Thing 7

First of all, I think it's funny that now we have to have something like Meebo to mush up all the IM networks into one. Sometimes the Internet makes things easier and sometimes it gets too big- like this. That being said, it is a great idea for those who love to IM. It certainly makes things easier to have all the different providers linked together. I think it would be great to provide an IM reference service to our patrons. I'm not sure how much it would be used or how we would staff it, but I think it's an interesting idea. I think we might be able to use it to get in touch with each other quickly and ask a question. I can't decide if it would be faster or easier than just picking up the phone. I would like to try it out in work situations to see.

Twitter- the description using the term "hyper–connected" kind of bothered me. But I think it's a great term to describe how younger people function. They don't know any differently because this stuff's always been available to them. I just think they need to disconnect sometimes. I also find it ridiculous that people have to broadcast every single thing they do, I'm sure this is a sign of my age because most younger people do this stuff all the time. They constantly update their status in Facebook or Twitter. I wonder how many of them actually look to see what the others are currently doing. I got my account on Twitter and I kind of had trouble getting it. I'm still not sure why I would use this, which means I probably won't!

Thing 6

Here's Ruby with Pink Cow- nothing to do w/Thing 6!

Communicating on the Interwebs- that's what it's really all about, isn't it? I have mulitple e-mail accounts- work and personal, even one for my website. I use g mail and hotmail, which helps me assist patrons who frequently use one of the free providers. I have used IM and texting for years. I'm not a huge fan of IM just because I'm usually trying to do something and it seems like an intrusion. My teenage daughter uses it all the time and it doesn't bother her at all when someone "dings" in. I do find texting handy because the message is just there when you have time to get to it.

I did a webinar through Novelist a few months ago. I started out poorly as I had major technical issues. This was mainly my fault because I didn't log on until about a minute before it was supposed to start and then when I had problems with my audio I missed out on some of the information because I was dealing with my technical problems. It was also kind of a pain initially because I had to download the software they were using and since we don't have download permissions on our computers I had to get IS to allow me to download. Fortunately I actually read the instructions in my e-mail prior to the day of the webinar, so I had the program downloaded, but I still had some issues. So I think I need to try another one because that was not the best experience I've ever had.

Thing 5

This was fun, fun, fun, as well as pretty easy!

Thing 4

So I have a Flickr account and since it's all about me I never look at any other stuff on Flickr- why would I? I mostly just admire the photos I have taken of my dog and cats and add more! That made me decide to do option A and look around at what else is on there. I forget how I even got to the picture of the horse (taken by Steven Arens), but I thought it was beautiful with the contrast of the colors. The dog (taken by saikiishiki) just made me laugh! I got really caught up in seeing what was out there and then I was amazed at the awesome photography people have done! It sort of made me feel bad about my dog and cat photos, but only for a minute.

If you want to get to the page with the photo of the horse go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenarens/2952846109/in/photostream/

the dog:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/-anji-/2507196369/in/photostream/

Thing 3

I was familiar w/RSS and knew what it was, but I hadn't used it personally. I got myself all set up on Google Reader. I thought it was a little overwhelming at first because there was so much stuff to choose from. When I initially got set up I had a bunch of junk on there that I didn't want, so I had to take the time to look through the options and choose what I was interested in. I think it will be useful to me because I check certain sites for news, etc. throughout the day, at work and at home. Now it will be quick for me to just jump on my Google Reader and browse through it quickly.

I was also happy to see Phil's difinitive explanation to what RSS stands for, as I have had several people ask me that question before and I never know which is the correct answer. Now, I will say- Really Simple Syndication with authority!

Thing 2

So this whole Library 2.0 idea- hmmm. What do I think? Well, I think people want it to be a literal process- do A,B,C to achieve Library 2.0. But we have to be more openminded. There are lots of ways to incorporate the ideas behind Library 2.0 to enhance and expand the services we provide to our community, as well as allow us to connect with a larger audience. Watching my daughter and her friends, I have seen an entire generation that goes directly to the computer first to get the information they want. If we aren't providing it, they will find someone else who does!

One of the ideas I love about Library 2.0 is increased communication with our users on a constant basis. Right now we periodically survey our users about particular services or issues. But I think it would be great to offer them a forum for constant feedback about MCPL.

Thing 1

Completed!!!!!