Keeping up with the future

We just got the March 2007 issue of WIRED magazine here at Alviso, and there are (at least) two articles in it that should be of interest to those involved with Learning 2.0. The first one, on pg. 110, is by my favorite geek writer, Annalee Newitz, and is about the hacking of feedback scores on various sites such as eBay, Digg and del.icio.us. The second one, much more extensive, is on pg. 124, and is about snack culture, including Blackberries, iPods, cell phones, Treos, etc. Check it out!

#15 (Week 6). A few Perspectives on Web 2.0. Future of Libraries

Okay, so now I've read several perspectives on how Web 2.0 applies to the future of libraries, and I have to admit that they have helped to put all these exercises into perspective for me. I'm still not entirely sure exactly how some of these technologies can be used, but I'm sure that when I see them being used effectively to promote the dissemination of information, I will recognize them, and understand.

I found Rick Anderson's perspective, Away from the “icebergs”, particularly thought provoking with his insistence on questioning the traditions of libraries. My first job working at a library was at the main library on campus as I worked my way through college, so my first experience was working in an academic/archival library. When I started working for the public library I found the whole idea of weeding really difficult at first. How could one possibly consider discarding a book, simply because it wasn't circulating? Over the years I have worked for San Jose I have become much more comfortable with the whole idea of weeding, recently taking the lead on some of the weeding done here at Alviso. As a result of this Learning 2.0 that we've been doing, I can see how, as we address the icebergs that Mr. Anderson discusses, such as the reliance on user education, and the“come to us” model of library service, and we make the content of the billions of books that exist more readily available to everyone, there really won't be a need for the“just in case” collection. I don't think that day is here, yet, but it's coming.

Remember the milk

I just tried to open an account with Remember the Milk (www.rememberthemilk.com), which touts itself as a task management program which sends you reminders via e-mail, IM or text message. However, since the computers at work don't allow programs to load cookies, it doesn't seem to work. Maybe I'll try it from home.

#14 (week 6)

Okay, so as the previous post says, I have claimed my blog on technorati. I have also explored Discover and Popular features, and found some blogs that I would perhaps never have known about otherwise that I'll probably go back and look at later. All this new technology that I'm learning is both good and bad, because it opens new horizons for me, but it also gives me a lot more things to be interested in, and as someone with ADD, this in not necessarily a good thing.

Tagging is, in many ways, a cool thing. It is really helpful in tieing together the input of many people who have common interests. The one thing I have trouble with is that it is not as organized as the classic forms of catagorizing information that we who work in libraries are used to, and if you neglect to search certain tags, you'll miss out on information that would be of interest. If you neglect to use certain tags on your stuff, others who might be interested will miss out.

I am now a Technorati (technorata?)

So I have registered my blog with Technorati:
Technorati Profile

#13 (Week 6) de.licio.us and tagging

So I now have an account on del.icio.us and on LibraryThing. I think LibraryThing has potential for helping me find new books that I'll like but am not already aware of. Del.icio.us is helpful in that it makes each individual's efforts to keep up with a particular subject available to all who are interested in that subject, and that is done through the tagging. Tagging is somewhat imprecise, but still workable. I do like being able to access my bookmarks from anywhere, not just from my earthlink account. I'm also beginning to see how clicking on one of my bookmarks, and then seeing what other people have to say, and other things they tag, and thus finding some interesting links that I might not have discovered otherwise. Certainly one way libraries can use this technology is as another way to share information with each other.

Week 5, #12, Rolling my own search tool

So now I have explored Rollyo and created my own search roll, Polymer Clayer. I tried to create a searchbox to connect it to my blog, but I'm not sure I succeeded. I did check out a number of other search rolls, including the reference search roll created by WIReD. I REALLY like that one, and can see myself using that with some regularity, because it puts so many useful tools together in one place. Nice!

Week 5, #11, Web 2.0 awards list

I was checking various sites that are in the list of Web 2.0 Awards,and a lot of them are not sites I would normally bother to look at, but Coverpop.com is pretty cool, because it presents you with a mosaic of YouTube images, and then as your cursor moves over the pictures whichever image the cursor is pointing at pops up, and you can view that video. I also like Stumbleupon.com, which is like del.icio.us, but according to the awards is easier for the beginner (sorry, I haven't explored it enough to comment on specifics yet). Etsy, which touts itself as "buy & sell all things handmade" is a site of interest for me. Not only do I appreciate handmade items, but I handmake items myself, so I may look into using that site to list my items, once I get my business license, and get an okay from the city to have a business on the side. The best site of all, though, for me is HipCal, because I think it will really help with coordinating my schedule with my husband's schedule. My husband spends a lot of his time on the computer, and is increasingly depending on the computer for keeping track of things. We keep a calendar on the kitchen wall, and we keep an address book in paper form, but he doesn't even bother with the paper address book anymore, and he complains that it's hard to use the calendar in the kitchen when it's downstairs and he's upstairs (where the computer is) so much of the time. I think he's going to love HipCal. I can also see how it would be helpful for a branch to put all the scheduling on HipCal, so that part time staff could check their schedules easily from home or school (or wherever).

Week 5, #10, online image generators

Okay, so now I've looked at FD Toys http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/, Comic Strip Generator http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/, where I created an image, and Image Chef http://www.imagechef.com/, where I also created an image, which reflects what I think of all this. I didn't actually use FD Toys, because I didn't have any pictures I wanted to use the toys on, but at some point I will give those toys a try. I also looked briefly at http://www.imagegenerator.org/, and realized that I have seen images that were generated by this program (my favorite Christmas letter used this program for at least one image).

Week 4, #9, exploring blogs and news feeds

Okay, so I've checked out the various ways to find feeds I might want to keep up with, and I definitely prefer Feedster over the others. I only added one feed (about my craft of choice, polymer clay), because I had already added enough feeds for the moment at the time I opened my bloglines account, but I'm sure with time I'll go back to Feedster and look at some other possible feeds. I did want to add a feed for Dragon Music (from the tutorial on creating a bloglines account), but it's being redesigned at the moment. Hum, maybe I should look for other feeds that will turn me on to other types of World Music besides Asian.

#8(week 4), RSS feeds and bloglines

Oy, vay! Thing #8 truly is the hardest thing I have had to tackle so far. There's a lot more to it than most of the other things, so far. Still, I can see how it can be handy to have those sites I like to visit frequently all gathered together in one spot so I can scan, read what I want, and get out. I can also see how this will be useful for libraries, to help the staff stay on top of breaking news in whatever field they're trying to keep up with. These days computers have made life MORE complicated, not less, because of the vast amount of information that is available at a click, so anything that helps to manage it has got to be good.

I have now added Learning 2.0 Blogfeed, several Mercury News feeds (food & wine, home & garden, etc.), and Unshelved, and I tried to add a couple of friends' blogs from among my fellow participants (NoMarian and Rutyer's Rantings and Ravings), but so far they don't seem to be showing up, despite doing everything the instructions say to do. Maybe they'll show up later.

I have now lived in California my whole adult life, but having spent my whole childhood in Texas, as well as having parents and grandparents who all grew up in Texas, it will always have a place in my heart. There are many things I did not/don't like about Texas, but many things I did/do like about Texas. George Bush isn't one of them, but then he's no real Texan. His family moved there from New England, for heaven's sake. He's a damn carpetbagger. Don't blame Texas for him.
I've included some photos of Texas I found on Flickr that show some of the things I remember fondly about Texas (no, not the grassy knoll and the book depository - they're just there to show how near I was the day Kennedy was shot. Okay, I was actually in Plano at the time, but it felt pretty close ). I find parts of the Texas landscape very scenic, especially the Hill Country. I also like some of the old, small towns in Texas. The photo of Luckenbach that I have linked to captures the feel of them for me - slow and easy. And you won't find storm clouds in California like you will in Texas, at least not on the coast. You also don't find fireflys in California. I miss them a lot, but I don't miss the hot, muggy summer nights that you have to put up with in order to see them. Here are some photos I attached of things I like about Texas, as well as some links. Hill Country indian paintbrushes bluebonnets Dallas Courthouse Luckenbach