Thing #22- Staying Current

I finished, I finished!!!! Seriously there was a point where this seemed like somewhat of a daunting task but once I got into the rhythm of it, it was easy. I could do like 23 more things....or not.
I'm going to be honest and say flat out that I won't be keeping up with my 23 things blog, if I were to actually spend my free time blogging it probably end up being about crafts, celebrity gossip and pictures of my pets. You know, like 50,000 other blogs out there.
I think even without the blogging it will be easy for me to keep up, a lot of the things on here I was already familiar with and I probably spend at least 10 hours a day on a computer. So keeping up with new technologies, etc. shouldn't be too difficult for me.
I'm going to go do my happy dance now (because you know, I'M FINISHED!!), so long 23 things!

Thing #21: Student 2.0

In theory I thought the assignment calculator sounded pretty cool but of course negative nancy here can find fault in everything.
Basically this is just a calculator for writing papers, you can't get too specialized with it. Also, I found it interesting that it suggested I put my paper into it's final form on the day that it's due, after I gave the calculator over a month to schedule everything. I can cut it close all by myself thank you.
On the other hand the Research calculator had me finished with my paper a week ahead of time. So if I was going to suggest one of these to someone it would be the latter.

Thing #20: Book 2.0

First off I have to ask, Who reads books on their phones? I mean even on a blackberry it seems like it would be super irritating and headache inducing.

So honestly, the #1 thing I have observed about books and reading in the library is that I seem to check out more dvd's then books to patrons each day. I mean, why read it when you can watch the condensed version of it? Although I will admit to favoring the movie version of "The Outsiders" over the book. Stay gold ponyboy...stay gold.

Yeah, anyways...
I have noticed the popularity of e-books gaining as more and more people upgrade their computers and purchase MP3 players. I for one do not like listening to audio books, besides it's better for everyone if my attention is focused solely on my driving rather than the latest James Patterson novel. I like the idea of a kindle but having never actually used or seen one in person, I guess I can't really make a comment on it's usefulness.

As for the rest of the things on this never ending list, I'm sure quite a few of them are wonderful and useful tools...if you have the time. Which right now I don't, there's a ton of DVD's that need checking out.....

Thing #19: Other Social Networks

Well I was actually surprised to see that I was a member of two of the groups listed here: Craftster and Lastfm.
I love craftster, it's a great way for people to share their latest crafty ventures and receive feedback and advice. It can be anything from sewing, jewelry, soap-making to home decorating. I've found lots of ideas and inspiration for new projects here. Plus it's just fun to see some of the crazy things people can think up and produce.
Lastfm, not such a big fan of. A friend coerced me into joining and I probably logged in a total of 3 times after that. It seems pretty much like myspace only you're stalking people based on their musical preferences. Too weird and a little lame for me.
I do however favor these more specialized social networking sites over the standard myspace/facebook which to me just end up feeling like an online high school yearbook (complete with bad pictures). These others are a great way to share ideas and opinions about specific subjects you're interested in and meet new people who have the same freaky hobbies as you.

Thing #18 - facebook & myspace

Ahh.....social networking, the downfall of modern society. I will spare you my rant of why I loathe these things.

I do however have a myspace page, for my jewelry shop on Etsy. ( Yeah, more shameless self-promotion) I don't know if it's been helpful with sales or not but I've connected with a quite a few people on there so the exposure can't hurt.
As for personal use, no thanks. I'm a pretty private person and I'm really not into random weirdos knowing more about me than most of my co-workers do. Plus really, I think at 30 I'm kind of beyond the whole online clique thing.
I have yet to explore facebook, myspace made me feel dirty enough.

Anyhow, the only audience I really think the library is going to reach with social networking are teens and maybe college students. So the information available on them really needs to be geared towards that age set. See, Pasco County and Jacksonville definitely get it.

Thing #17 - Podcasts

You know, I'm only 30 but doing "23 Things" has managed to make me feel like an 80 year old technophobe so far.
So yeah podcasts....I have absolutely no desire to spend my free time listening to some stranger drone on about a random subject. There's a reason I haven't gone back to school yet.
I know some people actually enjoy listening to podcasts (but why?? Where do they find all this time and can I borrow some?) , I sure don't ever see myself actively pursuing any in my free time. I don't even like talk radio all that much and this is pretty much what podcasts are akin to. Me likey pretty pictures to go with the voices.

Thing # 16 - YouTube!

Oh, what did the world do before youtube? I think the only thing I don't like about youtube is the comments section. I think some people make it their sole purpose in life to annoy and insult people via the Internet.
Other than that I think it's pretty great and I can totally see the library getting in on this. It would be great to see really popular programs at the library filmed and then downloaded to youtube...Just a thought.

Now I leave you with this awesome video of sheep strapped with LED lights...where else could you find this stuff? I love their name too, "BaaaaStuds" you have to say it out loud to yourself to get the full comedic effect.

Thing Fifteen - Rollyo ate my brain

I think I might have ADD, or at least a slight form of it. I really tried to learn about Rollyo....I did really. But the whole concept is beyond me..why do I want to make a searchroll? Why can't I just save stuff to my favorites. Why do we have to make it all time consuming and somewhat confusing?
I'm sure I'm missing something here and if someone was to properly explain it to me I would be like "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, I get it now!". I have no one to ask at the moment though and my attention span pleads for me to move forward.....

Thing 14: Online Productivity Tools

Okay, so I don't want to sound like some snobby Mac ad but widgets are nothing new if you've owned one in the past 5 years. Pageflake and igoogle and myYahoo! are basically the same as the "dashboard" feature on macs, they've even got the sticky notes thing. Even cooler if you have an iphone you can download all these cool little widgets to your phone and take them anywhere! (Geez, I am a walking mac ad, Steve Jobs would be so proud.)
These applications however are great for PC users and people (like me) who can't afford a snazzy iphone. For my PC here at work I signed up for igoogle, which is super simple to do.
I had fun adding all the little gadgets, I love the music gadget that lists all the live shows in your area, it's something I will actually use! A few of the ones I added no longer worked, so that was a let down. Also, I think the to-do lists and sticky notes are little useless, there's no point in me making a list that I can't take with me. Maybe one day when I have that iphone.....

Unlucky #13 - Librarything

Well, I'm on the fence as to how I feel about librarything. It is pretty simple to use and would be a great way to keep track of what you have read. I also like the recommendation part but I don't think it's quite as effective as say Netflix's similar feature for DVD's.
I also had a little bit of trouble when searching for authors, you have to get the spelling EXACTLY right or it won't find zilch. Google it is not.
I can still see myself coming back to use it in the future to find some new authors, or perhaps even when patrons ask me for recommendations.

Thing 12 - wikis

I have a love/hate relationship with wikipedia. I love the fact that you can find absolutely anything on there. Like for instance did you know that Mike Rowe, the host of Discovery Channel's show "Dirty Jobs" once sang opera and sold diamonds on QVC? Fascinating stuff! I do hate the fact that anyone can edit and add to it though and I can definitely understand why teachers would not accept it for as a source for research.
I've actually already utilized wikis here at work. They're great to find the particular order of a series, or quick facts about a certain author and release dates for books.

Thing 11: social media...again?

Umm, is it me or is this stuff getting kind of repetitive?
Honestly I don't use any of the sites listed, I'm a slave to stumbleupon and for years I've been using the "most popular news" feature on yahoo.
As with delicious, I can see where this could be useful on updating folks with library news but I really think it needs to be all narrowed down to one site or else it's just going to be one jumbled confusing mess. Much like that run-on sentence I just wrote.

Thing 10 - My delicious headache

First off I have to mention how sad the delicious site looks, it reminds of those sites you end up at when you've typed the URL in wrong. You know what I'm talking about.
Anyhow, I'm trying not to judge a book by it's cover but in step 2, where you can supposedly add some handy dandy delicious buttons to your browser toolbar, it just took me to a defunct link.
Ohhhkkay, moving on to step 3...okay i give up on step 3 too because apparently delicious is not a firefox fan.
Okay so I've been fooling around with this thing for about 10 minutes now and it reminds me a lot of the application StumbleUpon minus the user friendly and fun parts. For me personally the delicious thing would only come in handy if I wanted to view certain bookmarks at any computer anywhere, as a leisurely activity to find new sites that might interest me, I think it somewhat fails.

Although, after browsing other library's delicious accounts I can see how this might be a useful reference/research tool for patrons. However it seems like it would need constant upkeep for whoever was in charge of it.

Thing 9

Urgh. I have really put this one off, at this point if anyone even whispers the word "flickr" my left eye just starts involuntarily twitching.
Therefore I opted on trying something new and signed up for picture trail for my slide show endeavor. Which, of course, in hindsight was a mistake because during the registration process I had to go through several pages of annoying/spam-ish ads to get anywhere.
When I reached my final destination it was clear that picture trail is geared more towards the pre-teen set. I have nothing against butterflies, glitter and rainbows but I would have liked to have seen some more streamlined options here for people over 15.
That being said, my slide show is pretty plain and honestly I can't come up with any good reasons of why and how this should be used in the library, I'm towards the end of a 10 hour workday...sue me.

PS- The pictures in my delightful slide show below are photos of the jewelry I make in my spare time...gotta love shameless self-promotion

Thing #8 - Communication

I'm *usually* an early adopter when it comes to new Internet sites, gadgets etc. So I'm already quite familiar with instant messaging and social networking.
Most of the time I just like to see how these things work but actually fail to use them in day to day life because a lot of it is just to stalker-y for my comfort.
Like my Twitter page that still sits empty after signing up several months ago. For unknown reasons, I kind of hate Twitter, maybe because I hate what I don't understand? Anyhow, I'm still convinced that it's just some short-term fad with no long-term benefit to the library.

I am however guilty of frequenting texting. It's almost like a covert form of communication, you can talk to someone without having to interrupt them (or others around you) with a phone call. The downside is that it's not free. Having said that, I don't think texting would ever be a feasible way for the library to communicate with patrons. I really don't see too many people willingly signing up to receive texts from the library.

Instant messaging is already being used in the library with tools like "Ask a Librarian", which is actually a pretty cool feature. I've also seen some of my co-workers do the web conferences and I can really see how that may be the way of the future when it comes to teaching....we'll see.

Lucky #7 - Online Image Generators

I'm not really sure how I feel about these, mostly I'm failing to see how they could be useful to the library. Perhaps for flyers, brochures, etc? Other than that I'm at a loss.
They're a great time waster though, I made several, even one using my super photogenic cat Oscar.

Thing #6 - Flickr Mashups

Okay, this was by far the most fun "thing" I've done yet. There are so many tools and little gadgets you can use with your flickr photos. It makes the idea of starting a flickr account a lot more appealing to me. I can see how these would be great resources for avid bloggers too.

Thing #5 - Flickr

I was already somewhat familiar with flickr, once upon a time I even had an account. To me, Flickr is kind of like a very visual blog minus all the words.

I don't have much time to upload photos myself though and I'm not much of a photographer for that matter. But I do use it on occasion to keep up with friends, family and even the library: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acld/

Personally, I'm not really sure how great I feel about the whole world having access to my photos. I do understand that you can make photos private but then that seems to defeat the whole purpose doesn't it?

Flickr is also a really great to find some amazing and cute photos (see above)

Thing #4 RSS Feeds

I've never tried RSS feeds before, mostly because I didn't understand their intended purpose. Now after registering for google reader I can see how it would be a great time saver if there's certain sites you like to keep up with daily. It's very easy to set up and the search tool in google reader is a great way to add subscriptions.
I can see how this could be useful in the library world, in keeping up with library news, authors, new releases, etc. all in one place.

Thing # 3 - Blog search engines....

Okay first off I have to say I was pretty disappointed with Technorati as a blog search tool.
After typing 'jewelry making' into the search, I received some rather odd results, one being a blog post about cleaning your dryer vent for fire safety. Huh??
I then discovered that google has it's own search engine for blogs (too cool!) and the results ended up being things that were actually pertinent to my initial search. I will defintely be using this feature more in the future.

Thing #2 (Finally)

I don't blog in "real" life, so it's been a little hard trying to remember to even post anything on here. It's definitely something you need to set aside time for.
Hopefully I'll be to thing #5 before the end of February!

Thing #1

Well I've set up my blog and registered, it only took a few minutes and was really simple. Now finding and downloading a new template (that works!) for my blog is another story....