Week 4 - Tastespotting

Nom nom nom! this is by far my favourite week, lol.

My chosen recipe was for Lightly Cooked Cherry Tomato and Ricotta Bruschetta
(see http://www.herbivoracious.com/2011/08/lightly-cooked-cherry-tomato-and-ricotta-bruschetta-recipe.html )

Which I chose as it just looked delicious, but healthy, which at 36 weeks pregnant is important, lol! The site is very easy to use, and I can see it will be one I'll be bookmarking for browsing at home. I love how it links you back to the original site, a great way to find some new favourite sites too.

It was nice having a 'fun' week exercise, and I think a helpful addition to the web 2.0 programme. Web 2.0 is all about information sharing, and this site is a fantastic (and yummy) example of that :)

Week 3 - FeedMyInbox

Very interesting exercise! Feed My Inbox was very easy to use, subscribe to, and to add feeds too. But the obvious huge drawback is that the free version is limited to just 5 feeds, and that these are also limited (as in I could only choose a daily feed option, rather than a digest....considering I forgot I had registered, I got quite a shock when my email was full of the feeds, lol!) I subscribed to the full 5 sites that I could in the free package, including 3 library related blogs I enjoy, one author blog I love following, and the Auckland Libraries Top 5 site (always worth checking out!)
I think anyone would find it easy to use, but I think that if our customers were after a free site, this wouldn't suit. The free version is really only suitable for perhaps someone interested in following just a few sites/blogs etc. I personally wouldn't use this again, but only because it costs - I did like the format of the emails I recieved (except for the fact I got them daily). So, a good easy to use site, but only recommendable to either those wanting a limited number of feeds, or willing to pay for a better package.

Week 2 - Picapp

Looks like this is one of those sites that has changed its purpose after the fact (thats the problem with me doing this training so belately I guess :) Last time I checked it, it didn't function the same way it the training notes said it should (I couldn't use it to find images at all) - tried again today only to find the site is 'under construction'.....so moving on to the next week :)

Week 1 : Box.net - online file storage

And here we are at round two! Feeling rather rubbish, because I just realised that I had first created a box account when I started on the web 2.0 path after returning to work, and that was back in February.....taken a wee while to get here, ahem!
Had a play with the account - and I can see it would be a really useful way to back up information - for example - if I was heading off to present something to an outreach group, a powerpoint presentation maybe, I could save it on box AS well as my USB stick to ensure that I can access it come rain or shine (or USB stick misplacement, lol). Also would be a really useful tool for sharing documents etc with others in my personal life - for example, this year I had to do a roster for our coffee group get togethers (don't ask, lol), and this would have been useful to use for it....because then the others could have more easily tweaked it and made changes from one central location rather than bouncing it around by email. I found it super simple to use, and would happily share it with customers, especially those with large sized files, or those without a USB.
I played with uploading some documents, and saved a blog appropriate pic to a folder for sharing - you can check it out here:
http://www.box.net/shared/fa29egcy7kvnd1muxc0s

Web 2.0 - Round one sum up

Another round of very interesting exercises, websites and technologies! My personal favourites were of course facebook and twitter - but my husband will verify I am a social networking nut (he just shakes his head over it, lol), and I really love how the libraries have a presence there now, its fantastic!
Zamzar has come in handy several times already, most of the time its been perfect for mine or the patrons use, once or twice it wasn't quite right, but gets easier to use with practise.
The wide range of music sites were fantastic! still haven't had a chance to play with these at home, but i'll get there :)
Lastly, haven't used blogger since the very first time we 2.0'd - and it is as easy to use as I remember (if not a little more user friendly now, looks like some minor tweaks have simplified it a little.

Looking forward to round two!
Comicbookgal :)

Week 6 : Facebook - playing nicely with others

I'm pretty sure most of my family and friends will tell you I am a facebook addict, lol. Didn't have to worry about starting an account (mine is well used), or even 'liking' the Manukau or Auckland library pages - already done and dusted (and commented on regularly:)
Facebook is a fantastic tool for staying in touch with family and friends - I have siblings all around the country, and friends overseas, and its the best way to keep in touch, share news, photos and the latest hilarious youtube vid we have found. It's also a great way to feel connected (which when you are at home with a toddler can be THE BEST THING EVER!)
As a library tool - facebook is a great way to reach our customers and let them know about what we are up too, what new things are happening, etc etc - I love seeing the new top 5 lists being advertised amongst other things. I think that how easy Facebook is to use depends on how much you use it - I think its the easiest thing ever, but people new to it often struggle. (of course, they also like to keep changing it, which can be a pain in the butt!) I would definitely promote our library page(s) to customers - I think we don't overwhelm with content, its a great mix of informative and fun. Facebook can be a real one-stop-shop for social networking, so its great that we can tap into it and get libraries out there with a great positive online presence.

Week 5 : Music files and mp3s

I had a nice play with a few of the sites listed for the activity, quite a few were blocked for access at work (most likely because I am doing this so far after the fact :)
I found lots of sites that I am going to have a further play with at home, I loved http://www.itsfreedownloads.com/ and will be bookmarking this at home to check weekly (yay for free downloads!) The Amazon site is brilliant and very comprehensive, and I loved the cheap 69c (US) singles downloads - but this needs testing at home, because a few months ago I tried to use Amazon to download a CD for my grandmother, and I was blocked from doing it as I was from overseas, and the download was only for the US....frustrating! Otherwise it is very easy to search, explore and get a taste of tracks.
The site I usually use for downloading my music at home is http://www.digirama.co.nz/ and while it is not free, its a fantastic site for NZ, and has weekly album specials with whole albums for just $9, usually quite recent ones too :) I also love that you can search this by the NZ music charts, and download those too.
I think that most of these sites would be fine for customers with a bit of know how, but for anyone less than confident with the web, music downloading can be a struggle, as the different formats/and download processes can vary so much.
Thanks for the big list of sites to check out at home!!!

Week 4 - books and social networking - Goodreads

I joined up to goodreads within the last round of web 2.0 training, but realised when I got to this exercise that I haven't gone back to it once.....quite possibly because since having my little man I have a bit less time to a) read and b) social network, so this one went by the wayside.

I completed the tour, and can see that it is a great site, with lots of fun features to participate in - from online book discussion groups you can belong to, to sharing recommended reads with friends. This would be a very useful tool for our avid reader customers - those looking for more great books / authors to read, those wanting to share their love of reading. I think its best suited to those with a little time to spend on it, which is probably true of any social networking tool. Possibly the only reason I don't use it more, is because I have only one 'friend' on it, I think the more people sharing, the more fun and useful it would be. As staff, its a really useful tool for potential book lists, for author/book information, for recommended reads for patrons and so on - its just having the time to explore and use it.

Week three - All a Twitter!

Been a while since I have been able to work on this, but I have been busily learning about our wonderful new E-Audiobooks and E-books in the interim, exciting stuff to be sure....makes me want an I-Pad even more, lol! Meanwhile, at home I began lurking in my Twitter account once more (comicbookgal), vicariously enjoying the celebrity gossip first hand (love how twitter makes my favourite authors and celebs feel like besties, LOL!) I even began tweeting a little here and there too :) The most fabulous thing is seeing that a great wee network is being built for librarians and professionalism, really nice to discover it and see all the amazing things happening around the world (and sadly, the less amazing and frankly rather distressing things that are happening in libraries overseas...boo hoo!) I will be continuing to twitter and tweet for sure...especially now I have deleted some of my overwordy and slightly boring celeb tweeters (sorry Kevin Smith, love your movies...but not a hockey fan :) Is it easy to use? I think so - my account is pretty basic, I just access it via my PC, I don't have it running through my phone...works ok for me though :) Would customers find it simple? Again, I think so.....was talking to someone about it the other day, and they said they liked it much better than facebook, because it was all just simple statuses, without any of the other guff (personally, I like the other guff, but each to their own :) Twitter is a fantastic tool for reaching our tweeting customers - we can tell them all about upcoming events as they are about to happen, promote website updates and the like, its such a great way to make libraries accessible and raise our profile.

Week 2 : Zamzar - converting file formats

This exercise featured http://zamzar.com/ which is a fantastically useful site that I wish I had known about already :)
It is a fairly simple site to use, and I think customers would also find it so (although I would still expect staff to help guide a first time user through how to use it).
We can definitely use this on both staff and learn.net pcs, as it doesn't require software to be downloaded...fantastic! I did have to convert two documents as the first didn't work, but I suspect it may have had difficulty with it as it was a mix of Word/excel rather than just a word.doc.
I would very much recommend this site to customers (and anticipate using it myself in the future), as there have been many a time I have wanted to convert something to PDF, and this was one very easy way to do it.
The only downside I could see with recommending it to customers is that it is not instant and they do have to wait for their file conversion....but I think the wait is worth being able to open a file you cannot!
Can't wait to play with this at home to test out the ability to convert PDF into word because that would be soooo handy!

Week 1 : Blogger

My web 2.0 expectations for round two - to explore more interesting 2.0 technologies and to have fun doing it! We are so lucky to get to do this as a part of our jobs, so I have no fears....let the playing and learning commence! How can libraries use blogs? As a tool to stay in touch with their community, particularly those online...staff could share favourite book reviews posted on the website - promote local events happening in both the library or their local community - the possibilities go on and on! blogs could also really useful for certain programmes - for example there could be a Summer Reading Programme blog to keep all the summer readers up with the play about how the programme was going, and what events were coming up.

We're back baby!

Back at work that is......after a one year break looking after the new little person in our household. And how saddened I was to find out that I had missed out on some most awesome Web 2.0 training in my absence (thats what you get for taking a year off I guess).
So feeling rather deprived...I wrote into my PDR for this year that I NEEDED to do this training and be up with the Web 2.0 play, so Eating kittens for breakfast lives once more...hurrah!!

Official post 21, Thing 23....my learning journey

The end is here!

Wow, this has been an excellent programme, and I really learnt so much along the way. I've just completed my survey, where I mentioned that I really surprised myself. I thought I was pretty savvy when it came to Web 2.0, but there was so much I didn't know about.

Highlights would have to be the fun stuff (surprise surprise!), generators are AWESOME! I had so much fun with these, and have continued to do so at home. (I'm constantly looking at photos I have taken with a LOLcat eye, how can I caption that?)
It was also really nice to pick up lots of new facebook friends :) I was already a facebook addict as it was...lol.

The most challenging thing to get my head around was RSS (I know, I know, we WERE warned). But once I did, it was totally worth it, a great way to keep up with all the blogs I like to read etc etc. The wiki topic was also a bit of a yawn, but they really are a useful source of info, and I know I use Wikipedia all the time at home.

I'd like to say thanks to our fabulous Manager (yes you!) for booking in some time for us to work on our blogs, without those two half days, I'd never have got here - doing this when working one day a week was pretty daunting at times, lucky there were so many fun things I didn't mind doing at home :)

I'm looking forward to taking some time now to reflect on everything, and play some more - now that I'm done theres time to explore a little further without feeling guilty for not getting on with finishing my 'things'.

I think I may keep on adding the odd post here, dunno if anyone at all is reading this, but I wanna make some more generator goodies, and this is as good a place as any to share em :)

Over and out from comicbookgal

Official post 20 - thing 22 E-books

Wow, this was a really enlightening 'thing' for me, I had no idea what was out there in the way of E-books. Personally, I prefer to have a real book in front of me, but my husband is a real fan of non-fiction e-books, and even has some saved to his phone to read in deseperate times of need.

I looked at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page where you can access free e-books, and found that you can get many 'classic' titles and authors, such as Jane Austen, and my fav author as a child L.M Montgomery (and her Anne series). I realised this is a great resource for us to promote to our customers, and in particular to students studying. Just last week I had a girl looking for Pride and Prejudice, and our copy was out (and she of course wanted it yesterday). If I had realised then, I could have shown her this free e-book version! So, really great for classics, but not so much for more modern or popular stuff, or for NZ authors either.

I then explored http://www.ebooks.com/ and was amazed at the HUGE range of e-books for sale there, and they really did have heaps and heaps of great authors (lots of my favs anyhow) and really recent new titles. Again, not really any NZ authors, but a great overseas range for sure. I thought this might be something I could recommend to my sister, as she lives in a small town down south, and sometimes has to buy out of town - this could be a great way to access the latest Dean Koontz for instance. (though I suspect like me, shes a fan of real books...not sure, have to ask her :)

Lastly I read up on amazon's kindle - I have heard lots about them before, but if anything this just confirmed for me that theres nothing like a real book. Yes, its really convenient to have 200 on hand at any one time, but at least you don't have to worry about batteries running out, or ongoing charges for subsciption.

hmmm, all very interesting stuff, and it will be scary to see where we are on this subject in 10 years time.........

One for fun

I told my husband that I had to embed a Youtube video today, and he was all disappointed that I didn't pick this one. I wanted to use this one, but couldn't remember what it was called - another great reason to use Youtube, cute animal vids :)

Official post 19, thing 21 - Podcasts

Well, I knew about podcasts before, I just never thought there would be very much that would interest me enought to subscribe to one. However, when I explored the podcasts listed at http://podcastalley.com/ I discovered http://www.comixtreme.com/ which has cool regular podcasts,with reviews of the latest comics and a bunch of cool sci-fi and tv shows. Turns out its super easy to add the rss feed for this to my bloglines, so thats all done and tested and indeedy, I can now listen to the cool geekdom to my hearts content :)

I should mention that I have once before subscribed to a series of podcasts on an American book publishing site (just can't remember which one, started with B and wasn't Borders). They were done by author Dean Koontz, and they were pretty cool, he answered fan questions via podcast, and then a real community formed commenting on his casts. He also used podcasting to promote a recent Odd Thomas title, he had a cool 4 part mini movie series that kind of acted as a trailer for the book, very cool stuff....Mr Koontz is well good at web 2.0 :)

Official post 18, thing 20 - Youtube

Ahhh, Youtube - it just doesn't get any better. I already use this in a myriad of ways at home currently. I check out the latest music vids - much quicker than waiting to see them on tv. Before the Twilight movie actually came out, all us fans of the books scoured Youtube obessively for news and clips from the movie,(and it turns out we should have had a little faith - we were all not so keen on the Edward to be, and he ended up being pretty fabulous!)
I think its an amazing tool for making the world more of a shared community - my sister put me on to this cool Estonian singer called Kerli after catching her video on Youtube.

For your enjoyment I have embedded a trailer for the hilarious on-line series Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. You can actually watch most of the songs from this on youtube as well (I recommend Freeze Ray, Laundry Day, A Mans gotta do and On the rise) This was an online series made when the writers strike happened last year, by the very clever Joss Whedon (buffy, firefly etc etc) and stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.

Official post 17, thing 19 - online productivity tools

Would you believe this is the 2nd time I'm typing this 'thing' up, just hit the wrong key and wiped everything, and sadly my last draft save seems to be blank, grrr!

Anyways, I have been a long time coming with this post, as I tried to access the last few 'things' at work to complete my web 2.0 training, and they had been blocked, and usually when I've been free to do it, all the learn.nets have been busy too, so here I am at home finally finishing up. I have also taken a wee while, cause every time I start exploring the tools from the site, I start playing, and then I haven't been happy with a single result to post about. So I've decided to talk about the tools I have explored, otherwise I may never get through this thing!

Firstly, from the Fun Stuff category, I checked out HairMixer, where you can upload a photo of yourself and try on celebrity hair styles. After much playing and testing, I was horrified at ALL the results - it would seem that I am not meant for a celebrity hairdo, so much so that I refuse to show you my result here...it was just scary!

Next I thought Galaxiki sounded kinda cool (from the Games and entertainment section - well, I am doing this at home in my own time now...tee hee) From the blurb in the awards, I thought I was exploring some sort of cool Sci-fi/fantasy on-line world...perhaps about books/games/movies/tv - turns out its an ACTUAL galaxy, where you can register and have your own star in a solar system. Whilst I am very much admittedly a geek, this was way way beyond me! (but big ups to all those in the Galaxiki community!)

Lastly I went to Last.FM from the music category. This was pretty cool - you can register and make a list of your favourite artists, and then the site recommends other artists you might like. This is something I'm coming back to explore in full, I kept getting waylaid looking for new stuff from older favourite bands. You can also listen to 'channels' based on a favourite artist, eg, I had Lily Allen, and I could listen to a Lily channel, which played her music, but also other artists similar to her like Kate Nash.

None of these are particularly relevant in a library setting, but many of the other tools on the awards list that we have already explored could be (google.docs, PBwikis, bloglines and so on) I just wanted to look at some new stuff this thing round.

FOOTNOTE...

I can now say I have found an excellent use for google.docs - another staff member and myself were a part of the step challenge late last year, and we wanted to find a way to keep it going. So I have made us a spreadsheet in google.docs that we can both access from home. Its set up so we can each enter our steps, and then they translate into a graph that shows our progress against each other - the competition keeps us motivated...YAY!

Official Post 16 - Thing 18 - Google docs

I tried to use Zoho writer, but sadly this is now blocked on all the staff and learn.net pcs - odd! So I used my google account to access google.docs instead. I found this really really easy to use, and created a wee powerpoint type presentation which I could then publish - you should be able to access this here:



I found google.docs very easy to use, particularly if you are used to other word processing programmes. I can see that it would be really useful for sharing documents with others, or creating a 'shared' document which could be edited by multiple people - how handy for a shared presentation!

Official Post 15 - Thing 17 - Social networking

YAY, this is so my favourite bit of web 2.0 :) Social networking is not very new to me, been on Bebo and Facebook for a while. Was on Bebo first, as my younger brother was on, and MADE me join to be his friend. I found Bebo was a great way to get in contact with lots of my friends from school, and I still keep in touch with heaps of them thru Bebo. I then got an invite to Facebook by one of my sisters (who is hardly ever on it I might add!), and when I joined, I discovered that lots and lots of our friends were on Facebook, and so its a great way to keep up with all our current friends (and family too). I get asked which I prefer, and for me Facebook is king, but lots of people like Bebo better cause its more colourful. I like Facebook because I find it has more of a community feel to me, might be cause I have more friends on it, not sure....lol! I also like that I can chat to friends that are online at the same time as me via Facebook, I've never been an instant messenger person, so this is the closest I get. I have looked at myspace as well, but really, its bad enough trying to keep up with my Facebook and Bebo accounts, let alone starting another one....arrgghh! But, social networking is great on so many levels, for example, went to a party recently, and was able to instantly share the pics with all my friends and their friends, yay!

Want to come be my friend on either Bebo or Facebook? You can look me up using my name (yes, time to come clean....looking for Kelly Mucalo will find me for sure, not too many Kelly Mucalo's out there apparently, just the one so it seems, yay! unique!)
You have to be my friend to view my profiles, but I'm always happy to have new friends :) See you online!