Week 9

Thing 20: It is an understatement to say, YouTube is huge. I noticed that many of the videos posted on YouTube are also posted on the other video sites. A lot of cross-posting going on here.

The idea behind the sites is interesting: give everyone a place to have fun, to be creative and display an idea, however quirky or silly or serious it may be. The participatory nature of the site is its value.

Thing 21: Search tools for podcasts: There are so many different search tools for podcasts that it would be impossible to review them all. I would suggest simply googling podcast search tools. This will bring up pages and pages to choose from.

Thing 22: Downloadable audiobooks: I took a look at one of the sample audiobooks on the Overdrive site. The client was pretty good--easy to download and setup, and then easy to use. It did seem to be a waste of computing power, but I didn't have a portable e-book device to use so I was unable to get the full and real experience of an audiobook. I do expect this to be one of the faster growing sectors of accessing books..., and I also hope that vendors will open their standards so that multiple formats can be supported.

I also took a look at the Project Gutenberg site. This is a great site, but their collection of audiobooks is still very limited. Of course, converting a book into audio format is time-consuming and difficult. Not just anyone can read/record a book--it takes a special person, one who can speak clearly and with inflection.

Thing 23: Summary: This "23 Things to Learn" is a good and well-placed step forward toward helping librarians and staff learn the basics of how technology is used in society today. In my view, this represents what should be the first of many, continuing steps that expand our understanding of what we must do to continue to meet the challenges patrons present us. This is a very good first step. Nice work!

Week 8

Thing 18: Online productivity tools: At first glance, I thought this was an interesting way to provide applications for general use. However, after exploring Soho Creator I began to realize the radical shift in thinking that these productivity tools would engender--perhaps this shift is necessary only for those of us who are entrenched in 'the less than modern ways of doing things.' The fact is is that the online productivity tools open new avenues for sharing information and for gathering, collecting, collating desired information--all in an online forum. This profoundly changes the way information is accessed, and empowers the individual to have greater access to created information, and, for the individual to create information.

Thing 19: Web 2.0 awards: Lulu.com is an interesting way to expand the capability for individuals to share things/ideas with others. It is a self-publishing site that allows people to publish without the expense normally incurred using the traditional publishing industry. It is also a bit of an anomaly because the site proposes automating the publishing industry but at the same time relies exclusively on the production of a physical artifact--a book, calendar, etc.

I do think the self-publishing industry is a good idea, but I also think it represents a transitional step in the continuing development of an e-culture.

Week 7

Thing 16: Wikis: Wikis are interesting objects because they create new ways of sharing information and ideas, while at the same time, they raise the specter of doubt in the credibility of the information shared. I think wiki's are valuable collaboration tools, but have limited value in the sharing of authoritative knowledge. Oftentimes the very people who talk about the value of the wiki are the people who cast the most doubt about the value of the information they provide. This isn't such a negative thing--it should be viewed as a cautionary statement concerning the need to conduct scholarly research for authoritative data.

Thing 17: Sandbox wiki: Done

Week 6

Item 13: Tagging and Del.icio.us: The idea of online bookmarking is pretty interesting, particularly since the trends suggest a move toward community devices that provide access to online resources, including personal resources. Public libraries are at the fore with their public access computers.

Item 14: Technorati and tagging: This is pretty interesting; an automated method for keeping track of online activities that are of interest. I can see this going way beyond blogs...

Item 15: The future of libraries: Folksonomies and other second/third generation tools for harnessing the potential of the web is going to have a profound impact on the role of the future library, and, on how the library will deliver the services the community expects. A new generation of librarians and visionaries will negotiate the path forward...

Week 5

Item 10: Go to the following site to play the sliding game created using an image generator. I wanted to embed the game here, but couldn't figure out how to do it.

http://slidingpuzzle.com/puzzle.php?pid=54028&xtiles=4&ytiles=4

Item 11: LibraryThing. This is pretty cool. I do wish it had a portable engine so that it could be stored locally.

Item 12: Rollyo... I didn't find much usefullness to this tool. Perhaps I am not acclimated to this type of tool.

Week 4

Item 9: Merlin should grow to be a very useful resource for Maryland librarians and staff.

Item 8: This could be an interesting way to access desired information ... The blogrolls and bloglines may present new opportunities to share information ...

Check 'em out!

Week 3

Item 7: The PictoBrowser is a nice, simple tool to display a number of photos that enable the viewer to see the images and enlarge them when desired.

Item 6:


Item 5: Flickr is an interesting hosting site. I wonder about how secure it is, and have some concerns about the way it is used, but overall, it is an interesting way to e-publish.