Ooh, YouTube. Many a evenings have been spent exploring your offerings, laughing at the content, amazed at what people will share. I am so glad you were not around when I was in college; I would not have gotten a thing done.
However, I am adult now and much better at time management. There are lots of great videos on youtube related to libraries. Some possible applications: updates on renovation projects, or a monthly newsletter with book reviews and clips from programs, author talks and story times, tutorials for using databases, library tours, marketings and recruiting... and on and on!
I really like this video. It is a great little overview about web 2.0. And it was created by an anthropology department! So cool!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Podcasts are for everyone!
I love podcasts.
(Do you see a trend here? Maura is a technology geek.)
I have been wanting to learn more about wine, so I used Podcast Alley to look for wine related podcasts. There was a category called Food and Drink with a few wine related titles. I like that I can listen before I subscribe. I listened to a few of the podcasts that seemed interesting enough.
I did a keyword search for "library technology" to see what I could see, er listen to. I found one called Library Geeks, but the last episode was on May 2007. I probably won't be subscribing to that one, as I want something to be current, talking about what is happening right now this very moment!!
I found a community college that has podcasts available of events that took place at the library. Super cool! If people are unable to attend a reading or talk, they can still have access to the information. And thinking about statistics, would we count the number of views as participants?
My coffee is starting to wear off, and I think I met my threshold for blogging this evening!
But before I go, let me share with you a few of my favorite podcasts:
(Do you see a trend here? Maura is a technology geek.)
I have been wanting to learn more about wine, so I used Podcast Alley to look for wine related podcasts. There was a category called Food and Drink with a few wine related titles. I like that I can listen before I subscribe. I listened to a few of the podcasts that seemed interesting enough.
I did a keyword search for "library technology" to see what I could see, er listen to. I found one called Library Geeks, but the last episode was on May 2007. I probably won't be subscribing to that one, as I want something to be current, talking about what is happening right now this very moment!!
I found a community college that has podcasts available of events that took place at the library. Super cool! If people are unable to attend a reading or talk, they can still have access to the information. And thinking about statistics, would we count the number of views as participants?
My coffee is starting to wear off, and I think I met my threshold for blogging this evening!
But before I go, let me share with you a few of my favorite podcasts:
- Grey's Anatomy Podcast
- This American Life and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me (not sure these count as podcasts, but I can listen to them on my own schedule which is the cool thing)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
AudioBooks!
Okay. Despite that fact that my ipod has totally died, I am a loyalist and I am really sad that these vendors do not provide content that is compatible with ipods (one of the most popular mp3 players!) And yes, I get that digital rights management and blah blah, more than meets the eye. But, I would be someone who would use this service more if I could get it onto my iPod.
That said, I love audiobooks. I have a lengthy drive to see my family and audiobooks are a great way to "read" those books I have been meaning to catch up on.
I think ebooks are a great reference source. It is really helpful when looking for a line of code of how to do something in PhotoShop without having to leave your computer! I think NetLibrary is a bit more user friendly when looking at ebooks, and I like that I can burn some titles to a cd, which would allow me to use them in the car.
That said, I love audiobooks. I have a lengthy drive to see my family and audiobooks are a great way to "read" those books I have been meaning to catch up on.
I think ebooks are a great reference source. It is really helpful when looking for a line of code of how to do something in PhotoShop without having to leave your computer! I think NetLibrary is a bit more user friendly when looking at ebooks, and I like that I can burn some titles to a cd, which would allow me to use them in the car.
"Yes, I love technology, but not as much as you, you see"
Ahh. Napoleon Dynamite. What a great unexpected movie. I couldn't stop laughing at Kip's song at the end of the movie, and how technology brought him and his wife together. And just over the weekend a friend and I were musing about the number of engaged couples we know who met over Match.com.
One of the things I most appreciate about technology and the internet is the way it connects communities that otherwise might not be able to connect. There are online support groups for parent's of children with Asperger's or for young women with melanoma. Flickr creates community of expert and amateur photographers and provides a environment to receive feedback. I also appreciate the ways it allows me to stay in touch with my friends, family and colleagues in a variety of formats. I have found a knitting group and running group in my community with the health of Yahoo!. I can watch a video of a friend's baby over YouTube, and Facebook provides daily updates about my high school friends comings and goings.
Though, increasingly I am seeing that people are addicted to these communication tools, and admittedly I am someone to checks her email obsessively and dislikes being without her cell phone. Sign of the times? Nothing is better than a good old fashioned sit down face to face. I much rather drive an hour to visit a friend for a few hours than have a phone conversation. That personal interaction is emotionally satisfying and heartwarming. In the meantime, I'll use Flickr and Facebook fill in the gaps. But you can't replicate a hug and a laugh with HTML and API.
One of the things I most appreciate about technology and the internet is the way it connects communities that otherwise might not be able to connect. There are online support groups for parent's of children with Asperger's or for young women with melanoma. Flickr creates community of expert and amateur photographers and provides a environment to receive feedback. I also appreciate the ways it allows me to stay in touch with my friends, family and colleagues in a variety of formats. I have found a knitting group and running group in my community with the health of Yahoo!. I can watch a video of a friend's baby over YouTube, and Facebook provides daily updates about my high school friends comings and goings.
Though, increasingly I am seeing that people are addicted to these communication tools, and admittedly I am someone to checks her email obsessively and dislikes being without her cell phone. Sign of the times? Nothing is better than a good old fashioned sit down face to face. I much rather drive an hour to visit a friend for a few hours than have a phone conversation. That personal interaction is emotionally satisfying and heartwarming. In the meantime, I'll use Flickr and Facebook fill in the gaps. But you can't replicate a hug and a laugh with HTML and API.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I am a superhero!!
I have ALWAYS wanted my own trading card! How cool! Like a business card, but with more personality and sass. (Two things I am in short supply of...)
This trading card was also very easy to make. I also really like the Colr Pickr. I enjoyed seeing how quickly the program worked at retrieving photographs that matched the colors I was looking for! How does that work! It also was a great chance to explore Flickr photographs... there are SO many out there, and so many bad ones. These photographs were outside the mainstay of family portraits and macro flower shots. I particularly like this one and this one.
I am a little disappointed that the Montagr is being so temperamental, and I hope some of my colleagues have had better luck. I liked Flickeur, which takes photographs and combines them with some cool effects to look like a movie.
Monday, October 15, 2007
oh my love affair with flickr.
oh flickr.
let me count the ways i love you.
you have clean minimal design.
your uploading tools are easy and fast.
for $24.95 a year, i get unlimited storage and sets.
your partners are wonderful, and it is easy to buy prints of my photographs.
oh flickr. we are going to have such a happy life together.
so this photograph, i just love. this sign is by an entrance ramp to 91South in springfield, mass. so this is part of my history, always seeing this sign soaring high above the one story buildings at her feet.
however, while driving that way a few weeks ago, i couldn't find the sign. and i questioned whether it was even there! i was driving with my mom and she couldn't recall a sign even being there.
so... i hope this sign is in a good place. it is just so fantastic and wonderful, a guidepost in the constant movement of my life.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Oh where oh where is my new favorite blog?
Similar to library school, when I was learning to evaluate results from different databases and search engines, I used the same subject term in each of the search tools: productivity.
Some of the things that initially stand out: Feedster tells you how many words a particular blog entry is, Technorati allows you to search in other languages, and Bloglines has a nice easy subscribe link.
One of things I found confusing is searching for feeds and searching through posts. My sense is that searching through the feeds will allow me to thematically find a blog in which the focus is productivity, and searching through posts will highlight individual postings in which the word productivity is used in the text or tag. The theme of the blog may be a personal journal or a blog that reviews hand lotions, but if the keyword areas it will be returned. This would be a high recall, but low relevance.
I found Productivity Cafe through Bloglines. I scanned the first page, and saw that a few of the blog posts interested me, especially one on increasing effectiveness by using names and virtual assistants.
I really like Technorati, and have my photo blog registered with them. With the cooler weather, I find myself in the kitchen more trying new recipes and baking. Using Technorati, I found a few cupcake and baking blogs, with recipes and suggestions. One that I am definitely subscribing to is Cupcakes Take the Cake.
Another way that I find blogs and feeds is similar to the technique pearl growing. I find a blog that I like, and take a look at the blogroll the author has listed. A blogroll is a list of blogs that the owner of the web pages follows and reads. (Check out my blogroll on the right hand side of the page.) By clicking through to other blogs, I will eventually find some that interest me.
Some of the things that initially stand out: Feedster tells you how many words a particular blog entry is, Technorati allows you to search in other languages, and Bloglines has a nice easy subscribe link.
One of things I found confusing is searching for feeds and searching through posts. My sense is that searching through the feeds will allow me to thematically find a blog in which the focus is productivity, and searching through posts will highlight individual postings in which the word productivity is used in the text or tag. The theme of the blog may be a personal journal or a blog that reviews hand lotions, but if the keyword areas it will be returned. This would be a high recall, but low relevance.
I found Productivity Cafe through Bloglines. I scanned the first page, and saw that a few of the blog posts interested me, especially one on increasing effectiveness by using names and virtual assistants.
I really like Technorati, and have my photo blog registered with them. With the cooler weather, I find myself in the kitchen more trying new recipes and baking. Using Technorati, I found a few cupcake and baking blogs, with recipes and suggestions. One that I am definitely subscribing to is Cupcakes Take the Cake.
Another way that I find blogs and feeds is similar to the technique pearl growing. I find a blog that I like, and take a look at the blogroll the author has listed. A blogroll is a list of blogs that the owner of the web pages follows and reads. (Check out my blogroll on the right hand side of the page.) By clicking through to other blogs, I will eventually find some that interest me.
Monday, October 1, 2007
RSS-Mania!!
This week is RSS feed week in Learning 2.0. I have been devoted to RSS feeds for over a year now. I first learned about Bloglines from a professor of mine in library school, and instantly I was in love! All the information I wanted, delivered to a centralized location, automatically updated, ability to save posts and share them with friends. Swoon!
I follow many blogs, from librarian colleagues to library news to technology news and trends to shoe blogs to the New York Times. It is quite efficient to subscribe to these feeds and read them in a centralized location. Bloglines also makes it easy to share with my friends and colleagues. I can email them an abstract or the full entry with my own comments. This makes it very easy and efficient to share things with either coworkers, colleagues, family and friends.
There are so many applications for RSS in libraries! We can push out new books and new dvds through RSS. Allow patrons to customize RSS feeds from the catalog based on subject headings or keywords to receive the latest materials that fall under the established search parameters. Or even displaying the latest DVDs or cooking books on the website. This would automate the updating process, and would be seamless. As soon as materials are received in our catalog, BANG! updated on the web page.
I follow many blogs, from librarian colleagues to library news to technology news and trends to shoe blogs to the New York Times. It is quite efficient to subscribe to these feeds and read them in a centralized location. Bloglines also makes it easy to share with my friends and colleagues. I can email them an abstract or the full entry with my own comments. This makes it very easy and efficient to share things with either coworkers, colleagues, family and friends.
There are so many applications for RSS in libraries! We can push out new books and new dvds through RSS. Allow patrons to customize RSS feeds from the catalog based on subject headings or keywords to receive the latest materials that fall under the established search parameters. Or even displaying the latest DVDs or cooking books on the website. This would automate the updating process, and would be seamless. As soon as materials are received in our catalog, BANG! updated on the web page.
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