• Armed with a bit of knowledge about what Twitter is all about, share your thoughts on this fast growing online phenomenon.
I have to admit that I'm not a great fan of Twitter. I barely care what I'm doing in 140 characters or less, and so cannot be bothered to Tweet. I might be convinced to follow someone who was doing something REALLY interesting ("Nearing summit of Mount Everest. Toes black and falling off. Sherpa V V V funny"), but other than that, it's really not my thing. I think Twitter is for people who have no inner monologue: "Makin' toast and tryin' to decide what to wear" -- Why do I have to be involved?
I do think that Twitter is a valuable way for libraries to keep people informed of programs and events, although its value is restricted by the limited number of followers. I also know that Twitter has been used to communicate world events as they are happening, and this is a useful application as well.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
LibraryThing
• Was the site user-friendly? Did you find it difficult to navigate?
I found LibraryThing quite user friendly, and had no problems navigating it.
I found LibraryThing quite user friendly, and had no problems navigating it.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Online Productivity Tools
Do you see yourself using these tools or will you stick to more traditional methods. If you were to use one of these tools regularly, which would it be and why?
While these aren't sites that I personally require at this time, they are a great resource! The calendars would definitely be helpful for organizing a gathering of people, especially for somebody like me who hates phone calls.
I like the idea of being able to share a document on Google Documents. This would be a great timesaver for a group of people who need to collaborate on a document together! (Where was this when I was in university???)
While these aren't sites that I personally require at this time, they are a great resource! The calendars would definitely be helpful for organizing a gathering of people, especially for somebody like me who hates phone calls.
I like the idea of being able to share a document on Google Documents. This would be a great timesaver for a group of people who need to collaborate on a document together! (Where was this when I was in university???)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Flickr & Youtube
Comment on Flickr and YouTube. Were they user-friendly?
I found Flickr to be very user friendly. It's a great website to recommend for customers when they need a way to download photos off of a digital camera. I found some very beautiful photos of Lake Louise posted by other people!
YouTube is user friendly as well, and I like that it links you to other videos that you'd enjoy, and other videos posted by the same person. It's a great way to learn how to do something new, from craft projects to playing musical instruments. There are several people who have uploaded videos of themselves showing the steps to create something new.
As someone who grew up in the 1980s, I really love the "literal music videos" on Youtube. If you have a minute, enter LITERAL VIDEO into the search field. (My favorites are for "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats and "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benetar.
I found Flickr to be very user friendly. It's a great website to recommend for customers when they need a way to download photos off of a digital camera. I found some very beautiful photos of Lake Louise posted by other people!
YouTube is user friendly as well, and I like that it links you to other videos that you'd enjoy, and other videos posted by the same person. It's a great way to learn how to do something new, from craft projects to playing musical instruments. There are several people who have uploaded videos of themselves showing the steps to create something new.
As someone who grew up in the 1980s, I really love the "literal music videos" on Youtube. If you have a minute, enter LITERAL VIDEO into the search field. (My favorites are for "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats and "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benetar.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
RSS Feed
Were you able to successfully set up your RSS feed? If not, where did you run into problems? If you were successful, does this make information-gathering more convenient for you?
I was able to successfully set up my RSS feed.
I personally don't follow a lot of online content regularly, although I do have a few favorites that I check on a regular basis, so RSS feeds don't really appeal to me. I can see how RSS feeds would be very useful for people who do keep track of a lot of online content. It certainly narrows down the time required to search for information.
I was able to successfully set up my RSS feed.
I personally don't follow a lot of online content regularly, although I do have a few favorites that I check on a regular basis, so RSS feeds don't really appeal to me. I can see how RSS feeds would be very useful for people who do keep track of a lot of online content. It certainly narrows down the time required to search for information.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Google Maps
What do you like about the Google product? What do you dislike? Would you recommend it to friends and colleagues?
I LOVE the Street-View feature on Google Maps. This feature is a great resource for historians and genealogists because it makes it possible to tour places that you can't visit in person. I have "visited" towns in England where my ancestors lived, and have seen the houses that they lived in, and the buildings that they would have passed in their daily lives.
This is also a great feature if you are shopping for a house. It allows you to see a house, and to have a look around the neighbourhood.
This is a relatively new feature, so there are a few shortcomings:
-Sometimes when you enter an address into the feature it will show you a location CLOSE to the address, but you may be off by a few buildings. It is often difficult to read the addresses on buildings, so sometimes it's difficult to orient yourself.
-They have missed a few streets, including my own. (For some reason they drove down the alley on a portion of my street, instead of the front street.)
-There have been issues with people being recognizable on Street-View when faces were supposed to be blurred.
I would definitely recommend this to friends and colleagues as a useful resource.
This is a fun video about Street View:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35LqQPKylEA
I LOVE the Street-View feature on Google Maps. This feature is a great resource for historians and genealogists because it makes it possible to tour places that you can't visit in person. I have "visited" towns in England where my ancestors lived, and have seen the houses that they lived in, and the buildings that they would have passed in their daily lives.
This is also a great feature if you are shopping for a house. It allows you to see a house, and to have a look around the neighbourhood.
This is a relatively new feature, so there are a few shortcomings:
-Sometimes when you enter an address into the feature it will show you a location CLOSE to the address, but you may be off by a few buildings. It is often difficult to read the addresses on buildings, so sometimes it's difficult to orient yourself.
-They have missed a few streets, including my own. (For some reason they drove down the alley on a portion of my street, instead of the front street.)
-There have been issues with people being recognizable on Street-View when faces were supposed to be blurred.
I would definitely recommend this to friends and colleagues as a useful resource.
This is a fun video about Street View:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35LqQPKylEA
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
For you, is Facebook useful or a time-waster?
I find Facebook to be useful. It's a good way for me to keep up with family and friends that I'm not able to see as often as I'd like. I have a lot of cousins, and Facebook makes it possible for us to stay connected.
I find Facebook to be useful. It's a good way for me to keep up with family and friends that I'm not able to see as often as I'd like. I have a lot of cousins, and Facebook makes it possible for us to stay connected.
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