Thing 12: Twitter

After setting up a Twitter account and spending some time on it, I discovered that I enjoy using Facebook as a means of communicating better than Twitter. I found that I shared the same type of information on Facebook as I did on Twitter. Although, I do like the ability to search for people’s thoughts on a subject in Twitter.

The last time I heard twitter mentioned was in a library when a librarian saw a coworker typing on their cell phone and she asked if they were tweeting.

Thing 11: Instant Messaging

I use instant messaging on my iphone to be able to communicate with family members. It’s an easy way to chat if you’re in a place where it might otherwise be hard to hear…such as in a grocery store, etc. I’ve also chatted using IM on Facebook. I’ve held conversations before while cooking, checking e-mail, and instant messaging at the same time.

The downside of instant messaging…I’ve heard of instances at jobs where people are bombarded with instant messages regarding urgent matters that need immediate attention. When you get numerous instant messages all within a short time frame, it makes it difficult to prioritize, keep track of requests, etc.

Thing 10: Ning

Ning is new to me. I was not familiar with it until this assignment. As I was reading through the “ChartingStocks blog post,” it disturbed me to read the following: “If you are a member of a Ning site, you will know about it quickly. Ning networks are bombarded by spam invites to join other networks on Ning.” If this were true, why would anyone want to join?

I proceeded to the Ning.com website and typed "library" in the search box. After browsing the results, the 7th item titled "Joy of Reference" caught my attention. I expected to find more discussion related to Reference work.

Thing 9: More Facebook

I usually add a “What's on your mind” comment when I have something to share with everyone. I added one of my favorite links which is http://www.cheekybeef.co.uk/library.php

One of the things I really like about Facebook is being able to keep in touch with friends who live a long distance away. I (along with all of their other friends and family members) can see things such as vacation pictures and “hear” their thoughts about daily events. It makes me feel like there isn't such a long distance separating us.

I joined the DHARMA Initiative, TLA, and I Love the Ocean.

I've enjoyed reconnecting with previous co-workers, family members, and friends.

Thing 8: Facebook

I enjoyed reading the article about Mark Zuckerberg…and to think how close he came to selling it to Yahoo. Within the past year, I created a Facebook account. Even though I originally set up an account to stay in touch and reconnect with family and friends, it has now expanded to including professional colleagues.

When I first set up my account, I was impressed by how quick and simple it was. Within minutes, I was able to find family members and friends. Within a few days, I was able to reconnect with friends from elementary school. I like the ability to be able to chat with someone in my Facebook account while reading what others posted, etc. This is a fun way to multi-task.

If people list their high school, it makes it easier to locate them since you can browse through the list of names.

Thing 7: RSS Feeds

After browsing through the suggested feeds, I decided to add Star Telegram as a subscription on my Google Reader.

The video was quick and to the point about RSS feeds. I like the idea of information coming to me. This would be an excellent tool for anyone to use at home or at work. Just think about all the time you will save yourself.

Thing 6: Blog Readers

Google Reader was very user friendly to set up. I have already added it to my iGoogle homepage. What an awesome organizational tool!!! I added North Texas 23, my blog address, and a co-worker’s blog address to my account as my first three subscriptions. Having all this information in one place will make it much easier for me to access. The ease of updating the settings is a huge bonus.

Thing 5: Image Generators

I previewed the image generators listed on the North Texas homepage for Thing 5 and decided to go with Image Chef for my posting. I played around with several templates and tried different phrases. My final selection was the template of a button. I inserted the phrase “Read a Book Today!” I really enjoyed this exercise and hope to be able to use this feature in the future.

Thing 4: More Flickr

I experimented with all the Flickr Mashups. Some seemed easier and more user friendly than others. Spell with Flickr and Captioner were to the point and self-explanatory. Big Huge Labs on the other hand was much more involved since there were various tools to choose from. I used Flappr to search for “Grand Canyon” which resulted in 3,277 images. Colr Pickr was…. colorful. I never fully got the hang of FlickrFling and Retrievr. Flickr Sudoku seems fun…especially for anyone who likes to play Sudoku.

I used Spell with Flickr to spell “Library” for my blog posting. I kept getting error messages when I tried to post it even after following the instructions about copying the code. My next attempt was to try to post one letter. As you can see above, I was able to post the letter "R" by saving it as an image and then embedding the image into my blog.

Thing 3: Flickr

On Flickr, I chose to search for “kittens”. I discovered tons of photos of the cutest kittens. I was amazed at the fact that there were 926,005 results for this search. I tried to narrow the search by searching for “kittens in trees” which resulted in 2,888 results. When using Flickr, you definitely need to make sure you have lots of time if you want to thoroughly navigate through all the information that is available on your subject.

I thought this link was especially cute… http://www.flickr.com/photos/newlight2/315777031/ This kitten has the prettiest eyes.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

I first chose to read “11 reasons why Library 2.0 exists and matters.” Under the section, “L2 requires a fundamental change in a library’s mission,” I feel as though it is important to examine any library’s mission as the community changes since the mission is meant to encompass the needs of its patrons. The statement that “But collectively, we have the resources and societal placement to provide vital services that extend beyond our local communities” is a fact that many libraries are currently facing. As many libraries are facing budgetary cuts, we rely on each other more and more to help provide our patrons with the information they are seeking.

In the video “Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us”, the following words appear on the screen, “Digital text is above all…hyper.” I found this to be a good summary of how our world currently seems to operate. Information is processed at such a fast rate that sometimes it’s as though the world has become “hyper”. This transitions into hyperlinks which is just another way of getting to the information we want…faster. One of the clips in the video displayed the heading “There’s a blog born every half second.” Wow! They mentioned how we are teaching the machine every time we post and tag pictures and how we teach it an idea every time we forge a link. The statement in the video that “Web 2.0 is linking people…” is very true. I agree that we need to rethink copyright and privacy. It becomes so easy to put information out there that sometimes we forget to stop and think about whether or not we should.

Welcome to the-reference-desk: a librarian's blog

Welcome to my blog. I am a Reference Librarian in a public library - I'm sure the title of my blog gave that away :)

I'm starting this blog in hopes of learning new things and since I love anything related to technology this experience is perfect. I hope the free flow of information between fellow bloggers will help to enhance all of our libraries.

Learning new things and improving my skills are highly motivating and this Web 2.0 experience should be rewarding.

I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you and maybe even have fun while doing it :)