Timmi's Weblog

Week 8 Exercise 2

timmij — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:46:55 +0000

I found the Rollyo search for ‘privacy’ quite interesting. There was everything from the Total Information Awareness program to the lack of privacy in the 2.0 world. I actually found this to be very beneficial and think I will use it often when looking for specific blog topics.

Week 8 Exercise 1

timmij — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:52:19 +0000

Woo Hoo, it’s week 8 and one thing that I have learned in this first Mashups exercise is that there are way too many people out there with far too much time on their hands. I didn’t find anything that struck me as particularily useful, however, the Wheel of Lunch was fun. Resaurant locations and things like that are useful, but I don’t care where to meet people who post their pics on Hot or Not. Oh well, maybe I’m just having a cynical day, but searching for a mashup that interested me seemed to be nothing but a time waster. Maybe I’ll have to try again another day.

Well, it’s a new day and I think that mashups can indeed be very beneficial, I just finished Exercise 2 and am adding to this post because my prior comments weren’t very complimentary of mashups. If we had multiple branches like the public library, a GoogleMaps mashup could help direct people to the different branches, etc.

Week 7

timmij — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:45:45 +0000

Well, I can see how YouTube and podcasting could be used for on-demand user training, however, many of us work in a world where access to YouTube, podcasting, or any type of streaming media is strictly prohibited. These types of things would not work in my particular library for that reason. It would be nice for users to be able to access an online search tutorial, etc. even when the library is closed.

Personally, I don’t tend to use YouTube unless someone sends me a video link and most people I know only use it for fun, to watch videos of people doing stupid things. Same with Podcasts.

I don’t really have much more to add. I did do the advanced exercise, but I put in a “save the animals” video instead of a library video because I thought they were so cute. Hope that’s okay.

Save the Kitties

timmij — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:40:29 +0000

Week 6

timmij — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:38:58 +0000

I’m so glad that this was supposed to be the “easy” week…I hope everyone had better luck than I did. I was having trouble with my internet connection, so none of this was easy or fun. I don’t know how we could use flickr in our library setting. It would be convenient for posting pictures taken on student service day, etc., but everyone needs to sign up if you don’t want your pictures to be public, and a lot of people don’t want to do that, it’s just another login to remember. Also, not everyone wants their pictures posted online, so if you had a special program that you took photos at, you could upset some people by posting their pictures without permission. I think if your library had a need to share photos with a large audience, then an image sharing service would be an excellent way to go.

Miss Bailey

timmij — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:05:24 +0000

Miss Bailey

Originally uploaded by timmij

This is Miss Bailey aka “The Fat Kitty” I’m sure she’ll be happy she’s famous now.

Week 5

timmij — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:30:48 +0000

Week 5: Web Office Tools has ended and I for one think they are very handy. In looking at the different programs, ZOHO was my favorite. I liked the interface and ease of use. As far as this being the future of all software products, I’m not completely certain. We use shared folders on our secure network at work and I don’t see a lot of companies trading in that security for ease of access. There are also some things that I people may not feel comfortable having online even with password protection or any of these programs could cease to exist at anytime and all your documents would be gone.

Having documents online would be especially great for students working on projects or anyone who uses public computers. You wouldn’t have to worry about bringing along a flash drive everywhere you go and you can collaborate with ease.

Overall, I think web office tools are great, but I would still back up the documents on my computer or some other form of media every now and the “just in case”…

Week 4

timmij — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:18:29 +0000

Well, week 4, social bookmarking is over and I found it to be pretty convenient. I have so many bookmarks on my computer at work and am in the process of saving them all to my del.icio.us account. It will be great to be able to access them from anywhere. It is also nice that you can search tags and see what other people have bookmarked, but I found that the terminology I think of and use is quite often different than what others use. This makes using it for research assistance a little difficult, but it is great to be able to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere. I also see the opportunity for a bit of serendipitous finding of useful sites. Overall, I see social bookmarking as a very useful tool and plan to use it consistently.

Week 3

timmij — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:06:24 +0000

Week 3: Social Networking Tools has ended and all I can say is that it was frustrating. Most social networking sites are blocked by my organization, so I had to do everything from home when I could get to the computer. Oh well, I am sure I’m not alone. As for the questions, here goes:

How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members? Having the Facebook meeting page is a good way. There could also be pages for the different member sections. However, for many, that would necessitate having more than one Facebook page. I wouldn’t want my professional and personal items on the same page.

Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page? This is basically a non-issue for us. Both sites are blocked by my organization, but even if they weren’t, I would lean toward ‘no.’ Personally, I wouldnt’ use Facebook for something like that and I think that most people feel the same way I do. I view social networking sites as simply that, “Social” nothing more.

Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites? Of course, there is always a privacy concern when you post something online. If your page is public, anyone can see it, including current or potential employers, so you need to carefully select what you post. Your page should definitely be private.

What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace? I already had a Facebook page before this started, so it wasn’t terribly new to me. I like that I can keep up with friends who live all over the country and world. I like being able to see family photos, etc. when they are new as opposed to in the Christmas card 6 months later. There really isn’t much I don’t like, but I don’t think I would ever use it to access library information.

Week 2

timmij — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:34:16 +0000

As week 2 draws to a close, I have had my first experiences creating and editing a wiki. It has been quite interesting. One thing I am curious about is how on earth people find the time to do all this stuff. I love reading other peoples blogs, etc., but keeping one up to date seems to be quite time consuming.

Now, on to the questions.

What is the difference between a blog and a wiki?

A blog is basically a one person operation with that person’s thoughts and ideas where others can leave comments. A wiki is more of a collaboration where all members have the ability to edit the page.

What sort of things might be better suited for a blog and better suited for a wiki?

A blog would be better suited toward something informational in nature such as what is happening in the library, and a wiki would be better suited for something that multiple people would be contributing to such as a website for library staff who are writing a business proposal or article together.