Googly-eyed Over Google

I am so impressed with Google Docs and Zoho. Since Wi-Fi users can't print at the library, we're always recommending that they save their documents as email so they can access them on public computers, but Google Docs and Zoho are even better. You can access your work from any computer without worrying about disks, drives, or compatibility. How cool is that? It also allows you to go back to a document any time you're at a computer - an enormous advantage when you need to refer back to something or make changes.

While Zoho offers a much wider array of tools, I'm sold on the accessibility of Google. I was in my Gmail account the other day when I suddenly realized that if I clicked on "My Services" I could get right into my blog and access my newly created search engine. Upon closer inspection, I see that if I click "Documents" I can start a Google document right in my account. I love that everything is in one place so you don't have to remember a bunch of usernames and passwords, and you can bounce easily between the different features. Typing a blog but wondering if you've got mail? You can check with just one click of the mouse.

For the next part of the assignment, I headed over to Google Labs. Most of the options were novelty items (most popular music, shots of Mars), but Google Transit and Google Ride Finder are both quite practical, and Google Suggest could be a real help when doing reference work at the library. It offers up alternative search terms, and sometimes you just need a little nudge to get going in the right direction. This usually comes from a nearby co-worker, but if everyone's tied up, Google's got your back.

As for choosing my own adventure, I started poking around the Web 2.0 Award Winners and found some fun sources. Truveo's http://www.searchvideo.com is an excellent source for videos, and is even better organized than YouTube. Next, I checked out
http://www.last.fm.com, a cool site for anyone looking for music on the web. It allows you to enter your favorite artists, then matches songs to your interests. I also found a weird site where you can vote on t-shirt designs. Apparently the most popular ones are printed and made available for purchase. Check out http://threadless.com if you're an aspiring fashion designer.

Hmm, I seem to have chosen an adventure that is totally not work related. Even so, I see that the Web 2.0 tools make it easy for people to do fancy things on the computer, and the more you do, the savvier you become. So often I have looked at a website and wondered how it was designed, thinking it's something I could never learn in a million years. As the web gets more and more user-friendly, more people can do things they never thought they could. If library staff can point patrons toward these options, the world is their oyster.

Building An Engine...Easier Than It Sounds

I never dreamed of making my very own Search Engine, and I certainly never imagined it would be this easy. I checked out Rollyo, and though I was transfixed by the red and white swirly thing, I found Google Custom far more efficient. The results were more relevant and easier to sort through. So, I went in and set up my own search engine for entertainment related questions. You can check it out in the side bar of my blog - just above my Library Thing widget. (How much do I love the word widget? Widget, widget, widget.)

The ability to create a custom search engine is great for those of us who use a few related sites all the time, and it's great for businesses and organizations who want to group related sites. How cool is the KCLS & Neighbors search? You can check out SPL and Sno-Isle at the same time - right on! It's similar to how you can search several databases for one subject. Very handy indeed.

As for the Web 2.0 reading assignment, it's a good segue from learning these applicatons ourselves to actually applying them to library service. How can we connect with patrons using these new avenues, and (more importantly) how can we help our patrons to access them? Because so much information can be accessed without a library or a librarian, our job is often to act as a teacher - to guide patrons to these new resources and show them how they work. How cool would it be to extend KCLSU to our patrons?! Just as the physical need for a library is said to be diminishing, so too is the need for a physical classroom.

I absolutely love learning new things, and have truly enjoyed tackling these lessons each week. They are applicable in endless ways, but best of all, they are presented in a way that allows each person to work at their own pace in their own space. There will always be people who prefer a hands-on experience, but I'm sure a lot of patrons would enjoy learning about these things from home as well. (Someone who's heard about blogging, but doesn't quite know what it is or how to do it. Maybe a parent concerned about MySpace but unfamiliar with how it really works.) What if our website offered tutorials to patrons, just as this Learning 2.0 has offered them to staff?! How can we keep this going even after we've earned our MP3 players?

Taking a Break and Having WAY Too Much Fun

Wow, how much fun is this?! After much ado, I finally got my Simpson and South Park creations saved and posted into my blog. Hurray! It's not even as hard as it looks. Then I used the Warholizer to make a very hot portrait of Al Pacino as Serpico, and finally, I used the Movie Poster program to make a horror movie poster starring my friend's very non-ferocious dog. No wonder people lose so much time on the internet!

Oh Wiki You're So Fine, You're So Fine You Blow My Mind, Hey Wiki!

Wikipedia became one of my very best reference friends when I started working at Answer Line. It never feels as authentic as the real encyclopedia, but it has all sorts of things that the World Book will never include. Just as their name (taken from the Hawaiian word for fast) implies, Wikis are a quick way to locate even the most obscure information. Because it's open to everyone, experts in any subject area can post their knowledge for all to see. How cool is this?

Businesses and organizations can share policies and success strategies, and you can create databases for any topic or purpose. This is an amazing resource for libraries, since we never know what the next patron will ask. With wikis we can assemble the information we need in one easy-to-access spot (look at this cool list of libraries that loan out laptops: http://liswiki.org/wiki/Laptop_check-out). This is similar to our Answer File or Handy Reference on the Intranet, but even better because it's open to everyone.

The Karate Kid Factor

Working through the 27 Things assignments, it's sometimes hard to believe we're getting paid for this. Exploring MySpace? Playing with Flickr? How lucky are we? But I'm seeing how we're secretly getting smarter, and how this will help us to better serve our patrons. Remember in The Karate Kid, how Daniel thought Mr. Miyagi was just using him to get his fence painted and his cars washed, but it turned out he'd actually learned karate? Well, I think Learning 2.0 will be the same. It might seem like we spent an afternoon having fun, but one day someone will ask us what an RSS feed is, or how to post a picture in a blog, and we will know the answer. We may not get any trophies, but nobody can stop us from bursting into song:

Not so Del.icio.us, Rockin' Technorati, and My Library Thing

It took me awhile to catch onto RSS feeds, but after awhile I saw the point. Sadly, I can't say the same for Del.icio.us. I think my main glitch is that I barely use bookmarks as it is, so the idea of gathering them all in one handy, searchable place isn't that exciting to me. I can see how it would be useful for someone who needed to collect resources on a particular topic and refer back to them (maybe someone writing a book or constantly answering questions about a specific subject). In general, it seems more efficient to broaden one's search with Google or narrow it by using a specific site.

Technorati is a great resource for searching blogs, and for getting your blog more attention. I think it works far better than searching Blogger, and I was easily able to find things I'd written, as well as things written by people I know. Rock on, Technorati!

The first thing I thought when I looked at Library Thing is, "That's a good way to get your books stolen." I mean, think about it, you say you have some hard-to-find book that someone's been coveting, they figure out who you are, and boom! you come home one day to find your windows broken and your bookshelves cleaned out. Here's another awesome idea - let's catalog our electronic equipment online where everyone can see it!

Okay, so I'm a little paranoid, but I didn't let that stop me. I started cataloging books and I couldn't stop. Pretty soon my required 5 had turned into 28, and I still want to keep tagging away. I'm not sure how useful this is to the average person, but it would be great for people who enjoy lending/borrowing books, and it's great for those moments at the used bookstore when you've found a book by a favorite author and you can't quite remember if you already have it. The trouble is, you'd also have to have internet access, but these days we can get online just about anywhere.

I also managed to put a my Library Thing widget into my Blog (right above the archives and my profile), but if you need a quick link, here it is:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=learningblog

Me and MySpace

I've never seen the appeal of MySpace, since it seems easy enough to keep in touch with friends via email, phone, etc. Besides, who needs one more account to monitor? But then I signed up, and I got to pick a SONG to go with my profile! Honestly, I could spend the whole rest of my life just picking and changing songs. I went with "Freedom" by George Michael, even though my favorite song of his is actually "Father Figure". I figured that was just asking for trouble - lots of messages saying, "I'll be your Father Figure." Ick! If you watch enough episodes of Dateline's "To Catch a Predator", everything starts taking on different connotations, but it was interesting thinking out my profile. There are so many ways to go wrong and for kids to innocently put out information without realizing who it might attract.

The other exciting thing about MySpace is that it has FAMOUS PEOPLE on it. I found Bono, Drew Barrymore, Sylvester Stallone, and even Al Pacino, but I had my suspicions about the legitimacy of his page...I don't know, it kind of looks like a fan would have set it up pretending to be him. It would be so easy to pretend to be someone you're not - scary!

The other big breakthrough with this assignment (aside from friending KCLS 27 Things) was that I found my long lost former best friend while I was poking through Friendster as part of Monday's exercise. We became friends in kindergarten, but grew apart after college, and I was never able to reconnect. I knew there had been some severe depression, mental illness, use of medication, but never got a straight answer. Last time I saw her mom, she said my friend was "doing what she needs to do." Huh? How cryptic is that? So, after years of confusion - I cracked the case on Friendster. The Artist Formerly Known As My Best Friend is a self-proclaimed "loser" whose hobbies include "sleeping, procrastinating, watching crappy TV, and making soap." All of her "friends" made comments about smoking with her. Ohhhh! That explains a great deal of vague thinking and randomly dilated pupils. I can't believe I missed all the signs, but then again, she always was secretive, and I had no indication she ever went out of her room - much less to buy pot. So, the moral of the story is that sometimes you can use these social networking sites to figure out who you no longer need to network with. Cathartic, eh?