Yippee, I'm finished with 2.0!

The most interesting new things I learned how to use during this whole process were FD Toys Magazine Cover, an online image generator, which I used to create a mock periodical cover and Del.icio.us.

I guess that it's good to know how to start and manage a blog, but I don't think that it is something I will do consistently.

I don't think that anything I learned will be useful in helping patrons in the short term future. I have never had questions about how to find rss feeds or blogs. I have questions about how to download photographs, but not how to use photo sharing sites like Flickr.

Del.icio.us is one tool that I will definitely continue to use at home. I add and drop links depending on what type of research I'm currently doing at home. It is harder to use our Del.icio.us account here at work because it has so many sites attached to it.

Netlibrary

When JCPL first began Netlibrary service, I poked around a bit on the site so I would be able to help people with questions. Listening to the 12 minute tutorial on the PLCMC website added a lot to my understanding of the site. It is not user-friendly!!! I revisited Netlibrary through the JCPL site today and put a few items on hold. I will download them onto my laptop at home when my hold "comes in". I have an iPod, so I won't be able to download them onto that. Darn!

We have a long way to come to make the whole process easier for patrons. I just read in the Denver Post that a new Borders location at Park Meadows will offer audiobook downloads in their retail setting. This location joins 14 others nationwide that offer the audiobook downloads. I plan to go in when it's open to see if their software is compatible with iPods.

Podcasts

I found many interesting podcasts on the Yahoo directory, include one with a BBC interview of the British journalist rescued from Iraqi captors. When I returned to it later to add the rss feed to this blog, it was unavailable and a Sorry, it will be up asap message was there. As I searched for other interesting news feeds, I was met with the identical message.

I went to the Podcast Alley directory and every podcast I tried to link to asked me to subscribe.

Podcast.net, the third directory recommended on the 23 things site, gave me podcast from 2006 when I search for the BBC.

I searched for BBC podcast on Google and found the site. Now I need to figure out how to subscribe to this one.

YouTube

Our Learning 2.0 narrator piqued my curiosity with her statement that a user named geriatric1927 had some very popular videos. I searched for him and was treated to his latest video about a party he went to last night. This 80 year old widower lives in the English country side and shares his life and views with anyone who cares to watch/listen. He was refreshing to listen to!

YouTube is easy to use and it's a wonderful way to share information and entertainment with others.

Comparing craigslist to oodles

On the short list of Web 2.0 2007 Awards, craigslist was listed at number 1 and oodle came in second in the Classifieds and Directories category. I wanted to compare these two, because I have used craigslist periodically. I thought oodle was not as helpful as craigslist. I searched for "furniture" in "Littleton" for a test. The results on oodle began with a "merchandise assembler" job posting. I like craigslist's browsing options . . . just click on your area, click on what you're searching for, etc, etc. I think craigslist merits its number one place.

Zoho

Zoho writer is very helpful. I can definitely see how this could possible make Microsoft applications obsolete, especially since we don't need to worry about the continual "upgrades".

plcmclearning wiki

I added my blog to the plcmclearning wiki blog favorites. The site was not easy to use. I couldn't find any instructions on how to add a live link to a poem that I wanted to add to to the favorite poems page.

"Away from the icebergs"

Rick Anderson makes the point that "we need to focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need." I actually think that teaching the research skills is an important part of my job right now, but I understand that we need to get rid of the barriers because there is no way we can teach all of our patrons the skills they need to get past the barriers in order to access the information they need.

Web 2.0

The web is increasingly a central part of normal life in America, Europe, and probably other parts of the world. We are becoming more and more accustomed to having incredible oceans of information available at our finertips at all times of day or night. It is hard to imagine anyone in my family not having access to the web at all times. Websites are becoming more and more user-friendly. The interactive nature of sites such at Facebook and MySpace have changed the way we all keep in touch and share photos, songs, and information with family and friends.

Technorati

I found the Huffington Post and Boingboing blogs the most intriguing. Interesting that you can sort a results list of blogs by either their authority or by their popularity. Searching the Entertainment category gave up-to-the minute info about Kirsten Dunst getting out of rehab and other important events.

del.icio.us

I listened to the del.icio.us tutorials and added del.icio.us to my home laptop with some of the sites I use a lot. I'm trying to figure out if I really have to log in everytime I want to see all my del.icio.us sites.

Rollyo

I had a lot of fun coming up with travel websites that focus on Oregon and British Columbia for my Rollyo search engine "Travel the great NW". (I guess I should add some sites for Washington!) I did a test search for "Victoria AND bike" . . . after scrolling through the first sponsored links to Victoria's Secret (ha), etc, the following custom web results look very good! I like this tool.

library thing

I like the idea of having a list of my favorite books, but after spending just half an hour on the Library Thing website, I think the search engine is very clunky. For example, when I searched for "emma," from the search interface, the book by Jane Austen was the first result. When I searched for "emma" so I could add it so my books, there were 8,318 results and the book by Jane is way, way, way down the list . . . lots of scrolling and clicking "next" to actually get there.

stress free grandparenting

I used FD Toys Magazine Cover, an online image generator to create this mock periodical cover.

I found the tool very easy to use!

searching for rss feeds

Today I am exploring the different search engines for finding rss feeds. It seems like people really like feedster, but the website was down the few times I tried it . . . maybe another day will present better results.

Although the tag cloud on Technorati entices me to infinite searching, I like Topix better for browsing for interesting political opinions and world news.

pet peeve!

I'm looking at the SitePal website, http://www.sitepal.com/ and am reminded of many of the insurance company websites I have to visit for our insurance business. My current pet peeve is to be greeted by one of these animated people talking to me when I innocently visit the website to check on commission payments, etc. I always quickly turn off the volume or click the "quit" button to disable the talking harrasser!

yahoo travel

Yahoo has a great Travel Planner website, http://travel.yahoo.com/trip. You can plan all your stops, activities, lodging, etc. This information can be made public or kept private. You can add pictures and tags to the information. Yahoo gives you ideas about restaurants and businesses to visit, but you can also add any that aren't listed. The site allows you to keep track of all you past trips and future travel plans. Great website. I'm planning a trip to the Oregon coast next summer and was able to add the property management guy we use and our favorite coffee shop to the Yahoo business listings.