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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

WEEK ELEVEN

THAT'S A WRAP!!

It's been a slice! I was able to learn a few new things and improve on my current skills. Thanks for the great projects! Almost a little down it's over ; (

Feedback: nice selection of topics, easy instructions,

Suggestions: Keep up the good work!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

WEEK TEN

TWITTER


Launched in 2008 at SXSW Interactive Festival, the TWITTER craze has increased ten fold to events, government, personal use, and yes even libraries. Basically anyone who wants to express anything about anything can be on this thing. The bonus is you can pick and choose quite easily who to follow and vise versa. It is also an interesting way to have open public dialogue. The trick is to learn post lingo to best promote, communicate, and show your savvy.  

1) know your lists - who are you? As in what is your username and how can people search for you

2) know your audience - where are you? find your city code while your at it..

3) know your prefix - that is properly use the # option and @

4) know your medium - try your best to follow twittetiquette. There are countless articles on this all over the interweb, but here are my fav's:

- Re-tweet responsibly. The RT option can be a valuable way to support and share interests but remember that these are not your tweets, you are just passing the message, so do it with respect and cognisant.



 - @messages can be overwhelming for some of your followers if done too often. If you find yourself in @ mania, try a DM.

- keep it fun! and Try not to be a twit.

Here is an article that I found amusing although not really helpful but anyways: TWIT 
  

My favourite twitterers are: #sledislandfilm, #sledisland, #calgaryweather, #jburman

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

WEEK NINE

Library Thing

Absolutely LOVE it! You can even search out a REAL Library in your own town, location under 'local'. What a fantastic way to connect with other readers and discuss books in a public setting. Also great to find out new reads. I really enjoy that I can even subscribe to an RSS feed of what I am reading or discussing to my blog. Fantastic!! Easy to sign up and interesting forum.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

WEEK EIGHT

Online Productivity Tools

After trying both GoogleDocs and GoogleCalander, I am fairly certain I am a huge google fan. 30 boxes is interesting, but my two personal favs are Remember the Milk and Doodle. Doodle is actually the best thing I have seen for making appointments with a large group of people.

Q: Do you see yourself using these tools or will you stick to more traditional methods. If you were to use one of these tools regularly, which would it be and why?

A: Yes I think I would use these tools regularly for events and external event communications. I do find though, to do lists still serve me best with pen and paper or an ical.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

WEEK SEVEN

YOU TUBE and FLICKR
I have added a Flickr gadget to my blog, check it out on the left hand side!! It lets me post all my fav. pics that used to be (an will remain for a brief period) at the bottom of this blog. I also have added a YouTube Feed Gadget at the bottom of the page along with a fav. you tube video. Setting up both of these accounts was simple. The YouTube account let's you change the design of the page as well, which I enjoy; As well as finding videos from other accounts, I can upload my own and share them on social media sites like Facebook, embedding them in actual post.  I have found Flikr's content very useful for images and art history during my undergrad studies. Although the image quality on Youtube is not always the greatest, it can an interesting way to share information, ideas, and independent film.

WEEK SIX

RSS FEED...
I signed up for 'Bloglines' as suggested but honestly didn't find it too exciting. It seems like an interesting place to maybe seek out other blogs, subscribe to regular feeds, or have them emailed to me. You can do the same sort of thing on iGoogle as well. What I do find exciting about RSS Feeds is the ability to post them on a blog/website or allow others to subscribe to your blog via a 'gadget'. These can be found by clicking on 'add gadget' under 'layout'. I placed this above my profile section on the left hand side. I have also subscribed to a feed I enjoy and inserted the feed on my blog through the same process, it just required the feed ulr, which is available on the site I was interested in or can be searched for using sites like 'Bloglines'. This feed can be placed anywhere on your blog using the Blogger Layout actions. So, yes I find the feed interesting and a plausible way to stay upto date on this feed, as well as sharing it with others. I have placed mine at the top of my site for this week, but will probably move it to the bottom of my posts for aesthetics next week. - jb

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

WEEK FIVE

IT IS A GOOGLE UNIVERSE ...    

I have often used the Google 'Books' applications for academic studies and have found it very useful to find specific sections of information in a larger text. I often think it should be called 'Library' as it has publications that are occasionally difficult to find or inaccessible. There could be features like 'Google Librarian'. It is an easy to use app, and I am all for it! The storage and preservation of material is constantly being done by libraries through digitization. Truly, there are so many books available and just not enough places to put them. Furthermore, easy access to knowledge should be encouraged not litigated. Since when did knowledge become only for those who can afford to purchase the book, as opposed to those who are solely interested. Does this mean the end of libraries? I definitely think not. The comfort, tangibility, and mandate of lending libraries are encouraged through free information and the love of a real book. It would be great if Google Books had a 'find at your local library' option. Don't ya think?

So to answer the questions: I like it the idea of it and have found it useful, I think it could encourage free information even further by connecting people with local resources, as opposed to saying things like 'instead of finding it at your local library'--this I do not like or encouraging purchasing vs. public access, I would recommend it to fellow students.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

WEEK FOUR

FACEBOOK...                     

For myself, Facebook is mostly useful. As an event planner, audience surveys have shown that event goers hear about events more often via socialmedia sites like Facebook rather than radio, print, or even word of mouth. This makes it a very useful resource for marketing and spreading the word on grassroots sort of movements. Alternately, it is a medium that can be flooded by events, invites, and 'faux' supporters who are not interested in supporting outside of Facebook. That said, it has effectively changed communication for Cultural Industries and other industries alike allowing different groups to connect more pubilically than without, just another facet of the revolutionary internet.
My Favourite Facebook Groups:



Wednesday, March 31, 2010

WEEK THREE

WIKIPEDIA
















I found the Wikipedia project fairly easy and rewarding. It is easy to edit and add new information. I was not comfortable editing information that I had no relation to or did not orginate, unless I was positive the information I would be contributing was correct.

I attempted to establish a page but two things concerned me. Firstly, there is no way to completely delete a page once it has been published, according to the information provided by Wikipedia, it is kept for archiving purposes. Secondly, although it seemed simple enough to start a page under a username, I did not find the information clear enough on how to create subsequent pages on topics not titled with a personal username. This was confusing until I found the 'Article Wizard'. This allows one to create a wikipedia article without being a registered user. Once I began, following and answering the guiding questions as I went, it was straightforward. Once I tried to preview my article, a notification came up that told me my article would be first reviewed before it would be posted and that it could take hours, and even days before that would happen. Now I just wait.


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People and Things on Wikipedia/Best of Wikipedia:
Julia Child
Margaret MacDonald
Gustave Klimt
Audrey Hepburn
Chocolate Cake
Radio
Public Space
Fountain
Textile
Linen
Bibliophilia
Jaywakling

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

WEEK TWO

Delicious...

I am fairly comfortable using Best Websites after this experience. Although I feel comfortable using this resource, I do feel it is a touch inaccessible and overwhelming for customers. Also, because it is run off of an external resource connected to a larger database, I think it limits the credibility of the resource for users who are not able to distinguish between a CPL site and the larger database. In this regard, a closed database of bundles would be superior as a credible resource. Such is the pitfall of interactive and open databases.
Here are some alternatives to Delicious that are, in my opinion much more reliable in presentation and accessibility:
No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library. - Samuel Johnson



Monday, March 22, 2010

WEEK ONE

What do I want to learn?

Well, if someone could teach me how to an interactive mash-up on a blog, that would be pretty cool.