Thing 23

I just completed the survey. I think that was by far the easiest "thing" to complete. I am happy this is over but also kinda sad. It gave me something to look forward to each week. Now I have to go on looking for hope somewhere else... goodbye my Things..

Thing 22

I can't believe I made it this far!! I am patting myself on the back as I write this...that is how talented I have become. Typing and patting...its like rubbing your tummy and patting your head only its the newer version..similar to Web 2.0.

Looking back at my Thing 1 post, I can honestly laugh at myself. I wrote about how hard it was to use www.blogger.com...now I see how bad off I was! Blogger.com has become like second nature to use. It's easy and user friendly. What was I thinking? I have definitely learned a lot about different gadgets and new terminology and I feel a bit more at ease. Also, I don't have that look of a caveman who has never been out in the wild. I am an intelligent robot now. Robots are smart...right?

I never thought I would make it this far and I only held on because of the competition and not wanting to bomb at something. I am glad that I was able to keep up with the rest of the 23 Thing Participants and I can't wait to see what other challenges come my way. It's a great feeling to be in the technology loop.

Now for the last, but not least, Thing 23...

Thing 21

Wow, I love the assignment calculator! Being a college student can be particularly hard especially staying on top of assignments. I am one of those that works best under pressure so I wait until the last minute. The assignment calculator might actually help me plan things out sooner rather than later. It emails you alerts and keeps you on task..kinda like my parents used to do. Sometimes, lets face it, we all need a mom breathing down our necks to get work done. I'd like to think assignment calculator does that for you. If for nothing else, it reminds you that you only have so many days left before it's due and sends you email alerts each day on what you should be doing. I think it's a handy tool that every student, and adult could use in various ways; if not for school work, then work-work, or even a reminder for house work. I could use this for birthday reminders and all sorts of things, but I wont abuse it! There's widgets and gidgets for those things as well. By the end of this thing I will be a trained robot led only by widgets. Has Neflin added in turning me into a robot??...hmmm....I will have to Ask Jeeves what he thinks.

Btw, I found out a fun little fact about Google.com...everyone type in "Where is Chuck Norris" and click "I'm feeling Lucky" and see what it says. It cracks me up everytime.

Thing 20

Holy cow, Thing 20 is long!

I read the amazon article about loaning out Kindles. First of all, I think in our library this would be bad news. Most people have a hard time returning a book or Playaway undamaged...I can't imagine what would happen if a Kindle were broken or just went "missing". It's too expensive to loan out in my opinion. With sites like Booksinmyphone.com, you can still appeal to the public and those who can't afford a Kindle. The only problem I found with Booksinmyphone.com is that it doesn't have every book. I typed in several titles and got no results. However, it does have a lot of the classics like "20,000 Leagues under the sea" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

I'm intrested to try this out and see how it comes up on my phone. It looks like it uses an external memory disc and once inserted into your computer, stores the book on the card and then you just insert the card into your phone. Fairly simple as long as your phone is up to date with the latest technology.If not it will use up internet air time trying to download which could cost a pretty penny.

In our library, we have a database that patrons can use called Tumblebooks. It reads books to children and has simple tests and games for them to complete after reading it. It seems to be very effective and has a good number of books to choose from, including chapter books for older children.

Thing 19

Ning was first introduced to me a year or so ago by a hip librarian who has since left for greater library things. She set up a NING account for us to use to connect on books, movies, etc. It was called Libraries and Books and Discussions

I never got to use it much at work but it was a fun way for all of us to come together when we couldn't talk because of conflicting work schedules and whatnot.

Since then, I haven't really gotten into them because Myspace and Facebook take up enough of my time, and I don't like to sit on the computer for hours anymore like I used to.

Thing 17

Ok...so I admit, I skipped ahead and forgot Thing 17. But, at least I noticed!

I used to listen to Podcasts all the time. A lot of churches put podcasts out and that's when I first heard about them. When my husband and I moved away from our church and had yet to find another one, we used to download the podcasts onto our Ipods and listen to them while traveling or excercising. It was a great way to stay updated with what our old church was doing. Now, I only listen to them when I miss a day at church, but it's comforting to know that they are still there if I should ever need them. :)

I use the Itunes directory to find my podcasts because I only listen to them on my IPod so it makes more sense. I find that their directory is easy to use and has a lot of variety. Also, a lot of them have free downloads so you can listen to almost anything.

Thing 18

I have been Myspacing and Facebooking since 2005 or earlier. I visit them daily at home and I find it a great way to stay in touch with friends who are far away and even to find old friends. They have great search engines to find people from your school or hometown. Now, they even do the searching for you and give you a list of people you may know. It's usually 99% right too!

For this thing I visited Alachua Counties Library Myspace and found it to be very interesting. They have adds for events and pictures of things they have done in their library. It's also a great way to show people what your library looks like. I love seeing the insides of other libraries to see what it's like where other people work. It's also a cool way to get library members together. Alachua county has many friends, most whom seem to have some library connection. Posting blogs or event invitations are good ways to get information out to friends and also to get an idea of how many to expect in attendance.

I wish our library system would get on myspace so we could connect with other libaries and maybe do a joint effort one day!

Thing 16

This is one of my favorite dances we do in the library. BTW, he's coming to Ocala CFCC in April!!

Thing 15

I think Rollyo is a brilliant idea. I do a lot of searches for lesson plans for school and even for work. I love picking books and then searching online to see if theres anything fun I can incorporate with the book. I have a ton of favorite teacher websites that I look through for ideas and I think it would be great to have one way to search them all, because Rollyo is right, sometimes you search and all sorts of crazy stuff comes up and you aren't sure what a hotdog has to do with your search term of "Rolex watches". The only thing I can see this being good for in libraries is to create a list of safe websites for kids to search the web with that allow them to search without having random, or even innappropriate information pop up. I have seen that too many times even with all the filters we have.

Thing 14

I love countdown timers and sticky notes. I tried Flash Countdown Timer and found it to be really easy.I really wanted to try the sticky notes websites but since they require a download, I wont be getting to those. I did however try "Remember the Milk", and I really love this website. I am a notes kind of gal. I leave them everywhere about everything. These types of things work great for me. I think in libraries we could use them as ways to count down to events. For instance, in less than 2 weeks we will have Curious George here. It has prompted calls from all over, but having a countdown on our website would be even more publicity. Or, what about sending out texts to subscribers about events. Now thats cool!

Created by OnePlusYou

Thing 13

LibraryThing is a really interesting blog concept for libraries. I like how Broward County library uses it with Young Adults to chose books or see what they are reading. Topics such as "1001 Books to read before you die", always catch my eye and I can't get over how many members they have responding to these posts! I think it's a great way to see what the community is interested in so that you can plan programs for them.

Thing 12

I have 2 good things to write about.

1: My blog was recognized as Neflins Blog of the week this week(probably because I am one of the only people who made it to Thing 12--I am sad to say that my co-workers are pooping out left and right.Get it together guys!!!). Anyways, back to ME...you can check out my quote on the weekly newsletter. Autographings are set to be scheduled March 1. Presents are also welcomed as my birthday is this week and no one at work decided to bring presents. What good is the cake and the party, when there are no presents? Actually, I thanked my lucky behind today that I had a job. Especially one where people bake you cakes and bring in candy!

2. I just totally love Wiki. It reminds me of a Star Wars book we have in our collection called "What is a Wookie?" I really don't like Star Wars, but Wookie is such a cool word, and now Wiki is right there with it. I totally "messed" up Neflins Wiki. It said we could though! I swear!

I think Wiki's are fun to have but because they are edited by everyone AND their mother, it's not always a reliable source. I still use Wikipedia, just because it's fast and easy and usually the information isn't too bogus. I know some of my friends had to write a wikipedia definition as part of their homework. So there are some college kids out there adding their two cents. As for libraries, I think its a good idea. I would like to collaborate with other librarians and see whats going on and what other pages I can leave my mark on. Mwahah. JK!

Until Thing 13....

Britt

Thing 11

I tried out Newsvine and really like it. It adds that different component of reading news stories because most all of them are interesting and you don't always hear about them from your local news. Its like a secret nook where the world can communicate on all topics and vote on them. I would like to see issues about budget cuts and library topics on our main page so patrons could be more aware of them. Also, one for librarians to get information out to one another. It seems to be a good place to vent on the same topic without having to search much. I think I will keep Newsvine as a favorite of mine. I tried Digg but the computer at work wouldn't let me access some of the sites. It seems interesting too though.

Thing 10

I like the idea of tagging websites and pictures and things to one source. I think it does sound like a good way of networking people who have similar interests, or even just finding things faster because they are tagged. The one disadvantage it mentions is that because its just random people creating this info, it's not always reliable, but I think that goes with basically anything on the internet. You have to use your brain a little. I definitely think this could be used in libraries to assist patrons in finding topics on certain things. I also think it would be nice to have it on our main page.

Thing 9

My Slideshow

Thing 8

Boy am I glad it's catch up week...they must've known that half the world was sick last week and the other half was working twice as hard because of it.

There has been so much debate over this Neflin thing, that I am not going to IM anyone at work. Some things seem to conflict with work policy. We do have a work messaging system which I use sometimes, but mostly it's just to ask who's going to lunch. It's not good to get caught doing that too much.

As for text messaging. I have finally entered that era and now have unlimited texts. Im not sure I need it but it sure is nice to have when your sick and people at work text you things like "If your going to be calling in sick some more, we are going to start dividing up the things on your desk...btw I have been eyeing your stapler." Yes, texts are wonderful little pick me ups sometimes but I have also been on the other side where a simple text has been misconstrued into something much worse. Thats the only problem I find with them...there's no way to read an emotion so you kinda have to make up your own mood for each person you talk to, and hope that you have chosen the right one for the day.

Webinar's are no fun. Like Austin said, we did a couple for work and the connection was always messed up somewhere and it took forever and felt really impersonal. Lets face it, seminars are pretty much the most boring thing you can attend, and then add the component of not having to pay attention because the person isn't there to watch you...and you've pretty much lost me.

As for the library, I think Webinars would be a decent way to reach out to the community...that way we don't have to hear the old people complain that it's first come first serve and they've been waiting since before the doors opened. Also, you don't have to deal with really stinky people. As for text messaging, maybe an alert to go out to our patrons to tell them of an event the day of, would be cool. Im not sure how IM's would go over...I think that would be a problem. Theres too many sicko's out there!

Thing 7

I've seen librarians do these trading cards for themselves. Each librarian has a card and it lists silly super powers and funny things about them. From what I've heard, kids love coming to the library to collect the newest librarian trading card. I, personally, know that I wouldn't want my picture and name on a card to give out freely, but I guess it depends on where your library is located. After this past weekend at our library, I'm not even sure I want to wear my name badge. Is it coincidence that my name tag always turns itself backwards....I think not...I mean surely it's an accident!

Using trading cards to promote events sounds like a wonderful way to reach our patrons. Partially because it's small enough to fit in a wallet and also because its new and different and people like new and different.

Ok, so I went to ToonDoo to create mine. I do not judge books by their cover(all the time)...but I do ALWAYS judge a webpage by it's name...is that wrong?? Registering for this website was probably the easiest I've ever used.
It takes all of 3 steps:
1.What user name do you want?
2. What password do you want?
3. What's your email address?

I wish all registrations were this simple.

Ok so I just stepped into the creation zone and I must say I am very impressed. It's like photoshop for kids and without the big download! Kids would love this website just to create their own comics. Whoever created this website is a genius! I'll be back in...uh....ok this could become my new hobby.

No one freak out when they see this...ok....promise.

Thing 6

I love my name like this!! I think these Mashups are extremly cool. I could definitely see us using these for flyers in the library. They add something new to the usual Microsoft Publisher options that we always use. The cool thing about this spelling Mashup is that you can type anything you want spelled and it generates it in seconds. Then you can change each letter if it's not to your liking. I've noticed with my name, everytime I load my blog it's in a different format. Kinda cool!

Thing 5

While I think Flickr is nice, I have used Photobucket all my life and I'm not sure why I should switch. They seem to be relatively the same. I did create my Flickr account and upload some pictures. I tagged the Giraffe in our library under http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/23thingsneflin/. Check him out!

On one last note I think its really cool that the Library of Congress has a Flickr account.

Thing 4

Ok, so I did "Thing 4" like a week ago but I didn't feel like adding a ton of stuff onto my page because it looks crowded. I did add other peoples blogs onto my page and to be honest I'm not even really thrilled about that. The sound of RSS sounds wonderful. I love the idea of being able to navigate to every website you really like just by visiting one(if you have it set up right). Although for me, it kind of takes away from the fun of clicking on my favorites. Would favorites become extinct?? I don't think I could handle that.

Is anyone else feeling like these "Things" are getting harder and harder? I think I'm going to pass out!

Thing 3

I have entered the blogosphere....it's dark and somewhat scary...I wonder if there are aliens here or if it's just a bunch of lazy humans writing about their existence....hmmm...

Alright enough of that...today's challenge was to try out Technorati. I really like the looks of this website. It has current blogs listed on the main page as well as different tabs for photo's, video's and the most popular blogs. Since today is the inauguration of the President, all the blogs on the main page seem to be on this historical event. The other blog search engine I used was Google Blog Search. I really love Google as a regular search engine and wanted to see what it produced in terms of blogs. I searched for "Children's Books" and found that Google was much more effective in finding what I searched for. Technorati came up with blogs pertaining to moms, traveling, beauty, AND then Children's Books, where as Google came up with blogs just pertaining to Children's Books. So while the look of Technorati is more appealing, the search of Google is much more effective. In fact google came up with 278,580 blogs whereas Technorati came up with 1,235.

This just goes to show that beauty is only...uhh....monitor deep?

Thing 2

Ok so Im an idiot. I just read more about Web 2.0 and realize that I use it nearly everyday. I had no idea that Myspace, Youtube, and Facebook fit into this category. When did the term "Web 2.0" come into existence?
As for Library 2.0, I think the idea is catchy. I would be interested to see some kind of a forum on our library website that both patrons and employees of the library could use to stay in touch. Personally, I have never been a big fan of blogs or forums but as the popularity rises for this sort of thing, I do find myself viewing them now and then. One of my favorite forums connects with the local newspaper. I love reading the news online and then seeing people's posts underneath the column. I also was recently introduced to www.teachertube.com which is similar to Youtube but for teachers. It's amazing what kinds of technology goes on around you when you just stick to the same websites you always have. This Neflin challenge has definitely opened my eyes up to technology that I didn't even know existed and I'm only on Thing 2!

Thing 1

Blogging is not really my thing and I'm not sure how good I'll be at keeping up with this but it's worth a try. So far, I have not found this blog spot to be all that user friendly. Maybe it's just me but I am constantly trying to find out how to get back to my main page. I have used other programs to blog and have not found them to be this difficult.

Well.... if no one else is having this problem then I'll just blame it on the fact that it's a rainy, cold, miserable Tuesday. Which leads me to a totally different point...why should anyone have to go out in this weather? They should declare it a National stay-in-your-PJ's-and-watch-movies-day. Yes, I would vote for that!

As for Web 2.0 World, Ive never even heard of it and I use a computer every day. Here is what Wikipedia says:
"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."

All I have to say is "huh?!" Yeah....no wonder I've never heard of it...not even Wikipedia really knows what it is. Isn't it great when you go to look up the definition of something and become more confused than when you started? That happens to me a lot. Obviously, today is not a good day for me. Hopefully day 2 of this thing will be better.