Final exercise

This was a valuable activity for me, and I thank each member of the Innovations Team for proposing, setting up, and supporting the staff through the process. I feel as though I have only dipped my toe into the vast array of possibilities this process introduced me to, but I now know some of the items are truly interesting and useful to me, and that others may be more so as I learn more about them. So this has created new interests for me to follow for my own purposes as well as making me much more informed in working with our customers.

Thing 23: Perspectives on Web 2.0

I read, among other, some of the OCLC articles (being particularly interested in library impacts and perspectives). I agree that the web is profoundly changing life as we know it, and particularly our ways of learning, finding information, socializing, and expressing ourselves. I disagree that collections of print materials are useless or wasteful. We are still very much in transition, and at least for now, a large portion of our customers want books (as well as dvds, recorded books, and personal reference service). All that is changing, but changing more slowly than these articles suggest. Nonetheless, I think 23 Things and any other ways we find to encourage ourselves to explore Web 2.0, are crucial.

Thing 22: Tools for finding podcasts

I am currently listening to an episode of Buddhist Geeks: very good. Both Podcast.com and PodcastAlley seem easy to navigate. I often miss programs on NPR that I want to hear, so podcasts are a resource I’m interested in.  I’ll be back to these.

Thing 21: Discover YouTube

I explored YouTube as part of the widgets (Thing 20), so for this one, I tried Metacafe. It’s fun, but the primary use for me is to know what sites our customers are on. Mostly a fluff entertainment site: who can be cutest, raunchiest, most shocking, most surprising. Kind of like most tv at the moment.

20: Explore some widgets

From yourminis, I added YouTube to my iGoogle account and then got sidetracked into watching one of today’s most popular video about tainted Halloween candy from China. I’m not sure if this was the way we were supposed to explore widgets or not!

Thing 19: Web 2.0 Award List

I’m so far behind the curve here: I just tried out Craig’s List for the first time. It’s great. I wandered onto a discussion page about Bouviers. There are probably quite a few ways of getting there. It’s amazing to be able to find other people with a particular and somewhat unusual interest and start chatting with them. Clearly, a lot of the questions, problems, and concerns people have about the things they are doing, from raising children to living with dogs to fixing house glitches, are things other people will share their experiences about. Fantastic.

I also looked at Lulu. The services are a little expensive, but I imagine people who have a book they feel is really worthy of publishing are willing to pay to put it together.

Thing 18: Calendars, Organizers, and To-Do Lists

I love Backpack, too. I haven’t had time to fill my backpack with half the things I want to put in, but I’ve started, and this will be a great tool. I love the versatility of having different kinds of files, lists, and reminders in one central tool. Wow! For years, I’ve tried to figure out how people keep track of dozens of birthdays, anniversaries, etc. My “perpetual” calendars were always a mess and I always forgot to check them. This could really help me–and the address and phone number will be right there, too!

Oh, yes, I opened an iGoogle some steps ago, and those tools are interesting, too, but I don’t think their calendar is as easy to use. I think I will continue to have both some paper tools and some internet tools, but I am really amazed by how helpful Backpack is. I will probably go back and try some of the other tools as well.

Thing 17: Tagging and Del.icio.us

I think the internet is a newly-created (relatively) world that is growing exponentially, and things like tagging, Delicious, RSS feeds, and a lot of the other 2.0 technologies are simply the maps, compasses, and backpacks to organize this new territory. The social/sharing aspects of Delicious (any many of the other 23 things we’ve looked at) continue to interest me: I think those who spend most of their time on computers want ways to share with other people through the technology.

Delicious seems like a great way to have your own organization of information, bypassing some outside rating of sites and information so you can stay tuned in to the ones you most like. This is one I will continue to use.

Thing 16: Create a social networking account

I created a facebook account. I can fully see how high school and college students might like to chat with each other with this more multi-media form, sharing pictures, videos, etc. And I can see that people who want to reconnect with social groups they have “misplaced” might want to search this way. This doesn’t serve any of my current goals or interests, so while I think I get what the draw is, I’m more interested in spending time in the physical presence of the people who are important in my life, and I communicate in more traditional ways with friends and family at a distance. I imagine if my sons were to move to another city or country, I would jump right on this as a great way to be in touch (assuming they granted me access).

Thing 15: Social Media Sites

It’s amazing how different each site is. I liked Newsvine the best.  I explored various topics at each site. Clearly, Presidential politics is what most people are preoccupied with right now. I find that after I read the story itself (usually from a newspaper, news network, or wire story), I am interested in reading other people’s reactions, but not at great length, and I’m not much interested in expressing my own opinions. Some of this reminds me of “person on the street” reporting–a little silly. I imagine that if you spend time posting comments and reading other people’s, you become part of a community, so it’s more like a social conversation. Still, I’m more interested in the comments of people I know and see around me at work and at home.