Reflections][snoitcelfeR & a Suggestion

Well, its been fun. Really, I mean it, this has been one of the best staff development exercises I have ever been through. I'm not talking about surfing YouTube or playing with Mash-Ups (those were fun by the way) but rather watching and working with my fellow staff members to utilize all of this Web 2.0 madness. There's a lot out there and while this program just covered a fraction of the possibilities waiting for libraries it got us all thinking about those possibilities, and that's no small feat. What I enjoyed the most about Learning 2.0 was the way it made Web 2.0 and everything that term covers approachable, no matter what ones prior experience with social networking/blogging/etc. was.

Where we go from here is only limited by what we are all willing to try out, I have mentioned it already on this blog but would really like to see KCLS explore the implementation of quick reference service via text and Instant Messaging maybe this could be explored in a future version of Learning 2.0. No matter what new services we try out it will be fun to see what happens next!

On a side note this will be my last regular post to this blog, but if you wish to listen to me ramble on or just plain stalk me on the web check back. I will update from time to time linking to any other online projects or blogs I'm involved in.

-Matt

Daft Punk will r0x0rs you!

OK, so as you should be able to tell I am a Daft Punk fan. I am also a huge fan of YouTube and similar services, I have used YouTube for a long time now so embedding these files was nothing new for me.

Onward we stride with Learning 2.0, onward to the Web 2.0 Awards!

So I set out to find something of interest to me and the Supreme Court Zeitgeist fit the bill. Now you must understand that I read the Federalist Papers for fun, and that I enjoy observing how the decisions made by the court system effect our lives. The great thing about this site besides the volume of information it links to that pertain to the decisions made by the Supreme Court was its separation of that info into categories (News Stories, Web Pages, Blogs, Books & Magazines) that will certainly make it easier to direct a patron to resources highlighting current events involving the Supreme Court if I ever have cause.

Google Labs

While I'm still waiting for the crazy people running the Google lab to produce a lightsaber they have rolled out some interesting services. The NASA nerd in me loved the Google Mars service that is in beta and I was already a fan of Google Extensions for Firefox, other than those two I found things to be interesting but not all that useful for me like Google Trends. Trends is "neat" but unless you were trying to figure out what words to use in a marketing campaign based on the worlds search habits for instance I'm not sure what you would do with the information.

Why online software rocks!

I've used Google Docs a number of times since it’s so easy to bounce to it from my Gmail account but I was very impressed with Zoho's offerings. Whichever one you end up going with they rock for the same reason, they'll do most everything your average user needs from productivity software while being free and available anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.

The 2.0 of it all

There are plenty of ways to expand service in library 2.0 style through the widgets, wikis and mash-ups being spawned daily but one way I would love to see our library system take a step towards the future roles envisioned in the articles from NextSpace would be taking advantage of how popular text messaging is with younger age groups, yes I'm talking about librarians with Blackberry's attached to their hips replying to questions that teens ask via their cell phones and IM devices. It'd be a great way to have our services be available through another medium. And being able to serve more people in more ways is really what we're all after and what the 2.0 of it all is about, right?

Rollyo vs. Google....

And the winner is....Google!

Shocking, I know.

For me Google's custom search looked cleaner, the screen was not as busy and I really don't like Rollyo's logo. Yes my decision was based entirely on aesthetics this time, but many consumers are just this fickle when it comes to the products they align so I figured that once in a while I can be as well.

Now for anyone interested in current events in Japan you might want to try out my custom search: Japanese Societal Goings On

Something random and fun to mix up the old Learning 2.0 Blog!

This chili dog was very tasty!

Generator Tomfoolery!

Lightsabers are awesome!

A wiki wha?

I'm in the camp of wiki supporters, Wikipedia has come through for me several times serving as a link to more "authoritative" sources on topics I have researched through it. Plus I'm a big fan of the collaborative knowledge sharing that wiki's promote.

The LTA run wiki mentioned in this lesson is a great idea, I also would like to see something in wiki style applied to the general system and benefits announcements that can be hard to find on the intranet.

And now for something completely different!

Why? Because it’s been to many posts without a picture, that’s why! And yes cats do play video games in case there are any doubters out there.

Library Thing

This is one of the greatest ideas I have ever encountered online. I set a LibraryThing account up sometime ago but never got around to taking advantage of it, but thanks to Learning 2.0 I've jumped back in. If you look to the right (or left if you're standing on your head) of my blog you'll find my LibraryThing widget with a sampling of what you'd find on my bookshelf at home or you can check it out here. The only problem I can find with having a LibraryThing account is finding the time to enter all of my books.

Del.icio.us you say?

Well it didn't come across tasting as good as pickled herring and lutefisk at a holiday smörgåsbord but I still liked it (for the most part).

For finding websites related to any given topic through exploration this is a great tool, for killing time by browsing the Internet this is a really great tool. Browsing sites tagged with 'robot' I came across Wired magazines The 50 Best Robots Ever along with plenty of other great sites.

As for useful in the library setting? Well I'm not really convinced of that. Maybe if you wanted to find some general info on a topic and had some keywords in mind you could come across a hidden Internet gem (if other people had tagged it as you would), not the most efficient way to search but certainly an option. I also didn't care for how it organized my bookmarks, I wanted to refine and organize them more than del.icio.us allowed.

In the end its fun to see what's been tagged by different people and I found a lot of interesting web pages I may have otherwise never been exposed to, and its got a cool name.

The myspace.com wrap-up

How would I describe myspace? Well, the closest thing I can think of that behaves the same would be a black hole. Now please don't misinterpret this to mean that I think myspace is evil or a source of destruction that has been set upon our society. I simple mean that myspace IS a swirling end of the line depository for all information on the internet. A force so strong that no one or thing can escape its pull, after all even libraries are now on myspace!

Seriously though, it seems myspace has become a central part of many young persons lives as well as a growing number of adults. Social networking online is here to stay so it seems only natural (OK not really natural for most of us but it does at least make sense) that our library system will be better able to meet the needs of our patrons if we can connect with them the same way they connect with their friends and other interests.

More RSS madness...

Well, the second part of RSS tomfoolery wasn't all that difficult but I also did not find it all that useful. I felt that I would have better luck finding RSS feeds to subscribe to by searching for and visiting websites related to my interests then checking for a feed link rather than using a feed search tool. Using Feedster and looking for a blog or feed related to the New York Public Library I found blogs on hair removal and using Syndic8.com for the same search I was directed to a feed for Lounge Light Fashion Week, while that was an impressive leap of subject matter I cannot say it impressed me in a good way. Topix search was better while Google's was the best, shocking I know.

That's all for now folks...

RSS and me!

RSS feeds are another of the many communication tools we can utilize on a daily basis, another avenue for us to stay current with one another and our interests. That sounds all well and good, lots of useful bits of information delivered to our virtual doorstep everyday, but I certainly can foresee a downside to all this.

The Not So Useful Bits:
Starting out I had no shortage of websites with feeds to subscribe too, after all I spend a "healthy" portion of my spare time reading a variety of content online. But if I were to go through and fill out a feeds list with every website I visit for movie news, upcoming books, graphic novels and comics, political news and economy updates, history factoids and words of the day, the latest thing NASA is working on, updates on when I can place an order for that flying car being developed by Terrafugia...well I think you get the picture without me going on forever that I'd be hit upside the head with more updates than the spam I find in my junk mail folder. May I enjoy browsing these websites over the course of the week and don't really need up to the minute information on them all, is that so wrong?

The Useful Bits:
There is a way to deal with all those incoming updates that threaten to bury us all and structure that long list of website into something useful. FOLDERS! After adding seven different feeds to my account on Bloglines I found myself already feeling the need to start placing my various feeds into folders based on their respective subject matter. Now rather than a hap hazard list of websites I have an orderly set of headings that I can browse by.

Also in theory I could see RSS feeds being useful for KCLS, if tech and event updates were posted on a staff/system blog, rather than sent en mass via email, staff could monitor whats new via RSS feeds. Our patrons as well could receive updates about upcoming events or new materials added to the catalog that fall under a subject/author feed they have subscribed to.

The Wrap Up:
With careful selection of feeds and then distributing them into folders or as I like to think of them, subject channels, you will have created a personalized news service that's all yours. Of course you may also enjoy visiting all those various websites and seeing what all they have to offer, and that is OK too. I doubt that I will be condensing my web browsing down to one long RSS feed list anytime soon but may well continue to use feed readers to monitor updates from some select sources.

Darksteel Buccaneer (Mash-Ups MTG style)

Darksteel Buccaneer, originally uploaded by hilderbrant.

Well looking through the various "mash-up" apps that were available I was reminded of the "good old days" back in mid '90s when Magic the Gathering was first really catching on by the "Trading Card Maker." So I decided to post a reminder of the old card gaming ways with a play on one of my favorite cards.

Color me flickr!

this risk game lasted 8 1/2 hours!, originally uploaded by hilderbrant.

Fun and useful all wrapped up as a stylish web 2.0 application you say, well with that description alone I'm nearly sold but once my pictures were uploaded and I could direct family and friends to them I was hooked (of course I've been familiar with flickr for a while now, but hey review never hurts right?). Here is a photo of a LOTR Risk game that took over 8 1/2 hours to complete played the last Labor Day holiday.

So far so good...

It seems everyone I've talked to is up to speed on Learning 2.0 and having a good time. I am looking forward to seeing how much we all learn about and from one another as Learning 2.o marches on.

One, two three GO!

Its Learning 2.0!