The site I looked at was www.yelp.com, under the heading City Guides and Reviews. I wasn't going to go for a winning site, but I was interested in the idea. Basically it is a site where people can review the services, businesses, events, etc. in their area. Unfortunately, it is only within the United States at the moment.
What a good idea though! It would be great if there was something like this for our locality. Any sites that I have seen about the area are either from a council view, for prospective residents, or from the local tourism folk.
To have something that residents can add to would be great. I still can't say definitively what the best restaurants in my area are, because we don't eat out very often, so when we do, it's hit and miss. To the best of my knowledge there are no local restaurant reviews.
Same with trades and services. Last year when we needed a new fence, we just picked a few people out of the phone book to give us quotes, based purely on...intuition? randomness? Same with mechanics - we tried a few local ones which we weren't happy with, and ended up going back to the one we knew outside of our area. It would be so handy if there was a site we could go to with people's recommendations (or not, as the case may be).
This would also be something I would regularly point people to in the library. We get a lot of people asking for local business information, and as I don't live where I work, I am generally clueless. I think I have already illustrated how much I know about the area where I do live.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
#18 Web-based Apps
Created my account with Zoho, made a few documents. As I am already familiar with Word, it was pretty easy to figure out, having a similar format. It's not something I would use regularly, as most documents I create are personal (as opposed to business) ones.
However, occasionally I do make some of my documents available for the perusal of others, and it's really good to know that Zoho is available.
However, occasionally I do make some of my documents available for the perusal of others, and it's really good to know that Zoho is available.
Monday, October 29, 2007
#17 Playing around with PBWiki
Good to put the last activity into action. I had a hard time adding my blog because of the erroneous bracket thing. Reading my email put me on the right track, lol.
#16 So what's in a wiki?
Well I looked through the given library wikis, but the thing that most inspired me came from the discovery resources, once again, namely Using Wikis to Create Online Communities.
Allowing our patrons to annotate the catalogue! What a fantastic idea. It facilitates a dialogue between staff and patrons, and encourages people to actively use technology who might not otherwise do so. Not to mention making our library website more dynamic and fun, and improving our resource to the community. I love it.
Allowing our patrons to annotate the catalogue! What a fantastic idea. It facilitates a dialogue between staff and patrons, and encourages people to actively use technology who might not otherwise do so. Not to mention making our library website more dynamic and fun, and improving our resource to the community. I love it.
#15 On Library 2.0 and Web 2.0
Icebergs...
I was interested to read about the 'just in case' collection. I must admit I was slightly horrified when I first began working at the library at how regularly books are deleted. What? No! You can't get that book anymore! It's an unusual topic!
Of course, I have now seen that it is necessary and right to cull the collection for various reasons. Yet some emotional part of me hates to see the old books go. You would see this in evidence at my house, where the bookshelves are overflowing. I use the library (duh) but I can't seem to stop buying books, either.
Yes, the internet means that anyone can access just about any information, but not everything. Sometimes it's just the inspiration to hit the library. For example, some time ago, while researching British folklore on the internet, I found a reference to an essay on the very topic I was researching. Was the essay online? No! It was in an English journal from the 1960's. So when I finally got to the UK, I went straight to the library and copied the article.
The other thing about the internet is that a lot of sites don't quote their sources - again, frustrating when researching history. You can't beat the old books for that. There has to be a middle ground between print and technology, IMHO.
I was interested to read about the 'just in case' collection. I must admit I was slightly horrified when I first began working at the library at how regularly books are deleted. What? No! You can't get that book anymore! It's an unusual topic!
Of course, I have now seen that it is necessary and right to cull the collection for various reasons. Yet some emotional part of me hates to see the old books go. You would see this in evidence at my house, where the bookshelves are overflowing. I use the library (duh) but I can't seem to stop buying books, either.
Yes, the internet means that anyone can access just about any information, but not everything. Sometimes it's just the inspiration to hit the library. For example, some time ago, while researching British folklore on the internet, I found a reference to an essay on the very topic I was researching. Was the essay online? No! It was in an English journal from the 1960's. So when I finally got to the UK, I went straight to the library and copied the article.
The other thing about the internet is that a lot of sites don't quote their sources - again, frustrating when researching history. You can't beat the old books for that. There has to be a middle ground between print and technology, IMHO.
#14 Technorati
A fair few results come up for "Learning 2.0", don't they? We really are part of a global community. It's pretty obvious what the differences are between searching blogs, posts and tags. Searching for blogs gets you whole blogs about it, tags gets you posts about it, and posts get you posts which mention it (the most results this way).
I am amazed to learn how seriously peoples' blogs are being taken. Major news websites linking to blogs - wow. One of the posts I found was about the five reasons why C.E.O.'s should blog (communication skills, company image, relations with staff and customers - to paraphrase). It seems blogging is becoming a major social tool.
Another one I found while looking for popular blogs is called Boing Boing. This is apparently the world's most popular blog (but not the one most looked at). Surprisingly to me, it's only mildly interesting. I'm guessing this is one of those things that spread by word of mouth (or hand), and has snowballed because of the hype, not through any innate merit.
I am amazed to learn how seriously peoples' blogs are being taken. Major news websites linking to blogs - wow. One of the posts I found was about the five reasons why C.E.O.'s should blog (communication skills, company image, relations with staff and customers - to paraphrase). It seems blogging is becoming a major social tool.
Another one I found while looking for popular blogs is called Boing Boing. This is apparently the world's most popular blog (but not the one most looked at). Surprisingly to me, it's only mildly interesting. I'm guessing this is one of those things that spread by word of mouth (or hand), and has snowballed because of the hype, not through any innate merit.
#13 del.icio.us
I wasn't initially impressed with del.icio.us - I am definitely not impressed with typing the word, lol. I didn't really understand why you wouldn't just use your bookmarks. Enter the discovery resources! The Commoncraft Youtube video explained things to me. Having your bookmarks online rather than confined to one computer terminal would definitely be useful - I will have to start transferring my bookmarks on to del.icio.us.
The main things that I personally would use this for would be when travelling, and if there is a website I want to show a friend while at their place. I probably wouldn't spend much time searching through other people's bookmarks though. Maybe I am not a very social person, at least not on the web.
The main things that I personally would use this for would be when travelling, and if there is a website I want to show a friend while at their place. I probably wouldn't spend much time searching through other people's bookmarks though. Maybe I am not a very social person, at least not on the web.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
#12 Rollyo
I had a play with Rollyo (again, the link is at the bottom). I have made my searchroll on French holiday houses. Complete wishful thinking on my part for the French holiday I hope to take some day, more particularly the southern regions once known as Occitan, that little hotbed of heresy, lol.
Again, this is something I would use for particular purposes. Obviously to create your own you have to do an internet search the normal way first, to find those sites that you like. Being able to search through other peoples' lists of favourites is useful though.
Thought my blog was looking pretty dull, so here's a photo of Montsegur, where the Cathars took their last stand. I downloaded the photo from Flickr, which I have just found out is way better than the Google image search!
#11 Library Thing
Okay, this is something I will actually use! I have never attempted to chat to people I don't know on the net before, but looking through Library Thing I am actually inspired to say hello to people who have catalogued the same books as me, especially the more obscure ones.
I've only added nine books so far, but my list will be partly my favourites, partly a wish list for myself. I am hesitant to add the link, because I am about to be caught out for my abiding love of fantasy, and my lasting attachment to the books I loved growing up, which are the first which spring to mind when I think of my favourites. So I added a few grownup ones to balance it out. I bit the bullet though, and you can find the link at the bottom of the page with the others.
I've only added nine books so far, but my list will be partly my favourites, partly a wish list for myself. I am hesitant to add the link, because I am about to be caught out for my abiding love of fantasy, and my lasting attachment to the books I loved growing up, which are the first which spring to mind when I think of my favourites. So I added a few grownup ones to balance it out. I bit the bullet though, and you can find the link at the bottom of the page with the others.
#10 image generators
Had a bit of a play, and found lots of fun things. The next homemade birthday card I make will be a lot more quirky I imagine! I think that people who are into scrapbooking would find a lot of creative material using image generators as well.
The generator I particularly want to mention is DoppelMe. You can find it at, surprise, surprise, www.doppelme.com. This site is responsible for my little librarian which you can see in the top left corner. You can make lots of these little avatars, you can modify every aspect of their appearance, and dress them in a selection of costumes. Very cute!
The generator I particularly want to mention is DoppelMe. You can find it at, surprise, surprise, www.doppelme.com. This site is responsible for my little librarian which you can see in the top left corner. You can make lots of these little avatars, you can modify every aspect of their appearance, and dress them in a selection of costumes. Very cute!
Monday, October 15, 2007
RSS feeds
Well I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who is not personally very excited about RSS feeds. I did this exercise a few weeks ago, but procrastinated over writing the blog. I, like a lot of people here apparently, am pleased to learn about RSS feeds, so that we can inform our customers (especially when people are fighting over the library newspapers!). I also think that it is important for library staff to keep abreast of what is out there on the net, which is the whole point, isn't it?
I will not be getting into RSS feeds myself, however. I guess I am still pretty attached to curling up with the paper, and that's enough news for me. However, I have already made a convert. I actually showed my husband the computer geek, something he didn't know about computers! He, unlike myself, does look at a lot of news online, and has subscribed to several feeds, as well as some comic strip feeds (sigh).
I will not be getting into RSS feeds myself, however. I guess I am still pretty attached to curling up with the paper, and that's enough news for me. However, I have already made a convert. I actually showed my husband the computer geek, something he didn't know about computers! He, unlike myself, does look at a lot of news online, and has subscribed to several feeds, as well as some comic strip feeds (sigh).
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