Web-based apps #18

I just played around with the google web based apps because I already have a google account. It was so easy to use. I actually published what I wrote to my blog. (look at the post right before this) Since google and blogger have a relationship together it was so easy to just publis right to my own blog. I could actually see just going through google and not even using blogger unless you wanted to make some aesthetic changes...and as you can see my blog is pretty drab....so....

Where was I? Oh yes the google docs are super easy to use. They have the same standard toolbar that office uses. I don't know if I would feel comfortable writing a whole paper on there if I was a student....but I could see if I didn't have office on my computer, but did have internet access typing it all in google and then transporting the document into a more "traditional" program. I see tremendous potential for those users who cannot afford the cost of a traditional software Office package.

Attempt at writing something using google docs

I totally made a first version that was to see how this works....yeah went to preview....but then I closed it without sharing. Now my masterpiece is lost to cyberspace.

Two minutes later....

Turns out I didn't lose it... Somehow it save it for me (so cool)

PBWiki #17

It was fun to actually add something to a Wiki. In one of the pieces that we were asked to read it stated that users often feel like they are doing something wrong when they edit a wiki....and it is funny because I did. It almost feels like spray painting on a public building....not that I have ever done that or anything....

Posting to my favorite movie and animal were easy to do. Less easy was when we were asked to add our blog to the list of others who have used this 23 things. Currently I have called in the professionals and hope to have my blog up there with everyone elses by tomorrow afternoon.

Exploring Wiki's #16

I have been familiar with wikis for probably two or three years now because of Wikipedia. Exploring some of the suggested sites was interesting in that it gave me a broader example of all the different uses for which wikis are applicable. I thought the most interesting Wikis were the ones designed for the ALA conferences in which there are tips and advice for new ALA members for navigating the city and loads of other useful information. I am sure that the ALA has it's own web page that covers many of the topics that are discussed, but the wiki enables all users to comment and add their own insightful bits of wisdom.

I am looking forward to getting a wiki for circ to replace our notes binder. The wiki will make searching so much easier and I just learned that certain pages can be locked down so no edits can be made on them, which will make the managing of the wiki easier. It just seems like it is the next logical step that takes advantage of tried and tested technology that has been in use for over a decade.

Library 2.0 #15

I don't see that there is much of a debate regarding Library 2.0. I see it more as an opportunity to begin to think about libraries in a new light, but I believe, as is noted in several of the pieces, that the core values of all libraries will remain the same. We now have an opportunity to rethink what we do everyday and how we do things. Some of the highlights that I enjoyed were:

• Users shouldn't need to be taught how to use every application in the library. These applications need to be "user" friendly
• We are currently involved in a "climate of collaboration"
• We need to "reach out to the edges of the web and not just the center" (I really like this one because it advocates for the niche' market. In our own library we have extensive religion and nursing collections -- what are we doing with these collections to really take advantage of their worth?)
• Tagging and reviewing are not going away. I know that libraries are borrowing a lot of ideas from the likes of book stores a lot these days, but I think it makes sense to really take advantage of what works. What if we had a function in our database that was similar to Barnes and Nobles "customers who purchased this whatever, also enjoyed this". I could see this being very helpful in terms of student research.

My big concern with all of these new services and technologies is the individual' right to privacy. It seems like we are on the edge of a slippery slope at times and I wonder if there is anyway to prevent our descent?!?!?!

Technorati #14

The more that I read the more I wonder if everyone has a blog. A lot of the blogs that I checked out through Technorati seemed to be topic driven (entertainment, sports, politics, etc.), but my guess is that the VAST majority of bloggers out there use blogs almost as a diary to the world. I had a friend who used livejournal about 10 years ago and I thought it was crazy because everyone could see her thoughts and feelings. Now I feel like she was WAY ahead of the curve on all of this. (By the way: she also liked Norah Jones months before she started becoming popular and winning grammys!) Technorati is interesting in tat it can connect their users to the casual bloggers (more journal writing and what not) AND the super intense bloggers who make their living writing about whatever they write about. I just find myself thinking when do people have time to constantly be updating and checking their own blogs and everyone elses? It is a lot of work, but I guess using a program like technorati or even just an RSS reader drastically reduces all the searching

Del.ico.us #13

I like the idea of tagging websites because when you are searching you no longer have to rely on the complex algorithms that search engines use to determine the relavency of the search order. Del.ico.us is great in that each user becomes, as was mentioned in the introductory video, a filter or middle man for all of the other users in the virtual community. It is truly a cooperative way of gathering and deceminating resources. I did some fun searches for books and was surprised at my findings. The most popular shared site was actually Librarything, which I thought was exciting because it shows that the tools and programs that we are learning are not these obscure programs. I was also surprised to find a lot of sites that were good for finding recomendations for your next book to read, I could have used those sites a few months ago!! The search also found a lot of sites that have free books to be looked at online. I see this as promising for schools that might not have the resources to purchase these books for all of their students, but given good enough internet access, could have these titles available for their students. Out of print books are suddenly available too.

This is a really cool tool that deserves more time to be explored (I feel like I am saying this about most of these "things")!

Rollyo #12

I enjoyed playing around with Rollyo. The value of a program like Rollyo is apparent to anyone who uses a general search engine and is just overwhelmed with the amount of hits that their search calls up. There have been several studies that show that very few individuals actually go beyond the actual first page of a search. With Rollyo, however, you are able to narrow your search to just te sites that you want to search. I created a Rollyo that searches for baseball news of note, with an emphasis on the World Champion Boston Redsox. My Rollyo is named Bosox. For my blog, I also added the popular news search as well. It was very simple to add the element to the page because they give you all of the code and all you have to do is paste it into the appropriate space. I like how you can change the look of the Rollyo as well. I see tremendous use for libraries, especially academic institutions, in that librarians could create individual subject rollyos and attach them to popular databases for similar subjects. It is a neat way to refine the information that you want and at the same time know that it is trustworthy because of the limited sites that the information is being pulled from.