#23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning ...

Well this whole process has been quite inciteful. Prior to learning all about blogs, wiki's, RSS feeds etc I had not really heard them referred to very often. Since going through the process I hear about them and see them referred to everywhere! It's like before you bought your new car you didn't realise how many of them were actually on the road because you really hadn't paid that much attention. Well I'm paying attention now!! I would very much like to add a lot of the sites that we examined to our library website as I think the public could also benefit a lot from whats available. My favourites would have to be YouTube, Rollyo, Library thing and Picture Generators. They were fantastic little tools that would benefit everyone.

I guess the only critisism I would have would be when links didn't work and things didn't work as they should. I found this a little annoying but otherwise It was a terrific little exercise which I'm pleased to have completed!

#22 Audiobooks (or "The end is in sight ")

This was really great. Because we were only looking at a site that was free we were restricted by what you could download but it does seem realtively inexpensive to subscribe. The ones that were available were generally of a classic content but it was pretty nifty. For those Library users that don't actually like to "read" the written word this can cater for a whole new generation. Terrific.

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

I found this really difficult to get to work. Quicktime wasn't loaded properly and I had to download WinPodder to get it to work. I think that it is really great that you can listen to just about anything you want to find but was dissapointed that I had to spend so much time just getting it to work.

#20 You too can YouTube

I have used YouTube on a number of occasions. My daughter had seen pictures of certain animals but had never seen them in the flesh or doing what they would in the wild. I was able to find many video's that people had captures of wild animals that pleased her no end. We also were able to watch her favourite Wiggles as a good distraction for a while for a 1 year old!

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

I loved Cocktail Builder. This was a handy little tool that enabelled you to list what ingredients you had in your cupboard and it would tell you what cocktails could be made with those alcohol items. It also enabelled you to write up a list of the cocktails that you would be supplying during your cocktail party. I loved this tool. It also had lists of many different cocktails. YUM!!

(click on #19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools for direct link to cocktail builder site)

#18 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

Considering this is a free tool it's scope is quite amazing really. It's got some of the user ability that, say, MS Word has plus an array of other features that it doesn't have. If you don't purchase office you get a basic processing package such as notepad included in Windows. This far exceeds any included materinal and it's free. How great is that.

#17 Playing around with PBWiki

Yep that was realtively simple. Edit/Save, yep got it. Think I could get myself a wiki without much effort really.

#16 So what’s in a wiki?

In the past I have used Wikipedia and been pleased by the information that was present. My daughter is interested in the "Wiggles" and I was able to find out a vast amount of information including previous colours worn, members and the like. For a library service it would be really useful to get a bunch of book enthuasiasts together (internal and external) to do regular book reviews and collaborate and store local information. This could be added to on a regular basis and make the public feel like an integral part of the library services/information supplied.

#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 ...

When the internet first came out we didn't know which way we would head. Would books be all online and the printed word become obsolete? What we have found is that we have melded both worlds. The novel is still the popular bedtime read but technology has sky rocketed us into a world of Technical babble and scope that far exceedes my previous estimations. Library 2.0 is just the beginning of the web's developmental process into the world of sharing and learning.

#14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

There seems to be a lot of popular blogs that have a technology component. I see that the well used features such as youtube and facebook that everyone are talking about are listed as the most popular of the searches. Neither of these suprise me. Those that troll through all the techno guff are bound to add the most info to their blogs and be looked at the most other techno buffs! When doing a search through tags and blogs the result amounts and type were different. I guess it depends on how the info has been entered to the results you will retrieve.

#13 Del.icio.us

Well I'm not sure what to write here. I found this one really "unattractive" and booorrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg!!!! I really tried to get into it and can understand that it would be useful for bookmarking but why bother??? Nope not my cup of tea this time.

#12 Rollyo

At first I thought this tool was really dumb. Why create a list of sites that you can't automatically use as links to your favourites? Even if you could why not just use them in a created bookmark folder? Ahhh but then I realised that you create a search tool that only searches though your listed sites which narrows down the amount of garb you are likely to get. Well then I was impressed. I created a list for children's activities, then did a search on what theme I was doing and then "bang" there were all the craft activities I could want with dogs as the theme. It's a bloody miracle.

#11 Librarything

So great is this little tool. Even though books may be out of print you can still add them to your library. What a great way to keep track of your own readings and get a ready made list of other items to read from other profiles. I had a lot of fun putting in all of my favourite storytime picture books as well as favourite Fic.

#10 Picture Generator

This was a lot of fun really. There are so many to choose from and so much evil to get up to. I'm gonna have much more of a play with this little tool.


The link for the one I created was:

http://www.txt2pic.com/comic-strip/library.htm

#8 RSS & #9

This little tool is great to prevent having to wade through loads of websites. I'm always scrolling through my favourites in order to find the direct link to something I want to keep up to date with. This way all updates come to me if there is a feed available which there generally is. One site as opposed to hundreds. Great!

http://www.bloglines.com/public/Geelong

#7 Blog about Technology

With technology moving so quickly it's amazing to see it's rapid progression. Will we really end up as human's did in the Matrix. Will robotics really take over. Should we be imbracing as readily as we are? What is power of all this technology doing to the environment? How much is floating through the air that will cause our cancers later on? To be or not to be, that is the question!

#6 More Flickr Fun

Wow, considering most of these mashup utilities are free there is a vast array of potential to create your own "anything". I have utilized these types of programs before without really realising it. A lot of greeting cards are put together as a mashup putting pieces all together. From a work perspective you can easily upload your own images and easily design your own calendars and the like using your unique template without the added expense of getting a graphic designer to put it together for you. It's quite amazing really!

Wow, the best of both worlds!

#5 flickr......It all began........

I found a great photo today! Seventeen years ago it all began for me here.................

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/54974753_e064240bde.jpg?v=0

Flickr is a fantastic photo sharing device!

Time passes you by, take time to smell the roses!

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the brain's a thinking! What a great day!