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!