Thing # 23

I'm done!! Yay!!

I found the exercises for the 23 things EXTREMELY helpful for my lifelong learning. I will definitely take a lot from it. I won't forget how useful everything was. I found all kinds of tools on the internet that I had no idea about, that actually have very important uses. I am so thankful I got to go through these exercises.

My favorite exercises were probably the 7 1/2 Habits, the generators, and the youtube and online music.

I'm not really sure if there is a way to better this program. It seems to work well the way it is.

I would definitely choose to participate in another program like this. Bring it on! I think these kinds of things are so fun. I love to learn and with the internet being as big as it is, it's impossible to know everything that is out there. A program like 23 Things really has opened my eyes to many useful tools on the internet I didn't know about before.

Thing # 22

Podcasts

The internet is so great. I love being able to go back in time and listen to interviews with people that I really admire. David Icke is one of these people. His books are so informative, and the information he puts forth challenges our preconceived notions of reality, but I find it fascinating.
I found a great podcast with him being interviewed on yahoo's audio files.

So far, I haven't been able to find a podcast on every subject that I have interest in, but it is still a lot of fun to see what is out there. I found a few podcasts, that I didn't listen to, about libraries. Time wouldn't allow me!! I will try to go back and see what they were about.

Right now I'm trying to add a RSS url to my bloglines account. I chose to subscribe to Science Friday's podcast, that oringally airs on NPR.

I think that podcasts are wonderful tools for learning or entertainment. It just goes to show how far technology has come, because we are able to listen to these moments in time that have been saved for future posterity. I really enjoyed learning more about them and looking at different sites that have them.

Thing # 21

You Tube:

Here I can find a video on almost anything.

Here is one of my favorite videos to watch on youtube:



It's a talk given by a man named Michael Tsarion called "The Future of Mankind." It's very VERY informative and interesting.

Thing # 20

My initial reaction to this video about Digital Ethnography was one of intrigue. I enjoyed it because it flowed well and was full of good imagery and information.

I suppose that it could be shown to a general audience. I think it might help younger folks to understand better how far technology and the internet have come in such a short period of time, and older folks to grasp what exactly has been happening these last few years online.

Thing # 19

Online Music!! I music. Especially free music. The internet radio station that I listen to most is Pandora. It's an absolutely incredible way to hear my favorite artists, and to hear new ones that I might never have had an opportunity to hear. Pandora generates a radio station that, after I pick an artist, plays music that is similar to the original artist I chose. Otherwise, I hardly ever hear new artists. I don't listen to the normal radion, unless it's oldies, so this is just perfect for me. I've never had any problems with Pandora, expect for they can only play certain songs by the artists. I think only a few get licensed and are able to be played.

I have used a file sharing website before. Waaaay back in the day, when napster was free, I downloaded a whole bunch of music. It was great. I don't know if I would use one again. I'll think about that one. I'm sure my husband wouldn't be too keen on the idea of someone being able to hack into our computer through our music files!

Thing # 18

Social Networking

I used to have a myspace, so I understand the value of social networking. It was a way to keep in contact with friends, find old friends that I hadn't talked to you in years, and keep up to date with what was happening with in their lives.

However, you'll notice that I said I "used" to have a myspace. Being on myspace became like an addiction. I would check to see who was online, who had updated their profiles, whether or not anyone had written me, etc...

I won't be creating a new myspace. I think myspace is a waste of time and I don't want to be attached to it. I have so many books I want to read, and being on the internet detracts from my reading time! I realize I could use myspace very sparingly, but I'm not the type of person to be able to do that. It's either all or nothing.

I think that social networking has a lot of value in it. It is a great way for people to keep in contact and to share things about themselves that otherwise no one would know about. It definitely has had a significant impact on people, especially the younger generation. Everyone seems to have a myspace these days.

But when I see kids on myspace, I wonder if maybe there was something better they could be doing with their time. Although, who am I to judge? I guess working in a library all I can think is "why aren't they reading?!" lol

Thing # 17

Wikis!

Book Lovers Wiki was very interesting to me. I didn't see any books that I personally have read on there, so I'll have to give some of my faves a review!

Working in a library, I see hundreds of books every day, so this place is nice to get some feedback from people who have read the books.

The Library Success wiki looked really good, even though I am not a librarian, and don't know how much use the information in it will be to me. Still, I am fascinated with the processes that librarians have to go through in their daily tasks.

I think both of these sites could be useful to our library system and it's employees. If patrons utilized the booklovers wiki as a place to get reviews on books from other readers and to share their own I think it would be a big hit. Their friends could read their review and pass it on.
Librarians able to share and get feedback from other librarians, I think, is a wonderful resource that should be used.

Thing # 16

This blog is about searching the Technorati site.

I did a search for "Learning 2.0" in blog posts and in the blog directory. Lots of different results showed up for both, but neither one of them brought up the same results. One of the more interesting finds I had, was that Minnesota librarians are starting their "23 Things" this week.

Also, I found out from boing boing, the most popular blog on technocrati, that beet juice is used as a de-icer in Cincinnati! Finally, I found out that there is a nematode, or roundworm, living in the tropical rainforest that infencts ants and it turns the end part of their body red. The ants then resemble berries, and birds are attracted to them and eat them. This them spreads the nematode throughout the rainforest. Weird, huh?

Anyway, this wasn't as exciting of an exercise as some of the other ones. But I enjoy learning new things, so I still got something out of it.

Thing # 15

Del.icio.us - Social Bookmarking

I had never heard of this site before. I was really confused when I first started looking around. I'm still not sure I quite understand it. Nonetheless, it is a very interesting site to explore.

One of the most popular bookmarks that caught my eye was "Top 10 Hunter S. Thompson Quotes." I read all the quotes, my eyes bugged out of my head a little, and then I read the comments. Some people weren't satisfied with the quotes posted, so they added more in the comments.

I do see the potential of this website for researching different topics of interest. How it compares to doing a google search, I don't know. But, these kinds of sites add an interesting twist, because I think they are able to connect you to sites right away that might have taken you looking at 10 pages of google's search results to find.

I definitely want to explore this site more: del.icio.us

Thing # 14

I chose to explore the website : www.biblio.com

I find myself drawn to authors that are long gone and/or their books are out of print. One of my favorite authors is Eustace Mullins, and his books are extremely hard to come by, especially at a good price. I was elated to see so many different titles to choose from, but disappointed that most of his books range in the $100 or above range on this site.

For other authors, the searches I have done came up with lots of titles I was not able to find on amazon, and for decent prices.

I could see this search engine being useful for libraries, in order to find rare books to enhance their collection. Although I am unsure of the procedures to buy new books, so maybe it wouldn't be that useful?

At any rate, this is an excellent search engine for those of us who seem to find ourselves drawn to more obsure authors, or for those who may want to find a cheaper book than on amazon. I saw books for sale for a dollar on this site. Wow!

Thing # 13

Zoho Writer is amazing! This site is literally what I have been searching for, for months, on the internet. I've wanted a place where I can write in privacy, without worrying whether or not someone is going to hack into my microsoft office files at home.
I am off the wall ecstatic right now. I can't wait to use zoho to keep a diary and any other writings I wish to make.

Yay!

Thing # 12

Rollyo is a very interesting tool. Never before did I imagine using something like this, but it works. It will definitely help me to save time while looking up topics of interests on my favorite sites. Plus it is totally adaptable to whatever interst strikes my fancy at the time. So the possibilities are limitless, and I mean limitless.

Here is the link to my search roll: Viollett's Stuff

Thing # 11

Library Thing is aweseom. As they say on their website, it is the biggest book club in the world! What a cool thing to be a part of. The fact that we can catalog our own personal collection of books is great. I already try to put my books in order, as close to the dewey decimal system as possible, so this will help bring me one step closer to home library perfection.

There are lots of features that I have yet to explore on library thing, but will definitely be doing so.

To close out this post, here is a link to the first five books I've catalogued on library thing: evcalin's books

Thing # 10

To me, Library 2.0 is about the evolution of the library. It's about the library's integration into this high tech society that there is no choice but to be a part of.

I remember when the library did not have computers or the internet. That was such a simpler time. Sometimes I wish all of this high tech stuff would disappear, but there is a good use for it.

The way technology connects people, and the way that information can be relayed from one place to another in the blink of an eye is amazing. It is so exciting to see all this unfolding right before our eyes. It seems like that changes that the library and librarians are going through is happening at exponential speed. That speed is thrilling, but it's also a bit saddening. Will we ever be able to keep up with the technology?

In some respects, the technology is evolving faster than we are able to grasp it. We are forced to adjust our lives to it. Technology is both a help and a hindrance, so just sitting back and observing all of this is fascinating to me.
I am alive during a very exciting time in history. Libraries are becoming much more than they used to be, and that is wonderful.