Week 9, Thing 23

Wow, I am finally finished! This project was very enlightening. A nice way to introduce non-tech lovers to all the new technology around these days. I was surprised to learn that I really enjoyed some of the new technology. I especially like flickr, RSS feeds, and del.icio.us. I have used RSS feeds and del.icio.us to find great resources for teen programming and our TAG groups. There is so much out there. Too bad there aren't more hours in the days.

Week 9, Thing 22 Downloadable Audiobooks

Took a look at Overdrive downloadable audiobooks, movies, music, etc. I found some interesting titles here. For myself I found a cool self-improvement title, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by David Niven. I think these products are wonderful for people who enjoy mobile audiobooks, i.e. listen in car or while you excercise. As more and more people adopt MP3 technology these products will be more and more utilized by our customers.

Week 9, Thing 21 Podcasts

Not loving the podcasts. I am really not an auditory learner. Therefore I think that I do not appreciate this format as much as some might. I would really rather see the speaker and have something written to refer to. As far as using the podcast format in libraries, I did like the podcasts from Opal (Online Programming for all Libraries). These podcasts are short and cover various topics of interest to librarians. I listened to a podcast on the Milennial generation. The podcast gave some interesting ideas about how we can tailor library services to this particular generation of customers.

I also listened to podcasts from a public library that broadcast news to customers about library issues. This may be of more interest to librarians than the general public. It might be cool to add a monthly podcast to the library's homepage. The podcast could mention upcoming events at the library, just like the PSAs we do with Metrocast cable. Just an idea!

Week 9, Thing 20 YouTube

YouTube is certainly entertaining. I could see how you could spend hours looking at the videos! I chose a Jordache jeans video from the 80's. Jordache jeans were very big when I was a middle schooler. This video took me back to my middle school days and made me laugh.

Week 8, Thing 19 Web 2.0 Awards

I explored a cool site called cocktail builder. You can tell it what you have in your bar and then it tells you a bunch of cocktails you can make and how to make them. You can also make a bar menu to hand out to guests at a party. They can then choose what they would like to drink. There is also a search function to find recipes for cocktails you know of, but don't know the ingredients or how to make them. Great fun for parties! We could suggest this tool to customers planning parties or weddings. It would also be a cool addition to a book display for summer barbeques or cocktail parties.

Week 8, Thing 18 Google Docs

I made a test document in Google docs. It seems fairly easy to use. I can see the benefit of using these online productivity tools. Collaboration and easy access would seem to be the best reasons to use these tools. I don't quite understand how you can save a doc in Google docs as a Word file and attach it to emails as a Word file. But Google docs says you can!

Week 7, Thing 17 Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki

I added a few foods to "favorite foods" and books to "favorite children's books". A pretty cool way to collaborate on stuff!