Whew... done!
I liked the whole experience a lot, I learned a ton. My favorites were the spelling things with flickr app, learning to embed youtube videos and Google labs. I like zotero and need to work more on figure out how to use it so it doesn't take me half an hour to get a citation. I definitely valued the tutorials. I think that's one of the most valuable things I got from this. If I'm curious about new technology, I can look at awards and then check for short tutorials to figure out how to use them. Since I like to watch people as they do something on screen rather than reading through instructions, this was a big benefit for me overall, a definite transferable skill. I did a quick search for something I'm interested in (like making an iphone app) and found tons of good videos.
The exposure to everything was great, and I plan to keep exploring and finding out about web 2.0 library integration.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
#22 Discovering Web 2.0 tools
For this exploration, I picked the winner for professional networking, LinkedIn. I've seen this and heard about this before abstractly, I wasn't exactly sure what it was. I created a profile and looked around. I felt like the layout was not exactly pretty, but a ton of people have this so I'm sure it has a ton of benefits. There weren't very many library jobs listed, I saw 2. Hopefully, this is a growing site and with more time, it'll be more useful to me.
#21 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 ...
I read the top 3 articles listed on the site. The gist I guess is that users want things more access. Like things need to be available all the time on the web. And that we need to be cutting edge, but for the benefit of our patrons, not "techno-lust[ing]." I agree with this... I know that if I'm just casually searching for articles, and don't truly NEED one, I'll only look for those available online... I never wait for the annex scans or go to the library stacks.
As for the term web 2.0, when Tom and I interviewed Ken Fujiuchi, he said that term was outdated. When I asked why, he said that everything basically nowdays is interactive. Even informational, non-editable websites have comment abilities (e.g. most major newspaper websites). I think it's less outdated when it's library 2.0 because not that much type of stuff has been integrated to libraries in my opinion.
As for the term web 2.0, when Tom and I interviewed Ken Fujiuchi, he said that term was outdated. When I asked why, he said that everything basically nowdays is interactive. Even informational, non-editable websites have comment abilities (e.g. most major newspaper websites). I think it's less outdated when it's library 2.0 because not that much type of stuff has been integrated to libraries in my opinion.
#20 Create a Zotero resource library
Wow! Zotero has a bunch of cool stuff it offers. I feel a little overwhelmed. Maybe I need to find tutorials that are one by one and do them separately. I was able to save my stuff, no problem. When it comes to the citations though, pulling them into a document = not having the info I need. I pulled one into this blog and it was missing stuff... like the author. Then I figured I should change it to APA, and then it wouldn't drag stuff at all. I don't know. I guess I need more time to troubleshoot this. If I can master it like the guy in the video, it will be all good.
My zotero Library
My zotero Library
#19 Roll your own search engine
The public domain books one was cool, found a copy of my favorite book online, with illustrations.
The second one didn't really work, not that I know any rare books. I was just typing in random words that I thought were common and not getting any results. The quotes one was better, but it seems like the searches are super basic. Understandable, but not that useful. I guess it's a better idea as a personal tool, or very specific community.
Free photos was a dead link.
Then, I made a little search roll for Rochester. Hope this will work:
The second one didn't really work, not that I know any rare books. I was just typing in random words that I thought were common and not getting any results. The quotes one was better, but it seems like the searches are super basic. Understandable, but not that useful. I guess it's a better idea as a personal tool, or very specific community.
Free photos was a dead link.
Then, I made a little search roll for Rochester. Hope this will work:
#18 A thing about LibraryThing
I already have an account on Goodreads, so I didn't create one on LibraryThing since I have already added hundreds of books to my Goodreads account.
I was surprised to see that you can only catalog 200 books on LibraryThing. Maybe because it is an originator, or older, they feel they are popular enough to charge. It basically has all the same features as Goodreads, with the cataloging and social aspects. I like some of the display options better on LT, I guess. I like the blog, maybe GR has one, but I haven't looked.
So... maybe it's because I'm so familiar with it, but I like Goodreads better. One thing I can think of that I didn't see on LT that I like about GR is BookSwap. See a book you want that someone else has, you pay shipping and get it for free, and there's a Book Karma stats display so people don't get all the books but don't give any.
I was surprised to see that you can only catalog 200 books on LibraryThing. Maybe because it is an originator, or older, they feel they are popular enough to charge. It basically has all the same features as Goodreads, with the cataloging and social aspects. I like some of the display options better on LT, I guess. I like the blog, maybe GR has one, but I haven't looked.
So... maybe it's because I'm so familiar with it, but I like Goodreads better. One thing I can think of that I didn't see on LT that I like about GR is BookSwap. See a book you want that someone else has, you pay shipping and get it for free, and there's a Book Karma stats display so people don't get all the books but don't give any.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
#17 Google's not just for searching anymore
I wanted to look at something experimental, so I went to Google labs and checked out the Image Swirl. It very much reminds me of Etsy's connections function, except it has that nice classification thing on top. The first search I tried was a suggested one, "Eiffel Tower." The images all kind of looked alike and the swirls led to dead ends sometimes. Then, the thingy at the top reminded me of bio classifications, so I tried "fish" and got to see a whole bunch of different kinds, and have them listed under the classification thing. I think this tool does have uses besides fun, mainly in scientific areas. Students who are assigned certain papers, like writing about a certain mammal species or amphibians can browse for their topic. I can also see it helpful to gardeners/bird-watcher/ nature aficionado types. If someone took a picture of a bird and wanted to find out what kind, or saw a certain herb growing, they could compare pictures quickly and easily. Some problems are the same as with any Google search, questionable accuracy of the website/labels and irrelevant results popping up.
Then I looked around at Google Maps a bunch, even though I've used it before. I think the street view is really cool and very interesting in terms of virtual tourism. I've used it to show my friends where I lived in Amsterdam and take them on a tour down my street, the prinsengracht. I think it has good implications for researching a move or hotel, too. You can see the shape and the neighborhood, kind of check out safety via Google Maps. Another cool Google tool.
Then I looked around at Google Maps a bunch, even though I've used it before. I think the street view is really cool and very interesting in terms of virtual tourism. I've used it to show my friends where I lived in Amsterdam and take them on a tour down my street, the prinsengracht. I think it has good implications for researching a move or hotel, too. You can see the shape and the neighborhood, kind of check out safety via Google Maps. Another cool Google tool.
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