Armed with a bit of knowledge about what Twitter is all about, share your thoughts on this fast growing online phenomenon.
To be honest, I guess I am still a bit confused about Twitter and its uses. I read the "About Us" page of Twitter, and also checked out the various Calgary Public Library twitter sites. I tried searching for a few local companies, without much luck. I also tried searching for friends who might be on Twitter but could not find them either. It seems to be a tool that would be more useful for businesses - a chance for them to blog (or I guess the correct word is "tweet") about upcoming events and/or deals.
Since I already belong to Facebook, I can't see myself joining Twitter just to update everyone on my status/whereabouts. I did a bit of my own research on how people use these two social networking sites, and found an interesting article: http://www.twitip.com/twitter-versus-facebook/. I think the biggest benefit of Twitter is that it reaches far beyond your inner circle of friends - connecting your status and questions to the world.
For now, I am happy keeping informed of Twitter, but not necessarily signing up for an account - however, I am open to it . . . who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
LibraryThing
Do you see any practical applications for LibraryThing either at home or at work? Will you start using this site?
I really enjoyed finding out about LibraryThing - it was user-friendly and is a great tool that I could see myself using both at home and work. I always see or hear about books I want to read, so it would be a useful way of keeping the titles all together in a list (rather than the millions of little pieces of paper I jot them down on!). Similarly, I like to keep track of which books I've read - for booktalking at Library tours and outreaches, but also just for my own sake. LibraryThing is great because it allows you to have access to all of the publication information (including reviews), but you can also put in your own comments about books. A great technology!
I really enjoyed finding out about LibraryThing - it was user-friendly and is a great tool that I could see myself using both at home and work. I always see or hear about books I want to read, so it would be a useful way of keeping the titles all together in a list (rather than the millions of little pieces of paper I jot them down on!). Similarly, I like to keep track of which books I've read - for booktalking at Library tours and outreaches, but also just for my own sake. LibraryThing is great because it allows you to have access to all of the publication information (including reviews), but you can also put in your own comments about books. A great technology!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Online Productivity Tools
Do you see yourself using these tools or will you stick to more traditional methods. If you were to use one of these tools regularly, which would it be and why?
This was the first time I have tried Google's online productivity tools, and I was impressed! At work, we already have a shared online calendar (Sharepoint) that we all use to keep atop of what's happening in the branch; however, I could definitely see myself adapting to Google's calendar as well. It was very user friendly! It would be useful for planning complex social events with friends (ie: birthday parties, baby showers, etc.) to easily communicate available dates, and see what days people are available (assuming everyone put all of their appointments and events in their calendar). Students would likely find this useful as well, since I always remember it being a challenge meeting up to do group work.
I tried making a quick powerpoint presentation and must say that I liked the templates available on Google documents - maybe I've just grown tired with the ones available to me on Powerpoint. The document feature also seemed easy to use. I like the idea of not having to carry around a "saved" copy with me: even though USB drives are much tinier than discs, they are still a hassle and I am always paranoid about losing mine when I am taking my presentation on the road. That being said, I guess I am a creature of habit, and until more people start going that way, I'll probably still stick with Powerpoint and Word - simply because it is so widespread, and readily available to me at work and home. If an internet connection fails at a school or outreach, at least Microsoft's Powerpoint and Word still work...
Still, great to have tried these tools, and I will be sure to let customers know about them too.
This was the first time I have tried Google's online productivity tools, and I was impressed! At work, we already have a shared online calendar (Sharepoint) that we all use to keep atop of what's happening in the branch; however, I could definitely see myself adapting to Google's calendar as well. It was very user friendly! It would be useful for planning complex social events with friends (ie: birthday parties, baby showers, etc.) to easily communicate available dates, and see what days people are available (assuming everyone put all of their appointments and events in their calendar). Students would likely find this useful as well, since I always remember it being a challenge meeting up to do group work.
I tried making a quick powerpoint presentation and must say that I liked the templates available on Google documents - maybe I've just grown tired with the ones available to me on Powerpoint. The document feature also seemed easy to use. I like the idea of not having to carry around a "saved" copy with me: even though USB drives are much tinier than discs, they are still a hassle and I am always paranoid about losing mine when I am taking my presentation on the road. That being said, I guess I am a creature of habit, and until more people start going that way, I'll probably still stick with Powerpoint and Word - simply because it is so widespread, and readily available to me at work and home. If an internet connection fails at a school or outreach, at least Microsoft's Powerpoint and Word still work...
Still, great to have tried these tools, and I will be sure to let customers know about them too.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Flickr & YouTube: Usefulness of These Sites
Personally, I find YouTube to be quite entertaining and useful - it's great for settling those nagging questions or bets at house parties! I was recently at a friend's housewarming party, and she had a few people there who were in Canada to study English. One Canadian and one young man from Chile were able to "bond" over their mutual love of soccer - they spent the evening showing each other YouTube clips of some of the most amazing soccer plays ever - despite a limited ability to communicate in the same language! Even the other day at the library, co-workers were discussing a customer who asked for the music to the opening song of the Friendly Giant. A quick search in YouTube brought up the song, plus its full name and credits! Whenever I am learning new rhymes for children's programs and I get stuck on a tune, I go to YouTube first to see if I can find it there. Often there is a children's choir performing the song, and it's just what I need to solidify the tune in my head. You could definitely waste time on YouTube if you're not careful, but I believe it's a great way for people to be creative and share videos.
As for Flickr, I wasn't as familiar with the site as I was with YouTube. As far as I know, most of my friends don't have Flickr accounts but use Facebook to share photos with each other. Still, I liked being able to search for photos by tags on Flickr, and it was great that there are so many public photos that you can browse. I enjoyed looking at photos of vacation spots I've been to, as well as searching the Basset Hound group for photos of my favourite dog breed! An advanced search option would have been nice, since most of my searches brought up thousands of photos, and it would have been nice to narrow my search to topics AND locations. I am curious, if these photos are public, if they can be used in presentations and such, as long as credit is given to the source? Otherwise, I'm not sure on how useful Flickr would be for me, unless my friends all suddenly got accounts. I enjoyed searching for photos, but I still use Facebook as my photo sharing social media site.
As for Flickr, I wasn't as familiar with the site as I was with YouTube. As far as I know, most of my friends don't have Flickr accounts but use Facebook to share photos with each other. Still, I liked being able to search for photos by tags on Flickr, and it was great that there are so many public photos that you can browse. I enjoyed looking at photos of vacation spots I've been to, as well as searching the Basset Hound group for photos of my favourite dog breed! An advanced search option would have been nice, since most of my searches brought up thousands of photos, and it would have been nice to narrow my search to topics AND locations. I am curious, if these photos are public, if they can be used in presentations and such, as long as credit is given to the source? Otherwise, I'm not sure on how useful Flickr would be for me, unless my friends all suddenly got accounts. I enjoyed searching for photos, but I still use Facebook as my photo sharing social media site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)