Reflections

Wow. I am done! It was a great exercise and I learned a lot. I believe it behooves us as people working in a library to know about all these applications 'out there' even though we might think they have no great application in a library setting. At least we will know about them and be able to talk to our patrons if they inqure. About half of the applicatons introduced I could see used in a library: Meebo, Flickr, Blogs, Wikis, RSS. Another goodly number I could see using myself in my private life: Library Thing, del.icio.us, Pandora, GoogleDocs etc. Applications I didn't find useful at all: microblogging and Tumblr. They are so disorganized, I can't stand it. And truly, does one really need to be in touch with friends and family CONSTANTLY? These things just take up space (I know, I know, it's cyberspace but still...)I do not think that blogging is going to be a big thing for libraries. Just look around in library land. Libraries that have had blogs for a while are discontinuing them. No one seems to read them. No one leaves comments. So I have to question how valuable they really are. The same goes for MySpace accounts for libraries. Does anyone really care? What teens said to me is that they don't want me there...it is THEIR space. Not mine.

One more thought...I think 4 months is not enough time to complete the program. If one wants to really look into all the applications in-depth, read about them, try them out, it takes much longer, especially if one is completely or relatively new to Web 2.0. I've had to help several of my staff with questions - which I am very happy to do! - because they were not web "savy." I think 6 months is a much more realistic timeline to complete all the steps.

I am very glad, however, that I had the opportunity to explore web 2.0 in-depth. I would never have taken the time to do so and this made me really look at all Web 2.0has to offer. I've learned a lot (especially that I could become addicted to the games and mash-ups out there...) and I thank FVRL for this opportunity. Over and out.

Alternative Blogging

Boy, what a waste of ones time! I see absolutely no use to anyone for anything in Twitter and Tumblr!I have no desire to give an account of where I am and what I am doing/going to do/have done at at all times and don't want to read about other people's whereabouts or doings. It's boring. It's disorganized. I am glad I took the time to explore Twitter and Tumblr a bit but only because I want to be able to be able to talk about them somewhat intelligently - or at least know about them. I think this is just another tool for self-indulgent people who think they are really important and everyone is interested in their lives. Well, I am not. Bah, humbug.

Audio/Video: Video

I looked at all the different video providers and one could certainly spend a lot of time surfing and watching different videos. I know that it is said by librarians that YouTube and similar services should be integrated on library website as how-to tools and that there are many valuable videos on these sites. Well, maybe but are these sites really used for that purpose? I've spent an afternoon now on these sites and when looking at the popular videos or the videos that are currently being watched, not ONE was/is an educational one. They are all about stupid pet tricks or people doing some stunts. So, if a library were to add YouTube to their website I believe their videos would have to have an entertainment value to be watched. Maybe a storytime could be featured. Or a book talk. Or a program. I did searches on all the different sites on how to tie a tie. All gave me good results with some giving me some very raunchy results! I didn't think "how to tie a tie" could be interpreted in any way other than what I meant but boy, was I wrong...ANYWAY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

The video I watched and thoroughly enjoyed is the medieval help desk one. It's in Norwegian (with English subtitles). It is absolutely hilarious and well worth the 3 minutes it takes to watch! It reminds me a lot of my work in my previous library as an automation librarian...

Podcasts

Of all the podcast finding services I liked podcast.net the best...probably because it got me the best results for my search of story times and teen stuff in public libraries. I found a pretty good site - teenlibrarian - which had many podcasts of book talks and authors' interviews. I enjoyed listening to the authors talking about their books - it will come in handy when doing book talks in schools or for book clubs. I also enjoyed listening to This American Life on NPR via podcast...I always miss the end of a story and with the podcasts I won't miss another ending! Some of the podcasts I listened to didn't have the best audio quality but headphones might help with that problem.

Audio/Video - Music and other Audio

I really wanted to try out the Mango.com site but having no administrative privileges I could not download the required update to Flash Player....sad day. I guess my learning Portuguese has to wait another day or so.

The Internet Archive site is overwhelming. Way too much stuff. Does anyone really need all those video clips? I don't know...the site might have its uses but I found it overkill. I can't imagine ever going there looking for something.

I liked the music sites. I found samples of all my favorite musicians and singers (yes, even Babyface!). IMEEM, however, only gave you a taste of a song. After a few bars you had to sign up for an account in order to listen to the whole song. I am getting tired of having to sign up for everything. It gets really old. So Imeem is off my list to go to for music downloads.

The Absolute Sound Effects Archive was a hoot. Loved being able to access the sound of different birds, car horns, rain, etc.

I am familiar with the Gutenberg.org site. I guess it has its use for people who want to read or listen to books in the public domain. I found one of the Swiss authors I loved as a child and downloaded a book...however, I did not manage to get even halfway through (even though I had wanted to read it for a long time!) - reading on a screen just gets way too tiring for me. Must be my advanced age. Maybe younger people will be able to do that. I'd rather pick up the book. I'm an old fuddy duddy, that's for sure!

GoogleDocs

GoogleDocs is a fabulous tool. The developers at Google really think of every conceivable way to make sharing of documents and presentations easy. They are giving Microsoft a run for its money, that's for sure. I am thrilled to have another avenue than to e-mail attachments. I like it that I can keep all the documents in one place and don't have to keep track of them. I am glad that I don't have to worry about different software anymore - some in my family are still using Word Perfect...with GoogleDocs we are finally on the same page.And there is no need for them to buy an expensive product. It's all free! Fabulous

Cool Stuff

Now I am hooked! The Wordshoot game is truly addictive...good-bye to reading...it's shooting words from now on. Of course, I don't know if my poor heart can take the rush. I might have to take a sick day or two to recover from all the adrenaline cruising through my body. Awesome.

One of my favorite board games is Scrabble. Unlucky for me, my family doesn't really care for it but now I COULD sign up with Scrabulous and play with strangers. However, I don't think I'll do that. I am spending way to much time already reading my RSS feeds and contributing (sometimes anyway) to discussion groups. If I'll add Scrabulous I'll never get off the computer - you know how it goes...just one more game and then I'll stop! Ha!

I also checked out Yahoo! Answers. Wow. Some of the answers given are truly horrific. People who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, shooting off their mouth and giving advice. Yikes. I wouldn't trust these answers at all. I think I'll have to come back on a a "Slam the Boards!" day to see if the replies are more credible when librarians give answers. At least, they will back up their answers with sources...or so I hope. Scrolling through the questions and answers I have to surmise that there are a ton of very lonely people out there with lots of strange questions some of which could be answered with just a tiny bit of research. I guess it is a sign of the times that people are not willing to invest any time in finding out the answers to some very simple questions (and I am not saying ALL the questions are easy!) themselves.