When I was watching CSI:NY this Wednesday night, I thought, "This is what I'm going to write about on my blog." And fortunately, it fits right in with this week's Discovery exercise. The episode was about people on Second Life website. I'd heard about Second Life, but I've never been on the site. From what I understand, someone creates a character and an avatar for that character -- and then can do fantasy-type things or just everyday, average things or, well, anything.
So I sat there wondering why people were on Second Life. I can sort of understand the Internet being a part of social networking. I met my closest friend on a listserv 12 years ago. But what began as writing back and forth through email led to meeting in person. Does that happen much from interaction on Second Life? I suppose it does, but I was left wondering. If a person's Second Life is based on an ideal or fantasy, what happens when reality comes into play?
Now I may be an analog girl, but I can see the allure of some games online. But Second Life's appeal escapes me. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my First Life. So I really cannot imagine myself in the Second Life world. If reincarnation exists, I'll tackle my Second Life then.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Week 7: #16 So what's in a wiki?
To tell the truth, I'd always thought of wikis only in terms of Wikipedia. But the idea of having a wiki that can be for a particular group is very useful. I really enjoyed the iHCPL Wiki and reading the various Favorites lists and adding to a few of them. I also liked the Princeton Public Library's Book Lovers Wiki, where people can review books. The conference wikis are also a great idea, so that locals hosting or attending a conference can give informal suggestions for out-of-towners.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Week 6: #15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0
The articles on Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 were fascinating and really made me think. Lately I've been feeling so far behind in the digital revolution. I told a friend that I'm an analog girl in a digital world. And these articles made me feel even more so!
Yet I find this new world inspiring. I want to learn more. I agree that libraries that step out, determined to lead instead of follow, have the right idea. As a cataloger, I know that standards are constantly evolving, and I want to learn how to keep up.
When I was working at a library in Florida many years ago, I asked my supervisor if she thought we'd ever have 24-hour libraries. I could see it myself and so could she. Well, here we are! eBranch never closes! And I know customers like that ability, to log onto their computers and access the library.
The question of collection development was raised in, I believe, the "Icebergs" article. I love old movies and there are classics I'd love to see. And it's not feasible for the library to house all the classics on shelves. With Overdrive, some of these old movies are accessible. Same for classic novels. How convenient is that? Log on and download. Cool!
It's an exciting time to work for libraries in the Digital Information Age.
Yet I find this new world inspiring. I want to learn more. I agree that libraries that step out, determined to lead instead of follow, have the right idea. As a cataloger, I know that standards are constantly evolving, and I want to learn how to keep up.
When I was working at a library in Florida many years ago, I asked my supervisor if she thought we'd ever have 24-hour libraries. I could see it myself and so could she. Well, here we are! eBranch never closes! And I know customers like that ability, to log onto their computers and access the library.
The question of collection development was raised in, I believe, the "Icebergs" article. I love old movies and there are classics I'd love to see. And it's not feasible for the library to house all the classics on shelves. With Overdrive, some of these old movies are accessible. Same for classic novels. How convenient is that? Log on and download. Cool!
It's an exciting time to work for libraries in the Digital Information Age.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Week 6: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati
I'm working on my connection to Technorati now for iHCPL. I've added tags to my profile.
I hope I'm doing this exercise correctly. I've added a Technorati widget and button in the right margin of my blog.
It's interesting how the advanced searching works. You can narrow a search by using the directory search. That gives you a more accurate search, I think.
The Popular section is really intriguing, giving a snapshot of hot topics. It changes constantly. I wanted to watch the video "A Vision of Students Today," but I couldn't access it.
I hope I'm doing this exercise correctly. I've added a Technorati widget and button in the right margin of my blog.
It's interesting how the advanced searching works. You can narrow a search by using the directory search. That gives you a more accurate search, I think.
The Popular section is really intriguing, giving a snapshot of hot topics. It changes constantly. I wanted to watch the video "A Vision of Students Today," but I couldn't access it.
Week 6: #13 Tagging makes the web 2.0 world go round
I admit that I'm still sort of lost when it comes to the social networking aspect of the Internet. I can see the fun of using the tags for finding others with the same interest; but it's all I can do to keep up with myself, let alone look for more acquaintances with similar interests.
That said, I definitely can see the use of Del.icio.us as a bookmarking aid when away from a home computer. Having everything in one place is a plus. And if I was ever doing a paper on the interest of a certain topic, I know it would be useful.
That said, I definitely can see the use of Del.icio.us as a bookmarking aid when away from a home computer. Having everything in one place is a plus. And if I was ever doing a paper on the interest of a certain topic, I know it would be useful.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Week 5: #12 The "Library" Elf will remind you!
This is great! The sign up was very easy. And I hope that the Library Elf will get me to return my DVDs on time.
Week 5: #11 A Thing about Library Thing
This was really fun. Although I haven't finished my comments about each book on my shelf, I plan to later on. Of course, cataloging is right up my alley. Many of the books I chose are the first in a series by the author: Thursday Next, Nursery Crimes, The Grub and Stakers, Madoc Rhys, Meg Lanslow, and Turing Hopper. And I added two favorites that I re-read every year or so: Jane Eyre and Laura. And, of course, the latest Harry Potter, my favorite book of the series. I plan to add more. I've put the Library Thing bookshelf and widget in the right margin.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Week 5: #10 Play around with Image Generators
I confess that I thought that avatars were kind of silly things. But I've had so much fun creating mine! I tried to make my avatars as much like me as possible and some folks have said that the avatar in the right margin does look like me. I created her on Yahoo. Once you log in on your Yahoo account, go to http://avatars.yahoo.com/ -- and have fun.
I tried out the Meez site -- http://www.meez.com/home.dm -- and found it very easy to use. Instead of posting straight to my blog, I saved my Meez avatar to my picture file and have posted her above.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Week 4: #9 Finding Feeds
I did have fun with searching for blogs. I found Technorati most helpful for the entertainment blogs. In fact, I found TV Shows on DVD newsfeed and subscribed to that. For me, Syndic8 was the clunkiest to search.
If I was a consistent blogger and had a My Space or Facebook page and wanted to keep in touch with others with blogs, I'd probably find Bloglines and such more useful. As it is, I have sites bookmarked and open up my favorites list to check on them. I guess I'm still a creature of habit. I won't give up entirely on Bloglines, but it'll take me a while to get accustomed to using it.
If I was a consistent blogger and had a My Space or Facebook page and wanted to keep in touch with others with blogs, I'd probably find Bloglines and such more useful. As it is, I have sites bookmarked and open up my favorites list to check on them. I guess I'm still a creature of habit. I won't give up entirely on Bloglines, but it'll take me a while to get accustomed to using it.
Week 4: #8 Make life "really simple" with RSS and a newsreader
Well, I've set up my Bloglines account and subscribed to various feeds. I can see why it would be useful to know about this, I don't think I'll be using very often. Right now the most convenient subscription is weather reports for friends and family in other cities, although I enjoy the entertainment newsfeeds.
While looking for feeds to subscribe to, I discovered that I could save RSS feeds on my computer and access them from the Favorites list on Explorer. I chose Ken Hoffman's article on Houston Chronicle and Northwest Headlines on the Portland Oregonian site. I don't buy the Chronicle everyday, so having a feed to Hoffman's column is fun.
While looking for feeds to subscribe to, I discovered that I could save RSS feeds on my computer and access them from the Favorites list on Explorer. I chose Ken Hoffman's article on Houston Chronicle and Northwest Headlines on the Portland Oregonian site. I don't buy the Chronicle everyday, so having a feed to Hoffman's column is fun.
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