Thing 23: Is This Really the End?

It has been interesting exploring the various "things" as part of this shared learning experience. Some of them have been fun (image generators, YouTube, podcasts, wikis, RSS) and others make my head hurt just thinking about them (technorati, del.icio.us). I probably would not have explored a few of the "things" like del.icio.us on my own and don't really expect to use all of these in the near future, but at least I know what they are and am familiar with what they can do.

Finding the time to complete the exercises was probably the most challenging part of Learning 2.0 and I suspect would be the main obstacle to participation in any future exercises.

All in all, Learning 2.0 was fun and informative.

Thing 22: Audiobooks

Since we frequently have had to set up accounts on netlibrary for patrons, setting up my own account has been one of the easiest parts of completing the 23 things. I prefer to read rather than listen to audiobooks, but if I had a long commute, I might listen to audiobooks more often. I was glad to see many of the yearly compilations of New Stories From the South available as audiobooks, but the two I listened to samples from had a narrator with a generic Midwestern accent that took something away from hearing the short stories in the collection read by someone with a Southern accent. As our audiobook patrons frequently tell us, the narrator plays a very big role in whether the audiobook is enjoyable or not.

Thing 21: Podcasts, Smodcasts!

Of the three podcast directories, I liked Yahoo Podcasts the least. On Podcast.net, I liked how it lets you search using keyword, host, and location since any and all of these could be helpful in locating a specific podcast. The ability to search by genre or keyword makes Podcast Alley quite useful for finding podcasts on a particular topic - I found several interesting book and library themed podcasts using this site.

One of the local news programs had a feature about a year ago showing how churches are using podcasts of sermons as a new way to reach people. They interviewed one man who listened to the Sunday sermon while he was jogging, a woman who listens as she drives to work, and a couple who are able to "attend" their hometown church even though they live 500 miles away by listening to the podcast of the service each week. One pastor mentioned that they are able to reach many people who are sick or elderly and can't make it to regular services through podcasts and they have people from their church who go out and show them how to use the technology when needed. I think this is a great example of an organization using technology to meet an existing need.

Thing 20: You Too Can YouTube

YouTube and similar sites can be lots of fun but they can also take up lots of your time if you aren't careful. I looked at a few of the library-themed videos on YouTube and revisted an old favorite Raging Rudolph http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvWVzjBfrn0

The Rudolph video always reminds me of a former co-worker who liked to recite the dialogue and act out all of the parts.

Libraries could certainly make use of such sites to post short tutorial videos or videos promoting new services or upcoming events. The possible uses are endless. Staff could even create videos as a morale and team building activity. When I was in college, the students in the science and math departments used to create a video every year with skits poking fun at the various professors in the department and the professors would make a video teasing the students. We'd show the videos at a cookout just before finals and everyone would laugh and have a great time. It helped all of us not to take things so seriously and also provided us with the opportunity to work together on something that was fun but also a good learning experience. Many of the library videos that I looked at seemed to have been created for just such a purpose.

Thing 19: Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

Although it was hard to pass up the cocktail builders' site with its promise to take the booze you have around your house and tell you what cocktails you can make with it, I ultimately decided to look at the offerings under Lists and Polls. The winner in that category is a site called 43 Things where you can list what you want to do with your life and then get a list of links to other people on the site who want to do the same thing. I suppose this would be a useful site if you enjoyed meeting people with similar interests online especially if you had a really unusual interest and happened to find someone who shared that interest. Since social networking online is not my thing, I also checked out Listdump which was the 3rd place winner in that category. Listdump is pretty much what it sounds like - a place where people post lists of all kinds. I suppose either of these sites could be used to help draw people to the Library website by placing posts on the site. However, it was the 2nd place winner that probably would have the most uses in a library setting. Statsaholic compares website traffic on different sites. This could certainly be useful for businesses thinking about advertising online or wondering about their competitors.

Thing 18: Web-based Apps

Zoho Writer was very easy to use and I like it much better than Open Office. Since I spent yesterday in a Time Management training course, I enjoyed experimenting with Zoho Planner as well. I imagine that the instructor would love all the little lists you can create on it. As for me, I'll probably stick to putting my lists on sticky notes - they just work better for me - I think being able to take the pen and scratch the thing off the list makes it feel like more of an accomplishment than checking off a box on a screen. As for Zoho Writer, I would certainly use that if I were on a computer that didn't have MS Word.

Thing 17: Playing Around with PBWiki

It was fun to look at the favorites that had been posted and adding the link to my blog was fairly easy. I can see how being able to post information in this way could be a very good thing, but like all good things, it only takes one or two people to really mess things up. The freedom to almost instantly post text, photos, and video on the web raises issues of how/if people can also be protected from invasion of privacy, libel, and slander or if people are willing to surrender those protections for the advantages technology such as wikis present. It will be interesting to see how/if these issues are resolved in the near future.

Thing 16: So What's in a wiki?

It was fun looking at the various wikis and seeing them used for both entertainment and education. Within libraries, wikis can be used for many purposes including posting book or e-book reviews as a way to promote those resources. Wikis can feature information about upcoming programs and link to related resources for that program. Wikis can also be used as a means for students and librarians to share information and ideas for completing school projects. Libraries can collaborate with other agencies to provide access to information on essential government services through wikis that can be updated to reflect the very latest information. Wikis can also be used as a way to connect members of the library community with others in the community who share their interests. While exploring the wikis on Arlington's website, I went from a wiki on Best Practices in Libraries to another that informed me what happened today in Star Trek history - there truly is something for everyone out there and the possibilities are endless.

Thing 15: On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

For this exercise, I read all of the articles and thought that they each made interesting points about technology and the evolving role of libraries in our society. I liked what the article "Into A New World of Librarianship" said about the need for Librarian 2.0 to avoid getting caught up in "technolust" and "techno-worship." I agree with the author that technology needs to be put to the test to see if it is really meeting a user's needs and is in line with the mission and goals of the organization. It is too easy to chase after every new thing thinking that being "cutting edge" will make us a cool and appealing place to the public and that they will be awed by our mastery of the latest technology. If we aren't offering what people want and need, they won't come no matter how trendy and technologically advanced we may be. We certainly need to change to keep pace with our community and adopting new technologies will often be a part of this change. However, we also need to consider the relevance of new and emerging technologies in meeting the actual needs of the customers we serve.

When I visited my sister a few years ago in California, one of the local supermarkets was testing video monitors that were attached to the shopping carts. The monitor was supposed to do a variety of things including directing you to the correct aisle for a certain product and telling you what was on sale in the store. It certainly sounded like a great idea and like many shoppers, my sister was intrigued by the novelty of it and decided to go there even though it was not the market where she usually shopped. Sadly, the novelty wasn't enough to make her shop there again. We watched as a customer ahead of us expressed frustration to the manager because he wanted to buy soft drinks and selected "soda" as his search term. The monitor directed him to the aisle for baking soda instead. Many other customers seemed to be intimidated by the unfamiliar machines and simply refused to even use the carts that had the monitors attached to them. The cashier told us that they had already lost several of the monitors to vandalism and several more to a brief rainstorm that ruined all the monitors that were outside at the time. However, it wasn't just the poor performance of the video monitors that had many of the shoppers, including my sister, walking out and not wishing to return. The biggest problem was that they put all the effort into being flashy with the newest gadget and neglected to make sure that their shelves were stocked with the products that the customers were looking for. As one older customer was loudly telling the manager as we left, "I can watch the darned television at home, I came here for grapes and peaches!"

Thing 14: Technorati

This step took awhile. I could see using it as a Blog Directory. I suppose if you really wanted to get your blog noticed and/or use it for social networking then adding tags to help draw others to your blog would be useful. Also, this tool makes it easy to search for other bloggers who share your interest. Not sure I like the idea of technorati "spiders" crawling on my site though - ick!

Thing 13: Del.icio.us

I could see the benefits of using this if you work at computers in several locations (home, office, your laptop or a public library computer while you are away from home or work, etc.) It would be nice to easily duplicate your bookmarks on each computer.

Thing 12: Roll Your Own Search Engine

I created a search roll for the movie and television sites I visit most often. http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?q=Try+it+out...&sid=294924&x=12&y=9
I could see using this tool to link together similar sites (news sites, databases) and comparing results for a topic or saving yourself the time of searching them one by one, but I don't think I'd really use it.

Thing 11: A Thing About LibraryThing

LibraryThing was interesting to try and it was neat to see how many other people had selected the same titles. I don't think I'd really use it to catalog my library or to socialize with others, but it was fun to learn about it and create my library - http://www.librarything.com/catalog/campcascades

Thing 10: Play Around with Image Generators

Playing with the image generators was fun. They could be used to create interesting images for everything from scrapbooks to slideshow presentations. They are very easy to use. I used http://www.hetemeel.com/einsteinform.php to create this image.

Thing 9: Finding Feeds

I tried each of the search tools, but I'm not sure I'd really use any of them. I'd rather select the link from a site I am on and am interested in following rather than to go through a long list of blogs or podcasts that seem to have little relevance to the topics I searched. Technorati was good for locating video clips though.

Thing 8:Make Life Really Simple with RSS

In addition to some staff blogs, I subscribed to several news feeds, and the Unshelved and Get Fuzzy comic strips. I also subscribed to some book review feeds and a few library-related feeds.

RSS is a very good way to update library patrons on programs and materials that are of interest to them. In a previous library job, I ordered all of the videos and dvds for the adult collection and had many patrons who wanted to be notified when I was ordering certain items like BBC shows or foreign films. I had to use a variety of methods to keep them informed of new and upcoming arrivals. Automatically putting someone on hold for certain items, posting lists, making phone calls, and sending e-mails all worked to some degree, but were time-consuming for me and did not always ensure that a patron got just those items that he/she was interested in viewing. RSS would have been a useful tool for notifying patrons not only about dvds that were on order, but also would have allowed the inclusion of information about related books, programs, or databases. Since it can be tailored to an individual's interests, it is a way of using technology to add a personal touch to the information being delivered.

Thing 7: Blog About Technology

It is finally time for me to buy a car, so I have been trying to pay more attention to all the features of the new cars and decide what best meets my needs. I saw a television commercial yesterday for the new line of Volvos and they are promoting the fact that the key chain has a feature that allows you to remotely check to see if you have locked your doors. It can also detect a heartbeat inside your car to alert you that someone may be hiding in your car - or perhaps remind you that you have left the baby or a pet inside the car. Now, I have often wondered if I remembered to lock the car, but if I'd been asked by Volvo's marketing team about the features I'd like in a new car, I think heartbeat detector would have been pretty far down on my list (certainly after a good stereo but maybe before that thing in the James Bond movies that spills oil all over the road behind you so you can get away from the car that is chasing you). Nevertheless, I am intrigued by this gadget and wonder how long it will be before it makes an appearance in a show like the Sopranos where someone uses it to monitor the status of whomever they have locked in a trunk. Seems like only yesterday when power windows were a thing of wonder - we've come a long way!

Thing 6: More Flickr Fun

I used one of the Flickr tools to create a mosaic of photos of the Monster. It was fairly easy to do. The tool that creates Andy Warhol type images was fun too, but it didn't work well with the photos I had available. I had the most fun with the tool that let you grow "chia pet" hair on a person featured in a photo - I won't say who was in the photo I used for that one, but it was very entertaining and therapeutic too.

Thing 5: Discover Flickr

I enjoyed going through the library photos that I have saved in order to select some for posting on Flickr. It reminded me of the many programs and displays we have done over the years and of the fun we have had doing them. We put the Pirate Monster up along with a collection of pirate-themed books when The Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out. A teenage girl and her mother were looking at the monster and the mother said, "Isn't he cute?" The daughter looked at the Monster and replied, "I like his eye patch, but he's no Orlando Bloom."

Seven Habits

Easiest habit: Play is the habit that I find easiest, but finding the time to play is hard.

Hardest habit: I believe that I use technology to my advantage at work, but in my personal life, I would say that I probably don't always use technology to my advantage as much as I could.