Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thing #4: Flickr


I explored Flickr, searched by keyword (tags), watched the video, and set up a Flickr account. I had the photo from my 20th anniversary saved on my computer already, so it was easy to retrieve and save to Flickr and really easy to add to this entry.
I like the searchability of Flickr for photos of all types. My favorite tag was "library cats" and I'll use one of those photos in a future blog entry. The "add a note" application with mousing-over for details, like book titles, gives me lots of ideas.
One thing I haven't figured out in Flickr is how to add one more tag to a picture that I previously loaded and tagged. I hope to find that answer as I do Thing 5.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thing 3 - RSS

My Bloglines account is set up with 20 feeds added. I installed "Sub with Bloglines" to more easily add feeds. Most of my feeds are library-related but another one is from our parent company with corporate and product announcements. I added Boing Boing for its randomness and BBC for a newsfeed. I'm still reviewing 23 Things blogs for one to add.

The concept of RSS feeds is great...if I choose to go to Bloglines and read them. It seems, though, that unless you're compelled to read someone's post or are chasing a hot topic, you may not bother with your feeds for days or weeks.

Newsfeeds are everywhere - our intranet (work) main page, on displays in the hallways around the building, my home computer browser home page, every public area including airports...it's hard not to know, at least, some piece of news. So, my Bloglines newsfeed may most often be used for recall or more detail of recent stories from BBC.

bweldon

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Thing #2

I've been reading Library/Web 2.0 articles for five days. My mind-set is aching.

Can I adapt, play, socialize, create, share myself, learn, implement, trend-spot and still be me? The challenges are daunting, yet enticing. I can feel myself going in one toe at a time.

My manager (an engineer) is very excited about this 23 Things program. In a recent meeting he gave me (a solo librarian) the ultimate compliment (no, sadly, not $$$$) for the manner in which I support this corporate library's users. However, he also threw out the ultimate challenge - consider the unserved. He's already at Library 2.0 and wants me there, too!

I'll have to compress my work day to fit in all the new skill-sets, because I still love my evenings - away from a computer as much as possible.

bweldon

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Thing 1 Done

Accomplished my blog set-up and avatar creation on Friday 2/1 - just in time to rush out for the weekend. Both tasks were new for me - never cared to be tied to a blog and never thought I'd enjoy creating a cartoon character of myself.

I found the blog fairly easy to set up and the avatar just plain fun to create. I kept thinking, "Wow, it worked!" Yes, I had to try out every single hair style, outfit, and locale! I might be able to show my granddaughter a thing or two...Webkinz, indeed!

bweldon