Thing 9

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. Sweet! A Flickr slideshow of displays at my library on my blog. I tried adding this to the side of my blog so it would stay at the top, but had limited success. So here it is in my Thing 9 post. I created it using flickrslidr.com. There's a slideflickr.com too, but that one didn't work when I tried embedding it in my post.

Flickr is the best slide show website from what I can tell. Mostly because of the large size of the pictures. Slideshows are my favorite way to view groups of pictures on the web.

Thing 8

Communication - Web 2.0 style. Finally, something relevant to the library. The library is all about communication and dissemination of information. Of course we're going to branch out into IM, text messaging, and whatever other new communication tools pop up. As the proponents of Library 2.0 like to say, we took the plunge with the telephone all those years ago right? Web conferencing is a great tool as well - when the technology works right.

There really should be no debate about whether libraries should embrace these new forms of communication. They already are. Take email reference for example. The only reservation I have with proceeding into these new realms is to make sure that we have the old technologies and services working smoothly at the same time. At my library, the phone system sucks. There is no person that directs patrons when they initially call, no dedicated phone reference, silence when they are put on hold, no voicemail for many employees, and a complicated forwarding system that results in many dropped calls. Basically it's an outdated system that needs an overhaul. Can we make this a priority please?

Now branching out into social networking sites is another issue. We need to meet them on their own turf L2.0 proponents say. But there has to be a limit to where we will follow potential patrons. And that limit is where they stop seeking information and start socializing. Social network sites are not places for online library services. That's what the library website is for. Advertise our website all you want all over the web, including social networking sites, but quit trying to be hip and cool by having a social networking presence. That's just not what it's for.

Thing 7

Thing 7 is just like Thing 6 but less dependent on Flickr? I wonder if I could use any of these image generators for creating displays here at the library. Most of them are intended for web presentation so me thinks not. They could be used to snaz up certain pages of the library's web site. Again, most of what I found appeared to be huge time wasters. One Library Systems Manager even created a library 2.0 idea generator: http://www.daveyp.com/cgi-bin/l2/l24blog.pl?plain. I created this text using http://cooltext.com/.

Thing 6

I can see there is really no limit to what you can do with your photos on the web. Some of these apps have got to be useful for the library. The color pallete generator might help me design a display around a photo. Most of them just seem like boredom busters. If you're into that kind of thing. I can see some of my friends using the create a motivational poster, or create your own badge apps to have lots of satirical fun. I found this picture of an incredibly cute librarian at my work and turned it into pop art.

Thing 5

Online photo sharing is cool. Flickr is okay. From what I can tell, it is the best site for online photo sharing. Still not very intuitive. I have photos, sets, and a photostream. I can add titles, descriptions, and tags. And that's just the tip of the iceberg with this thing. The photo I've posted to my blog is a display I did for my library. Flickr is great for library promotion and for personal photo sharing. I wish there was a site that was easier to use, presented photos in a nice large individual and slide show viewing format that Flickr does, but allowed for unlimited postings.

One note on my experience uploading my flickr picture. When I tried uploading it to my blog by copying and pasting the link, it did not work. It only worked when I saved it to my computer and browsed for the file. Go figure.

Per Flickr's Terms of Use Agreement, I've included the link to this photo: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3415/3255713789_352bacfce3_b.jpg

Thing 4

Setting up the RSS reader with Google was a snap, since I already had an account with them from setting up this blog. Suddenly, I was "subscribed" to all the 23 things blogs I had already been "following." The layout of my google reader isn't very pleasing to the eye, or any easier to read than my "dashboard" so I'm not terribly excited about this appearent duplication. Then I shot on over to my favorite blog, Jeff Master's weather underground blog and clicked on the orange RSS icon. Did I want to subscribe to this feed Microsoft asked me? Um. Yes? Then I had a similar unappealing look to Jeff Master's blog as the google reader, but no Jeff Masters in the actual reader. After some exploration of the help function, I found out I had to "export" my feed to the google reader. Then I had a blasted Microsoft Feeds folder in there. I deleted this abomination. Finally - Jeff Masters in my google reader. I still think it will be easier to click on the link to the actual blog in my favorites.

I browse several newspapers online, but I don't think I want to subscribe to them. Imagine all those news articles cluttering up my reader everyday. I like to be able to just browse. Maybe I'm not understanding this RSS thing. Or maybe I'm just not the prolific type of web surfer RSS feeds are supposed to cater to. Either way, I'm glad to be done with this thing.