I enjoyed the exercise this week on RSS, or "Really Simple Syndication," because although I was familiar with the concept (and always see the RSS option button on websites), I have never subscribed to an RSS feed.
I found Bloglines simple to use. I chose a few sites recommended by them to add to my subscription: celebrity news, entertainment news, simple recipes, and book sites. Then, I tried adding websites myself: I added the Weather Network for Calgary, as well as the Unshelved library comic strip.
Personally, I see RSS as a fun distraction - not necessarily a technology I will come to use regularly, but fun to go and see what's new when I am bored or have a few minutes to surf the web (not during work time of course!). I know that I bookmark a number of my most visited sites to "Favourites" both at home and at work, and for me this option works well. I can go and check sites, as is necessary, without having dozens of new feeds to keep up with; however, I can see how subscribing to Bloglines would be useful if you don't tend to use the same computer all the time - for our customers, for example! This way, you can mark websites you frequent and not worry about remembering the URLs.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Google Universe
Like most people, I primarily use Google as a Search Engine. I have used it to find images and blogs, and directions as well, but that's about it. I was amazed at how many projects Google is involved with! Many of the ones listed in the Lab section, I didn't even understand!
This week, I had fun exploring Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Books. The book I searched had an entry much like the ones you find on Amazon. There were publisher reviews, the option for me to write a review, as well as a book excerpt and pubication information. On Google Maps, I had fun searching the Street Views of places I've been; and, on Google Earth, it was fun to see constellations, as well as satellite images around the globe.
As cool as it all was, I am still a bit perplexed on the point of some of these features. How practical are they for your average everyday person? I debated this with a friend, who argued that it is useful to have Streetview when you are looking up directions and want a better idea of landmarks nearby (eg: you can see the address you are looking for is next to a McDonald's). Or if you are going to be stargazing, it's useful to have a map of the constellations and see their relation to one another. Or if you are thinking about buying a book, check out some of the reviews from other people. I guess, for me, a lot of these things are "extras." Fun to explore if I have the time, but not necessarily sites or features I would make use of each day. Just my thoughts!
This week, I had fun exploring Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Books. The book I searched had an entry much like the ones you find on Amazon. There were publisher reviews, the option for me to write a review, as well as a book excerpt and pubication information. On Google Maps, I had fun searching the Street Views of places I've been; and, on Google Earth, it was fun to see constellations, as well as satellite images around the globe.
As cool as it all was, I am still a bit perplexed on the point of some of these features. How practical are they for your average everyday person? I debated this with a friend, who argued that it is useful to have Streetview when you are looking up directions and want a better idea of landmarks nearby (eg: you can see the address you are looking for is next to a McDonald's). Or if you are going to be stargazing, it's useful to have a map of the constellations and see their relation to one another. Or if you are thinking about buying a book, check out some of the reviews from other people. I guess, for me, a lot of these things are "extras." Fun to explore if I have the time, but not necessarily sites or features I would make use of each day. Just my thoughts!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
For you, is Facebook useful or a time-waster?
I guess a bit of both. Facebook has been useful, allowing me to reconnect with friends and acquaintances - some of whom I haven't seen in years! (eg: people I went to school with, university classmates, people I met on my travels). It's neat to see what they are upto - looking at photos or sending messages (publicly via the wall or privately). My high school reunion was even organized via Facebook - which had me thinking about the digital divide. What if you didn't have a Facebook account??? I suppose the organizers felt that if you didn't have a Facebook account, you likely kept in touch with at least 1 person from school who does...
That said, Facebook can also be a time-waster. It's one thing to go on for a few minutes to see what's new, but if you are spending hours on Facebook when you could be doing housework, working out, or meeting friends in person (imagine!), then I wonder how "useful" it really is.
Just my two cents worth :)
That said, Facebook can also be a time-waster. It's one thing to go on for a few minutes to see what's new, but if you are spending hours on Facebook when you could be doing housework, working out, or meeting friends in person (imagine!), then I wonder how "useful" it really is.
Just my two cents worth :)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wikipedia
How easy or difficult was it to find articles that needed editing? Were the errors you found factual or grammar/spelling?
I did not find any grammatical errors - perhaps the subjects I was searching! I did notice a few articles were a bit awkward (perhaps the nature of having several people contributing to them).
I chose to edit an article by adding more information to it. Mark Teague, a children's author and illustrator, had his first full-length children's novel published in October 2009 (our Parent Child Book Club just read it!). It was fun editing an article in an encyclopedia. It was a bit tricky navigating the Referencing section, but I managed to figure it out.
I did not find any grammatical errors - perhaps the subjects I was searching! I did notice a few articles were a bit awkward (perhaps the nature of having several people contributing to them).
I chose to edit an article by adding more information to it. Mark Teague, a children's author and illustrator, had his first full-length children's novel published in October 2009 (our Parent Child Book Club just read it!). It was fun editing an article in an encyclopedia. It was a bit tricky navigating the Referencing section, but I managed to figure it out.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Delicious: Advantages/ Disadvantages
What are the advantages of storing, sharing, and tagging web content this way? What are the disadvantages?
I think one of the obvious advantages of Delicious is that you can bookmark sites and then be able to access them from any computer. I believe you can also control who has access to those sites (for example, all Calgary Public Library staff have access to the CPL 2.0 blogs). This would make it easier to share information amongst friends or colleagues, rather than e-mailing good websites you come across all the time. Tagging is a way of organizing information - and there certainly is a lot on the web! An advantage of 'tagging' is that you can use current language in your tags, so it tends to be more user-friendly than some databases or catalogues out there.
As for disadvantages of social bookmarking sites such as Delicious? I suppose you could have trouble finding information if you don't think of the "correct" tag that someone may have used to sort the information - the very fact that it does not use arbitrary language can work against you as well. Browsing by subject can have its advantages, but if you do not know exactly where to look, it could be a bit time consuming. I did not see the option to enter a search term into a search box within a Delicious site, such as Best Websites. While I wouldn't worry about this on a site managed by librarians, I could see it being a bit overwhelming on other Delicious sites. For example, I searched the "game" bookmark in all of Delicious and was overwhelmed by all of the sites out there even somewhat related to the word "game."
Still, a fun exercise to explore Delicious!
I think one of the obvious advantages of Delicious is that you can bookmark sites and then be able to access them from any computer. I believe you can also control who has access to those sites (for example, all Calgary Public Library staff have access to the CPL 2.0 blogs). This would make it easier to share information amongst friends or colleagues, rather than e-mailing good websites you come across all the time. Tagging is a way of organizing information - and there certainly is a lot on the web! An advantage of 'tagging' is that you can use current language in your tags, so it tends to be more user-friendly than some databases or catalogues out there.
As for disadvantages of social bookmarking sites such as Delicious? I suppose you could have trouble finding information if you don't think of the "correct" tag that someone may have used to sort the information - the very fact that it does not use arbitrary language can work against you as well. Browsing by subject can have its advantages, but if you do not know exactly where to look, it could be a bit time consuming. I did not see the option to enter a search term into a search box within a Delicious site, such as Best Websites. While I wouldn't worry about this on a site managed by librarians, I could see it being a bit overwhelming on other Delicious sites. For example, I searched the "game" bookmark in all of Delicious and was overwhelmed by all of the sites out there even somewhat related to the word "game."
Still, a fun exercise to explore Delicious!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Which aspect of Web 2.0 are you the most intrigued by?
I must say that I am most intrigued by the blog itself! While I read several blogs on a regular basis (most for work, although a few personal ones as well), I have never had my own blog account!
Just setting up this blog has made me reflect more on what I'm saying (and how I'm saying it) - it will be interesting to be at the "creating" end of one.
Just setting up this blog has made me reflect more on what I'm saying (and how I'm saying it) - it will be interesting to be at the "creating" end of one.
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