I actally have a LiveJournal account-albeit one I hardly use-but I do occaisionally read a few of my friends' pages. Friends as in people I actually know in person, but that's another issue. In the past, I have been very critical of onling communities, especially MySpace as it seemed like high school (which I hated with fiery gut-wrenching passion) on the Internet. Drama included. The articles attached to this module, however, did make me rethink some of my prejudices. And don't you just hate when that happens? For instance, I never would have thought to use a MySpace page to show off library-related youtube videos and/or podcasts. This would seem to provide many opportunities to engage patrons and allow them to become more a part of their local library.
One question I have though, and this applies to many of these web 2.0 programs, is how do we know *which* social networking community to be a part of? As mentioned in one of the articles, the first major site was Friendster, then there's also LiveJournal, Greatest Journal, MySpace, Facebook, and likely many many others. And it seems as if the answer to "which one is in and hot?" is continually changing. So do we just chose the one that is most popular this minute, make multiple accounts on many sites, or choose another tactic entirely? While having a fun, engaging, and interactive presence on the Web would be a great thing for the library, I wonder the actual implementation of these new ideas.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Meebo and Me
Okay, I now have my own Meebo account from which I can access my AIM, Yahoo, and MSN IM lists. Except it only recognized my Yahoo ID. Not sure why. Oh well, ain't technology grand?
Anyway...the idea of Instant Messaging as a part of reference seems like a great idea (in general) to me. I think IM would make librarians appear more approachable and more easily accessible for many computer-savvy users. Like all Internet communications, though, I also see some potential risks. For instance, anytime you communicate with someone via words on a screen, much can be lost between the sender and receiver. Emoticons and similar additions can help, but they can never replace nuances conveyed through physical and/or vocal interaction.
Then there are the abbreviations. *violent twitch*
I don't care if language is fluid and IM abbreviations are the wave of the future; if someone types to me "How R U?" they might as well get comfy, because I don't respond to people who can't take the time (or lack the intelligence) to communicate with me using whole words. That might make me "old school" or a stuck-up snob. Fine. Doesn't change anything.
That said (or typed), I still look forward to the day when libraries can offer IM as a reference option. The more people the library can connect with, the more likely patrons will make use of our needed services and the more relevent we become to a changing society.
Anyway...the idea of Instant Messaging as a part of reference seems like a great idea (in general) to me. I think IM would make librarians appear more approachable and more easily accessible for many computer-savvy users. Like all Internet communications, though, I also see some potential risks. For instance, anytime you communicate with someone via words on a screen, much can be lost between the sender and receiver. Emoticons and similar additions can help, but they can never replace nuances conveyed through physical and/or vocal interaction.
Then there are the abbreviations. *violent twitch*
I don't care if language is fluid and IM abbreviations are the wave of the future; if someone types to me "How R U?" they might as well get comfy, because I don't respond to people who can't take the time (or lack the intelligence) to communicate with me using whole words. That might make me "old school" or a stuck-up snob. Fine. Doesn't change anything.
That said (or typed), I still look forward to the day when libraries can offer IM as a reference option. The more people the library can connect with, the more likely patrons will make use of our needed services and the more relevent we become to a changing society.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Hungry for Feeds
I'm basically of the opinion that if I want something, I'll search for it myself. This is one of the many reasons why I hate telemarketers, televangelists, and bestseller book lists. I know what I like, and generally don't care what others want to foist upon me. Hence, any page that wastes lots of space trying to sell me on the latest political or celebrity blog will do a pretty good job of turning me away. It should be no surprise, then, that my favorite of the feed searches was the Google Blog Search. It gave me exactly what I wanted: an empty space for me to enter what I was looking for. No muss, no fuss. Syndic8 was also very useful, and had even more of the blogs that I was interested in than Google.
My first choice for finding feeds will probably always be just subscribing to sites I've found on my own, but even I will admit that discovering over 100 entries when I typed "Firefly" in the Syndic8 search gave me a little geek thrill.
As far as using RSS in libraries, I believe it would be a great tool for librarians since so many patrons want only the most up to date information. I'm not so sure patrons would be interested in, or get much use from, library RSS feeds for themselves, however. In my (limited) experience, patrons want their information handed to them and are not so overly fond if they have to do any actual work themselves. *insert snark* That's what librarians are for, isn't it?
My first choice for finding feeds will probably always be just subscribing to sites I've found on my own, but even I will admit that discovering over 100 entries when I typed "Firefly" in the Syndic8 search gave me a little geek thrill.
As far as using RSS in libraries, I believe it would be a great tool for librarians since so many patrons want only the most up to date information. I'm not so sure patrons would be interested in, or get much use from, library RSS feeds for themselves, however. In my (limited) experience, patrons want their information handed to them and are not so overly fond if they have to do any actual work themselves. *insert snark* That's what librarians are for, isn't it?
$.02 on RSS
Hmm...my opinions about RSS. I'm sure I have some. Oh, yes.
RSS - some good, some...not.
I can see how they can be useful: having so many sites linked to just one would make it easier to get quick updates. Though, since you still have to click on individual feeds, as long as one has a fast computer and good Internet connection, I'm not sure how much time is really saved. If sites are loaded with annoying advertising and uneccessary graphics, this would definately be a good way to avoid that, but that's not so much a problem with the pages I generally visit. One of the things I particularly didn't like, though, was that while the feed shows you the most recent posts made to an individual blog or site, it doesn't show the number of comments, or provide a direct link to them, on the entry itself. To see those, you would have to go further - which would be the same if you just visited the site in question in the first place instead of logging into an RSS feeder.
For most, comments on entries may not be very important. For a blog I visit most, however, (whedonesque) it's one of the main reasons I visit the site.
In general - because it feels like I'm pretty disorganized in my thoughts here -I could see myself using RSS for news and general blogs, but for sites that I'm really interested in, I'll likely just visit the pages. It may take a few seconds more, but getting exactly what I want - in the format I want it in - is worth the extra time to me.
RSS - some good, some...not.
I can see how they can be useful: having so many sites linked to just one would make it easier to get quick updates. Though, since you still have to click on individual feeds, as long as one has a fast computer and good Internet connection, I'm not sure how much time is really saved. If sites are loaded with annoying advertising and uneccessary graphics, this would definately be a good way to avoid that, but that's not so much a problem with the pages I generally visit. One of the things I particularly didn't like, though, was that while the feed shows you the most recent posts made to an individual blog or site, it doesn't show the number of comments, or provide a direct link to them, on the entry itself. To see those, you would have to go further - which would be the same if you just visited the site in question in the first place instead of logging into an RSS feeder.
For most, comments on entries may not be very important. For a blog I visit most, however, (whedonesque) it's one of the main reasons I visit the site.
In general - because it feels like I'm pretty disorganized in my thoughts here -I could see myself using RSS for news and general blogs, but for sites that I'm really interested in, I'll likely just visit the pages. It may take a few seconds more, but getting exactly what I want - in the format I want it in - is worth the extra time to me.
Friday, January 18, 2008
A Trading Card of My Very Own
I chose (obviously) the Flickr Trading Card maker. This was a cool mashup - once I figured out how to get it to accept my picture. I never played Magic: The Gathering, but I knew lots of people who did, and this seems very similar to the Magic cards I remember overflowing the table at Hannah Hall at Clark. This also seems like a fun way to foist my Dragon*Con pictures on even more people.
Monday, January 14, 2008
I Found Serenity on Flickr
This image is of the starship Serenity from Joss Whedon's science-fiction/western television show Firefly. This is one of the best pictures I've seen online of the ship. It's so clear that it's easy to imagine the vessel really up in space. Now I might have to reset my home computer's desktop.
Anyone who doesn't recognize the Serenity needs to find the series on DVD.
2 Opinions on 7 1/2 Habits
The easiest for me of the 7 1/2 habits to lifelong learning would be Habit 2 – Accept responsibility for your own learning. In school, I was one of those really annoying students who sat in the front row, did all the assignments a week early, and hung out with the teacher during lunch. Throughout college, I also kept a detailed organizer with every due date and made daily work schedules in order to make sure everything got done early. Yeah, I was a big hit with my fellow classmates.
The habit that is likely the hardest for me is Habit 3 – View problems as challenges. I tend to view problems as just that: problems. Not that I turn away from them, but they are what they are and renaming them just seems to be a waste of time. Problems, when they arise, need to be dealt with head on. Which is probably one of the reasons *why* I'm so uber-organized when it comes to learning - so that when problems pop up, I will have the time, energy, and resources to handle them.
The habit that is likely the hardest for me is Habit 3 – View problems as challenges. I tend to view problems as just that: problems. Not that I turn away from them, but they are what they are and renaming them just seems to be a waste of time. Problems, when they arise, need to be dealt with head on. Which is probably one of the reasons *why* I'm so uber-organized when it comes to learning - so that when problems pop up, I will have the time, energy, and resources to handle them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
