More on YouTube

The first video I ever watched on YouTube was Spiders On Drugs and I still find it really funny. Didn't think that was exactly appropriate for posting, but if you haven't seen it, give it a look-see. I think YouTube is pretty neat and I see library applications for creating many customer service training videos to supplement our STARS program.

Thing 20: YouTube

Here is the "Official" Thing 19 from Yourminis.com

Does This Count for Thing 19?

create your own visited states map

Thing 18: Life Is a Beach at Zoho.com

Life is a Beach, or Are We Having Fun Yet?

That is the question I've been asking myself as I work my way through these lessons. Remember that my most difficult habit from Thing 2 was having fun (as a learning habit, that is.) I must admit that I didn't start out having much fun with this project, but I am now--at least I was before I began using this WP application. I thought I understood Zoho, and I love, love, love the toolbar, but I can't insert a picture into this document and it is making me crazy!!! So right now I am wishing I was at the beach, as I try to save this blasted document one more time! Hey, this time it worked!! Go figure!! Anyway, here I was at one of my favorite beaches a couple of months ago.

This document was created on Zoho Writer, thus Thing 18 has now been accomplished!

Thing 17: Playing in the Sandbox

Create PBWiki Account. Log on to PLCMC Learning 2.0 Wiki. Add D.I.B Blog to Favorite Blogs under the YMCPL wikis. Add a favorite to another category (how about Favorite Music? how about Annie Lennox's Songs of Mass Destruction?)

DONE!!!!

Thing 16: Wikimania

Had some familiarity with wikis from the Wick Avenue Wiki and the PLYMC Database Wiki. I think this is an important L2.0 application for our library--especially after spending some time with Library Success There are three other library related wikis that I thought were rather good--Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day, LibraryInstruction.Com and Library Technology Training Wiki and will spend more time with them post Thing 23. As for possible applications to our work, I'd like the IS Department to try developing a wiki for our Internet Links and some subject pathfinders for our patrons; I'd like to develop a STARS Trainers Wiki for us to collaborate on role-playing scenarios and scripts, and I'd like the STARS Trainers to create a STARS Customer Service Wiki to be integrated into a L2.0 approach to YPL's customer service program that takes advantage of podcasts, videocasts, blogs, etc. But first I have to finish my things! Aloha, wikis, for now!

Thing 15: Blogging about Web 2.0

I found the article "Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries?" very interesting reading and while each respondent had important things to say, for me, the image of rowing away from the icebergs is a very powerful one. I don't want to be the Bookwoman who perishes on the Titanic! Thankfully, I see this dynamic learning project (L2.0) as a way to the lifeboats, so to speak. The three icebergs Rick Anderson points out (the "just in case" collection, the reliance on user education, and the "come to us" model of library service") are the three big threats to those of us who began our careers here 25 or more years ago while the Marc record was a glimmer in someone's eye. We developed finely-honed skills of collection developement to have the most comprehensive collection to serve the needs of patrons who came to us. And when they came to us, we forced them to learn how to use the resources! If we're waiting for patrons to walk through our doors, we are in big trouble! Anderson's points reiterate some of the ideas presented by Joan Frye Williams (former librarian and now library consultant) at at NEO-RLS workshop last spring--the major one being that services must become user-centric. The hand-clapper statement of Anderson's article is "But if our services can't be used without training, then it's the services that need to be fixed--not our patrons." Williams said the same thing--we'd better embrace the technologies and applications that are already a part of our patrons' lives if we want to keep them as library customers. If we can do this, Bonaria Biancu's L2.0 Meme map (shown above and readable from my Del.icio.us Favorites) can become a paradigm for all libraries--ours included.

Thing 14 -- Not so technical Technorati

By spending a little more time with Technorati, I discovered through the exercise that searching for topics in tags only or in the Blog Directory is a much more focused approach and limits the number of results. I also claimed my blog and added a widget so that it can be "favorited" by others. BergerBlogger, captain of our L2.0 team, said I spent enough time on Technorati already, so I'm movin' on. Thanks for the dispensation!

Thing 13 -- Comments about Del.icio.us

What an application to combat my frustration every time our departmental bookmarks are updated and I have to re-create my personal bookmarks! The convenience of bookmark accessibility is a really great feature of Del.icio.us. While I created bookmarks around the theme of music for an easy way to get through the Discovery Exercise on this topic, I could see the potential for research assistance--for staying updated on topics of personal and professional interest. I had a lightbulb moment (hopefully one of many during this project!) doing this exercise as I realized I could tag favorite sites that deal with customer service and create an RSS feed for my Bloglines. This is definitely an L2.o application I'll revisit.

Thing 12 -- Rollyo

Select...Amer Hist HomeworkDigital Immigrant BookwomanLibrary VisitMath Homework HelpScience HomeworkSearch The Web

Thing 10 -- Image Generators

http://www.txt2pic.com/toons/

A Final Word about Things 5-6-7

Posted a comment on Hannah's Web Haven in reaction to her observation about computer classes. With that, I can officially say that Things 5, 6 and 7--although out of sequence--are finally (in the immortal word we know and love)...

DONE!!!

Thing 7: Blogging about Technology

The OPLIN 4Cast has become a favorite website of mine because of its digest approach to technology issues on the forefront. I used to get it delivered to my email and although I knew what RSS was, it wasn't until I ran through Things 8 & 9 that I realized I could now get the list as a newsfeed. Of course I added it immediately. A recent article, "Top 25 Librarian Bloggers by the Numbers" was interesting because it ranked the most popular librarian blogs based on data from
— Google PageRank
— Alexa Rank
— Technorati Authority
— Bloglines Subscribers
Happy to see that "The Shifted Librarian" is number two. Another interesting article found in the 4Cast #75 on that latest stats for bibiliobloggers. Librarians can quantify everthing!

Flickr Spell -- Thing 6

Go Penguins con't

Thing 9: Finding Feeds

I explored Technorati, which I found the easiest for identifying blogs. I was searching for my cousin David's blog, which is one I've been following for several years now and is one of my all time favorite web sites. Found it and my own blog. I thought Topix was pretty easy to use for identifying newsfeeds--I was searching for news stories about the python that appeared in a toilet. I thought for sure it had to be an urban legend, but discovered several newsfeeds about it by using Topix. Really happened in Brooklyn--no urban legend there! Couldn't make sense of Syndic8. What I liked about Feedster was the sponsored links, because no matter what topic I searched, I was overwhelmed by all the personal blog pages that showed up.

Farewell Flickr (for now) & Hello Bloglines!

Flickr is not an intuitively easy experience for me. All those photos! All of those different applications and mashups! Can't handle it right now. Images and graphics have always given me trouble, so I shouldn't have expected Things 5-6-7 to be easy. I've decided to move on and come back to them and finish those up later. So I've moved on to Thing 8. Now here's a techie thing with some meaning. I like--no, LOVE--RSS feeds simply for the elimination of spam and for the ability to target updated information in areas of one's specific interests. The Discovery Resources were clear and easy to follow. I set up my Bloglines account and subscribed to 13 newsfeeds that I found through various ways. Initially I used the Bloglines Directory to find several feeds--including 3 library feeds. I subscribed to two feeds from the publicly shared bloglines feeds of two colleagues. I researched RSS feeds dealing with reference services and used the RSS/XML icon on those sites to add them to my feeds. It's easy to see how this technology can be used in one's personal life to streamline access to the Internet sites one visits every day--the news sites, the weather, joke or word of the day. Same goes for one's professional work. For those of us in the library world this would be a way to target the most relevant newsfeeds about technology or reference work or whatever area of library work with which we are involved. Taking advantage of this technology for our library work with the public is a little harder to see. If we were to allow RSS linking from our website, our patrons could zero in on what's happening at the Library. They could see what new materials are added and get notices of new items that match their reading preferences. If we generated a podcast or a webcast of how to use a reference database, they could add those to their feeds, right? Ok, so the last part of Thing 8 is to link to my public bloglines account so I can prove I did it. Check my feeds out at:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/dvicarel