Thing 6 Online Image Generators
Another fun tool set for school libraries! (I'm going to share Image Chef with my daughter.) I liked how it let me save the license plate directly to my Blogger. I created the trading card from a picture of me in front of the New York Public Library taken a couple weeks ago on my trip to NYC.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thing 7 a. Communication Tools
OK, I'm going out of order because I haven't done any new Things due to doing some traveling this summer, so I'm trying to at least get to the Things that may be most relevant.
Email: It's indispensible but can be a time waster for me because I receive about 100 per day from all over the world - some junk, some requiring action. I really rely on my email archives to keep track of project status and communications. I frequently attach files or links via email. Currently my reference questions are about 45% email, 40% phone, and 15% in person.
IM: I remember WAY back in college (1980's) using "phone" on the VAX system at St. Kate's! We would "finger" our friends to see if they were online and then type instant messages across campus. My tweenage daughter used AIM (AOL's instant messaging) for awhile but I had heard it was quite vulnerabe to hacking and viruses, so when we got one I turned it off. At school the kids used "gaggle" accounts and spent a lot of time chatting with friends until the school account expired. I do not think many people use IM here at work; we use email that way sometimes (back and forth) in which case I pick up the phone and have a conversation with the colleague. I'm not sure which IM service I will try; probably a universal one like Meebo or Ebuddy...
Text Messaging: My cell phone is pay-by-the-minute so I try not to use it much. I have sent and received a couple text messages just to try it out, but do not use it regularly. I don't see a need for it in my corporate library.
Email: It's indispensible but can be a time waster for me because I receive about 100 per day from all over the world - some junk, some requiring action. I really rely on my email archives to keep track of project status and communications. I frequently attach files or links via email. Currently my reference questions are about 45% email, 40% phone, and 15% in person.
IM: I remember WAY back in college (1980's) using "phone" on the VAX system at St. Kate's! We would "finger" our friends to see if they were online and then type instant messages across campus. My tweenage daughter used AIM (AOL's instant messaging) for awhile but I had heard it was quite vulnerabe to hacking and viruses, so when we got one I turned it off. At school the kids used "gaggle" accounts and spent a lot of time chatting with friends until the school account expired. I do not think many people use IM here at work; we use email that way sometimes (back and forth) in which case I pick up the phone and have a conversation with the colleague. I'm not sure which IM service I will try; probably a universal one like Meebo or Ebuddy...
Text Messaging: My cell phone is pay-by-the-minute so I try not to use it much. I have sent and received a couple text messages just to try it out, but do not use it regularly. I don't see a need for it in my corporate library.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thing 4 flickr photo
I love the mapping feature in flickr!
Nuisance to have to create so many accounts for things (yahoo for flickr, google for blogspot). It took a few tries to figure out I had to enable google to accept flickr, but once I did it automatically linked to my 23 Things blog like magic! It worked so well that it appeared TWICE on my blog! ? (had to delete the duplicate).
Several years ago our IT techy recommended flickr for posting photos of a group trip so the participants could access them online. I only sourced the program; my patron utilized it. That seems the best use of flickr. I don't think I would use it for my private corporate library. Not for my private personal life either. I'm protective of my data!
For personal photos, I use Snapfish. I can allow family to view my albums there. It's not as public as flickr. You can make flickr private, but that's not really the purpose of flickr. Snapfish allows me to store, edit and print photos.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thing 3 RSS
I created an aggregator in Google Reader and added 6 subscriptions. I put 23 Things on a Stick in there, plus my own blog and some friends' blogs. I was surprised to stumble upon an old colleague's podcast while browsing, so I added that too: grammar grater.
I like having these organized as I'm more likely to read them and keep up to date now that they are conveniently singled out in one locale.
For finding feeds, I think I'll more likely click the icon on sites I already use, vs. going out to look for additional sites.
Wish I'd had RSS feed training a year ago. I needed to subscribe to a news service for current travel updates and the provider told me we could put an RSS feed on our intranet. I didn't know much about it then. We didn't end up subscribing (too expensive) so I did not need to learn more about RSS at that point.
I like having these organized as I'm more likely to read them and keep up to date now that they are conveniently singled out in one locale.
For finding feeds, I think I'll more likely click the icon on sites I already use, vs. going out to look for additional sites.
Wish I'd had RSS feed training a year ago. I needed to subscribe to a news service for current travel updates and the provider told me we could put an RSS feed on our intranet. I didn't know much about it then. We didn't end up subscribing (too expensive) so I did not need to learn more about RSS at that point.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thing 2 Library 2.0
The resources gave a good overview of the Library 2.0 issues. I previously just had a superficial understanding of social web tools and terms like Wiki, blogs, RSS feeds, and want to "keep up" with technology, so that is why I'm participating in 23 Things. My adolescent daughter uses MySpace, IM, YouTube, WebKinz all the time to socialize with friends. She can't wait to help me set up a MySpace page! Being a career Mom it will be hard to find time to do the Things but like Stephen Abram says, it's easier to find time to learn something we are interested in and the 23 Things gives self-paced guidance. So far I've been using my lunch breaks at work.
I recently attended an SLA webinar "Social Networking Inside the Organization" but it was a quick overview that just skimmed the surface. Terms were little more than defined, so I didn't get much out of it. Last month at an SLA Ethics Town Hall meeting, Cody Hanson spoke about the lack of information privacy in Web 2.0.
I work in a corporate library, so much of Library 2.0 seems geared toward public libraries. Some day I hope to migrate to Hennepin County Libraries, so it's still of interest to me, even if it isn't as applicable in my own library. Two of Rick Anderson's "icebergs" were looming in my library: "Just in Case" and "Come to Us". I recently received feedback from library users of my company that they wanted "less paper" and more electronic availability of information so they don't have to "get off their butts" and come to the library. So I sent out a survey and based on the results am no longer keeping a hard copy "just in case" of information that is also available on our LAN (soon to be SharePoint site). The library was beginning to be seen, as John Blyberg's log puts it, a back storage room of hanging folders.
In terms of making my library more interactive, users can upload documents and photos to our collection, sharing information; it's a collaborative effort to keep the information up to date. We'll see if any of the 23 Things could be of use, though I'm sure many won't apply and are just for fun (like #15, 18, 20).
I recently attended an SLA webinar "Social Networking Inside the Organization" but it was a quick overview that just skimmed the surface. Terms were little more than defined, so I didn't get much out of it. Last month at an SLA Ethics Town Hall meeting, Cody Hanson spoke about the lack of information privacy in Web 2.0.
I work in a corporate library, so much of Library 2.0 seems geared toward public libraries. Some day I hope to migrate to Hennepin County Libraries, so it's still of interest to me, even if it isn't as applicable in my own library. Two of Rick Anderson's "icebergs" were looming in my library: "Just in Case" and "Come to Us". I recently received feedback from library users of my company that they wanted "less paper" and more electronic availability of information so they don't have to "get off their butts" and come to the library. So I sent out a survey and based on the results am no longer keeping a hard copy "just in case" of information that is also available on our LAN (soon to be SharePoint site). The library was beginning to be seen, as John Blyberg's log puts it, a back storage room of hanging folders.
In terms of making my library more interactive, users can upload documents and photos to our collection, sharing information; it's a collaborative effort to keep the information up to date. We'll see if any of the 23 Things could be of use, though I'm sure many won't apply and are just for fun (like #15, 18, 20).
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