podcasts and such

well, that was interesting. i used podcast.net and checked out a couple gardening ones, then looked for some library ones, only after downloading quicktime via itunes (i hate downloading onto computers that are not my own). found this guy who calls himself the rock and roll librarian. he recently went to the comicon in new york. don't know how that one compares to the one in san diego (which is awesome) but it was neat to find someone willing to display his geekiness onto a podcast. i guess that's why he's the rock and roll librarian.

added the feed to my bloglines account. haven't been to that site since i opened it, so it all looked really foreign. not one of the things i'll be using regularly, obviously.

didn't search long long enough to find any that would be useful to kcls. think i'm running out of steam on this whole learning 2.0 since this is now my last blog entry and there's much to do at work. so much to do. so, so, so much to do.

the 26th thing sans 27th

i really enjoyed this whole project. i think i might even be sad once we're done. MIGHT. i feel like i've seen so much now. when i used to think of the web, i generally thought of it as a place to go for information. places like myspace, and the idea of "communities" very rarely popped into my mind, which is weird, considering i used to be a member so many years ago. how could i have been so blind?

i admit, i prob won't use a lot of the things we've explored, but it's great that they're out there. mad props once again to the folks who found it necessary to create word processing/spreadsheets so we could bypass microsoft if need be!

my most loathed 2.0 experience was reading the articles abt icebergs and such. snooze. sorry, i suppose they were informative, but what fun is that? which brings me to another point--the fun. not that it wasn't, because i certainly can find fun in researching gardening in the pacific northwest, and cataloging my books, but maybe it was a bit much to expect us to be able to do these lessons at work. one thing our cluster did was have a "cram jam" where we gathered at a group of computers in the library so we could get help if we needed it. we spent two hours just working on learning 2.0. that was fun, albeit, independent fun since we didn't interact all that much...too much reading and exploring to get through.

good incentive to get us to do all this. i'm sure lots of people have mp3 players. not me, though, so thanks. i'd certainly do it all again. i'm sorry that i can't suggest anything for the 27th thing. there was so much i didn't know before this, so much that you guys presented, way too much that is out there, that i really have no idea what i could add. really. if you're thinking of adding a 28th thing, you should just consider removing the icebergs part (sorry) and keeping it to 27 things. that was plenty.

youtube is a fun thing to play with when you have time. i embedded the intro credits to the cowboy bebop carton which has fantastic music. so catchy. luckily i had someone next to me who knew how to do this so it just took a second. otherwise i would have gotten really frustrated and upset and would have written a horrible blog dedicated to the lack of directions provided on youtube. then i prob would have been embarrassed because i'm sure it explains how to do it somewhere. i just wasn't looking hard enough.

as far as usefulness to kcls, i don't know...it'll give you something to do during downtime at the desk? or maybe using it to post the backroom antics? just kidding. i wouldn't do that. posting storytimes certainly is a good idea though. i bet the kids would really provide a lot of entertainment for those searching the world of youtube.

adventure in disappointment

i chose one of the runner up websites at networthiq.com, which really has no useful purpose to kcls. i was simply interested in finding out my approximate worth. i could have done the same thing without signing up, but i just wanted to explore it...and now that i have, i must say that it sure would be nice to be a millionaire. not that i was expecting to be anywhere near that mark, but when you actually see yourself be reduced to mere numbers, it's a very humbling and humiliating experience.

in any case, the website offers more than a way to disappoint yourself. there is a way to generate a "badge" that displays your current net worth, and a chart (which seems ridiculous unless you have a lot of money and want to flaunt it), a page for tips (on how to increase your net worth), and a way to search other people in that community (i guess so you can try to hookup and find yourself a sugar daddy/momma.)

so there you have it.

the many faces of google

i never ceased to be amazed by this company. i wish i had bought their stock--not that i ever had the chance, or will any time soon considering what shares are going for. in any case, they certainly have some great minds working for them. really creative, although, some of the labs do have kind a "useless" feel to them. take for instance the music trends. i kind of expected it to link me to where i could hear the music. but i guess that's not what it's there for, i mean, it is just "trends" so it's pretty much just a list of songs, nothing more. maybe that's why i feel so gypped. why would i care what the rest of the world is listening to? and if that really is what they're listening to, then i don't think i'm missing much.

the accessible search didn't work at all. not really, anyway. i expected the text to be super huge on the screen, but the difference hardly seems significant. maybe that's why it's in the lab--they're not done playing with it yet. i can see how it might come in handy, though.

i only did one quick search on google scholar, and liked how it worked, but it could be frustrating how it links you to some journals where you have to pay for the article or else belong to an institution where they have a subscription so you can have access to it. i guess that's why if you were doing a more scholarly search, you would use the university's database. as a student it wouldn't be a problem anyway since you'd probably get free access to those journals anyway.

still. some interesting tools that they're coming up with.

who needs microsoft word?

okay, how awesome is that? i suppose word has its uses since its pretty standard for everyone these days, but damn, those free online word processing tools are hella handy for someone who doesn't have the funds to buy one of bill gates' products. i am totally impressed. it was a great idea to offer these online. spreadsheets even!!! i'm going to explore these tools more when i get the chance, just because i'm curious to see if it would be possible to really get by without having microsoft word. maybe i can save some money on my next computer. probably, not, but hey, i can dream, can't i?

biblioteca 2.0

so we were asked to read just three of those articles, but i have to say that i must be an idiot because i couldn't really grasp what i was reading. maybe it has to do with the fact that i'm trying to get this done at the same time as i'm answering the phone and backing up the person on the circ desk. i think it's going on two weeks that i've been reading these articles, and i just can't seem to make it stick.

the icebergs guy was the one that i understood the most, prob bec i didn't agree with him. he made it seem like we were stuck in the dark ages, but maybe he deals with different libraries that don't get the funding that would allow them the types of privileges that kcls gets. believe me, i know what that's like, coming from long beach, ca where they were cutting open hours, where you have to pay to check out cd's and dvd's, where you have a 20 item limit. not good.

anyhoo, i thought he was full of it when he said that having a library collection will soon be part of a bygone era. i for one, am one of the types who appreciates the physical contact with a good book. and then the idea that we should eliminate the barriers that patrons encounter when they do their research--how many times have i helped a patron who just likes to have someone to talk to and is content to have me "do the work for them?"

in dr. schultz's article, she pretty much says similar things i.e. the where the future of libraries will go, but she was a little more easy to take. maybe because she says that each successive progression will not be eliminated (as what iceberg's guy seemed to say), but rather, "absorbed." incorporated, if you will.

then in the article about more powerful ways to communicate, that really seems to bring together what we've been learning about these past few weeks i.e. innovation, technology, etc. libraries of course want to keep pace with the rest of the world in order for them to service their patrons better. it's an absolute must. hopefully i'll be able to keep up, too.

search-yo

creating a custom google search sure narrows down the wide-wide-web. certainly a useful thing when you don't want to be inundated with info. it's nice when you know what sites generate the most useful info for whatever topic you're searching, but i ended up having to do a regular google search just to find sites to even put in the custom search engine...not that it was so obscure--wine and cowboy bebop and such things.

having a library search engine makes sense so that we can see what's what at other libraries, keep up with what they're doing, get new ideas, etc. makes sense for anyone wanting to keep up on info about their favorite subjects, really. search-yo!

this is the bebop roll: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=009988533983608634520%3Avjxycf2clpq, and the wine stuff: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=009988533983608634520%3A_lo_u4wh178.

generating what?

this was fun! i would have posted a simpson's one of myself, but there wasn't as much variety, and i couldn't get myself to look as sexy as i really am.

wikis

the book lover wiki seems like a neat community. might be a neat thing to have on our website, as one of our databases, where people can search types of books they might be interested in reading, and read reviews on them.

not sure i like how wikis, for the most part, lack the pizazz and flash of other websites. i have to admit that while i was searching through some of the, i just clicked through without really remembering what i did. it's nice that people can make these websites without having to learn html, but i guess i'm superficial in that i need eye candy to attract me. they prorbably appeal to someone with a better attention span.

it's a library thang

i can really get into the library thing, although it's kind of a pain going to my bookshelf to see what books i have, then going into the bedroom to enter the titles. i spent almost an hour trying to enter my books in, and i still don't have them all. some of them i don't even want to enter because i'm not sure i want people knowing i actually read that kind of stuff.

anyway, i liked seeing how many people had the same titles as me, but it was more interesting when only a handful of people had the same title. (i like to think i'm not one of the masses.) still, even that can be deceptive because each one has a specific publisher/year, etc., and if you're one of the types who likes to claim to have the hardcover 1st edition of some fabulously rare prize, then it must be infuriating that people like me just choose that particular book because it was the one with the closest year of publication.

also, it seems impossible to put tags on all those books. i put a few, but i think they seem pretty sparse. i would have liked to put more for each one, but that would have taken forever.

anyway, here's the link to my library thing: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php

delicious

i can see the potential for someone doing research, or else someone who is very interested in a particular subject. seems it would make it convenient to find more info. of course, if there aren't appropriate tags then you might miss out on an article.

one of the points raised in the article "7 things you should know about social bookmarking" was that viewpoints might be skewed on a particular topic considering that the tagging might be somewhat subjective. i suppose you'd be safe if you were searching something innocuous like "gardening."

seems like an interesting way to search for info. this is one of the few things so far on learning 2.0 that i might just use on my own.

friends and such

i did it. got through creating a myspace account, adding kcls as a friend. i hope that took care of everything. still can't say i'm drawn into the online community as other people might be, but i understand its use at least.

all in all it shouldn't have taken as long as it did for me to get everything set up, but it did, and i'm very embarrassed for it. i won't go into details. anyway, the deed is done and i hope the next lesson isn't too involved because i feel guilty for sometimes taking a long time to get through them. oh well. it's all in the interest of learning. and the free mp3 player.

myspace, among other things

i remember the days of myspace, when i had an account and thought it was really cool to post weird pix of myself and get added on as a "friend" of people i'd never met. seems so long ago now. but then it started to get annoying, the idea of this whole community of people who were really just "collectors" of other peoples profiles just seemed ridiculous.

that said, i don't know how successful kcls's myspace launch has been, as far as "collecting" the teens that it seeks, especially now that myspace isn't quite the hot ticket anymore with the advent of facebook. it was interesting that in the podcast, dawn mentioned that she got more response from authors than teens, which really makes sense. not to be down on the teens these days (i've got one of my own) but i would imagine that they'd be more interested in scoping out their peers than the library's profile. i understand the idea behind getting out there where our patrons are, but if the main target is the teens, i wouldn't hold my breath. but who knows, i could be wrong. wouldn't be the first time.

facebook and second life are new to me, so i don't have much to say about them, but with the library extending its reach into these various communities, i'm sure it's interesting to the older (and i use the term loosely too include those who have only recently left their teen years) folks who inhabit these communities. it's a good vehicle to get out there anyway.

rss feeds--lessons 7 & 8

so i did the bare minimum of subscribing to various rss feeds, not because i feel like slacking, although, that's what seems to be happening considering how far behind i am currently, but rather, because i don't find them particularly useful. i only say this because the sites i tend to frequent add new info daily, and because i don't check them every day, there's always something new to see when i finally get there. this type of thing seems more useful for someone who has many websites that he/she needs to keep up on. i don't have very many that i need to visit every day, so like i said, having an rss feed hardly seems worth it to me.

i feel like the only place i'll need to use this is if a patron has a question about it. at least i'll have some sort of indication about what they're talking about. as far as the library using this technology, it might be a neat thing to use for book alerts or something of that sort. on one of the sites that i subscribed to in bloglines, they had many different areas/categories to choose from, so that you didn't get too much information at one time. makes sense when you're only interested in one particular thing on a website, and since the kcls website doesn't change too often, barring the different events on the home page, i just thought that something as dynamic as the changes occuring in our catalog might be a place where this would be useful.

as far as using the search tools, i didn't find them any better than doing a google search and taking my chances. i did a search for pacific northwest gardening and among the sites that i wasn't interested in anyway, there were also ones that had nothing to do with gardening in the pacific northwest coming up because of the keywords in the articles. anyway, i don't think i'd use this tool often or at all since it isn't any better than what i usually do. it's just easier going to the sites i like than using the search tool.

so i thought i'd try using the image tool on blogger again, and this time it worked. don't know why it didn't work with the flickr lesson. in any case, i wanted to make sure that i wasn't quite the idiot i thought i was. also, being the bebop fan that i am, and since i am the bebop girl, i guess it would be appropriate to introduce the people to my left. starting at the far end is spike, the super cool, kick-butt bounty hunter who takes no guff from no one. next to him is jet, his sexy partner and owner of the bebop ship upon which they travel the galaxies searching for bounties. next to him is the lovely and extremely dangerous faye valentine, who is actually in her seventies because she was in a coma for many years, and who despite wearing only a superbly cropped top and short-shorts that can only stay up with the help of suspenders, still manages to kick a**! next in line is ed who is a strange little girl and a genius of the technical sort--probably one who would yawn at the problems i've been having with this project. second to last is the evil vicious, spike's arch nemesis, and lastly (yawn) is julia, spike's former girlfriend whom he can't seem to get over. can you see why i'm so obsessed?

mashups

okay, i did the one where you sketch something and it pulls up different pictures that match the sketch. it's an interesting idea, but i wasn't really sure what the purpose of it was. i guess if i had something in mind that i wanted to post as far as a picture corresponding to a shape, but i didn't.

also tried the montagr, which was neat, but couldn't figure out how or if i could post that onto my blog. probably not since it has that feature where the image pops out at you when you mouse over it. or maybe i'm just not technically oriented to figure that part out.

lastly, i made a trading card, but somehow lost in on the way to putting it onto my blog. i'd like to find it again so i can put it up. like i said, maybe all this is a little beyond me. in any case, they are neat tools to know about.

what the...

snow caught on branches
Originally uploaded by mutantgirl13.

i only say this because it took a heck of a long time to get through this lesson. i don't know why i couldn't blog this pic through blogger and had to go through all the hassle of figuring it out through flickr, but i did--with outside help of course. i don't know if i could have done it without other people, and i guess that's what's so frustrating, bec i'm generally the type of person who likes to do things without help from other people. i know that the point of all this is to be have fun, and that it's ok to ask other people, but i just was thinking that i was savvy enough to get through at least this much by myself. it's not like i've never blogged before, or that i've never uploaded pix before. i guess my whole experience this lesson was soured because i forgot what my user name and password were, and it seemed to take me forever to get past that initial stage that i felt like a total idiot. ugh!!!

hopefully i'll get through the next lesson with less frustration and more fun. in any case, look at the pretty picture.

oh, and what's with the sun coming out today? i thought we were supposed to be having a stormy week? i sure do miss the snow.

learning 2.0

rocks so far. can't wait to learn even more.

weather

where's the snow? that was the whole reason why i moved up here...that, and the need to get away from the vapid wasteland of long beach, california. the place sucks the life right out of you.