FINISHED!!!!!

Whew, I'm finally finished, I thought I'd never get here. The biggest thing I learned is that there is so much out there that I don't know. Here I was, thinking I was on top of things, where there apparently is this whole world of technology going on that I wasn't even aware of. Sometimes I wondered where people had the time to create, explore, and utilize these sites. My favorite things were setting up my own blog and posting to it, exploring other people's blogs, and learning about delicious. I've also been back to Flickr a few times and liked that. This program did give me a lot of ideas of things we could do here in the library to become more of a presence in the virtual community. I would definitely participate in something like this again. It allows us to focus and explore technology when it otherwise would get pushed aside in favor of more demanding tasks at work. I'll see you all in cyberspace!

Week 9

Thing #20: I explored YouTube today. It's a great resource, but I have mixed feelings about it. There are some pretty bizarre and inappropriate things on there, where you could happen to stumble upon after doing an innocent search. So you have to be cautious when you choose a video to watch. I watched some music videos, then I watched videos of children in 3rd world countries, including Somalia, Kenya, and Romania. I don't know why I do this to myself, but by the last video I was in tears. For me, it's just one of those things you can't turn away from.
Thing #21: Podcasts....sorta interesting, not something I'm going to spend tons of time searching. There's a GRILLION of those things, I'd rather search YouTube, I think. I thing the YouTube and Podcast resources are great for supplements to presentations, or how-to demonstrations.
Thing #22: I didn't spend time exploring Netlibrary or Overdrive. This is because when we got the products here at our library, I spent an ENORMOUS amount of time downloading electronic and talking books, and making up instructions on how to do it. I have only used it for work purposes and not ever for home.

Week 8

Thing #18: I created a couple of documents using Google Docs. Google has everything, don't they? Anyway, I found it really easy, and like the idea of being able to share documents without having to have the proper versions of software loaded on everyone's computer (i.e. the WORKS, WORD dilemma).
Thing #19: I really enjoyed looking at some of the websites on the Award 2.0 list, and even bookmarked a couple on my Delicious account (I like the fact that my "favorites" can travel with me). Who knew there were so many cool sites out there? Anyway, the one I used was Fuzzmail. That's a really fun way to type someone a message. I sent one to myself, and then to my husband.

Week 7

Thing 16: I spent some time exploring the wiki exercise. I must say that I LOVE Wikipedia, it's one of my favorite websites! It's very detailed, and you don't have to surf all over the net to find information about a topic. I couldn't believe all the information they had about the Watergate Scandal, and they have lots of popular culture items as well. I liked how one library used a wiki for their internet subject guides.
Thing 17: I did the Wiki exercise and thought it was interesting. I'm not totally comfortable within a wiki yet, but I see how it could be a valuable tool. Our strategic plan notes are on a wiki and we are supposed to read and make comments. However, the danger is that, as was discovered in the sandbox, things can get erased by one of the editors! I don't like that idea a whole lot. A blog is much safer because you can add comments and it doesn't affect the original post.

Week 6

Thing 13: I'm working on Thing 13 on Friday the 13th. How weird! Anyway, I kinda like Delicious! At first I looked at it and was totally not impressed. But I played around with it some, and finally even created an account. I even put a tag thingy on my Firefox toolbar so I can save sites I like. I wish the interface was a little more user friendly. It looks kind of techie now.
Thing 14: Explored Technorati also. I "favorited" Boing Boing and even watched a You Tube clip about Sesame Street. It was pretty funny! It seems like a cool blog, nice and clean for a change, compared to most of what's out there.
Thing 15: Now that I'm on Thing 15, I've spent quite a lot of time exploring all of these new technologies, tagging websites, and sites where you can create lists, bookmarks, search tools, among others. How do you pick what to use? Where do you begin? It's so overwhelming. Is it enough for us to just have knowledge of what's out there, or do we need to master all of these new technologies? And, something I wonder all the time, where am I in the learning curve? Do I know a lot about technology, a little bit, or somewhere in the middle? I think it takes hours upon hours to understand and master these new concepts, and where do we find time to do that? I'm afraid to fall behind in my learning, but don't want to be consumed by technology and forget how to live, ya know?

Week 5

Thing 10: Peggy helped me export my avatar and put it on my blog. I think she's really cool--a mom at a biker bar! If you know me you'll know why I chose to put her in that setting. Anyway, I enjoyed creating my character.
Thing 11: I went to the Library Thing website and created a login, it was the easiest I've ever done. Then I added 5 books to my account and browsed a bit. My assessment: it's a great way to keep track of what you read if you have the time and ambition. Me? I'll probably focus my time on other things. Here's my catalog.
Thing 12: I explored Rollyo a little bit. It's an interesting concept. It seems to be good if you are always on the net searching for very specific information all the time, or you have a list of websites you always look at. The website gave the example that Debra Messing has a Rollyo of all of her favorite online boutiques. I enjoyed exploring the site, but don't see myself using it much. Here's a link to my Search Roll.

Week 4

Thing 8: I admit that I was actually dreading this week because I had never heard of an RSS feed and newsreader. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised! I actually do check a couple of websites every day, mostly WMDT weather and the headlines on CNN. I think it's neat that you can go to one site and get the latest updates on as many pages as you want. I found it easy to set up the account and add things. I tried to post my Bloglines web address, but it didn't work.
Thing 9: I consider myself to be pretty technically savvy, but that whole Merlin site has me baffled. I think I would need a demonstration on how that would help me in my every day job. I don't see anything that really applies to me, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. And there's a ton of technical jargon on there that would take me a month to look up. So far, I haven't found any library blogs or sites devoted to I & R, my main interest. I'd love to find some, though.