Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Podcasts
Okay. After some initial frustration about whether or not I could listen to these podcasts, I am now listening to something called "Library Geeks" which is not, um, interesting. I don't like listening to people talk to each other on the radio when one person is always saying "Hmm..." I added the podcast to my Bloglines anyway. I haven't found Bloglines to be something that I use except when prompted to by the 2.0 blog.
Of the podcast directories, Podcastalley.com was the only one that worked for me. Thanks to John at IT, I learned that I don't need the software to listen to the podcasts, but I can use the links to cut and paste my way to the website of origin and just listen from there.
I can see how podcasts can be a good resource for libraries. From what I saw on Podcastalley.com it looks like there are a lot of libraries who do podcasts on research tips and library/information news. The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library do podcasts of events they sponsor. I wanted to listen to one in which they talk to Louise Erdrich and her sisters, but you have to download it, so I will probably do it later at home.
Of the podcast directories, Podcastalley.com was the only one that worked for me. Thanks to John at IT, I learned that I don't need the software to listen to the podcasts, but I can use the links to cut and paste my way to the website of origin and just listen from there.
I can see how podcasts can be a good resource for libraries. From what I saw on Podcastalley.com it looks like there are a lot of libraries who do podcasts on research tips and library/information news. The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library do podcasts of events they sponsor. I wanted to listen to one in which they talk to Louise Erdrich and her sisters, but you have to download it, so I will probably do it later at home.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Music and Audio
I went to all the sites suggested by the 2.0 program. Of the music sites I liked Last.fm the best. For me, it is the most user-friendly. I like to use MySpace to listen to music, and last.fm has a similar set up, but offers a lot more. There is a really generous selection of songs as well as music videos, and I like that it links you out to places where you can purchase the mp3s or the albums. What really sets last.fm apart though is the user created tags and the sidebar of similar artists. Pandora is good also, but different. The way it sets up a "radio station" for you based on who you like is great for exploring new music or having something to listen to continually which you can guide by ratings of what you liked and didn't like. But as far as finding specific artists or songs to explore in more depth, it really isn't that helpful. I did not really like IMEEM; it didn't seem to offer anything unique or in a better format than the others.
As far as the other audio - I have used Internet Archive before, and I've mentioned it in this blog. It is pretty easy to use and offers a lot of great things without lengthy buffering. The absolute sound effects archive would be useful if you used sound effects, but I don't really... I had also looked at Gutenburg.org before and found it difficult to navigate. I wasn't familiar with its audio book selection, however. Maybe sometime at home I will download one and see how I like it. If it is good, I think it would be helpful to mention to patrons. I am a little confused with how these can be in the public domain, though. Doesn't the reader have some sort of copyright on his or her reading?
Mango languages was interesting. I started a little of the first French lesson, and it reminded me of the CDs I used in my introduction to French class. It could be a great resource for patrons, especially ones who are traveling and need to know some basics for pronunciation.
The Discover 2.0 blog asked if CDs were dead. All I can say about that right now is "Not yet." I still buy and listen to CDs. Although I don't have an ipod, I like to download music and listen to it on my computer (or on a CD) as well. Right now there is room in the market for both things, but it may not remain so. I believe that there will continue to be some physical form of music, like records or cassettes or CDs have been, just as I believe that books will not die even when everything is available online.
As far as the other audio - I have used Internet Archive before, and I've mentioned it in this blog. It is pretty easy to use and offers a lot of great things without lengthy buffering. The absolute sound effects archive would be useful if you used sound effects, but I don't really... I had also looked at Gutenburg.org before and found it difficult to navigate. I wasn't familiar with its audio book selection, however. Maybe sometime at home I will download one and see how I like it. If it is good, I think it would be helpful to mention to patrons. I am a little confused with how these can be in the public domain, though. Doesn't the reader have some sort of copyright on his or her reading?
Mango languages was interesting. I started a little of the first French lesson, and it reminded me of the CDs I used in my introduction to French class. It could be a great resource for patrons, especially ones who are traveling and need to know some basics for pronunciation.
The Discover 2.0 blog asked if CDs were dead. All I can say about that right now is "Not yet." I still buy and listen to CDs. Although I don't have an ipod, I like to download music and listen to it on my computer (or on a CD) as well. Right now there is room in the market for both things, but it may not remain so. I believe that there will continue to be some physical form of music, like records or cassettes or CDs have been, just as I believe that books will not die even when everything is available online.
Google Docs
I am writing my blog in Google Docs. The Discover 2.0 blog mentioned that some people see Google Docs as an alternative to using Microsoft Office, especially since, when you need to, you can invite other people into your document to view or edit it as necessary. I can see how this could be helpful for writers and editors and people who make spreadsheets and stuff. At first I didn't see how it was that different than wikis in serving small groups, but now I do. Google Docs seems to be an application for writing and editing information to be published elsewhere, and a wiki is a place for things to evolve where they are and be on display there.
But back to what I was saying about Microsoft Office. I recently purchased a new computer, and Microsoft has decided not to include Word in the Office package that comes with new computers. This makes moving my old documents to my new computer more time-consuming than I would like it to be. If I had all my documents on Google docs, certainly this wouldn't be a problem. In the same way that del.ici.ous makes it possible for people to access their bookmarks from any computer, Google docs makes it possible for people to access their documents from any computer. So will I start using Google Docs? Probably not. A potential breach of privacy doesn't really concern me, since that's a risk you take just having a computer with internet access. But, even though it is spreading rapidly, internet service is not yet available everywhere, and if you move your computer around with you, as I do, you will still need to access your documents sometimes when you're not able to be online. So Microsoft Office can breathe easy for a little while. It is more likely that it will work in conjunction with Google Docs than be competing with it.
But back to what I was saying about Microsoft Office. I recently purchased a new computer, and Microsoft has decided not to include Word in the Office package that comes with new computers. This makes moving my old documents to my new computer more time-consuming than I would like it to be. If I had all my documents on Google docs, certainly this wouldn't be a problem. In the same way that del.ici.ous makes it possible for people to access their bookmarks from any computer, Google docs makes it possible for people to access their documents from any computer. So will I start using Google Docs? Probably not. A potential breach of privacy doesn't really concern me, since that's a risk you take just having a computer with internet access. But, even though it is spreading rapidly, internet service is not yet available everywhere, and if you move your computer around with you, as I do, you will still need to access your documents sometimes when you're not able to be online. So Microsoft Office can breathe easy for a little while. It is more likely that it will work in conjunction with Google Docs than be competing with it.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Wikis
The wiki. I am familiar with wikipedia.org, and so familiar with most of the ways that wikis work, even though I have never made one myself. I watched the wikis in plain english video, and it didn't tell me anything new. Then I read the article "Using Wikis to Create Online Communities," which was okay. I visited a wiki linked out from there - libsuccess.org - which is supposed to be a wiki of different success stories and tips from an online community of librarians. It was quite a disappointment, though, since it is primarily links to other websites, and would be better served as a del.ici.ous account.
I like wikis. I think they are one of the better tools, and I like the idea from the article I read to add wikis to the online catalog to create a system of reviews and recommendations similar to Amazon's. I still think that amazon.com is the best source for book and music reviews and information and has the best search engine. Anyway the library can emulate it would be fantastic. I also think the IS Fugitive Facts wiki could be helpful, now that I know about it.
As far as other uses for wikis go, I think the camping trip example from the Common Craft Show was silly. Four friends who can't get together to plan a camping trip are ridiculous, especially since it takes the third person to remember that they will need a tent. Wikis would be more helpful to groups of people like community committees, which Ridgefield seems to have a dozen of. The committee for the centennial, which I am working on, could benefit from having a place to pool our history resources, for example. The impediment to practical use of this would, of course, be teaching people how to use it and a way to show them that it's there. Maybe that's something that the library should focus on right now.
I like wikis. I think they are one of the better tools, and I like the idea from the article I read to add wikis to the online catalog to create a system of reviews and recommendations similar to Amazon's. I still think that amazon.com is the best source for book and music reviews and information and has the best search engine. Anyway the library can emulate it would be fantastic. I also think the IS Fugitive Facts wiki could be helpful, now that I know about it.
As far as other uses for wikis go, I think the camping trip example from the Common Craft Show was silly. Four friends who can't get together to plan a camping trip are ridiculous, especially since it takes the third person to remember that they will need a tent. Wikis would be more helpful to groups of people like community committees, which Ridgefield seems to have a dozen of. The committee for the centennial, which I am working on, could benefit from having a place to pool our history resources, for example. The impediment to practical use of this would, of course, be teaching people how to use it and a way to show them that it's there. Maybe that's something that the library should focus on right now.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Books!
For this assignment I started a Goodreads account, since I already have one with LibraryThing. I never really got into LibraryThing, so when I tried to log on to compare it with Goodreads, I couldn't remember my username and password. I hate it when websites make your sign-in name different than your email address. I can, after all, only remember so much. Anyway, I do use the iread application of Facebook on which you can imput your books, rate them, etc. etc. and I found it more convenient to use than LibraryThing, since I check Facebook for other things (obviously).
Already I like Goodreads better than LibraryThing. It seems easier to navigate, I don't think you ever need to pay for it, and it has a lovely little feature where you record when you read a book. The website is set up more like other social networking sites, so it is a little more intuitive as well. Plus, the overview mentioned that I could add its application to my Facebook account, which I might do to replace iread, since it is certainly better than that.
Another great thing about Goodreads is that it has a little events page that shows you author events in your area. Authors are on both Goodreads and LibraryThing, but it would be interesting to see which is the preferred method of reaching out to readers.
LibraryThing does have a couple of features that, as far as I know so far, Goodreads does not. One is that it offers a lottery of advance reading copies. While a great idea, this doesn't interest me very much because your chances of getting the book aren't very good and because I already get advance copies from working in a bookstore. Another feature is the option to link out to purchase a book, which I don't really see as necessary, since I know where to buy books.
The biggest problem with either of these sites is that I don't know anybody on them. Unlike Facebook and MySpace, where they catch on because everybody's talking about them, the only people I've heard talk about these are the people I work with here in the library. Many of the things LibraryThing and Goodreads offer are offered just as adequately by Amazon - reviews by readers, recommendations based on what you've read/bought/looked at. So I'm interested to see how quickly the book networking catches on.
Already I like Goodreads better than LibraryThing. It seems easier to navigate, I don't think you ever need to pay for it, and it has a lovely little feature where you record when you read a book. The website is set up more like other social networking sites, so it is a little more intuitive as well. Plus, the overview mentioned that I could add its application to my Facebook account, which I might do to replace iread, since it is certainly better than that.
Another great thing about Goodreads is that it has a little events page that shows you author events in your area. Authors are on both Goodreads and LibraryThing, but it would be interesting to see which is the preferred method of reaching out to readers.
LibraryThing does have a couple of features that, as far as I know so far, Goodreads does not. One is that it offers a lottery of advance reading copies. While a great idea, this doesn't interest me very much because your chances of getting the book aren't very good and because I already get advance copies from working in a bookstore. Another feature is the option to link out to purchase a book, which I don't really see as necessary, since I know where to buy books.
The biggest problem with either of these sites is that I don't know anybody on them. Unlike Facebook and MySpace, where they catch on because everybody's talking about them, the only people I've heard talk about these are the people I work with here in the library. Many of the things LibraryThing and Goodreads offer are offered just as adequately by Amazon - reviews by readers, recommendations based on what you've read/bought/looked at. So I'm interested to see how quickly the book networking catches on.
Technorati
First, I couldn't watch the Technorati Tutorial, because this computer doesn't have QuickTime and wouldn't download it. I read the article about it and was satisfactorily informed, however. Then I checked out the percolating section of Technorati; it's neat, but kind of like looking at the front page of People magazine, which is cool if you like that sort of thing. Then I looked at the popular section and checked out Boing Boing, the world's most popular blog. I liked it, and added it to my bloglines, but was kind of surprised that it is so popular for what it is. It is primarily short posts of "cultural curiosities and interesting technologies," and I guess I would have expected the most popular blog to be, well, celebrity gossip or politics. It seems, however, that blogs with worldwide popularity are mostly concerned with technology. How refreshing.
I did the search of "Learning 2.0" in Blog Posts, Tags, and the Blog Directory. The results were pretty much the same for each and not very interesting.
I did the search of "Learning 2.0" in Blog Posts, Tags, and the Blog Directory. The results were pretty much the same for each and not very interesting.
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