And finally...number 23!!

Well, after way more than 12 weeks, I've finally reached the end! I signed up for the 23 things with a sense of dread, knowing that it would be good for me, but hating the thoughts of blogging, social networking and twitter, among other things! In a lot of cases I was pleasantly surprised. The blog was relatively easy to maintain and I enjoyed many of the tasks, even if I was always a little bit behind! I did think that some weeks it took a lot longer than an hour to get a proper handle on what we had to do - but maybe that was just me!! I also learned that I like self learning programmes - you can focus on the parts you like and skim over the other bits.

I had used some of the tools before, which gave me a great headstart, and my favourite bits were flikr, mylibrarything, delicious, podcasts and of course the youtube videos from Common Craft - thank you Lee and Sachi!! Tagging is interesting too - but I hated technorati. It was also good for me to go on facebook and twitter, even though I probably won't use either again.

I can see how libraries could benefit from using some of the Web 2.0 tools - googlereader, delicious, podcasts, youtube, ebooks, among others, have been used already - but I do think getting involved with social networking sites is a stretch too far for libraries, and in my opinion it's trying too hard.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. I only managed to get to 1 lunchtime talk, which was a pity as they did sound very useful, and the one I got to was great, but it was hard to fit them in. Thanks to Lindsay, Helena and Karen for all your hard work!

Google Maps, Google Docs, Zoho Writer

I've fallen a bit behind with the last 2 weeks of the 23 things, so I decided I'd tackle one of them today!! I've used Google Maps before for directions but had never looked at it in as much detail as I did today! It is very useful, especially as you can see the route as well as getting the directions, so I get pictures as well as words!!

 When I first tried to load both Google Docs and Zoho Writer, it took ages and almost put me off, but I think there might have been something wrong with the internet connection. I'm now trying again and, if everything goes to plan , I'll be able to publish this Zoho entry in my blog! Now I just have to find out how  

Week 10 - Gaming

I have a bit of an additive personality, so I tend to get addicted to any games I start playing! I used to play tetris obsessively and more recently, I've started using my sister's Nintendo DS and Wii, which are both great fun. I tried out a few games in the exercise and found them easy to use, but there's no threat to the serious gamer here!! I read the article about gaming in the library context, and I'm not at all convinced that there's any place for gaming in a library context, unless you have loads of money! To do a proper job, you'd have to get an expert to design the game and, while it might spice up the traditional library tour, would the expense be justified?

A funny description of twitter in real life!

Week 9 part 2 - Instant Messaging & Twitter

I've used IM quite a bit between Skype, MSN Chat and now Facebook and it's a great way of communicating in real time (as they say!). I have also seen how libraries can use it quite effectively to get the whole 24/7 thing going. The only problem with IM is that people want an instant answer which meant that somebody has to be on hand to answer the questions immediately, which could prove difficult in some libraries.

Twitter, on the other hand, I don't get at all. Why would people be interested in the minute details of my (or anyone elses) life? Although, people must be with it's popularity. I have to say the Common Craft video did a great job explaining it and, it did make me want to look at it again! When I was looking at Youtube last week, I found a brilliant video that shows twitter in real life, which I'm going to try to attach and it sums up twitter for me!!

Week 9 - facebook

I've managed to stay away from social networking sites up until now and I suppose this exercise was a good way to force me to have a look at them! I'm just not sure if I'm that social! I decided to try Facebook, as I knew some people on it already, and I just set up my profile and I have one friend so far!! I can see how it could be addictive for socialising (if you're in to that type of thing!) but I'm not sure if a library has a place on it. I suppose it's a marketing tool, and looking at the UCD Library site, it does have fans, but I'm not convinced of the effectiveness. Anyway, it must take a lot of time to keep it updated!

Last part of week 8 - Ebooks and Audio Books

I've been a fan of audio books since they were on audio cassette, and it's even better that they can be downloaded now. They are a great idea and have a huge place in libraries, particularly for people with sight difficulties. Now that I've found AudiobooksForFree.com, I'll have to start doing some more downloading!
Electronic books also have a place in Libraries, especially for Academic Libraries where a student might only need a couple of chapters - it will mean that the books won't go missing, or they won't be able to rip the pages out anymore - how great!! I couldn't imagine using a sony reader or laptop myself though to read a novel, it somehow takes the fun out of it.

SitePal, Podcasts and LastFM

I had a look at SitePal and, like others, decided not to give my credit card details, so didn't spend too long at it. I did send an email though but don't know if I see great value in this tool. I know that research shows that it improves takeup of products, but I would just find the voice annoying and a lot of the characters are a bit creepy! I suppose it's down to personal taste really!

Podcasts, on the other hand, I'm a huge fan of and have been downloading for quite a while. It's also a great way of catching up on any radio shows you've missed, especially if you're a Gift Grub fan! These can really be used in libraries, as the UL podcast tour and others like it show.

I suppose LastFM is a bit like the music version of LibraryThing - interest and I'll have to have a better look at it some other time!

Week 8 - YouTube

YouTube is great for getting another look at the really good or really bad acts on Britain's got talent - Stavros Flatley was one really funny example! Browsing through it for this exercise (something I've never done before) I've realised how much rubbish there is on it - people adding their own random thoughts and their own productions - again I find myself asking "why?" on this journey!! Looking at it in a library context, I've found the Common Craft videos really simple to understand and a great way to learn, and I was also at a talk that someone from UCD gave where they made some videos to explain how to use Self Issue machines, so I can see that YouTube could be useful in a library context - if you only had the time.

Week 7

As with most people, I've used wikipedia on occasion and found it very useful, and I can also see the value in using a wiki for a manual, as it's constantly changing, but I don't think I'd have the patience for one myself - wouldn't it just be easier to talk to the people involved rather than creating a wiki for a camping trip?!! Perhaps I would have got more value out of it if I had been able to make the lunchtime talk. It's over now though and that's the main thing!!

Week 6

I had heard of Del.icio.us but hadn't had a chance to take a look at it yet, so this gave me the opportunity. It does seem like a good way to keep track of websites and bookmarks, especially if you work on different computers a lot, having it all on one site does seem to make more sense. I can also see how it could be used in the library context. Technorati however, I didn't get at all. I didn't bother joining or tagging anything because after having a look at the site, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time to be honest, just another way of doing the same thing - life is just too short for it really!! Nearly caught up now - just wikis to go!!

Week 5 Task - only 2 weeks late!

Thank goodness for the catchup weeks! I finally managed to take a look at LibraryThing, which I had never used before and it was great, especially the recommendation section, which will be useful if I'm ever short of something to read! It's a great idea and it was also good that I could link it to my blog. I had used GoogleBooks before and have always found it very useful and I know that students do too, particularly those based off campus who can't always get into the library. I had a quick look at the Web 2.0 Awards page too. Looking at the award winners just proves to me how little I know about Web 2.0 and how much time I could spend looking at all the different sites. Finding the time to spend on this project has been the most difficult part so far but I will persevere until the end!!

Week 4 - my flickr experience

As you can see from my previous posts, this week I managed to upload 2 flikr photos, which I'm quite pleased about. I did this using flikr's blogging tool, which is pretty straight forward to use. I found it a bit complicated using flikr initially, especially when it came to putting photos in order, but eventually I figured out sets and that made it a bit easier. Now that I've got the hang of it, I think I'll be using it a lot more often!

The garden

My parents are doing some renovations at the moment, and this is a "before" shot, which I edited using picnik.

Uploading a Flikr photo

This is my first attempt at putting a photo on to my blog, hopefully it will work!

Week 3 and learning loads!

Both Google Reader and RSS feeds are brilliant and I really understand why people say it's addictive! It was quite easy to get into Google Reader as I already had a Google account set up from last week (thanks for the tip Karen!) and I found that the easiest way to add subscriptions was to copy and paste the web address, even though adding the Irish Times was done very simply too. I also noticed that it's possible to save feeds to your Favourites Centre in Internet Explorer, which I never even noticed had a feeds folder in it before today. I even managed to make some adjustments to my blog this week, getting the time right, adding a photo and I also listed some of the sites I've subscribed to. Just as a by the way... the Italian Foodies site is great for Italian recipes, for any of you would be Italian chefs out there!!

Better late than never!

I had a busy week last week so only now managed to set up the blog, and so starts my 23 things experience! As people have already said, it was pretty painless for the most part - aside from finding a name that wasn't already used.