Not By Its Cover

27 out of 27

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:05:00 +0000

What did you learn?
How has 27 Things changed my behavior? I'm not afraid to post online, although it still takes a bit to get me to interact with others. I'm using Delicious to track bookmarks. I'm exploring the new SPL site more. And, I'm listening to podcasts every day.

What did you like?
I liked having structure with numbered tasks, expectations, and incentive for completion. And, I liked having it self-paced, with the freedom to explore as in-depth as necessary.

What was missing?

Emphasis on socializing. Twitter should have been one of the early tasks so that people could get used to it and benefit with direct connection with other participants, instead of waiting for occasional comments.
Require comments on other's blogs. For me, the hurdle isn't navigating around the Web and learning about products and services, it's interacting with other people and offering part of myself. But, I love to follow the rules. Commenting on two other blogs every week would have helped make sure that I interact, instead of just staying within my comfort zone and lurking. (I read everything, I drafted several comments, but I think I was only successful in posting 2 or 3 comments--even though I knew it would be good for me.
Tighten the focus of the tasks. Part of 2.0 isn't just learning what products are out there--there will always be new ones--but learning what possibilities exist and finding avenues to use so that you're alerted when new things come up.
I estimate that each Thing took me about 3 hours (read the task, explore the discovery resources in-depth, mull over the results, formulate a 'take' on the issue, post to the blog). With several tasks a week, many times the only reason I didn't fall behind is because I was already familiar with some of the content. This type of time commitment might not be possible for others.
Update Discovery Resource links. For some of the Things, there were articles and information dated from 2 years ago. In at least one case, the material was from 5 years ago. It's more than just the date though, the content was no longer relevant. It would have been better to leave it out, or write some new content (even three sentences) to take its place.

Should we do this again?
Yes, this was great! I would also love to subscribe to a feed, or Twitter, or blog that would provide a tip, or discovery resource, or interesting link each week.

Thingfo

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:05:00 +0000

The Thingfo I created (now in the right column) searches for "saclibrary" across many sites and returns results from Twitter, Delicious, YouTube, and more.

I'm not sure I'd use it as a widget, however. It's interesting as a search, but you get the good with the bad. I don't feel a need to compile all my content in one place (else, I'd probably pull feeds and write my own parser to customize the output). I'll have to ponder possible applications some more.

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:31:00 +0000

For 27Things, I joined Twitter and posted my first tweet on Apr. 19.

It has been an interesting experiment. Much like this blog, I worried about having an 'everyone' audience, what I would write about, if I could be interesting, what if I had a typo, what if I linked to the wrong place. But now I really kind of like it, even with my mistakes, and think I might move over to a official 'personal' account in the next few weeks.

You can see 'what I'm doing' at www.twitter.com/NotByItsCover

Library 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:12:00 +0000

What does Library 2.0 mean to me?

If the key to Web 2.0 is that it is based on socializing, on personal interactions with people, then Library 2.0 is the relationship between patron and library staff, and P2P (patron to patron).

Mango

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +0000

I participated in one lesson for Mandarin.
It went fairly well. The repetition helped me remember until the end of the lesson, and even now (weeks later) I retain a little bit.
But, without a live person to practice with, I'm sure my pronunciation is off.
It's a great resource. Although, why not offer Cantonese, too?
I may try this service again, with other languages. I also noticed, during the other Thing, that there are podcasts for language lessons. That might be interesting, too.

ETA: I was supposed to complete three lessons?? Each Thing seems to take me an average of 3 hours. I thought I had gotten away with something when this one was shy of 2... ;) But, I think I learned enough about the service with just one lesson. I'm going to move on to the next Thing.

Scavenger Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:26:00 +0000

I love scavenger hunts!

Here are my results:

I searched for "twilight meyer" from the "find in catalog" field from the home page (enter key/click one), chose the "request it" link (click two), and entered my barcode and pin and selected "login" (click three).
I found a link to a Forbes article about money (I didn't find it by browsing through the main navigation--Services:Book Bulletin:Featured:MoneySmart--it was only after giving up that I found a direct link from the home page).
I found a health research aid under Services:Research Guides: Health
I found a link to the city of Citrus Height's employment page from Community: Jobs

While I was on the Web site, I signed up for the summer reading program. I get to fill in one of the spots for activity #12, "Visit the library Web site."

Downloadable audio books

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:45:00 +0000

I've been using SPL's Overdrive for a while.

I download them to my mp3 player and listen while I (attempt) to spin yarn.

It works out fairly well, but often the CD will come in as hold before the online version is available to check out.

For this Thing, I tried to download Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler, but it was already checked out.

I also browsed the new system, but haven't had a chance to try checking anything out.

Podcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Usually I don't listen to podcasts due to multitasking. If I really need to concentrate on something, I can listen to music that I've heard before and it fades into the background. But talking that's new to me? I either miss what's being said, or don't complete my task properly.

I get the feed from KnitPicks (Kelley Petkun), but don't usually tune in on the computer. So, today I'll try downloading some more radio-like items to the iPod and see if I can run errands and come back with the groceries that were on the list.

The potential playlist includes: "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" and "Car Talk" from NPR, and Adam Carolla.

If this works, I might be able to keep up with one or two a week, but I don't know if I'll ever get to one a day.

I also saw some Old Time Radio titles, but it is probably easier to just load full series and listen to them at leisure than wait for each installment?

YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:51:00 +0000

I found a lot of interesting new things on YouTube:

Full version of Corman's Little Shop of Horrors

Reviews of mascara

An antique sock knitting machine

And, some things I didn't need to see

The Kristin Andreassen song is one that makes me smile. The video reveals the hand-clapping game.

The library could use YouTube to promote and recap events. The visual could help create a memory connection for patrons. Watching a 30-second video could prompt them to seek out the date and time--instead of reading a flyer as they walk past or to take and read later--and to share with other interested parties.

Pipes!

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:03:00 +0000

I found the Pipes site through the 2.0 awards list.

One can use it to combine and customize feeds and other online data. The visual interface makes experimentation and discovery immediate.

My goal was to try to combine several "new" or "coming soon" book lists with the SPL feed about what has been recently added to the catalog, but wasn't successful in the time committed so far.

I was able, however, to create one large feed out different twitter accounts that I follow. Some that I follow "officially" through the account I set up for 27 Things, and some that I follow "silently" through GoogleReader. This new feed means there's only one link to check, and it shows all of the replies that are often hidden.

Check it out: SPL-Twitter RSS Feed

Online docs

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:08:00 +0000

For this assignment I tried out both doc features.

With Google Docs, I'm sharing a spreadsheet to help plan a camping trip (like the earlier wiki example). It's working out well to make changes, and I like be able to update while I'm away from my home computer.

I'm writing this blog post in Zoho, and can already see many possibilities. The interface is familiar right away, and I can see how easy it will be to use.

Wiki

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Learning about wiki was quick and easy.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

A wiki is as strong as its contributions. Often, this means that it is open to everyone, and that a large number of people are editing and using the information--keeping it valid and accurate.

I have seen the circ binder on SPL@ recently and enjoyed the few pages that I tried. I look forward to exploring it more in-depth the next time I sub.

Technorati

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:31:00 +0000

The Technorati Web site was down for a lot of this week while it was moving its servers.

I did find an interesting article from it about mounting cameras (temporarily) on Galapagos tortoises from www.msnbc.msn.com.

The concept of "authority" was interesting. Crowd-sourcing to know when something is relevant or valid (a big variable on the Internet)? But, I didn't get to explore it very far due to down time and site errors.

del.icio.us

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:50:00 +0000

I enjoyed watching the Otter tutorial video, but I didn't read the us.ef.ul article (dated 2004!). I found some good tips from skimming the habits list: bookmark it all, add tons of tags, watch what others post.

From visiting delicious (it's really just one word now?), I found two articles that I wanted to read on the currently popular list. And, just now, looking again I found a tag that I wanted to follow. I can see how instead of searching the entire Web for a specific phrase, that it will also be beneficial to browse related tags to find relevant (and tested) information.

I have an old account from 2007 when I wanted to make sure that my bookmarks were backed up and I could access them from multiple computers. But, I haven't kept up with it.

This re-introduction has inspired me to try again with a new criteria. Currently, I wade through browser history or duplicate Web searches to find sites again, only bookmarking something that I visit on a daily or weekly basis. Now, I'm going tag them all!

LibraryThing

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:36:00 +0000

I created a LibraryThing account and added my Daniel Pinkwater books to it (widget in right column).

I haven't quite figured out how I can best use this site. The idea of having a catalog of my books is very tempting. Especially by ISBN number (there are some books of which I have multiple editions). But, the limit of 200 books for a free account feels... limiting. If I take the time to add that many, I would find out if I'm using it enough--and the lifetime membership is reasonable.

I have been using GoodReads to track what I'm reading and want to read, although not what I own. Maybe there is a way to combine the two?

Reflection is the new drop shadow

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I found Wet Floor Maker through MakeUseOf. It creates a floor reflection of the image you upload.

I recognized this as a recent image trend, but I didn't know how really 2.0 this was until I read the related wiki page, "Wet floor effect is a graphic effects technique popular in conjunction Web 2.0 style pages, particularly in logos."

(The original photo was taken at Griffith Observatory.)

+75

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:00:00 +0000

I don't want to miss all of the great information being posted as part of the 27 Things project. So, I subscribed to all of the participant blogs.

All that mouse clicking took almost 15 minutes, but you can do it in less.

If you're using Google Reader (and it sounds like you are), download this OPML file to add all of them at once.

Directions:
1. Save the file to your computer
2. From Google Reader, go to your "Settings" page (link is in the upper-right, next to your username)
3. Open the last tab, "Import/Export"
4. Browse to where you saved the file, click "upload"
5. Go back to Google Reader and find all 75 subscriptions in a folder called "SPL - 27 Things"

27Things-subscriptions.xml

66 Subscriptions!

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:52:00 +0000

For Thing 9 I did go in and add a few new subscriptions—new mysteries, sci-fi, and my account from SPL. Here's how the rest break down:

22 about work (including Google Alerts, feeds that we maintain, sites about social media and 6 twitter)

14 about knitting (including Stephanie Pearl-McPhee)

4 about books (including Unshelved and Neil Gaiman)

8 about home and misc (including Fluevog on twitter)

12 about SPL

The feed from My Account at SPL let me know when a hold was ready for pick up—several hours before the e-mail notification. I can see how this will quickly become a must-have on my feed list.

I would love to learn more about how the new books feed works.

Newsreader

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:18:00 +0000

I've had Bloglines and Google Reader set up for a while, now. (I don't remember why I left Bloglines, but it wasn't meeting my needs.)

While I have been using Google Reader, I would only look up how to do when the need arose--I have too many subscriptions, how do I make folders, etc.

For this thing, I took the time to read the help file and discovered tags. I now have individual messages tagged so that I can go back and take action on them, and learned how to share them with public pages, and add notes.

Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:38:00 +0000

MakeUseOf

While I didn't get very far exploring some of the discovery resources for this task, I have been reading MakeUseOf for some time. It takes a bit to sort through, but once in a while, and by searching, it turns up some gems.

I found Renamer that way. Simple, easy, renames the files based on any parameters and configuration you can think of. Wonderful. I use it almost daily.

I also discovered Filemail through MakeUseOf. For when you need to send a file too large for e-mail but you—or the recipient—don't have access to FTP.

MakeUseOf is great because the programs featured are freeware, posts cover a wide range of platforms (win, mac, linux) and skill levels (beginning to advanced), and the contributors are from all walks of life.

Wow. I didn't realize that I'm a fan.

Flickr Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:47:00 +0000

hockney1976731

I used the Hockneyizer from BigHugeLabs to alter this photo. It's a photo of the ocean because the water reminds me of Hockney.

Discover Flickr

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:23:00 +0000

pajaro...
Originally uploaded by 1030sw

Here's a photo of Antartica. Would be great for a vacation...

I learned a lot about Flickr for this task. I was able to set all of my photos to the Commons license for attribution only, learned that "no rights reserved" is not currently an option, and used the Explore tab to browse popular tags and recently uploaded images.

Habits are habit-forming

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:57:00 +0000

The easiest of the 7.5 habits for me is #3, to view problems as challenges. Everything has a solution and a way to get there that will improve us along the way.

The hardest is #7.5, to play. While I can recognize the importance of recreation to recharging creativity and energy, I still often treat it as a reward for work completed. And work is never finished.

27 things from an online antisocial

noreply@blogger.com (Renee) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:25:00 +0000

This is my attempt to participate in SPL's 27 Things challenge.

This will be a good course for me, because although I have worked in the Web industry for 10+ years, I have limited my personal exposure online. The audience is potentially everyone; how could I create and maintain a persona that could interact with any of them? What characteristics of myself would I not mind sharing with all of them? All of you? This process will help us find out.