Week 13: Bonus

I only occasionally listen to the radio (even while driving), so I don't expect to do so online. Once again, it's a matter of limited time.

I have a Shelfari account and have wondered about Library Thing. I found the articles comparing Shelfari to Library Thing to be interesting and informative. I find Shelfari to be visually appealing, but it seems quite slow (perhaps because of the graphics?) and somewhat limited. I've now opened a Library Thing account and look forward to using it.

Week 12: Phun Photos

I explored the websites and will save them on my Delicious account. Having an art background, this looks like a fun thing to play with. Thanks for the great links!

Week 11: Online Productivity

We've used Google Docs in our department a bit, so I'm familiar with it. I like the idea of electronic storage, and think that as we all get used to using it, collaboration will be simplified.

I seriously plan to use Google calendar so that all scheduled events in my life can be seen in one place. Woo hoo!

Week 10: Tagging/Social Bookmarks

I've been curious about delicious, and found the lesson most informative. I like the idea of having a place to bookmark websites in a place that can be accessed from anywhere--I can stop sending those incessant emails to myself, and it should eliminate some clutter. I opened a delicious account and have bookmarked a few sites. I expect my appreciation will grow as I continue to use it.

I'm not sold on the social aspect of bookmarking (i.e. tagging), but perhaps this will change as I become more familiar with it.

Week 9: Social Networking

I've been on Facebook for several months now, and have enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, distant family members, and local acquaintances whom I don't see very often. I've moved around quite a bit as an adult and have never liked losing touch with old friends, but life is busy. I don't like talking on the phone. I've maintained a lot of contacts via email and find Facebook to be another managable avenue for doing so. Now that the initial excitement has worn off, I don't allow it to be a time waster--I can quickly check it once or twice a day (just as I do email), and move on. I still connect with one or two people a week, and learned last week that a former student who is my daughter's age will be attending the same out-of-state college. I doubt I would have learned this without a Facebook account, at least not until they ran into each other on campus next year!



I found the articles regarding privacy settings most helpful--I am careful to only post information that I would not mind my mother (nor my mother in law) seeing, but I plan to sort my friends into different categories--when a 15 year old son of a friend "friended" me and I accepted, his angst-filled news feed quickly became something I didn't want to read, nor did I want his posts appearing on my wall. I did some digging and figured out how to set limitations, but I want to do a more organized, thorough job of this.

Week 8: Gaming

I'm not a gamer--never have been, never will be.

Week 7: Wikis

It was nice to be in somewhat familiar territory this week, since we've been using the programming wiki for awhile.

I checked out the links to wikis that were shared with us in the lesson, and have concluded that the more specific a Wiki, the more appealing it is to me. The SJCPLGuides had so many links to information about so many topics that I found it cumbersome and overwhelming. On the other hand, the Durham County Library Strategic Plan was much more concise, dealing with a specific topic. And because I remembered a group from Durham County touring Tuckahoe a couple of years ago, it was interesting to read their impressions and personally relevant.

Lesson # 6: Photo Sharing

More enlightenment--I had previously viewed Flickr and photo sharing as a way for my 30- something friends to easily share all those baby pictures with everyone in their email address book, and didn't see a personal need to participate. After all, I can send the occasional prom or graduation picture by email to family members. I'm not big on the idea of family photos on the web, even with the assurance of privacy settings. So until now, I've remained in ignorant bliss on the subject of photo sharing.

I took the Magical Mystery Tour (clever title to grab the 'boomers) and once agian learned some things that peaked my interest.

I have always loved to travel, and enjoy taking photos of places I've been. I've loaded my digital photos onto my computer and also burned CDs as back-up. However, I've recently begun to question the safety and permanence of this method, given the speed with which technology is advancing (will I even be able to view a CD in 10 or 20 years?), and the vulnerability of CDs in general. Flickr sounds like it might be a good place to store these photos.

Because I enjoy travelling but cannot currently afford to do so, I like to follow my brothers on their frequent excursions via the internet. One brother recently went to Rome--I typed in the address of the villa where he stayed in Google Maps and Google Earth. There I found and clicked on photo links, which opened pictures taken by various people and posted to these sights. I now realize these photos were shared by someone using Flickr or a similar tool. Again, enlightenment.

I enjoyed the tour on Flickr (clear and logical) as well as the video lesson (I feel like Lee LeFever is becoming an old friend). I will add "photo sharing" to my ever-growing list of things I want to do. I'm not interested in the social aspect of photo-sharing--I don't want to communicate via the web with folks who have similar interests (I feel like I barely have enough time to share with those I truly am close to--family and friends). As far as using it in a work context, I always figure I can help a patron who might come in with questions. If someone in the system uses photo-sharing in a project that involves me, I feel like I now have the knowledge to participate fully.

Lesson #5: Podcasts

This week's lesson was very enlightening for me--it dispelled many misconceptions that I had previously held about podcasting, and gave me a greater scope of the realm of possibilities. I'm looking forward to having some time to explore the podcast directories more thoroughly, and then subscribe to some personal interest podcasts (art, travel, books). I can see that perhaps having some links on our website might be appreciated by our patrons. I'm not ready to see our storytimes broadcasted, however.



Thanks, Web 2.0 Committee, for this very practical lesson.

Lesson 4: Twitter

I found the lesson to be clear and informative, but currently have no desire to be electronically connected to anyone 24/7. I like a little space and quiet time. I wonder how those who are microblogging find time to actually experience real life--aren't they missing a lot while staring at their little keyboards and typing?! I enjoy the occasional "mandatory pauses" in my life: while my car is being serviced, in the dentist's office, a snow day. I use the time to people-watch, or read, or just slow down and think. I love my family and friends, but I can keep up with them via snail mail, email, phone calls, and Facebook, and I have control over the time element of these activities. I fear that using Twitter would tempt me to spend too much of my precious time socializing on a very trivial level. I don't need to know when someone is mowing the lawn, nor do I need to tell everyone I know when I'm mowing the lawn (which will never happen, but I digress...).

If I find a need to Twitter down the road, I'm ready, thanks to our always-informative Web 2.0 Committee.

Since I'm not tweeting (or twittering or whatever you call it), I've spent time this week exploring my RSS feeds, and reading other people's blogs. What an interesting mix of people we are, and it's fun learning a bit about all of you.

Lesson 3: No Longer Homeless

Thanks, Web 2.0 Committee, for this informative lesson. Prior to this week, I thought I understood RSS feeds. I knew that they had something to do with updates. I had even clicked on the orange RSS icon a couple of times, thinking that I would begin getting email notification (or something) regarding updates. Then, because nothing happened, I promptly forgot about it. After viewing the video (well done in my opinion) a lightbulb came on--without a reader, I was RSS homeless!

I have since remedied the problem and set up a Google Reader account. I've subscribed to a couple of online newspapers that I often peruse, as well as my daughter's art teacher's website. Going to one place to check updates will be handy, and I've dropped them into neat little folders. I imagine I'll subscribe to more sites that I frequent, as I get in the habit of having them come to my home, rather than visiting them. I do love the reduction of advertisements!

I've just spent way too much time trying to figure out how to get those RSS feeds on my blog, but will solicit the help of my co-workers tomorrow morning.

Web Two-Point-O Away We Go!

What a nice, gentle start to our Web 2.0 training. Good overview, lots of points to refer back to, loved seeing the video from our Staff Development again--if I'm having a bad day, I might just watch the part with my buddy, Mike Shoop, laughing--it does my soul good--thank you, Mike! I'm thinking, "Hey, this won't be so bad! I can easily keep up!"

And then, lurking around the corner, ready to sneak up and pounce, was lesson two...

Web Two-Point-O Oh No! (lesson 2)

It was my favorite gift that Christmas--a white leather diary embossed with gold letters, a brass lock and key, and lined pages upon which I could write my deepest and most personal thoughts. It made me feel grown up, important, like my thoughts mattered. Never mind that all I usually wrote was what we were served for lunch that day in the Pierce Elementary cafeteria, and whether or not we got to go outside for recess. I kept it locked and hidden away from the prying eyes of my brothers, who would have teased me mercilessly had they ever found it. This was the norm for my generation--diaries and journals were secretive and private, to be shared with no one, not even one's best friend.

I have teenagers. When they first wanted to set up pages on a social networking site, my spouse and I were adamant--absolutely not! Why would you want to put your thoughts, photos, and who-knows-what-else out there for anyone and everyone to see? Over time they wore us down, gradually conditioning us to the concept of life posted on the www. They were a bit older and an eensy bit wiser, so we conceded, and they set up Facebook accounts, which were more of a "college student thing".

Time passed, and our daughter began telling me, "Mrs. So-and-so said to tell you hi." I asked, "When did you talk to her?", since Mrs. So-and-so lives in another state. She replied that they were "friends on Facebook." Hmm...my (rusty) wheels began to (slowly) turn. Were people of my generation venturing into Facebook territory?

More time passed, and I attended the CHPL Staff Development Day in December. The Web 2.0 Committee gave their presentation, and lo and behold, some of my co-workers were on Facebook--and not just the co-workers who are young enough to be my kids, but fellow baby boomer co-workers. It was beginning to feel like a safer place to explore. After all, I had moved around a lot and lost touch with many old friends, even some family members were becoming distant. I decided to take the Facebook plunge.

I enlisted the help of our daughter, and pretty soon I was reconnecting with friends all over the place. I liken it to throwing an open house, inviting people you've known at different times from different places at different points in your life, and a lot of them show up. For the first few days, every time I logged onto Facebook it was like the doorbell ringing and I got to go see who had arrived. This was fun! I didn't have to bare my soul or reveal anything I didn't choose to reveal--just idle chit-chat, brief conversations, a little catching up here and there. The "friend request" frenzy slowed down, and I am able to resist the urge to check it 35 times a day, so fine, I'm on Facebook and feelin' pretty hip.

But BLOGGING?!! I don't think so, Skippy. I'm happy to learn about it--knowledge is good and we're in the "sharing information" profession. I'm sure I'll pick up skills and knowledge from this experience that will help me help someone else. But, I don't see myself maintaining a blog after I graduate from Web 2.0 school. I think I'll still prefer to select a really great-writing pen and record my thoughts on the clean white page of a lovely, leather-covered journal.