their hands and all they do is come up with things to have fun and entertain us! I'm sure there are some real uses for mashups beyond the entertainment value, but at this moment I am still playing. I wanted to try something different than what I have seen the most on other blogs here which is the Spell with flickr tiles. Those looked cool, but I wanted to look for something different.

I tried to use Flickr Squared Circle Kaleidoscope and could not get it to open. Then I tried Flauntr and of course it wanted me to create a new account. I don't want to start creating new accounts in places I will never use again. Flickr Chia Pet wasted a few more precious moments of my time, then I found Flickr Logo Makr which creates logos for any word, but they look like the Flickr logo.




I tried several times to save an inspirational poster that I made via Big Huge Labs--fd's Flickr Toys but it would not upload the Flickr graphic here as a URL. Instead, I saved it as a jpg and it seemed to work just fine. Gotta love technology...




Of course all this playing eventually led me to the "The Commons: Your opportunity to contribute to describing the world's public photo collections." and I wasn't extremely familiar with that before. I had heard something about sharing digital collections via Flickr, and even though this wasn't part of our mashup assignment, I felt that if I was still learning something new, this was a good thing.

I think THIS is where the technology is leading us and where it will definitely be useful for libraries. The shared digital photography that may have once only been housed at one location is now being able to be shared with the rest of the world with the click of a mouse. This part of sharing photos online makes so much sense to me. It makes the world a smaller place and affords all libraries and patrons access to what was once inaccessible.

All the other stuff just makes it more marketable, and