Have a look at Google Reader.
Here's a little Wikipedia article about RSS feeds.
Check out Indexed, published weekday mornings as the coffee brews.
Take a peek at My Mom's Blog by Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Look for more blogs here at Google Blog Search.
Or here at Bloglines.
Or here at Technorati.
Or here at Ice Rocket.
And make your own blog here at Blogger.
And maybe later try Wordpress.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Google reader
Here's a little video about Google Reader.
It's a great way to keep track of all the blogs you read. It's as simple as checking your email! When you're reading a blog you like, look for the button that says 'Subscribe' or 'RSS' and click on it. It will ask you how you want to read the blog. The easiest way (I think) is just to choose Google Reader and let them do all the work. Then you have your email, your blog and your RSS feeds all in one account.
It's a great way to keep track of all the blogs you read. It's as simple as checking your email! When you're reading a blog you like, look for the button that says 'Subscribe' or 'RSS' and click on it. It will ask you how you want to read the blog. The easiest way (I think) is just to choose Google Reader and let them do all the work. Then you have your email, your blog and your RSS feeds all in one account.
Add a picture to your post
You can add an image to your blog, either one from your computer/USB drive/etc, or from the Internet (you just need to copy the URL). Click on the picture icon in 'Create Posts' and go from there.
Video: How to make a blog
Here's a helpful video on how to make a blog.
To embed a video in your own post, just copy the code from the 'embed' box on You Tube and paste it in.
To embed a video in your own post, just copy the code from the 'embed' box on You Tube and paste it in.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Final post
Well, this is my last post for this round of Web 2.0 activities. These activities built on what I learned the first time around, with some new things thrown in. The animation activities were lots of fun but a slow process! I could see these Web 2.0 tools being used effectively for presentations (especially for kids and teens) and as an introduction to the library (such as a cartoon on the ACL website showing kids how to find nonfiction in the library, or how to approach homework tasks). The genealogy websites would definitely be of use to some of our customers - family history research is really popular.
I think the book club websites were OK, but not so appropriate for avid nonfiction readers like myself (most were fiction-focused). I think it would have been a good idea to look into some New Zealand resources, or ones that better reflect what New Zealanders want and need online (such as local news). Some online tools that would be of use to many customers include: interactive computer skills, library skills, career skills (interviews and writing CVs and cover letters) and anything involving uploading/downloading music, photos and other media. It would be great if we had some way of introducing customers to all these great Web 2.0 tools, as links on the ACL website or in a separate blog or something.
It's been fun, and I'm looking forward to the next round!
I think the book club websites were OK, but not so appropriate for avid nonfiction readers like myself (most were fiction-focused). I think it would have been a good idea to look into some New Zealand resources, or ones that better reflect what New Zealanders want and need online (such as local news). Some online tools that would be of use to many customers include: interactive computer skills, library skills, career skills (interviews and writing CVs and cover letters) and anything involving uploading/downloading music, photos and other media. It would be great if we had some way of introducing customers to all these great Web 2.0 tools, as links on the ACL website or in a separate blog or something.
It's been fun, and I'm looking forward to the next round!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Stumbling upon news
I had a look around StumbleUpon and I really like it. It's easy to search visually for items. I 'stumbled upon' this Dress Me Up: Clockwork Couture - a kind of Steampunk burlesque paper doll thing (why not??) The subject searching is very handy and it's really user-friendly and nice-looking. Unlike Reddit, which is just awful to look at (I think!) and not so easy to discover things serendipitously (and isn't that the whole point of these websites?)
Digg is not bad, but a bit wordy. (I prefer SumbleUpon's visual approach.) I found an interesting article about the increase in the popularity of poetry thanks to the internets. The last website I looked at was Newsvine, which is a great idea but I found the content to be too USA-focused for my interests.
Digg is not bad, but a bit wordy. (I prefer SumbleUpon's visual approach.) I found an interesting article about the increase in the popularity of poetry thanks to the internets. The last website I looked at was Newsvine, which is a great idea but I found the content to be too USA-focused for my interests.
Go Animate thoughts, hopes and dreams
Making a short animation with Go Animate was fun but time-consuming! There are just too many possibilities, it was a bit daunting! The quality of animation was pretty good, even with my basic animation skills and questionable storytelling ability. I would definitely recommend Go Animate to someone with a bit of time on their hands. The animation could be quite sophisticated if you put in the hours, it has definite potential as a tool for storytelling and presenting ideas to kids, in particular. Who doesn't love a cartoon? The only downside was that you have to upload your own music (even Animoto had a basic music library).
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Take a long walk off a short bookjetty...
This week I had a look around Bookjetty and catalogued a few books (that's what librarians do in their spare time - we catalogue books for fun!) It's a good way to keep track of the books you've read and the ones you want to read. I found Bookjetty to be a bit user-unfriendly, and no one seems to be reading the same books as me! This is a kind of online bookclub where people can share their ideas about books, and it is far better than Litlovers for commenting and doing other Web 2.0 things. Bookjetty may appeal to younger readers, rather than seniors, but I would be reluctant to recommend it. Try Library Thing instead, I reckon. Nevertheless, there is my widget on the left.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Book clubbing
This week I've had a look around the website Litlovers - a sort of online book club and a great resource for book lovers in general. The website has lots of tips for starting up and running a book club - everything from themed recipe ideas to author backgrounds, information about various book adaptations, and ideas to get your literary discussion underway. Some entries have added user comments.
A book I recently read and enjoyed was 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay' by Michael Chabon. The resources about this book on Litlovers include the publisher's information, a couple of reviews, information about the author (a bit about his life and his other works, and so on) and some key questions to help kick start discussion about the central ideas and themes in the book.
Authors on the Web does what it says on the box - it's a resource for publishers and authors, and it lets readers keep up to date with their favourite authors. There are lots of similar sites, such as Author Yellow Pages and the Book Report Network. Most of these sites are for authors and publishers and some are more geared to readers than others.
For New Zealanders I would recommend the New Zealand Book Council for finding book clubs in your area, and then I would suggest you use the many online resources.
A book I recently read and enjoyed was 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay' by Michael Chabon. The resources about this book on Litlovers include the publisher's information, a couple of reviews, information about the author (a bit about his life and his other works, and so on) and some key questions to help kick start discussion about the central ideas and themes in the book.
Authors on the Web does what it says on the box - it's a resource for publishers and authors, and it lets readers keep up to date with their favourite authors. There are lots of similar sites, such as Author Yellow Pages and the Book Report Network. Most of these sites are for authors and publishers and some are more geared to readers than others.
For New Zealanders I would recommend the New Zealand Book Council for finding book clubs in your area, and then I would suggest you use the many online resources.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A belated 'welcome back' to readers of my blog!
Forgive me for not re-introducing myself earlier! I am doing this a bit backwards, but I started this blog months ago and just recently resurrected it for Web 2 take 2, but I neglected to do a proper intro. The (good? / bad?) thing about teh internets is that you can't really delete anything anyway - not unlike zombies, blogs can come back from the grave too!
I learned so much from that first round of Web 2.0 activities that I set up a blog of my own, to satisfy my own personal need to self-publish, and have been maintaining it irregularly, just for fun. There are so many cool new tools and things, I'm really enjoying discovering all these new and exciting things to do online. I wonder what Web 3.0 will be about?? I have heard of such innovations as hyperlinking every word in a paragraph - which sounds completely mad - but we're living in the future now, and the only constant thing in the world is change!
I learned so much from that first round of Web 2.0 activities that I set up a blog of my own, to satisfy my own personal need to self-publish, and have been maintaining it irregularly, just for fun. There are so many cool new tools and things, I'm really enjoying discovering all these new and exciting things to do online. I wonder what Web 3.0 will be about?? I have heard of such innovations as hyperlinking every word in a paragraph - which sounds completely mad - but we're living in the future now, and the only constant thing in the world is change!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Family trees
Geni and Myheritage are are useful tools for putting together a family tree. I found that Geni is a bit more user-friendly when it comes to adding and changing details quickly. I like that both sites account for modern-day families by allowing you to add your Great Aunt's lesbian life partner and your Dad's kids from his fourth marriage, or whatever. Myheritage is not quite as smooth as Geni, and it has lots of bits that look like ads and other trivial celebrity stuff, such as finding out that you look 20% like Christina Aguilera or something. Which may or may not appeal to some people.
I have met many library patrons who enjoy tracing their family history and I would recommend Geni to them. It seems pretty straightforward, even for most technophobes. The Web 2.0-ness of it is great for sharing and getting others to add details and photos of their own. (You have to be suspicious of those family trees that just go straight down, like those people who came from pods in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. LOL). Please check out my tree to the left there, my name is Spawn 2.
I have met many library patrons who enjoy tracing their family history and I would recommend Geni to them. It seems pretty straightforward, even for most technophobes. The Web 2.0-ness of it is great for sharing and getting others to add details and photos of their own. (You have to be suspicious of those family trees that just go straight down, like those people who came from pods in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. LOL). Please check out my tree to the left there, my name is Spawn 2.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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