Thing #23: Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to laugh when I listened to the YouTube video that accompanies Thing #23--"Celebrate"! FANTASTIC!!! It takes me back, and I'm definitely celebrating the completion of the 23 things. And I'm sitting in the perfect place for the festivities: right next to the food table in the TR IS staff room. It's been like Christmas here since well, Christmas. The food has been nonstop. Not so good for swimsuit season--eeks!

I must say that it's been a lot of fun to explore Web 2.0 technology while at work--not too shabby. My favorite discovery exercises have been establishing del.icio.us and Library Thing accounts as well as learning about Google Docs and Zoho. I look forward to further exploring those applications and regularly using them. In a previous post, I mentioned that I wish Microsoft would support a feature like that with its software. If computer users have already bought Office products, there should be some way to store those documents online instead of on a personal hard drive or flash drive.

In completing these exercises, I've discovered that there is use to a lot of these applications. I was a bit wary of establishing so many accounts at various websites, but since learning about these sites, I've become converted.

On to the not-so-good: I didn't care for the RSS feeds. I don't see myself using that beyond this Web 2.0 Challenge. But it never hurts to learn something new.

As for sharing my blog, I've shown it to my sister, and I'll have to send the URL to my parents so they can see what I've been working on over the past few months. I've raved about del.icio.us and LibraryThing. My sis looked at the books I added to LibraryThing, and she thought that together, all those books were a great representation of who I am.

Thanks, OCL, for the e-memories. Cheerio!

Thing #22: ListenNJ

The moral of the story: read instructions. I didn't believe that I'd need to download to the PC Plus machines the software necessary for ListenNJ; I thought I'd be able to do all of it from the computer at my desk. So after fighting with whatever that software was, I finally went to a PC Plus to listen to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned. Of course, I tried downloading Gone with the Wind, but that wasn't available, so Fitzgerald it was.

Would I listen to audiobooks if I didn't have to do it for this web challenge? I don't think so; not because they aren't a good idea but because I'm a visual person. I really need to see the words on a page or screen to understand and internalize the information that's presented. Hearing it alone is not enough. Of course, if I finish the challenge and get an MP3 player out of the exercise, I'll download a book or two and try it out again.

Thing #21: Finding & Listening to Podcasts

I logged onto podcast.com and searched for "Knuckleheads in the News", which WTOP, a news radio station from D.C., broadcasts on weekday mornings to report about stupid criminals. I always get a kick out of hearing those stories; it adds a bit of levity to the day. Well, my search returned nothing, so I went to the next best thing: food. I noticed that podcast.com provides a link to podcasts about food. (Do you see a trend here...?)

I listened to an NPR podcast about Parsi food, titled "Sugar in the Milk: A Parsi Kitchen Story". So what is Parsi food? It's Persian food! The podcast reported on the Parsi new year and Parsi food that's eaten on special ocassions. I'd sure like to try that food!

Thing #20: YouTube & You

So YouTube's the most popular 2.0 website around now? I never would have guessed that (tongue-in-cheek). I log on all the time. As an MTV-deprived child, I have to catch up on all those great 80s and early 90s videos I never got the chance to see.

World's greatest music video? Falco's Rock Me Amadeus (there are lots of versions, so be sure to check out this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrd7capPKaw)! BRILLIANT song, BRILLIANT video; may Falco rest in peace.

Another fantabulous video: shots of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy to the Right Said Fraid song, "I'm too Sexy" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4JGXxmzPHo). Classic! It is laugh-out-loud funny! The screen shots that YouTube user Ladyhawke87 used from Pride and Prejudice to put this video together are pure genius. And it always leads me to this age-old question: why can't all men be like Mr. Darcy? Cold, distant, proper yet with a good heart? Now answering THAT is where the challenge lies!

I salute those valiant YouTube users who have way too much time on their hands to post videos and create videos for my happiness. Great American (or as the case may be, world) heroes!!!

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards

Through the Web 2.0 Awards website (another one I'll have to add to Del.icio.us), I found a link to judysbook.com, found under the Web 2.0 Award category, "City Guides & Reviews". From judysbook.com, I found a link to another website, couponlooker.com. That could be handy; who doesn't want to save money?!

Even though it's been blogged about, I'm going to add Pandora to my blog. What a fantastic website--another few electrons to add to my del.icio.us account!

Content Aggregation & Management--whew! That's a mouthfull. It looks like these websites help manage information found on the internet, which I'm sure business need to use.

Thing #18: Web Apps

Storing documents online is something I've been longing for! I already use my email accounts as pseudo-storage bins so I can access documents that are scattered on my home computer or work computer. I am thrilled to learn about Google Docs and Zoho! I've lost flash drives, and other flash drives have up and quit on me, so if I can store my documents on some remote server that I don't have to worry about, I'll be in 7th heaven!

This service will be especially useful at work so that I don't have to attach documents to emails. The TR programming team sends a lot of stuff back and forth, so this will avoid a lot of duplication.

I do wish that Microsoft would provide a service like Google Docs and Zoho so that we could continue using Microsoft software. As much as I get disgusted with Word, I still like it best. But you can be sure I'm going to try out these new services. If I learned nothing else in this challenge, Thing #18 alone would make it worthwhile!

Thing #17: Play in the Sandbox

I played in the sandbox, and it was a bit more cumbersome than I would have expected. I saved my comments a couple of times before it would take. But I eventually was successful, and I posted my blog to the wiki, too.

When the man in the YouTube video for Thing #16 demonstrated the utility of wikis, I saw the convenience of using a wiki over email. It really is a more advanced version of communicating, especially when lots of people are involved. Meagan T., here in the TR branch, is in the process of setting up a wiki for the programming team. Should be helpful!

Thing #16: Wikis

I checked out "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki" and found a link that provides programming ideas. I always need help with that! I've bookmarked this website because I'm definitely going to visit it again.

As for OCL's entry on Wikipedia, I actually contributed to that! (But I heard that what I wrote sounded too much like a sales pitch. That's the beauty (or ugly side, whatever side you're on) of a wiki: it can be edited!

This is the first time I've ever clicked on a wiki's history link to see how much and how often a wiki has been changed. I've never noticed that link before. I often go to Wikipedia out of sheer curiosity to see how quickly new information about a person/entry has been added to the site. Now, for the entertainment value of it, I'll have to clikc the history link more often. Pretty interesting stuff.

My favorite thing about this exercise was watching the YouTube video. I liked that the teacher used traditional paper and pens to explain wikis.

Thing #6: More Photo Fun

Now that I've gained access to my Flickr account (I spent about 15 minutes just trying to log in--as I said in a previous post: too many accounts, too little memory), I think I might start using it more. Our tenacious HR director keeps asking me about my photos from Fiji. This just might be the place to post them!

I'm a bit confused about Flickr's blogging service. Does that link to blogger.com, or do I have to create yet another blog through Yahoo!? Am I supposed to upload the picture I took for Flickr from Flickr OR from my hard drive? Please help!

Anyway, here's a picture I took of "Woven Light, Flowing Fabric" here in the Wheeler Room of the Toms River branch. (Wouldn't you know, I had to check the title of the work; you'd think that after having given tons of library tours to 2nd graders, I'd have that title down pat--nope!)

Thing #15: On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

John J. Riemer wrote in his article about bibliographic services that library catalogs should "adopt the features of Amazon and Google." Some library catalog vendors have come to the Toms River branch, endorsing their products on those very features that are missing from our current system. How many of us visit Amazon and Google multiple times a day to find books we own but aren't cataloged correctly? Riemer's definitely right on that point.

Rick Anderson explained in his piece that there was a time not too long ago when libraries held the "monopoly" on supplying information. I've talked with loads of people who ask me why I work in a library when it's no longer relevant. After seeing how people search and the results their searches yield, I realize just how relevant we are. But how? By creating the same atmosphere you find in a mall--loud and chaotic? The service libraries can provide in this hectic, noisy world is what we provided before the Internet and anything-goes behavior was accepted: a quiet place for learning. This philosophy that a library has to be all things to all people actually loses people who could use the library for real learning.

For me, Library 2.0 means getting back to basics. I understand that's not a popular view, but by jumping on every trend, we forget our mission by being spread too thin. The great organizations of the world stick to what they know. Libraries should figure out what they're good at, publicize that to the communities they serve and stick to it!

Thing #14: Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

I clicked on a link to "The World is Flat" blog, and it looks like some other groups out there in the ether are working on a challenge similar to OCL's!

In answer to the question about lifelong learning extending beyond the library, I don't know how anyone could avoid learning throughout her life. Whether it's formally or informally, a person is bound to learn something new by simply picking up a book, going to the library, attending a concert...the list is endless. Heck, I've been known to get my news through Jay Leno's monologue; and yes, I learned something!

After looking at Technocrati's list of popular blogs , I found a blog called PostSecret, which lets people anonymously post their innermost thoughts. That looks like an interesting one, and I just might have to visit it again.

Thing #9: Finding Feeds

I used Blogline's search engine to find feeds about Gone with the Wind. I figured I should fulfill my mission to learn about RSS feeds, so I chose from the results list the only link with the RSS feed icon next to it. Thinking I'd find a picture of Rhett slamming the door on Scarlett, I was a bit surprised to find the website written in some East Asian language. Maybe I'll learn to say "Frankly my dear..." in Japanese.

The easiest way to find feeds is by going to the websites I regularly visit. I understand that by using these other search engines, I'll discover new websites and blogs I wouldn't have known about. I should use these other searches simply so I gain more exposure to the vastness of the World Wide Web.

Incidentally, because I'm a member of the Trendspotters Committee, I signed up to receive a daily email that reports on trends across the spectrum, from food to hotels; from clothes, to computers. I've bookmarked some websites I learned about from those emails. (trendcentral.com)

Thing #12: NetLibrary & WorldCat

Establishing a user acount with NetLibrary was easy enough, and using it is pretty simple. If I could find the hardcopy version of the book I was looking for, I would definitely choose that over its electronic equivalent. But if worse came to worse, then I'd use this feature and suggest customers do the same. I still believe that nothing takes the place of a tangible book. A book that you can hold and feel is easier on the eyes, and I just couldn't curl up in a cozy corner with my laptop and feel the comfort I do with a touchable book.

WorldCat is a great resource, and I use it at least once every work day to help with ILL requests. I once used WorldCat to create a bibliography for a patron. What a great feature; it saved me the trouble of cutting and pasting from the WorldCat results into Word.

There are a lot more libraries that own Ocean County: Four Centuries in the Making than I would have expected--29 libraries and one as far west as Wisconsin!

Thing #11: LibraryThing

I logged onto LibraryThing to create an account, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but an established acount and something to leer. (Leer means to read in Spanish so it kind of makes sense, but rhyming is not my forte!) I really couldn't believe my eyes when I tried to create an account, and LibraryThing notified me that the username I wanted to use was already taken. I searched my various email accounts, trying to find an email that welcomed me to LibraryThing. Nothing. So then I clicked the link to this mystery account, trying to glean some information about this thief who stole my username. Hmm, it appears that this person who took my username, might actually be me. After all, this person had added just one book to her catalog; it was Gone with the Wind. Either I'd entered the twilight zone, or I'd developed a severe case of amnesia.

When I dscovered that GWTW had been added to this user's LibraryThing, I figured I might as well try logging onto this person's account. If the username and password matched, then that account must belong to me. I was successful but a little embarassed that I couldn't remember doing something that wasn't that long ago; it was only November for heaven's sake. What else belongs to me that I've forgotten about? A Swiss bank account with millions in gold? I wish! (Thanks, Meg R. for that idea!)

The books I added to LibraryThing run the gamut from very popular to obscure. I've had fun discovering other readers' tags, and I like LibraryThing's suggestions for books I might like to read.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/vhaeder

Thing # 13: Del.icio.us!!!

How fun is Del.icio.us?! One fine spring morning, when the birds were chirping and the buds were blossoming, a patron came into the library completey ignorant of Web 2.0, but she asked me, on the assumption that such a thing existed, if there were some online tool that allows her to store her favorite websites.

There sure is, I told her. And in no time, this patron had a Del.icio.us account (even before I signed up for one)!

I figured that if I were promoting Del.icio.us to this fine patron, I should try it out for myself, especially because I don't like to fill up my bookmark list on my own computer. I see that Del.icio.us could be quite addictive and that I'll be adding links left and right! Del.icio.us is yummy!