What have I learned?
Heaps. This has been a wonderful excuse to actually have a go at things I've been hearing about for ages and I intend to keep at least some things going.
On my definitely list:
My blog
Bloglines
Del.icio.us
Librarything
Wikis
Zoho
On my occasionally list:
Flickr
Image generators
YouTube
On my interesting but not me list:
Rollyo
Technorati
The really hard thing is going to be keeping the learning going, signing up and giving things a go just because you can. Hopefully L2.0 has made everyone braver about this, I know I am. There is also the questions of how we are going to use some of this stuff out there in libraryland. There are some wonderful possibilities - a del.icio.us account instead of bookmarked favourites on the Ref desk, a wiki instead of a paper manual, a Librarything "staff are reading" instead of a flyer and the possibilites just go on and on.
I'm going to be watching library websites with great interest to see how far the ripples spread.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
#22 Audiobooks
Well, I agree that downloadable audiobooks are a very good idea but I must admit that the free selection is a little disappointing, but I guess that's because they have to rely on out of copyright titles etc. I'm not sure about the computerised voice either - even the lady from Telstra sounds a little more realistic.
I had a quick look at audible.com and their selection is quite fantastic. This is definitely something that libraries need to have on their radar and be talking to suppliers about.
I had a quick look at audible.com and their selection is quite fantastic. This is definitely something that libraries need to have on their radar and be talking to suppliers about.
Monday, November 26, 2007
#21 Podcasting
I've just added a feed from the Conversation hour on 774 to my Bloglines account. Very occasionally I'm in the car at the right time to hear part of this and am always tempteted to take the very long way round. Now I don't have to worry - I'm getting the whole thing delivered!
Can you believe that they podcast parliament!
Can you believe that they podcast parliament!
#20 YouTube
I am still amazed, even after 11 weeks at how much stuff is out there. Some of it is just wonderful, a lot of it is mind bogglingly stupid and then there are the things that make you laugh.
True confessions - a friend showed this to me but how could I not share.
I quite like using YouTube. The searching is simple, the display is clean and it encourages serendipity which is usually how you find the best stuff. Unless you have friends like mine.
True confessions - a friend showed this to me but how could I not share.
I quite like using YouTube. The searching is simple, the display is clean and it encourages serendipity which is usually how you find the best stuff. Unless you have friends like mine.
Friday, November 23, 2007
#19 Wonderful World of Web 2.0
I took the easy way out and just had a look at the winners list and blow me down if I didn't discover widget heaven.
I'm a big widget fan - with a name like that how could you not be and YourMinis (http://www.yourminis.com ) won the Widget category. So direct from yourminis I loaded the little weather watcher that you can see a couple of posts below this one. And this is not just a direct copy of someone else's script, I got to customise it which is why you are getting a 5 day forecast for Melbourne (Aus not Florida) with a blue background.
I'm a big widget fan - with a name like that how could you not be and YourMinis (http://www.yourminis.com ) won the Widget category. So direct from yourminis I loaded the little weather watcher that you can see a couple of posts below this one. And this is not just a direct copy of someone else's script, I got to customise it which is why you are getting a 5 day forecast for Melbourne (Aus not Florida) with a blue background.
#18 Killer Apps
So
I signed up with Zoho to have a look at the Writer and discovered a whole world of funky stuff that I think is far more exciting. Don't get me wrong, being able to colaborate on a document without emailing a zillion times is great but they also have online meeting software and chat software. I needed this 2 weeks ago when I was trying to work out a way of getting 4 people in different places together for a 30 min meeting without using a phone conference!
Now I know. Stay tuned for lots of online meeting invitations from me in the near future.
I signed up with Zoho to have a look at the Writer and discovered a whole world of funky stuff that I think is far more exciting. Don't get me wrong, being able to colaborate on a document without emailing a zillion times is great but they also have online meeting software and chat software. I needed this 2 weeks ago when I was trying to work out a way of getting 4 people in different places together for a 30 min meeting without using a phone conference!
Now I know. Stay tuned for lots of online meeting invitations from me in the near future.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
#16 & 17 Wikis
I actually started playing around with Wikis a little while ago and think they are wonderful. I have ended up working with dispersed groups of people on various things and these smart little pieces of software get over so many long distance collaboration problems.
The Collections Co-op now has a wiki and we are working on one internally for the reference staff. The options are endless really.
The Collections Co-op now has a wiki and we are working on one internally for the reference staff. The options are endless really.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
#11 & 12 Librarything & Rollyo
Yes I know I'm going backwards but I promised to fill in this gap.
LOVE libraryThing but not so sure about Rollyo.
I am slowly adding my home collection to LibraryThing and keep getting distracted by all the other fun stuff there. I love the Zeitgeist and the fabulous things you find just taking a general schmooze around. There are thousands of people who read the same stuff I do! Even though I don't know any of them that's kind of comforting after the regular reaction my bookshelves get - kind of a bemused 'huh'.
While I see the point of Rollyo and think that it would be fantastic for those searching for similar stuff all the time, I don't really think it's something I'll use straight away. Good to have it lurking in the back of my brain though as you never can tell when it might save the day.
LOVE libraryThing but not so sure about Rollyo.
I am slowly adding my home collection to LibraryThing and keep getting distracted by all the other fun stuff there. I love the Zeitgeist and the fabulous things you find just taking a general schmooze around. There are thousands of people who read the same stuff I do! Even though I don't know any of them that's kind of comforting after the regular reaction my bookshelves get - kind of a bemused 'huh'.
While I see the point of Rollyo and think that it would be fantastic for those searching for similar stuff all the time, I don't really think it's something I'll use straight away. Good to have it lurking in the back of my brain though as you never can tell when it might save the day.
Monday, November 5, 2007
#15 Everything 2.0
Do libraries have a place in a 2.0 world? Yes I absolutely think they do.
Where will that place be? Hopefully right in the middle of things but I suspect for some libraries they will end up at the very edge of a farflung galaxy in the backblocks (to badly paraphrase Douglas Adams).
What will that place look like? My guess would be that my place won't look anything like yours, as it shouldn't if we are serving our communities properly.
Library 2.0 is really just a ramped up version of what libraries have been doing since the dawn of time - organising stuff so people can find and use it, keeping stuff so it is available to the next generation and helping people create new stuff (from recipes to research). The difference now is that the world has got smaller, the amount of stuff has got bigger and literally everyone is organising, keeping and creating.
I think we have some important choices to make about how we face this new world. We can demand that it plays by our rules or we'll go home, we can sit on the sidelines until we've got it worked out (by which time the game will have changed) or we can get in there and play along. If we aren't part of the game it will change without us and we will lose all hope of ever getting back in. That doesn't mean that we all have to in the middle of it but we do have to be open to ideas, giving things a go and cheering on those who are willing to be up the front where the hard knocks are happening.
One of the blogs I read had a great quote: "If you haven't failed you weren't trying hard enough". How sad for us if we didn't even get a 2.0 paper cut.
So let the games begin!!! (just let me go get my floaties, see previous post)
Where will that place be? Hopefully right in the middle of things but I suspect for some libraries they will end up at the very edge of a farflung galaxy in the backblocks (to badly paraphrase Douglas Adams).
What will that place look like? My guess would be that my place won't look anything like yours, as it shouldn't if we are serving our communities properly.
Library 2.0 is really just a ramped up version of what libraries have been doing since the dawn of time - organising stuff so people can find and use it, keeping stuff so it is available to the next generation and helping people create new stuff (from recipes to research). The difference now is that the world has got smaller, the amount of stuff has got bigger and literally everyone is organising, keeping and creating.
I think we have some important choices to make about how we face this new world. We can demand that it plays by our rules or we'll go home, we can sit on the sidelines until we've got it worked out (by which time the game will have changed) or we can get in there and play along. If we aren't part of the game it will change without us and we will lose all hope of ever getting back in. That doesn't mean that we all have to in the middle of it but we do have to be open to ideas, giving things a go and cheering on those who are willing to be up the front where the hard knocks are happening.
One of the blogs I read had a great quote: "If you haven't failed you weren't trying hard enough". How sad for us if we didn't even get a 2.0 paper cut.
So let the games begin!!! (just let me go get my floaties, see previous post)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
