Reflections

I was very excited to participate in this program because I wanted to learn more about using all of these tools. The self paced format and suggestions provided guidance and freedom to explore at my own pace. I usually explore new tools by reading about them without really trying to use them...this program helped me actually use the tools.

There are several things that I found useful and fun, such as delicious, youtube, and bloglines. Other elements of social networking and activities that require a lot of maintenance don't really attract me because I like to step away from my computer and be somewhat anonymous.

I like Outside of a Dog's suggestion that we have monthly topics to explore to continue learning with this format. It would be great to continue.

Video

It is addictive to search for videos....I felt a little uncomfortable and distracted searching for videos at work. At home I really enjoy using youtube. I have found some cool instructional videos about how to build alternative structures and it always seems like something I'm interested in pops up on the side bar to keep me looking at more videos.

I can see putting different informative shorts on our website, such as instructions on how to use the catalog from home. I really like Sam's One Minute Critic project. Very creative...

TED is a great place for insightful speeches by great thinkers. I've embedded a speech by one of my favorite authors, Isabel Allende. It would be fun to put a video featuring a different author each month on our site...this one is probably too long for work but is a good preview.

tumblelogs

the tumblelogs kinda remind me of Boing Boing

i really enjoy both types of information sharing - blogs and microblogging. i keep reading that twittering is very popular. i have tried to imagine how life would have been different as a young person with all of these options. seems like a lot of fun.

microblogging can be very useful for libraries...we could update patrons about closures or changes in schedules. i was excited to sign up for an RSS feed of multnomah's new gardening books. it would be fun to receive the same kind of info about booklists through twitter. can we twitter overdue notices?

Podcasting

i found a lot of interesting content on podcastalley.com. i would like to just click to listen from podcastalley before subscribing. only because subscribing takes a couple more clicks and i'm kinda lazy, or busy or unmotivated until i know it is something i will like.

i found the format and search results from podcastalley friendlier than searching yahoo.

Greg Schwartz makes a good point on his Beginner's Guide to Podcasting podcast - there is the issue of keeping up with the podcasts you subscribe to as the content is consumed "real time". you will spend eight minutes listening to an eight minute podcast...i have a hard time listening to all of the things that i want to, or i listen to them without really tuning in because i'm trying to multi-task. i love video podcasts (are they even called video podcasts?) but it makes it more difficult to do something else while listening.

it is a good reminder to be more thoughtful about the information i am consuming.

Cool stuff

it was very tempting to just jump in and start answering questions on yahoo answers...it is entertaining to read though the questions. the answer sharing option is not something i have seen available from libraries. i found myself thinking that i should submit more questions to libraries. even though i often comment that people do not know about, or just do not use what is available to them from libraries, i guess i don't use them myself. i usually ask friends or do my own research. in a way, it seems more approachable to throw a question up on yahoo answers than to use a library's ask a librarian feature. i'm trying to figure out why...it is appealing that users answer questions on yahoo answers - can a library "sponsor" a similar site and fact check the answers? maybe that is just too redundant. on another note, i discovered that i am really good at typing with wordshoot.

Audio and the public domain

did you know that the Internet Archive has a bookmobile?

"In a celebration of the Public Domain, the Internet Archive's Bookmobile will be coming to a town near you, bringing with it the ability to access, download, and print one of the almost 20,000 public domain books currently available online."

(oooh, i was just able to ad that link and have it open in a new window, hopefully. i'll keep my fingers crossed.)

i'm listening to pandora right now and loving it. someone turned me onto it a few months ago. it makes me so happy to be pleasantly surprised by bands that i like coming on. i get kind of behind on voting and don't use the social networking part of it...i really enjoy what i do use. i think that is what really counts. do i think cd's are dead? no! i really enjoy giving and receiving mixed cd's from friends - i just mailed one to my sister. of course i then burn them to my computer and never use the actual cd again. so maybe their muscles are starting to atrophy. i really enjoy corresponding by snail mail too and can be a little romantic about that kind of stuff.

Google docs

yay for google docs. this would be a great tool for collaboration. i have no problem with storing my personal documents and emails on google servers, but does it cause concern for professional organizations. should we be concerned about the life of google? i suppose you would want to back up the final product on your server. i am going to post this straight from google docs to my blog. i love that i can publish it straight from here instead of writing in blogger.