Yay, made it! Phew...
All in all these 23 Things have been a bit of an eye opener, I must say! Even those Things I had already been using- turns out you can use them for work, and do more with them than I'd ever thought! I've now incorporated iGoogle, Google Docs, flickr and del.icio.us into my daily life whereas I hadn't previously used them; I'm still using facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and podcasts, but getting greater functionality from them; and even those things I didn't particularly get on with - well at least I now know what they are and how to use them, so thank you 23 Things!
Some of the Things that I haven't really continued using have been those that aren't currently useful to me specifically, but that I can see might be under different circumstances. For example, RSS feeds are obviously great if you are trawling through a lot of info on a daily basis, but for me they kind of fell by the wayside. Too. Much. Information! LinkedIn could well be a fantastic networking opportunity in the future but given my current position it is pretty redundant. I also don't see myself tweeting merrily away any time soon, although if I was a journalist Twitter would be my constant companion! ThinkFree was my only real technological disaster - couldn't get it to work efficiently or consistently at all, not sure what went wrong there, but suffice to say I won't be using it again!
Tuesday 6 April 2010
Week 11 - Widgets and Gadgets
As you can see from my newly gadgetted up blog, I've been playing! I added my Flickr Photostream, library-related news, my labels, a search box, and some perpetually hungry fish to my blog (just click the mouse in the fish tank to feed them)! I was impressed by the range of what was on offer, although most of the games I looked came with ads as an unwelcome bonus so I've avoided all those.
Meanwhile, my iGoogle page has evolved a bit. I've changed themes and removed/added gadgets, so it currently looks like this:
I found a couple of interesting Web 2.0 gadgets that may well prove useful for those in the library who want to take the 23 Things program further - The Edublogger and Mashable. Both link to useful information and hints and tips on using Web 2.0 technologies. I've also added BBC Radio, unfortunately no good for work (incompatible with staffing a reading room...) but very handy at home, and my del.icio.us which is currently a bit redundant as I usually have my del.icio.us bookmarks toolbar showing, but still, all in all a fairly Web 2.0 themed iGoogle page methinks!
Meanwhile, my iGoogle page has evolved a bit. I've changed themes and removed/added gadgets, so it currently looks like this:
I found a couple of interesting Web 2.0 gadgets that may well prove useful for those in the library who want to take the 23 Things program further - The Edublogger and Mashable. Both link to useful information and hints and tips on using Web 2.0 technologies. I've also added BBC Radio, unfortunately no good for work (incompatible with staffing a reading room...) but very handy at home, and my del.icio.us which is currently a bit redundant as I usually have my del.icio.us bookmarks toolbar showing, but still, all in all a fairly Web 2.0 themed iGoogle page methinks!
Week 10 - Head in the Clouds
As someone who is constantly using different computers with different (allegedly compatible...) versions of Microsoft Office on, this week's Things have been a bit of a revelation! Firstly, Google Docs. Nice and easy, accessible anywhere with internet, and even easier to access given that iGoogle is my homepage - it's so handy having all the Google options in one place, they're taking over my virtual world!
The word processing option looked so lovely and familiar - no need to learn a new package, this is basically a simplified version of Word. The collaborative options are very exciting; no messing about reformatting when you switch from one machine to another, everyone can work on and see exactly the same document, and involving others is very simple. I would definitely recommend Google Docs for anyone needing a simple (free!) word processing package that they can use anywhere and can collaborate with others with.
Next up, ThinkFree. From what I've manged to see of it, there does seem to be added functionality - I got a quick look at the note templates and was very impressed. However, it kept telling me that I needed to install Java Runtime Environment which I did successfully the first time, then it took ages to load, and when I finally used it was very slow. Still, I figured I'd come back to it later but to no avail! Whenever I try to create a new document it tells me I still need to install JRE, and when I do it won't install (probably because the stupid thing is already there, arghh!!). Anyway, I have now given up in a huff, but this hasn't put me off cloud computing, I'll just be sticking to the simplicity of Google Docs thank you very much!
The word processing option looked so lovely and familiar - no need to learn a new package, this is basically a simplified version of Word. The collaborative options are very exciting; no messing about reformatting when you switch from one machine to another, everyone can work on and see exactly the same document, and involving others is very simple. I would definitely recommend Google Docs for anyone needing a simple (free!) word processing package that they can use anywhere and can collaborate with others with.
Next up, ThinkFree. From what I've manged to see of it, there does seem to be added functionality - I got a quick look at the note templates and was very impressed. However, it kept telling me that I needed to install Java Runtime Environment which I did successfully the first time, then it took ages to load, and when I finally used it was very slow. Still, I figured I'd come back to it later but to no avail! Whenever I try to create a new document it tells me I still need to install JRE, and when I do it won't install (probably because the stupid thing is already there, arghh!!). Anyway, I have now given up in a huff, but this hasn't put me off cloud computing, I'll just be sticking to the simplicity of Google Docs thank you very much!
Monday 29 March 2010
Week 9 - Wikis
I love Wikipedia! Always my first port of call when needing to look up something up, at the very least it's a great starting point (just don't reference it in essays!), but usually it can solve age old mysteries such as 'what's the difference between an aardvark and an anteater?' all by itself! Most recently a quick Wikipedia pitstop managed to resolve a number of household disputes relating to the finer details of the Harry Potter books that no-one could recall, due to their sheer length and convoluted plotting, so praise be to the Wiki!
In library-related matters I signed up for the Web 2: Oxford Libraries wiki, lots of interesting stuff going on over there. It'll be really handy for us at the RSL once we start creating our own Web 2 resources. I practiced editting some pages, but as I couldn't find anything to change (and cos I was feeling a bit shy!) I didn't save anything. Still, I now know what to do for the future! I also registered for Wikipedia which was rather exciting. At the moment I can't think of anything that I'm expert enough on to make an entry for, but I'll let you know if I do!
In library-related matters I signed up for the Web 2: Oxford Libraries wiki, lots of interesting stuff going on over there. It'll be really handy for us at the RSL once we start creating our own Web 2 resources. I practiced editting some pages, but as I couldn't find anything to change (and cos I was feeling a bit shy!) I didn't save anything. Still, I now know what to do for the future! I also registered for Wikipedia which was rather exciting. At the moment I can't think of anything that I'm expert enough on to make an entry for, but I'll let you know if I do!
Monday 22 March 2010
Week 8 - Twitter
Here I am on Twitter...
I've always avoided Twitter like the plague, and to be honest, I think in some respects I was justified. I certainly won't be using it to follow celebrities, and I am overloaded with social communication tools as it is! Phone, mobile, text, email, write, Facebook...sometimes I even see my friends too ;-) There just ain't room for Twitter in my virtual social life.
However, I was pleasantly surprised at how useful it seems to be for work related purposes. I was impressed by the way in which tweets can unfold like breaking news, and certainly reading through the #ox23 tweets and those relating to last week's Library Conference has been interesting and a good way to connect with fellow library staff. I like how Nuffield Library and Sainsbury Library are using it to update their followers/readers with information on new acquisitions as well as changes in opening times. All in all, more useful than I was expecting!
I've always avoided Twitter like the plague, and to be honest, I think in some respects I was justified. I certainly won't be using it to follow celebrities, and I am overloaded with social communication tools as it is! Phone, mobile, text, email, write, Facebook...sometimes I even see my friends too ;-) There just ain't room for Twitter in my virtual social life.
However, I was pleasantly surprised at how useful it seems to be for work related purposes. I was impressed by the way in which tweets can unfold like breaking news, and certainly reading through the #ox23 tweets and those relating to last week's Library Conference has been interesting and a good way to connect with fellow library staff. I like how Nuffield Library and Sainsbury Library are using it to update their followers/readers with information on new acquisitions as well as changes in opening times. All in all, more useful than I was expecting!
Week 7 - LinkedIn
Well I've signed up for LinkedIn, but given that I'm not exactly a go-getting professional I'm not sure what good it'll do me! Still, it was nice to connect with my fellow library brethren, let's see if the job opportunities come flooding in!
Monday 15 March 2010
Week 7 - Facebook
I've been using Facebook socially for a number of years so thought that this Thing would be a bit of a breeze. However, there's a big difference between using it to connect with mates to sort out the next night out and using it to publicise the library and connect with readers. Certainly the Facebook page format lends itself to publicising useful information such as opening hours and location, but that wouldn't really be enough to increase awareness of the library amongst users (or 'Fans'). It is also no more use than (and in fact an awful lot less use) a website. If the point of using Facebook is to publicise a library and its resources it's not enough just to create a page.
As a daily Facebook user the most important aspect of the site for me is what appears in my News Feed - that's what I react to initially. It's all very well having an engaging and exciting page, but if your Fans aren't being prompted towards the page through reminders that it exists, it will be to no avail. Similarly, I will check any messages sent to me, so if the library messages its Fans regularly with new content, I will in all likelihood read it. The more active a library is with connecting with its Fans through messaging and status updates, the more likely those Fans will use the library's page. Of the Oxford libraries using Facebook, I was particularly impressed with Queen's College Library . An extremely active and engaging prescence on Facebook, with a fantastic set of pages including the use of RSS feeds for new acquisitions and a variety of search option on their Boxes page. I can see why they have over 2000 fans!
As a daily Facebook user the most important aspect of the site for me is what appears in my News Feed - that's what I react to initially. It's all very well having an engaging and exciting page, but if your Fans aren't being prompted towards the page through reminders that it exists, it will be to no avail. Similarly, I will check any messages sent to me, so if the library messages its Fans regularly with new content, I will in all likelihood read it. The more active a library is with connecting with its Fans through messaging and status updates, the more likely those Fans will use the library's page. Of the Oxford libraries using Facebook, I was particularly impressed with Queen's College Library . An extremely active and engaging prescence on Facebook, with a fantastic set of pages including the use of RSS feeds for new acquisitions and a variety of search option on their Boxes page. I can see why they have over 2000 fans!
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