The End of the Quest

Photo titled "Quest" by Brady...found on Flickr

So here I am at Lesson 23: Wrap-Up/Reflections. The last lesson, the end of the quest.

So what was the quest all about?

It was about learning some specific Web 2.0 applications, but mostly it was about lifelong learning. (And it was about earning an extra vacation day, let's not forget.)

Has it helped me with my learning goals? I think it has. I've learned that if I want to really reach my goals, it helps if they're specific. It helps if there's a time constraint. It helps if I'm really personally invested in the goals. It helps to know what the rewards are (although they don't have to be tangible).

What were my favorite discoveries on this quest? Blogging, for one. I'm done with this blog now, but I'd like to do another. What about? That'll be another discovery.

Facebook was another fun surprise, expecially their photo software. It made it so easy to organize and label photos, I'm almost ready to tackle my twenty years worth of pictures in boxes.

Del.icio.us is something that I really like the idea of. I've started an account, now let's see if I can add to it and use it.

LibraryThing is another site that I'd like to browse more in. I've entered some of my library, but I'm not sure that I'd want to enter everything! (Too time-comsuming.) But seeing other folks' selections and comments can be fun.

GoogleDocs looks really useful, and I plan to use it for writing. How handy to have it accessible from everywhere.

I can also picture using a lot of these applications in my job at the library. BKC is already talking about starting a bookmobile blog. And putting department documents on GoogleDocs would make them easy to access by all drivers.

Surprises? How many different sites and applications are out there that I knew nothing about (and many I will never use--hello, Bloglines, Meebo, podcasting, Twitter...) I'm glad I know about them now. Knowledge is power and all that.

I liked the format of Discover 2.0. It had enough structure that I knew just what I had to do, but enough choices and flexibility that I didn't feel like my style was cramped. If FVRL does this sort of thing again, sign me up.

Twitter, Tumblr, and Too Too Tired

Wow, it's amazing how many different things one can do on the web that I had no idea of. Twitter and Tumblr, for example. Twitter, however, doesn't look useful to me because I don't IM. I don't have a cell phone. I just can't picture myself keeping an adoring following up to date with what I am doing every hour.

Tumblr (and yes, I did start a tumblelog) looks more useful to me. It could be a good way to keep track of useful stuff on the web. I can see the handiness.

I'm not even going to try to speculate on library uses, because I'm kind of tired and can't think of any, except on a personal level, in which Tumblr could be useful in creating a hand-picked personal library of quotes, videos, sites, usw.

Video Madness

Photo of Seattle Public Library from Flickr.

The video I watched on YouTube was about the Seattle Public Library. It's not an especially good video and made a bit seasick, to tell the truth. But I was interested in seeing what the new Seattle library looked like, and it gave me a fair view.

(Main impressions of the Seattle Public Library, based on this video: Wow, they have a lot of light, and a lot of space. A lot of empty vertical space. The books seem a bit lost. I liked the low shelving on one of the floors (seemed to be a browsing section). Where is youth services? What the heck is that red room (see above photo)?? Seems like you need to have a very determined personality to want to use this library, what with all the escalators, eyes peering at you, different floors, etc. I like the auditorium.)

I like YouTube because it has such a wide variety of videos. The other sites looked more specialized, which would be great if that is what you were looking for. I also like that YouTube has notes, ratings, and time of the videos displayed in your search results. I would not be likely to use the other video-related sites for editing, etc., at the moment because I don't create videos.

I can see libraries using online videos as part of their website--virtual tours! Book talks! Explanations of Dewey system! And yes, Dabble could be useful in collecting interesting nonfiction videos for patrons.

Imagine How Thrilled I Am...

...to do more with audio (podcasts) and RSS!

I did say that I'm not much of an audio person, right? I'd rather read than listen. Takes less time and I can skim if I'm getting bored. So the radio style podcasts simply make me want to read their scripts and not bother with all the downloading etc etc. What a fussy little twerp I am.

But what joy to realize that I can get the audio I don't want via the RSS I think is useless! Wow. I did add one podcast (Book Bites for Kids) to my Bloglines page, but I don't expect to use it much.

Of the three websites listed for locating podcasts, podcast.net wouldn't load and Yahoo podcasts brought up too many random results, but podcastalley.com had a useful search engine which allowed me to easily see information about each podcast and find out how often they podcast; I would use them again.

For people who like to learn by listening, I think podcasts are great. They could be a valuable library service for their patrons. I can envision podcasts on how to use the library, book talks, library news, and lots more.

Just make sure there's still printed material for visual folks like me.

Music, Audio and Such...a Mixed Bag

Hmmm. This is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I don't see myself using the social networking music sites such as last.fm or IMEEM. I'm just not that much of a music listener. I almost never listen to music at home (unless you count my husband's singing) and only occasionally in the car. I don't have an iPod. I'd rather read than listen.

On the other hand, I think the Internet Archive is a great idea. It describes itself as a library, and I think it will be a great reference source for librarians. Some of the other sites with audio books could make an important alternative to libraries, for those who want audio books, or who want to download classics. The selection is currently spotty, but I'm sure they're working on that.

The absolute sound effects archive is a hoot. If I want the sound of horses clopping on cement, I'll know where to go (if my coconut halves have gone missing, that is).

Mango Languages looks like another great resource, and one that I might actually use myself. Having the combo of spoken and written available for free online is great.

I could see libraries of the future, all full of computers as they will be, as a place where people come to use these sites. Of course they could use them at home--but many people like to be social, or get help. And libraries will always be a resource for those who can't afford computers, internet access, iPods, and the other gadgets that seem to be considered necessities now. Libraries, the Great Tool of Social Justice. Go libraries!

What's Up, Google Docs?

I had no idea that anything like Google Docs existed. Wow! What a handy thing! My first thought is that it would be great for writing. I'm an occasional writer, but I have my writing in so many different formats and medias, depending on how long ago I did it and what typewriter/computer/wordprocessor/pencil/pen I had, some of it is practically inaccessible. It would be great to get it all in one place, in one format, and easily communicated to friends or editors.

I can also see applications here at FVRL. For instance, BKC could post our list of shelves on the bookmobile that need refreshing, or even the list of what needs to be stocked for the next day. We could all access it (assuming the satellite connection was working!), add to it, and work from it, knowing it was up-to-date.

It is of course all based on Our Trust In Google. I think I would back-up my writing to my own computer, also. Back-ups are good.

PS The bulk of this post was directly uploaded from Google Docs. The title didn't come, so I added it now. I also couldn't figure out labels in Google Docs, but I think it's possible.

Answers and Wordshoot and Facebook, oh my!

I had fun with all the above, not to mention the Blog Readability Test -- the score is posted at the bottom of the right hand column.

At Yahoo Answers, I answered a question. A lot of the questions there looked strangely random or unanswerable, but I found one about purchasing comforters that I felt I had something to say about. And I earned points! Points are good.

Wordshoot was fun. I do think it would be good for anyone learning to type. I finally had to quit in the middle of my first game because I had gotten the idea and I didn't want to play it out to the bitter end.

I did the most with Facebook for this lesson. I recently took a trip and took a lot of digital photos (see above photo take at the lovely Getty Villa in Malibu, CA), and I know (because my daughter does it) that you can post photos on Facebook. So I did it! It was very easy to upload them from a folder on my desktop at home, but the really nifty thing was how I could edit them on Facebook. I added comments to each photo (date, location, etc). Boy, is that ever easier than labeling actual physical photos. I could use cut and paste for the same date, location, etc. Facebook also has this really great feature whereby you click on a person in your photo, and then type their name in. The next time you click on a person in a different photo, it will bring up all the names you have already inputted, so you just have to click which one you want. Then, when you're viewing the photo, you roll your cursor over the person and the name appears! The wonders of modern technology... I will definitely keep using Facebook for photos.

Wiki-Wiki

Aloha! It's "Talk Hawaiian Day" here at FVRL Discover 2.0. So I better get going on this wiki blog wiki-wiki.

I've learned many things about wikis from this exercise. That they're easy to create, easy to edit, and a great way of getting input from a lot of people organized efficiently. They're also often uncontrolled. You can't necessarily believe everything you read on a wiki because the info is only as good as the source.

Still, they seem like a good way of assembling information. The websites I looked at were hoping for input, whether from librarians about successful programs, or from community members about the fascinating features of their community. A real necessity would be getting your audience to know that the wiki is there at all, and then persuading them to contribute. I liked the advice by Meredith Farkas in this article that the creators of wikis should post some items first, as an example, because people can be hesitant to be the first poster.

I think wikis sound like fun, as well as a good way to tap the collective intelligence.

Aloha and mahalo nui loa for reading!

LibraryThingishness

I started an account with LibraryThing. This does seem like a great way to a) keep track of your own books, b) find other similar books, and c) connect with other folks who like the same kind of books. I also like the fact that you can pick the correct cover for your edition coughgeekcough.

I think the shelf idea for goodreads sounds interesting, though, and it would be nice if LibraryThing had the "read" choice instead of only "currently reading" and "to read."

It will take more digging around in both sites, I'm sure, to reap all of their benefits. But being able to quickly find reviews and ratings of books (a feature I really like on Amazon) is very handy. And the unsuggester is quite nice.

Technorati

Technorati seems like a very excellent way to use up a lot of time! But since there are over 100 million blogs, it's good to have a way to search them.

Things I found interesting or surprising:
1) how many people use bad language/grammar/etc. in their blogs which can be read by zillions of people. Yes, that's prissy, but come on, folks, learn to write!
2) how many blogs there are that I'm not interested in, which is good, because I don't think I have time for 100 million of them. And thanks to Technorati, it'll be easier to find the ones I am interested in.
3) how much new stuff is pouring into the blogosphere every moment. Yipes!

I'm not sure what the writer of the Discover 2.0 instructions meant by "blog directory" as opposed to "blog posts" or "tags," but when I searched, I did find a big difference between a keyword search in blog posts vs. searching tags. The results in the tags search seemed much more to the point.

Delicious Tags

Now here's something that looks useful. I can see the handiness of having my bookmarks being accessible from home, work, or anywhere. I also like being able to follow the network of tags and bookmarks to find other sites that might be interesting to me.

For research assistance, del.icio.us could be used with caution. After all, it doesn't rank bookmarks by accuracy. On the other hand, descriptions of the sites might give one an idea of the content and how reliable it was. And going to the most popular bookmarks for a subject could be useful, too.

I just don't think I'll be using the RSS feature! ;)

Back in the saddle again...fortunately

The Discover 2.0 saddle, that is.

I have a facebook account now (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1127841232). The two "friends" I found on there are actually my two daughters, so I've been able to coughspyonthemcough see some photos I hadn't seen before!

I also went back to Bloglines. I'm still trying to get it to display photos for all the subscriptions. Some do, some don't. Sigh. Whether I will actually use RSS very much, I don't know.

Then I made the above fortune cookie sign. I also made it reflect on the Reflectionmaker site, but I didn't care for it. It would be great for a more scenic image, I think.

On to Item 13!

Social Networking

The feeling I get is that libraries' use of Facebook or MySpace is a type of outreach. Young people aren't in the library, they're on MySpace, so let's go there to reach them.

I have no problem with this, and I expect that it could be useful in reaching kids who are already predisposed towards the library. As a tool they're using for communication, social networking is important, so why shouldn't libraries have their presence there?

It could be a part of a library's communication/outreach program. I don't think we're going to reach seniors there. And how much effect it would have on young people who weren't already using the library, I don't know. Are there stats on that, I wonder? "We built our YAAB group through MySpace!" That sort of thing.

Meebo Success!

Wow! It only took about half an hour, but I finally figured out how to get the Meebo widget onto my page. Hooray for me.

I think instant messaging could be very handy as a reference tool. For instance, it could be used by the deaf community much more easily than using TTY technology. And some people prefer the distancing that comes from typing rather than talking. Also, the librarian wouldn't have to try to decode what someone was saying if the person's speech was hard to understand. Of course, their spelling might leave much to be desired also, but that's life. As a quick way to do reference interviews in writing, IM seems great. Possible negatives...folks who just want to chat, inability to get some of the nonverbal communication that comes with speech--but that's what emoticons are for, right ;)--, not enough staff...

IM could also be used for interdepartment communications, like when departments are spread over different floors *coughbkccough*. Or it could be used for folks at the island check-out to call for help if they need it!

IM trying this Meebo stuff...

Um...okay. Instant messaging. It does sound useful as a library reference tool, or as a way to communicate with several people at once.

I am going to attempt to get the widget thing in my sidebar. I am not too optimistic about this because the directions were not at all clear.

[Allow me now to spout off for a moment about technology that assumes that everyone knows how to use it before they get it. My mom's laptop comes to mind. Aaargh! Okay...I feel better now.]

I'll be back...

More RSSssszzzzz...

Okay, I think I've figured out how to edit the feeds so they display the whole entry. And I can see that you wouldn't necessarily want to do that for all of them (eg. news feeds where you only want to read headlines).

I find it easiest to locate feeds by going to my favorite sites. I tried Google Blogger Search and Technorati and they just seem to bring up a lot of stuff that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm really not sure how a library would use RSS. It seems like something that's useful to individuals. Let's see if I can find something about that.

Hmmm. I just Googled "RSS use in libraries" and found this PDF entitled Libraries and RSS. Apparently some libraries are using providing RSS feeds to alert patrons to new aquisitions, changes in hours, events, etc. Okay, that could be useful.

RSS huh?

I am a bit offput by the whole RSS thing, although perhaps that's just because it's all new to me. But...

1) Why not just use bookmarks?

2) I have just discovered that when I check a feed on Bloglines, it then disappears. If I want to look at it again, it isn't there. Does that mean that this whole RSS thing is really just for folks who want to check headlines? Who only want to read things once? What if I want to check on headlines, then go back and read more in depth later? Then I have to use my bookmark. Why not just use bookmarks?

3) Some of my feeds display photos and the whole posts. Some have only headlines and the first few lines. I like the first type (but see #2). The ones with just headlines and a few lines seem really useless. Am I doing something wrong or is it just the feeds? And why not just use bookmarks?

4) I find it amazing that some folks are checking 200 feeds a day. And I thought I had trouble managing time at the computer! But still...why not have 200 bookmarks, nicely organized?

I see that the next step in Discover 2.0 is also about RSS. Perhaps as I get more used to using it, it will seem more useful to me. Hah. Perhaps.

Mashups--not your usual potatoes

I used two mashups--Trading Card (see the nice kitty) and Flickr Sudoku. The trading cards were fun and simple to do. The sudoku was harder than normal sudoku, because I was looking at pictures of hamsters instead of numbers! Once my brain clicked onto hamsters, it went fine.

Manul photo by Edgar Thissen.

Princess Kaiulani statue, Waikiki

Princess Kaiulani IV
Originally uploaded by Parzival

This is a photo from Flickr.

My parents used to live a block away from this statue. I always used to love to visit them there, before my dad passed away and my mom moved to the mainland. This photo brings up warm recollections of sun, family, vacations, relaxation, and the lovely beach at Waikiki.

In which I create a blog and the quest begins with 7 1/2 habits

Wow. I just created a blog.

This was not my idea, but I like it. I'm learning about different internet tools and programs for my work, and creating this blog was one of the first tasks.

The next task is to write about the 7 1/2 lifelong learning habits--which habits are easiest and hardest for me and why.

Easiest for me is is habit #6, Use Technology to Your Advantage. There are a lot of things I don't know how to do, but those that I do know, I use. When my family at Christmastime was wondering what century it is now, since it isn't the Century of the Fruitbat anymore (go read Terry Pratchett), it was I who said "Let's Google it!" and within a minute had found the answer. It's now the Century of the Anchovy.

Hardest for me is probably habit #1, Begin with the End in Mind. I'm much more prone to go wherever my wandering research takes me--wow, this looks like an interesting book, or link, or whatever! I usually know that certain topics are appealing (cosmology, nutrition, Egyptian art) , but I don't have actual goals that drive my learning. But I can see that having goals makes it more likely that I could actually reach goals. Ha ha, what a thought!

Which makes it nice that this program lays out goals for me. And I fully expect to Have Fun (habit #7 1/2) with it all.