Quest 12: Sights and Sounds

I found this 1980s library exercise video really funny! It transported me back to my undergraduate days...we've come a long way, baby!


I can see YouTube becoming addictive very fast! I found it easy to lose all track of time while I was searching for videos on all kinds of topics. I can see libraries using this technology to promote programs and draw the "techno generation" into our facilities. I am a little concerned about privacy. I wouldn't want anyone to post a video of me on YouTube without my permission.

I love podcasts and subscribe to many of them at iTunes. I decided to try out Podcast Alley. I found a podcast all about Harry Potter called Sword of Gryffindor. It references a podcast available through iTunes called, Hog's Head PubCast. The current hot topic (of course) deals with the recent revelation that Dumbledore was gay.

I'm a big fan of Podcasts--audio and video ones. I've been working on producing an audio podcast, but first I have to get over not liking the sound of my recorded voice!

More About Quest 11

Just wanted to say that I was able to type my entry for Quest 11 below with Zoho Writer and then publish it to my blog from Zoho Writer! Yea! I'll have to read more about Zoho Writer, but I did see in the FAQ that when it goes out of beta it may no longer be free.

Quest 11: Online Apps

Online Apps--to use or not to use, that is the ?

This is my first experience with an online application, so I'm still learning what it's all about. I like the idea of being able to access my documents from any Internet computer, but I'm worried about access--can I keep my work to myself or must it be shared?

Online applications would be wonderful for the teens who visit our library and don't have a diskette or flash drive to save their work.

I wonder if Bill Gates is worried about free online apps running Microsoft out of business. Somehow I don't think so.... I cannot imagine Bill Gates worrying about anything!

Technorati Tags Zoho,Quest11,onlineapps

Quest 10: Hanging Out and Having Fun

I'm beginning to like Shelfari. If you haven't heard of it, click here to check it out. I've had an account with LibraryThing for many months, but for some reason, I just can't warm up to the site. Here's my current shelf on Shelfari. Just remember...I've only just begun!

Here's a Dylan Message for You!

Quest 9: Wikis

I must admit that I used to fear wikis...I think it was because I was able to change something in on the Web that I hadn't created. I was afraid I would "mess it up" or sound stupid. Once I realized that I could always go back in and make changes, I was OK with wikis. As I worked my way through the wikis listed in the Discovery Exercise, I found a couple I will definitely be spending more time exploring. I like the Princeton Public Library's Book Lovers Wiki--it would be great to get our patrons to start posting their book reviews and suggestions on a wiki. I was blown away by all the information available on the Library Success: Best Practices Wiki. I'm starting a book club for adults at our branch and I'll be checking this wiki for ideas on how to make the new club a success.

I would love to see a wiki with key websites around popular reference questions: legal, reader's advisory, SC history, government, etc. that would be available to staff at all branches. I am also going to explore the possibility of using a wiki to help celebrate Teen Tech Week in 2008--perhaps have the teens help by listing their favorite websites.

I went to the TechTrek2.0 Playhouse wiki and added a few of my favorites--very cool and tons of fun! And not scary at all--I'm definitely over my fear of wikis!

Quest 8: Can We All Be Friends?

Social networking seems to be everywhere these days. Now, you can have friends across the world that you've never seen face-to-face or even talked to on the telephone. Gone are the days of selecting your friends just from the people you meet in your life--at work, at church, at school, at parties.... But really, do dogs and cats need social networks? I did find surfing Dogster and Catster fun, but I don't think I could list my cats on Catster (I asked them and they didn't seem interested in making new cat friends).
I didn't realize there were so many social networking sites. Wikipedia lists close to 100 sites (I stopped counting at 75!), so I guess there must be site for just about anyone. While checking out some of the more popular ones (Bebo, Friendster, MySpace, etc.), I couldn't help wondering how my life would have been different if social networks were around 30 years ago when I was in high school. Perhaps I would have kept in touch with more of my school friends if we could have all become "friends" in cyberspace!
After seeing most of our teen patrons on the Internet after school checking out MySpace and wanting help with changing their MySpace pages, I created a MySpace page for myself to play around with so I could learn how to do things the "MySpace way." My MySpace page is pretty lame as a result. But if you're curious what lame looks like, click here.