LibraryThing, et al...

This weeks lesson was to check out Del.icio.us, Technorati, and LibraryThing. I'm sorry to say I did not learn a lot this week as I already have Del.icio.us and LibraryThing accounts. For kicks I decided to set up another LibraryThing acount and add a few appropriately themed items.

Feel Free to Browse

Fun, Friends and Networking

As I embarked upon the My Space experience, I began to contemplate all the various uses I might have for such a site. Though most of the functions I imagine were geared toward personal uses as opposed to library uses, I do think it could be quite beneficial. However, were I to set up and use such an account extensively, my first choice would be Facebook.

I would like to think everyone on My Space has checked out our KCLS page; I know I have. I think this expectation might be too high. However, the fact that KCLS is attempting to keep relevant in an every changing social world is a great step. Far too often organizations are mired in traditions and are unwilling to move forward. Hopefully KCLS will continue to provide fantastic service in new and fascinating ways.

Fun With RSS Feeds

As a general summation, I've never been a big fan of RSS feeds. It may seem archaic, but I enjoy visiting the various websites I get my information from as opposed to signing into one site to view everything jumbled together.

I was willing to overlook my prejudice and give the ol' RSS feeds another shot at impressing me. I set up my bloglines account on Thursday of last week, and proceded to forget all about it until I began a new blog entry. So, I've not made real good use of my new account as of yet. In the future I will try to at least attempt to pay some attention to the RSS feeds I subscribe to. After setting up my bloglines account I subscribed to several news feeds: CNN, Seattle Times and a few others. For some added humor, I subscribed to Unshelved, because it makes me giggle.
I managed to subscribe to a few of my fellow Learning 2.0 participants' blog feeds without incident.

In an attempt to complete the next part of this weeks lesson, I used Feedster to search for a couple feeds I would be interested in reading. I took the easy route and used the content channels to find something entertaining and insightful. failing that, I chose the next best thing, celebrity gossip news and a sports feed. It amazed me to see how many library related feeds existed. I managed to contain my excitement and sign up for just two of these RSS feeds: The Shifted Librarian and The Grammatically Incorrect Librarian.

I do realize that many people enjoy and find RSS feeds to be a useful tool, I just don't happen to be one of them. In the future I will attempt to make greater use of these handy devices as they can save a great deal of time and aggravation. Until I am able to make that leap, I will continue my searching and browsing in the old fashioned manner to which I have become accustom.

#6 - Even more fun with Flickr (aka Mashups)

I had so much fun with the different Mashups; it was hard to pick which one was my favorite, so I won't. I decided to use the Trading Card Maker. After I finally decided on a phote, it was pretty simple to put together the final product. I decided to upload it to Flickr, so that I would always have access to it. I thought about making a magazine cover, but decided I was just not creative enough or a calendar, but I did not have enough of my own photos. Though I will probably go back and create some more! Here's what the final card looks like.

#5 - Discover Flickr

Since today is such a lovely day, I thought I would find a photo that incorporated two of my favorite things: sun and flowers.

I love Flickr. Though it is one of many photo sharing websites, it is by far my favorite! It's easy to use and user friendly. I love that your photos can either be public or private within the same account. When I'm browsing for photos, it's easy to find them because of the use of tags and groups.