I was going to use the Monty Python Gorilla Librarian sketch for this post, but someone already took that. So instead, here's one of my other favorites - the Sesame Street library skit.
I've seen a lot of library-related videos posted on YouTube. Some have come across through the AL email newsletters (March of the Librarians, anyone?), while I've seen others because of links folks have shared in other fora, or friends have sent them to me. I try to avoid spending time browsing YouTube, because I'd end up stuck there for hours on end, never to see the light of non-computer-monitor again.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I kept meaning to get around to joining Facebook. I originally wanted to join back when you had to have a college/university email address, but I wasn't in college or working for one at the time, so I couldn't. Then they changed that rule, but I wasn't so into the idea any more. After all, I have other ways of keeping up with many of my college friends. I'd been toying with the idea again lately (okay, I'll be honest: I'd think about it periodically for the past year or so), so this was the perfect opportunity to go ahead and actually do it. Side note: Isn't it funny how you're most likely to think of something when you can't do anything about it? Seems I'd only remember that I wanted to join Facebook when I was either away from my computer or involved in something else and couldn't do it at the time.
Thoughts on Facebook:
-I'm slightly annoyed that you can't pick more than one option for the "I am" and "School Status" parts of registration - what happens if you fall into more than one category?
-I'd really like some assurance that, since I have to provide my full name, they won't be posting it anywhere. I like to keep the various aspects of my life as separate as possible.
-The registration process could have been a little quicker.
But enough ranting. Here's what I liked as I registered and beyond:
-the ability to import and find friends from my address book and AIM. Timesavers! Even though most of the ones found were folks with whom I work instead of the college and grad school friends I'd pictured it finding. ;)
-Registration is broken into steps, which is quite nice.
-Lots of ability to personalize and edit the information shown.
-Finally getting around to registering and playing around on the site!! :)
Thoughts on Facebook:
-I'm slightly annoyed that you can't pick more than one option for the "I am" and "School Status" parts of registration - what happens if you fall into more than one category?
-I'd really like some assurance that, since I have to provide my full name, they won't be posting it anywhere. I like to keep the various aspects of my life as separate as possible.
-The registration process could have been a little quicker.
But enough ranting. Here's what I liked as I registered and beyond:
-the ability to import and find friends from my address book and AIM. Timesavers! Even though most of the ones found were folks with whom I work instead of the college and grad school friends I'd pictured it finding. ;)
-Registration is broken into steps, which is quite nice.
-Lots of ability to personalize and edit the information shown.
-Finally getting around to registering and playing around on the site!! :)
Web-based applications and the Web 2.0 Awards
Zoho Writer is something I wish had been around a few years ago when I was in library school. One of our mandatory classes involved an enormous group project in which we analyzed workflow patterns for an organization, documented them, and made recommendations. Our group of four (or was it five?) people spent countless hours meeting and cooperatively editing the various documents required for the class and the final presentation to the class and all of the organizations that had been involved. While ZohoWriter may not have helped as much with the final product (I'm always suspicious of any type of file conversion when there's a set of very specific rules as to the formatting and presentation of the final product), it would have been a great help as we shared our various portions of the work.
I'd heard of Kayak.com before, and since I'm always on the hunt for good airfares, I decided to try it out by searching for fares from Ft Lauderdale to my hometown. I was slightly surprised to see that it found a good variety of fares, as my hometown airport isn't exactly known for a large number of options (it's always funny when the pilot announces that we're first in line for takeoff - the only other possible travelers in line for takeoff would be of the feathered variety). While I'm not sure that this particular tool is as useful for me as it would be for someone going to a larger city, it certainly helps to be able to search multiple travel sites at once. I also appreciate that it searches airline sites as well, although with only two airlines (we just got a second last year!), and a grand total of 5 flights out daily, it's not a particularly difficult task to search the airlines' sites myself. I do appreciate the ability to easily email or print the fares found, and the ease of adjusting preferences for layovers, departure and arrival times, etc. Another thing I found myself appreciating here was the lack of graphics. Even with a fast Internet connection, ads (because let's face it; that's what the majority of the graphics on standard travel sites are) are annoying and take time to load. So I suspect that I'll be using Kayak.com more in the future, even for booking flights to my tiny hometown. I love one-stop-shopping!
I'd heard of Kayak.com before, and since I'm always on the hunt for good airfares, I decided to try it out by searching for fares from Ft Lauderdale to my hometown. I was slightly surprised to see that it found a good variety of fares, as my hometown airport isn't exactly known for a large number of options (it's always funny when the pilot announces that we're first in line for takeoff - the only other possible travelers in line for takeoff would be of the feathered variety). While I'm not sure that this particular tool is as useful for me as it would be for someone going to a larger city, it certainly helps to be able to search multiple travel sites at once. I also appreciate that it searches airline sites as well, although with only two airlines (we just got a second last year!), and a grand total of 5 flights out daily, it's not a particularly difficult task to search the airlines' sites myself. I do appreciate the ability to easily email or print the fares found, and the ease of adjusting preferences for layovers, departure and arrival times, etc. Another thing I found myself appreciating here was the lack of graphics. Even with a fast Internet connection, ads (because let's face it; that's what the majority of the graphics on standard travel sites are) are annoying and take time to load. So I suspect that I'll be using Kayak.com more in the future, even for booking flights to my tiny hometown. I love one-stop-shopping!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Rollyo
This is completely new to me, but oh, so useful! I'm used to going either to the search engines on a variety of sites or using Google to search a specific site if I need to, so having everything in one place is a nice thing - another tool in the arsenal. Since I enjoy playing around with math-related topics, I decided to search several of my favorite math websites. Here's the result.
LibraryThing
I used to have a LibraryThing account, but I forgot about it. Now I have No Clue what my username and password are. So I made a new one here. I like the different ways to view your lists, as well as the community and reviews. Possible favorite was the "Author Cloud," although mine was pitifully small. I looked at the cloud for one of my friends who uses it regularly, though, and it was very large and very much in line with what I like to read. Not that our shared reading preferences were news. ;)
For those of you who are familar with such things, doesn't the font on the top of the page look like the font that Unshelved used to use?
For those of you who are familar with such things, doesn't the font on the top of the page look like the font that Unshelved used to use?
Playing with image generators.
The virtual fortune cookie is quite fun, but it doesn't provide code to copy, and I don't feel like editing a screenshot right now. I guess you'll just have to go and play with it yourself! I have yet to get the same fortune twice.
Then I tried the Web 2.0 application generator, as it seemed appropriate.
I then attempted a Delft plate (click on "Tailor Made" and then "Design Your Own Plate"), but it hasn't arrived in my inbox as of the time I'm posting this.
And remember those 3-D pictures that I, for one, never could see properly? Look, mom! I made one! I still can't see the image, but I did learn that my handwriting on a computer screen is at least as bad as my handwriting on paper.
Then I tried the Web 2.0 application generator, as it seemed appropriate.
I then attempted a Delft plate (click on "Tailor Made" and then "Design Your Own Plate"), but it hasn't arrived in my inbox as of the time I'm posting this.
And remember those 3-D pictures that I, for one, never could see properly? Look, mom! I made one! I still can't see the image, but I did learn that my handwriting on a computer screen is at least as bad as my handwriting on paper.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Flickr
So...I have to admit that I'm not all that familiar with Flickr. I've used it some, I have an account, and I've viewed friends' pictures on it, but I've never done more than just posting a few pictures. And right now I'm not sure that I remember my username, much less my password. Ah, well. I'm sure I'll figure it out some day. I know I've got it written down...somewhere...maybe...hopefully.
Here's an image that amuses me. I guess it's good to know that those Canadians are making important contributions to society.
I also remember a while ago seeing a great set of library-related corporation logos that someone had "adapted." Not the best description, which is probably why I can't find them. I'm going to look around some more and see if I can track them down, because they were good. Very good.
Regarding mashups...I've heard of them, seen some, even. Hadn't really tried to actively look at or explore them until now. I always think of mashed potatoes, which makes me hungry. Fortunately I ate breakfast not too long ago. But still...now I'm craving mashed potatoes.
Anyway, I am highly intrigued and amused by the
retrievr mashup and see a great deal of procrastination potential when it comes time for my next paper for class. Thanks?
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm not a huge Flickr user. I think I'll have to do some more exploring now, but I mainly use photosharing-type sites for, well, sharing photos. I'm a long-time Photobucket user, although I haven't gotten around to editing and adding photos to my albums over there for a while now. One thing that I don't care for about Photobucket is that, at least last time I looked, you can set your entire account to "public" or "private." I'd like some of my photos to be private, since I'm slightly paranoid about keeping my identity reasonably private online. When you have a name that's very Google-able, that can be difficult to do. So I try to avoid posting pictures or making blog posts that would allow people to easily link my usernames and real name.
And there's another thing...how about how the Internet and the tools and services we use have become part of and affected our everyday vocabulary? As a grammar geek, I'm intrigued by how certain words have made it into our vernacular. Most of us have probably spoken of "googling" something. I refer to some sites as "over there" as if they're a real physical place - "Hey, check out that great procrastination tool over at Flickr!" Those are just two that pop to mind right now. What others can you think of?
Here's an image that amuses me. I guess it's good to know that those Canadians are making important contributions to society.
I also remember a while ago seeing a great set of library-related corporation logos that someone had "adapted." Not the best description, which is probably why I can't find them. I'm going to look around some more and see if I can track them down, because they were good. Very good.
Regarding mashups...I've heard of them, seen some, even. Hadn't really tried to actively look at or explore them until now. I always think of mashed potatoes, which makes me hungry. Fortunately I ate breakfast not too long ago. But still...now I'm craving mashed potatoes.
Anyway, I am highly intrigued and amused by the
retrievr mashup and see a great deal of procrastination potential when it comes time for my next paper for class. Thanks?
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm not a huge Flickr user. I think I'll have to do some more exploring now, but I mainly use photosharing-type sites for, well, sharing photos. I'm a long-time Photobucket user, although I haven't gotten around to editing and adding photos to my albums over there for a while now. One thing that I don't care for about Photobucket is that, at least last time I looked, you can set your entire account to "public" or "private." I'd like some of my photos to be private, since I'm slightly paranoid about keeping my identity reasonably private online. When you have a name that's very Google-able, that can be difficult to do. So I try to avoid posting pictures or making blog posts that would allow people to easily link my usernames and real name.
And there's another thing...how about how the Internet and the tools and services we use have become part of and affected our everyday vocabulary? As a grammar geek, I'm intrigued by how certain words have made it into our vernacular. Most of us have probably spoken of "googling" something. I refer to some sites as "over there" as if they're a real physical place - "Hey, check out that great procrastination tool over at Flickr!" Those are just two that pop to mind right now. What others can you think of?
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