Thing 23-In Conclusion

Wow! Even though I tried to stick to things that I would personally enjoy; this was still a lot of work! I've been using the internet for about 12 years now. You start to think that you've pretty much got it down and you get lazy and complacent; sticking with the things you know and are comfortable with. I guess the main thing I take from this exercise is that you've always got room to learn-even when your trying to have fun.

Thing 17 MD Libraries Sandbox

Hopefully this link for Geoff's Blog works...

http://marylandlibrariessandbox.pbwiki.com/Geoff%27s-Blog

Thing 16-Wiki

I like the how those libraries set up the wikis. Almost like a public message board for the customers when they're not in the library. I would have no problem trusting that I'm getting solid information from a library wiki.

Things like Wikipedia, in particular, really tick me off however. It's basically the Wild West when it comes to posting information. I frequent a message board where people actually brag about how they post blatently false information on Wikipedia just to see how long it stays up there. Another problem is that you have no way of knowing that whoever is moderating the boards there has any credibility or knowledge of the subject. The moderators are anonymous; which means there's no accountablity for what the "facts" are.

Thing 22-Overdrive

I never have tried to get an audiobook before. BCPL uses Overdrive; so I looked through the catalog. I saw that they had downloadable videos (I did not know that!) So I saw a documentary video that I wanted to see and gave it a shot. It took more than a hour for the download to complete; but it works. For audiobooks, Overdrive us Windows Media Files which are not compatable with Ipods. So unless you want to go through the trouble of converting the files; you're stuck listening to your book on your computer.

Thing 21-Podcasts

Like I previously mentioned I'm a big fan of podcasts; so not much new to me here.

ITunes is great because you can just subscrible to your favorite podcasts and it downloads it automatically. Then, you can just plug in your Ipod and you're all set.

Kiss - God of Thunder - Live

Thing 19-Web 2.0 List-Meebo.com

In addition to the sites convered earlier, this one comes in handy with the library's internet customers. Our branch was having a problem with people using the internet terminals for instant messaging. They would download the IM interface to the computer and the staff would then have to remove it. Plus, it was causing a slowdown with the system as a whole. With Meebo.com, the customer can choose any IM program they have without downloading and the resulting slowdown.

Thing 18-Google Documents

It's funny that I had a Google Account and I didn't know that this was there. Again, my main issue would be security. I would be hesitant to save anything vital on a public website instead of on my hard drive or disk. It was cool to click on the blog link and see a link for my blog.

Thing 15- Web/Library 2.0

I think the main issue is that there's a juggling act going on. The library is trying to balance the needs of the customer (and trying to predict those needs vis a vis advances in technology) vs. being fiscally responsible in the process. There seems to be a consensus that libraries have to stay ahead of the curve as far as technology. I'm not sure if I agree with that. I think it would be accurate to say that libraries should be prepared and ready to move forward; but should also be responsive to the actual needs of the customer without having to predict possible future trends.

Thing 14 Technorati

Besides there being way too many blog posts for the topics I entered; the sites don't seem to be orgainzed in any particular order. You've got Official sites and "homemade" sites right after each other. A lot of them you would have to click on to find out if it's worthwile to look at.

Thing 13-del.icio.us

I set up a del.icio.us accout. It took several minutes for my Favorites bookmarks to be transfered ino the de.icio.us account. I could see this being beneficial if you have a network of friends/associates with common interests. To me, a bulk e-mail with a "Check out this site..." message accomplishes the same thing without the complication.

Thing 12-About Rollyo

It took forever for me (with a lot of help!) to be able to copy the Rollyo searchroll into my blog. As far as the searchroll itself: I guess it's a pretty cool thing to have on your own page. If you're only able to enter 25 websites, it's pretty limited in how much use you can get out of it

Library Thing

ROLLYO

Select...Geoff's RollSearch The Web

Rewind-Things 8 and 9

Thing 8 RSS Feeds
While it's cool to have alot of the pages I visit on one site-ESPN, Baltimore Ravens, Sherdog, NFL, Wrestling Observer, etc. on one site; it's probably something that takes some getting used to. It almost feels like the cliff notes version of web surfing! Plus Internet Explorer will save your feeds for you, so you don't even really have to use a separate site.

Thing 9
My favorite search tool was probably Feedster. I'm a pretty big fan of Podcasts. They range in quality from Amateur Hour to pretty Professional. It's really the natural extension of Talk Radio, which I guess is good or bad depending on you perspective.

Thing 10- Online Image Generator

That last image was generated from Meez. The full image is the guy in the mask getting dropped on his head. On the blog it looks like they're dancing. Meez waits until after you put your animation together to let you know that they shorten it to fit onto your site. Pretty frustrating.

Meez Action

Thing 7-Technology Thoughts

Often I have mixed thoughts about society's almost addiction to technology. Checking the internet is pretty much a regular part of my day. I'd hate to figure out how much time per week I spend just checking e-mail. The internet terminals at the library are almost always full; usually with the same people. Sometimes I have to stop myself from thinking to myself "These people waste so much time on the internet" when I'm doing the same thing.