Thing 18 - Technorati

I enjoyed exploring around a little more with Technorati. It was kind of interesting to see what others are reading and searching for. I would like to explore some more and create an account later when I have a little more time to play.

I did do the keyword, the tag, and the blog directory searches. My results were different from each one. Let me share with you:

Search results after doing a keyword search, show all results that show an exact phase, search in all blogs (2805 results):
http://technorati.com/search/%22learning+2.0%22



Search results after doing a tag search (1,121 results):
http://technorati.com/tag/Learning+2.0


Search results after doing a blog directory search (1,009 results):
http://technorati.com/blogs/learning+2.0


I did have a little bit of trouble figuring out how to do the keyword search. I think that I have done it right. Overall though it was pretty easy to do the searches and get results.

Thing 17 - Folksonomy & Del.icio.us

I love the idea behind the bookmarking on the del.icio.us website. What a great idea!!!! It has always been a pain having to save over and over again the same website addresses in your favorites on each computer that you use. This is a much more efficient way of accessing the website URL from any computer. I can definately see this as a tool that I can use both professionally and personally in my daily life.

I did not create an account yet with del.icio.us but I will certainly do so later. I did enjoy playing around with the account already created. It seemed like it was very easy to use. I can't wait to create my account and start saving my URL's to it.

I can definately see the potential of this tool for research. Is is so much easier then having to remember where I saw an article or what the website address is. Of course on the simplier side of things, yes it is a very easy way to create bookmarks. Using the favorites feature will be a thing of the past!

Thing 16 - MySpace Profile

After playing with MySpace for a while I decided not to create an account. I did however take the tour which made it look like joining was very easy. The application online looked like it was very short and painless. I may consider joining later on but for now I didn't think that I would use it very much.

I think MySpace is a great concept for kids to get to know each other and become a part of something (like a group). I like that it has a lot to offer from adding friends to your page to adding music that interests you. I looked at several people's profiles and it was very interesting to learn and see what MySpace has to offer but it was also interesting to see what people had to say. I was a little leary about putting my personal information up onto the website. There are just too many predators out there.

I think my opinion of MySpace has not changed. I think that it is popular with the kids because it gives them a place where they can "hang out" and talk with their friends. It gives them a place to meet new and old friends. It also allows them to meet new partners to date and get to know. I may at a later point decide to create an account but for now I am just not interested at this time.

Thing 15 - Social Networking

I have mixed feels as to whether VBPL should use a social networking site to connect with teens. I think that the concept is excellent and can provide for many teens a great way to stay out of trouble. There are several great opportunities for libraries to utilize online social networking sites to their advantages. It would be a perfect opportunity to set up clubs and online book talks for the teens.

This may be a great way for libraries to educate their youth about the dangers of using online social networking websites. It is important for teens to know and understand that these websites are all public places for anyone to meet. For everyone's safety it is important that we educate the teens on how to use these types of web sites so everyone is safe. Raising awareness about these sites is extremely important. Many web sites out there look like trusting sites but it is very important that every person protect their personal information (profile) and keep it private. It is always important not to share personal screen names, email address, and other personal information about yourself with strangers whom you don't know.

For libraries as a whole if we use a social networking site it could be a great social space for teens to meet new friends. They could get to know each other and talk about things they have in common (reading, and books). If libraries did create/use a site for teens to socialize it would need to be a safe place for not only teens but also for their parents as well. There are many online predators out there harassing innocent kids.

Thing 14 - Reader's Advisory Wiki

For Thing 14 we had to post a brief summary about a favorite book of ours into the Reader's Advisory wiki. I found that this wiki was really easy to use. It was pretty self explanatory on how to use it. It was just as easy to input as it has been for our blog posts that we have been doing now for several months.

This is an excellent way for all libraries to use wiki's in their systems. It is also a great way to promote the collection from all aspects (author, title, subject, etc....). Book clubs could also benefit from wiki's by posting information about their book club on the Internet. There are so many ways that libraries could use wiki's to promote the library.

Thing 13 - Wikis

I had not played with a Wikis before until our training on Library 2.0 started. I thought it was a pretty in genius way for everyone to add and change information. What a great way for communities to come together and share information at their leisure. I had created a wikis several weeks ago shortly after our training got underway. I really enjoyed playing with it and discovering new things. As a matter of fact one of my co-workers created a great wikis for us to use to promote our collection to see what is checked out and what isn't. I have enjoyed adding entries. This is a great way for internal staff within a branch to communicate with each other. This leads to how can libraries use wikis.

Libraries can use wikis in many different ways. They can use wikis for book clubs to share information about a book that they are reading. It would be perfect for both internal and external customers to use for readers advisories. What a great way to share your favorite book or author with everyone. Wikis can also be used for committees whether it is for the minutes or for working on a project together. It could also be used as a way of doing a survey to gather information or ideas. It seems the ideas for wikis are endless.......

Thing 12 - VBPL and IM

I am from a branch where IM is not a task that we are responsible for. It was though very interesting to hear what others had to say about how it is going. It sounds like it is a lot of fun going back and forth with patrons about questions that they might have. It sounds like business is very slow right now but we are hopeful that it's popularity will really soar once word gets out. I think that it is another great way for our libraries to reach out to the public and help them out with their questions.

I think that IMing and reference at the library are a pretty good mix as long as the questions don't get too involved. If the questions are too involved then the customer will not have the immediate response/answer that they have been seeking. People who use IM expect an immediate response and sometimes those are pretty hard shoes to fill. Ah.... the pressure on the librarian to quickly find the answer and send it back to them. The clock keeps ticking. Tick, tick, tick.......