Thing 17: Podcasts

Something I did not know: Podcasts are different from other forms of digital media in that they can be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded when new content is added.

You need a "podcatcher" to capture the shows. itunes is one example.

http://podcast.com/: You can look up podcasts by subject. I started listening to a few: one from the Economist, one from Bloomberg news, one from the Onion, and a few from Entertainment.

http://podcastalley.com/ doesn't really appeal. Not so user friendly.

Yahoo Search: Mostly music here. Why am I having a hard time finding what I want?

Here is a very interesting news story I heard yesterday: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102243287

I think I prefer www.podcast.com in terms of searching. However, I just tried to sign up, then went to sign in, and was unable to do so. Errrg. I have spent too much time on it. In addition, "webpage cannot be displayed" keeps coming up in the middle of everything. I am going to put it to bed for now.

Back agian (the next day). I am going to have to leave podcast.com behind. Though I've signed up, I can't sign in. I get a message that this acct. is not active at this time. When I try to sign up using the same email, the system won't let me. I tried using a different email. I hit submit and nothing happens. I downloaded the newest Flash. Still nothing happened. ERRRRGGGHHH. I'm going to podcast alley.

I'm going back to podcast.com because the podcast I want isn't available, at least I can't find it on podcast alley.

My Yahoo mail is still down, but I set up an acct. using my work mail. I got in there and finally activated it.

I tried signing up AGAIN. This time the only thing I did differently was to say I had a certain kind of cell phone. It let me in!!! ??? Oh no. It is again saying my acct. is not active. I don't see where to go to remedy this. I left a comment.

Back to podcast alley. I signed up, but now my Yahoo mail page won't open so that I can activate my acct. This is by far the most frustrating Thing.

My Yahoo mail is still down, but I set up an acct. using my work mail. I got in there and finally activated my www.podcast.com acct. FINALLY. Here is my link!



Despite the frustration I've had with this, I am very enthusiastic about doing podcasts with the teens in our library. Specifically, I would like to use it with our book club and with a poetry group that is starting up.

Thing 16: YouTube

This is a claymation made by Nick Park in 1989. He interiewed people in England about their living conditions and then had their voices coming out of these animals in the zoo. I love it.



For some reason, my eyes can find the "about this video" box. However, I did find lots of videos that were knock-offs. I like this one best.

Thing 15: Rollyo

I tried Rollyo. I honestly don't have much use for this Thing right now. I practiced making one called Michelle's News. I only put three websites in it. Here's the link. http://rollyo.com/index.html I didn't find the site all that easy to use.

For someone who is online all the time and has to keep track of many sites on different subjects, this could be helpful. I'm not that person. For me, it is helpful, though, to look at sites that others have grouped together. Maybe I could learn more about sites that might interest me by looking at those.

I could see a group of people in a library using this collectively. If I'm an expert on home repair, someone else on law, someone else on dog breeding, we could all consult each other's rolls when a patron has a question. Patrons, too, could create their own rolls for each other.

Thing 14: Online Productivity Tools

I chose iGoogle for my start page, probably because I use Google for most everything else. The widget that would be most helpful to me is the calendar. What I'm finding odd is that every time I open my homepage, it looks like something different is there. Now my calendar is gone, but there is a YouTube featured video of the day. Where did that come from?

The virtual "to do" lists seem more trouble than their worth. However, Backpack looks like something that really could organize and increase productivity. Everything is all in one place! That would be a great work tool.

A good school tool for me would be MyStickies. That could come in really handy when you're looking through tons of research and just want to draw attention to bits and pieces. I can thing of many times when I could have used that.

Thing 13: Library Thing

I didn't find any conversations about my books, but I did read about a member who has 500 movies in in Netflix queue.

Not much is happening locally, but I did see our branches on the map.

Thing 12: Wikis

I think that the St. Joseph's Public Library System wiki is an awesome example of what a library can do to meet users where they are. There is so much, yet it's all relevant and organized. I think a lot of information overload is caused by the fact that, yes, there are lots of great sources out there, but they are recommended here and there and you end up with a huge pile. On the SJPLS wiki, you can see all kinds of info on, e.g. biography, and it's all easy to look through. You don't get lost because it's all consolidated.

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki: Wow! Great, but overwhelming! I feel so behind in all things library! I found this, though: a link to a blog called EZ Library Programs for all ages. You have four categories with which to search: Topic, Audience, Program Type, and Cost. I chose "food," "teens," "instructional" and "$21 - $40". I got a result of 3 programs. Two were about microwaving, and one was called, "Sushi with Hostess Cakes and Other Creative Ideas." I never would have thought of that one! This site has everything imaginable having to do with librarianship: This one has been bookmarked on Delicious!

Thing 11: Social Media

My favorites of the selections are Digg and Newsvine. For me, these tools can be either a help or a hinderance; it all depends on my self-control. The tools could be very helpful in that they aggregate all of the most popular stories and let you see public reaction to them. This could help at the reference desk. Another thing that could be very helpful to me personally is the "Gaming" category on Digg. By looking at the top stories, I can moniter trends and see what's up with the "youngsters."

If I lack self-control, these sites could be a big time waster. I can see myself procrstinating by looking at ridiculous entertainment gossip or at a topic on Newsvine called "Odd News."

Thing 10: Tagging and Delicious

I learned about Delicious long ago, but signed up just now. So far I am signed up for a Hollywood gossip blog (my favorite stupid vice) and a computer training site called CustomGuide. I set up a subscription list, used the tag "technology," and instantly had a ton of sites.

Delicious would be really handy for those in large libraries who have rotating desk schedules or share computers. Also, the ability to group topics is helpful.

Right now, I don't have a network to share sites. I'm looking for good sites on how to deliver instructional presentations if anyone knows of any! Thanks!

Thing 9: Sharing Slides, Photos, Databases

For someone who does slide presentations often, Slideshare is a useful place to store everything and see what other people are doing with design. Slideshows have come a long way since bulleted lists! I watched a few shows, but didn't they didn't have audio so it was slightly frustrating.

This would be useful for libraries who do a lot of teaching. One person chould make the presentation, and then others could use it.

This is what I did with Picture Trail:

I picked size "XL" for the pictures and haven't been able to figure out why they are still so tiny . . .

Thing 8: Communication Web 2.0 Style

New innovations all the time, e.g. wifi capabilities which allow you to see a map and locate people on your buddy lists (I think that's a little creepy, personally.) Meetro is a service that encourages people in the same area to communicate with each other. It never occurred to me that a gadget would try to introduce me to someone I didn't know.

Some popular ones: Google Talk, Yahoo! Instant Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger.

I added the gadget below so that I could start instant messaging.

I'm now reading an article from May, 2005 of the Smart Libraries Newsletter that Innovative Interfaces Inc. is including IM in their Millenium library automation system. Patrons will be IMed when their information is located. Sounds good. It looks as though other vendors and integrating IM into their software as well. I didn't know that Google has an instant messaging service for certain information, either.

Google Talk is not working for me. There's a gadget on my homepage now, but when I try to add an address, it gets stuck on the "loading. . . " screen. I'll try Windows Messenger.

2) Web Conferencing: I like the idea of using web conferencing to learn software applications. I find it so hard to learn computer skills from a DVD, much less a book. I imagine that the skills of the presenter have to be very good.

Other notes: Meebo is an IM aggregator that allows you to chat with all accts. at once.

Twitter: Called a "micro-blogging" tool. I am amazed at the ways people can use their time with this stuff! The scary part is that people can look up what you've twittered. Employers are using twitter search to check on applicants. I just want my privacy. I bet if this technology had come around when I was in my early twenties, I'd be all over it, though.