Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Where did Blogspot go?

What happened? Why doesn't anyone say something, like "your blog site has changed, for these reasons, and here's how it affects you the user,etc." But no, it just changes with no comment, no explanation, no _____ing MANNERS! Well, at least that explains why I couldn't post a Youtube video I liked onto my blog - because the server I thought it had didn't EXIST any more.

OK, I've vented.

Since the last session, I have completed 23 things...I think. There was the brick wall or two. I had fun with pocasts, especially people's trained animals. The Gutenberg project was pretty impressive, especially for the vast array of languages available. It was good having wikipedia links for authors, and I liked the option for "human-read" which makes me wonder who'd want to hear an entire book read by a computerized voice? Some of the authors listed have been dead a long time, so this resource might be useful for literature research, say for a doctorale thesis.

Overall, I'm glad I did 23 Things, but like running a marathon or doing other good-for-you things, I'M SURE GLAD TO BE DONE. If you read any other posts here, you know it was often frustrating. It will be interesting to see which of these many gimmicky things will survive the test of scrutiny and become established parts of our 21st century computer culture. Then we can say, "Oh yeah, that was just getting started back in '07 when we did 23 Things."

I just hope some manners survive.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Further exploration of WWW possibilities

Today has been quite informative, and I have run headlong into the generation gap. More about that later. I listed "Favorite ways to renew" as my sandbox entry - no problems there. Then I checked out Googledocs. and created a file. Talked with my husband about how he uses this tool in his work, and about how Google might drive Microsoft into oblivion by making these things so user friendly and free. Tried to send the document to this blog, but there was no option for Blogspot as a host and I couldn't figure out what they needed to send it to a unique site.

Then I proceeded to the Web 2.0 awards and encountered the generation gap, using a "Questions and advice" category winner called say-so. One question near the top of the page put out for others' advice was "Do you fart in public?" Enough said.

I also explored the podcast category because I've heard some things about them, using Podshow.com That was OK, but it made me wonder if record (that dates me right there) stores can stay in business since people can listen to clips of music, then download their choice (even as a ringtone on their phone!) without ever leaving the house. No wonder Americans are becoming overweight, with so little motivation to get outside.

I also sneaked a peek at Youtube since I've been hearing about that as well, and then I saw that it is Thing #20, so I'm getting ahead.

Wiki session

That was better...after reviewing my prior postings, I realize how resistant I've been to this 23 Things project. Usually I'm pretty upbeat and enjoy the challenge, but thus far grousing has been the predominant mode. After yet another hiatus, I am more positive and found the Wiki exercise interesting, and well...almost fun. The Princeton Book Lovers wiki introduced me to a yet-unheard-of genre: CHIC LIT! Sounds like a chewing gum brand. The concept is good on this and a couple other wikis I perused, that anyone can contribute a book review. I like the egalitarian aspect of them, and they offer libraries the opportunity make links available to patrons on many levels. For example, if a person looks up pets, there are local links on related subjects as well as world wide links.

But then I wonder, what if an enterprising dog groomer posts her business there? How does that fit with the library's neutral stance on advertising or promotion of specific businesses? Would there have to be a library wiki watchdog? That could get complicated.

Another thing I wonder about is making Wikis vibrant and interesting enough that people keep coming back. Humans are creatures of habit, and we generally take a while to get something into our everyday frame of reference. I don't think wikis have made it there yet, or at least not judging from the one at Princeton...not many reviews posted, and quite some time since the last update.

An elderly friend mentioned to me the other day that she'd like to restart a round robin letter she used to share with her sisters. Wikis seem like the perfect forum for this!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The future of libraries

Dr. Wendy Schultz is clueless. Another armchair librarian speculating about the future of libraries, when she likely hasn't actually helped a real live patron in decades...the reality is that libraries have become a haven for homeless street people and others who cannot afford a computer of their own....not brandy-drinking, cigar-smoking dilettantes. And frankly, I'm glad that's how our role in the community has evolved, because there aren't many so-called public places where they are welcome any more.

The Iceberg article hit the nail on the head, in my opinion. Its author suggested that librarians need to take a more humble approach to make libraries a place people want to be in the future. Historically we've portrayed ourselves as the lofty keepers of society's information resources, requiring that consumers come to us on our turf for the passkey, but guess what! Now any person of average intelligence or more can find it on their own, so who needs us? Just look at the stereotypes of librarians in the movies - they really show how much we need to improve our image in the public eye.

Technorati maze

This is a wonderful concept, making the blogworld a support group about issues near to our hearts...but yet again, I've lost the thread for putting tags on my blog. When I registered, the opportunity for listing tags appeared, and then somehow I wandered away without confirming the list, and I've spent an hour trying to resurrect it! However, it was fun searching for blog postings with tags that interest me, and I'll try this again later for adding tags to my blog.

Summer's over

Back to school, back to 23 things, and yet another stab at Rollyo. I now officially give up on it! I asked it to search for something I KNOW FULL WELL exists on a website I'd listed under "Great bike rides" and it couldn't find anything. What's its problem? I'm giving it a poor rating.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Success!

I fished around for a while and somehow found the way to join "one-person library" group on LibraryThing. I also posted a message saying why I joined and asking for likes and dislikes from the other two members. Nice to taste success!

LibraryThing

More frustration...At first I wondered why anyone would use this site, but then I explored groups and found one called "one-person library" which just began four days ago. It has only two members and I'd like very much to join, but can't figure out how. Then I saw something about upgrading to paying member status - is that the catch?

Frustration with Avatar image

It was fun designing the image (although I'd appreciate having age options, as not everyone thinks they need to look younger), but it was very frustrating trying to save the image, much less adding it to my blog! I was using Yahoo for UK - could that make a difference?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Getting deeper

Having explored items 8 and 9 of 23 things, I'm wondering if there's room in my brain for what's left to learn! The RSS feeds concept looks useful for very specific interests, but unfortunately when I looked for the RSS symbol on several websites, I couldn't find any. However, I did save an interesting blog under favorites in my Bloglines account. But it's good to know what that all means for future reference...and the MERLIN site has a veritable wealth of links!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Took a while, but here I am catching up on week 3 of 23 things, while week 6 has just begun...but I did get an A in my online Criminal Law course that ended Friday. That was something new related to technology - the whole process was online, including duscussion and exams. I liked taking tests whatever time of day worked well ( early morning) but didn't care for the impersonal nature of it.

The aspect of technology that I am inspired to write about is different, however. It's about my husband, who is diabetic, being able to record his blood sugar levels - at least five times a day - in his palm pilot, then once monthly downloading the data to his computer, and then sending the information to his doctor via email! Isn't that amazing?

Monday, June 25, 2007

Week 1: Tips from lifelong learners

My strongest learning habit is accepting responsibility for my learning. This has been extremely useful since May 29th, when I began an online summer school course in Criminal Law. The entire course is self-motivated! Being a college course, and being summer school, the workload is pretty heavy and tests are all taken online. So far I have a 96 average!

Another way I've developed this habit for learning is by asking for help. Once I amazed my neighbor when I told him that I'd called Finches to decribe a problem with my John Deere riding mower, and they solved the problem over the phone! I also like to learn by observing how others do manual tasks - this likely began by watching my mother in the kitchen.

The hardest habit is using technology to my advantage. I still don't quite trust it. Just last week, some friends used a Google map to come visit us in Vermont, and they went way off track because the directions told them to turn at a road which doesn't exist! Then there's the issue of crashes and lost information...but despite my suspicions, I know there is tremendous value in it, which is why I'm here doing this exercise.