Week 11: Twitter

I have looked at Twitter several times in the past and haven't signed up yet. It's really a time thing. I had a look at the various CPL tweets, and see it as a great way to quickly advertise events, or promote services. I also found another user from CPL just called CalgaryLibrary. It is fun to follow, as this tweeter (3rd floor perhaps?) tells us about programs happening at Central, and recommends titles. I guess the trick is to reach the people who you want to promote to. Having links to these Twitter accounts on the website makes sense, like in our TeenZone. I think we'll see more and more of this quick information sharing....great way to reach the 'connected generation'.

Week 10: Library Thing

Love Library Thing! Perfect place for people who love reading. I first did find it a bit difficult to manoeuver around in, since I didn't have my own book lists added. I looked at recommendations, and particularly liked it as a What To Read Next-type tool. I searched a title I liked, and was given lots of choices for similar books. I was pleased to see I had read most of them. I can see getting quite hooked on this spot!

Week 9: Online productivity

I played around with Google calendar, and found it to be really useful. Will it replace Outlook, or other software? Well, probably not. If a person only had a stationary computer at home, so didn't have the mobility of a laptop or Blackberry to take along, I can see this being fantastic. Wherever that person travelled, they could access a public computer, access the Internet, and see their calendar, update it, etc. The reality seems to be that we are so connected with our own mobile devices that we do have access to our calendar, our email, our documents from anywhere. I like the fact that it can be sync'd with Outlook.

Good to know this exists....I played abit with Google documents too. I had never used it before!

Week 8: Flickr and Youtube

Using Flickr was knew for me, so I was happy to explore it. I had a look at various communities, places and popular tags. The Take a Tour was very easy to follow and gave lots of info. I have found that throughout most of these 2.0 intro's...once you get into the site, they are quite user friendly. I can see this would be fantastic for sharing family/ friend photos for those far away.

I am familiar with Youtube. I use it often to see and hear a band or musician I am interested in, and have found all sorts of interesting hits. I use it also to hear the tune of songs we use in Library programming. Of course, once in a while you come across something hilarious...one of my favorites is called Hotel Survival; shows a guy making a full cooked meal in a swanky hotel, using the iron, hairdryer, little kettle, etc. Wonderful!

Week 7: RSS

Signing up for a Bloglines account was easy and straightforward. I picked some threads of interest, and got quite a few sites and blogs to follow. I do like this, but will have to play with it some more. My one concern is the time it takes to read through the various posts. Like Facebook, I can see this could turning into quite a time-taker.

Week 6: Google Universe

Well...there are certainly tons of Google products! I really wanted to have another look at Google Earth, but I needed Administrative permission to download it to my computer here at the Library, so I couldn't play with it. Google mail is awesome, and I have been using it as my personal account for sometime. I would recommend it....easily accessible and can store tons of info. I had a look at Google books too. They have established an agreement regarding copyright, so to read most of the 7 million titles they have, you need to pay. (which makes sense)

Onward in my 2.0 journey!

Week 4: Facebook: CPL 2.0

Well, I've had a Facebook account for a year or two. I don't log into it daily, but it is fun to see what people I know are up to. I started the account because I have 2 daughters who use it, and are in their early 20's. It is a fun way to communicate, share links, and see what they're up to. We were just talking about this the other day, and agree it is fantastic for long-distance friends and relatives to see each other's new photos, acitivities, etc.