Drumroll, please!

Here it is, my much anticipated (by me, at least) wrap up post to conclude the 23 things and Learning 2.0 exercise!

I guess I'm supposed to play favorites here, so what I think I'll do is pick my faves in specific categories, and give them their very own "Nettie" award.

• Most Fun: Playing with the image generators, a.k.a. Thing 10. I was able to Simpsonize myself, which I didn't post on my blog, but was quite amusing to me.
• Most Thought Provoking: Thing 15, the articles about Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the future of libraries. I haven't been in the library game for very long, but it really is shocking to think about how much libraries have changed over the last few decades, and awe-inspiring to think how much more they will change in the coming years.
• Most Inspired Use of a 'Thing': Thing 16, Wikis. I'm talking here of my own inspiration, and my idea for a local history Wiki. I'm actually quite proud of the idea, inspired by my interaction with the 2.0 exercises, and passed it along to the local historical society.
• Biggest 'WOW' moment: Realizing that using Google docs enables me to access any document from any computer, anywhere, by simply logging onto my Google/Gmail account. I don't have an immediate use for this, but I still think it's cool that it's available. (Thing #18, for reference)
• Biggest Help in my Job: So I got ahead of myself (as I so often do), and peeked at a few of the 'Things' beyond the '23 Things', and found Thing #24, The Zamzar file conversion site, to be a Godsend. Just last week we had a patron that needed to convert a document done with Microsoft Works to be able to print on our computers. I was glad to be able to look up Thing 24, and use that information to help our patron. I have to say it worked like a charm.
• Favorite Blog Post about a Thing: was this one, despite the fact that I didn't enjoy using Technorati or del.icio.us. It was fun to get back into blogging after a long break, and to do so with a little humor, even though I thought the subject was a bit of a drag.

In conclusion, I've enjoyed the experience offered to me by the library and the 2.0 program, and I would definitely participate in something like it again. I think it's a great motivator to staff to work towards a goal, learn new skills and/or information, and look forward to a reward for your effort. Thank you YPL!

Things 21 & 22

Whew, here I go into the home stretch. . .

I'll start by touching briefly on Thing 20, YouTube. The video in my previous post was forwarded to me, and I thought the information in there was astounding. I don't use YouTube frequently, but I do enjoy many of the videos that make their way into the mainstream. Good Morning America does a weekly feature on some of the best YouTube videos of the week, and that probably saves me from wasting a ton of time just looking at everything on there -- I'm a hit the highlights kind of gal, anyway.

So onto podcasts. I'm familiar with podcasts, but not really a consumer. Probably because I don't have an mp3 player -- yet. I like that this could be an alternative to trying to find a good talk radio program. I am able to plug an mp3 player into my car's stereo, so that would be useful on a long drive, since I get tired of the noise of regular radio. I checked out some of the podcasts on podcastalley.com, and found several that I think would be fun to listen to regularly.

I have used e-books and downloadable audiobooks several times in the past few months, and I find both to be a nice alternative for when it's not possible to actually sit down with a book and read. My husband, who has an mp3 player but does not like to share it with me, downloaded many hours worth of audiobooks on his player for a recent motorcycle trip to Alaska. He said it was great, and helped the tedious hours on the road go by much quicker.

In short, Things 21 & 22 are some fun interesting things that will definitely be useful once I earn my mp3 player on staff day! Can.not.wait. :)

Did you know?

When I saw that YouTube was the next thing, I just couldn't help myself, I had to post this

I'm a Google Girl, in a Google World

Things 18 & 19 confirm for me that I am, in fact, a Google Girl (© me!). I've never used Google documents, but after exploring for this post, I'm suitably impressed. Zoho writer is also useful, but I love the convenience of being able to log into one Google account, and be able to check my email, type up a post, and send it to my Blogger blog. Yay, Google!

So, in checking out the Web 2.0 award winners, I really wanted to find something fun. Little surprise that I stumbled upon "Guess the Google," but my flash was not cooperating so I couldn't play. I love the premise of the game, but I was also a big fan of "One of these things is not like the other" on Sesame Street, too. ;)

I also saw 43 things on the winner list, and I've been a member there for over a year. Not that I've used my account, but maybe one of my 43 things should be to complete my list of 43 things I want to do. That should be clear as mud. As you can see from the list on the blog, the only things I have on there are obscure, useless things that were (surprise!) connected to that infernal LOST game I talk so much about.

****************************POP QUIZ TIME************************************

How many times did I use the 'google' in this post. No cheating!

Wiki-ty Wiki-ty Wiki-ty Whack!

Having fun with Things 16 & 17 -- Wiki's! I was previously familiar with wiki's, and have found several that I utilize that pertain to my interests. In fact, I think I linked to one in a previous post about the LOST ARG that introduced me to so many of 2.0 tools we've been discussing.

I can think a pretty good use for a wiki for Sebring library. In fact, it could have possibly helped out the librarian today. Sebring doesn't have a lot going on, but there is a lot of history. Just the potteries alone could probably fill a wiki, but there are other businesses and of course, the Sebring brothers themselves. Just today, someone contacted the library in search of a company from long ago, that no one I know (and I'm a life-long Sebring resident!) has ever heard of. Perhaps if there was a Sebring history wiki out there, we would have been able to help our patron.

One Quick Post

About the Library 2.0 articles. I think that the overall message that they were trying to get across was not to be afraid of changing, but pace yourself. Everything in moderation, right?

Also, those articles took me back to a former life with another employer. Said employer was not exactly a dream to work for, but perhaps one good thing about that experience was the obligation to read Who Moved my Cheese? Many of the concepts in that book illustrate what I believe these articles were trying to say.

Until next time.

I'm baaack. . .

Well, I guess technically I was never gone. However, my beloved Sebring branch was closed for an extended period of time for some gorgeous remodeling, which caused me to be farmed out to exotic locales (a.k.a. Canfield) and had me hustling to do my part to get this place back into ship-shape. Add to that the new adventures of having a 6-year old starting kindergarten among other things, and I feel like I just haven't had a moment to spare in my quest for knowledge and an MP3 player.

Despite the lack of a blog entry, I have attempted to tackle Things 13, 14, and 15 in the interim. I think perhaps another reason for my negligence in these tasks is that I have tried and failed to generate some excitement about these tools. While I certainly can appreciate that del.icio.us and Technorati could be useful in some realms, I have thus far been unable to identify their usefulness in my life.

I consider myself reasonably web-savvy, but really most of my web-browsing needs can be met with the likes of Google. If there is a particular website that I use frequently, I can usually recall the web address from memory if I need to access it from somewhere other than my home computer. I do like the idea of being able to see where others go for their particular topics of interest, but beyond that, I'm sorry to say that del.icio.us leaves me flat. :/

As for Technorati, I must admit that I'm more likely to rely on my old friend, Google, if I'm in search of blogs. Because, as covered elsewhere, the Google/Blogger family is largest blogging site on the net. Of course, most of my blog reading is usually done for entertainment, not knowledge (I still use printed material -- i.e., books, newspapers, magazines -- for that purpose, and sadly, that makes me a minority), so I guess I don't require as large of an information pool as others.

Perhaps, though, I should consider changing my perspective on this. I'm an avid consumer of pop culture, so imagine my surprise when I couldn't identify 2 of the top five most popular searches/tags on Technorati today. Here's how those top 5 broke down

1. Britney Spears? Check. I mean, does anyone under the age of 90 *not* know her? Still a little disgusted that this was number one, though.
2. Vanessa Hudgens? I have two children, so it's perfectly acceptable for me to be well-versed on High School Musical and all things related thereto. Right? Right?
3. Ron Paul? Okay, I'm serious when I say I had to stop and think about whether RuPaul had gone back to his/her original gender. Turns out this guy isn't a transvestite, just a Texas Republican running for president. Huh.
4. YouTube? Possibly the biggest non-human entity to infect the pop-culture landscape since Britney Spears. Yeah, I get it.
5. Noelia? Oh, crap, is there a new email virus going around again? Nope, apparently she's just the next J-Lo, who may or may not have a sex tape floating around cyberspace. I'm very okay with being clueless on this one.

So there you have it. I did find a little more useful information when I searched for "learning 2.0" and "web 2.0" and of course several of those hits also included Britney Spears references. Scary.

I think I'm going to comment about the library 2.0 articles in a separate post, because this entry has gotten way too long, and I in no way want to be responsible for making any of my co-workers go cross-eyed.

One final gem, which I actually did find courtesy of Technorati, about a great idea to consolidate so much of this web 2.0 information into one accessible place, can be found here. I'm working on my page right now.