Thing 23: Final Thoughts

So, here it is... the last Thing. As I reflect on the past three months and everything that I've learned through the 23 Things program, I feel that it was an excellent training experience. I've really enjoyed working on each Thing at my own pace, and I know that I'll retain so much more through this self discovery program than I ever would have if it were in a classroom setting for an hour here and there. Honestly, as the time went by, I found myself looking forward to checking the blog to find out what the next Thing was and glancing at the charts as I walk by them to see if I'd received my sticker yet. I got a sense of accomplishment with each and every task that I completed, especially those that I sorta stumbled through. I've enjoyed the many discussions I've had with my co-workers and reading the team blogs to get other staff perspectives along the way. Actually, in a sense, the training brought us together to meet a common goal and I think that it was good for all of us. Lastly, and probably most important of all, I've learned a great deal and for that, I'm grateful. Even though we've heard some complaints throughout the weeks, I'm sure that everyone (if they stop and think about it), has enjoyed a Thing or two whether they choose to admit it or not. I appreciate the opportunity that we've been given to explore and learn about the current trends on the web, and will definitely use some of this knowledge in the future, thanks to 23 Things.  

Thing 21 & 22: Show what you know & Survey

1) If I were to give advice to a patron looking to use the Internet for the very first time, I would begin by showing them Google.com. It is the number one search engine and has a tool for just about anything you need or want to do on the Internet, including shopping, watching videos, viewing news articles, digital pictures, email and much more. Also, Google.com is simple to follow for beginners, which can help to build their confidence. 2) The next site I might refer them to is 50 Best Websites of 2010. This list could help guide someone that doesn't have a clue where to begin, by starting with a category of a topic that might interest them and following the links to some of the best sites to visit. 3) Assuming that our patron enjoys reading, I would suggest Shelfari.com where they can create a virtual library, discover new books, connect with friends and learn more about their favorite books and authors for free. 4) Next, I might lead them to Seriouseats.com to find the best place to dine out, search for recipes, watch videos about food and join the serious eats community to blog about it all. They can get tips, advice, recommendations and news all about food and share with others if they so choose. 5) If our patron showed an interest in digital photography, I would suggest Flickr.com. Here they can upload their photos to store them safely, organize them using tags, share them with friends and family and even make stuff with them like calendars, postcards and holiday greeting cards. I'd also make sure that they explored The App Garden to get an idea of how many options are available. 6) I would show them Pandora.com for streaming live music because I love listening to music and thought that this was one of the best websites to use. They might want to create a station of their own or link to the itunes store to purchase new music for their mp3 player or any other device. 
There are many websites that could be helpful, but I think that this list would start a newbie with a nice variety of things to do on the Internet. And, as we all know... they would have to devote a lot of time to fully explore even six websites completely. I've completed the online survey.

Thing 20: More Fun with Google

The first Google tool that I chose to explore for this exercise was Talk. I've heard of Skype before and thought that it sounded cool, but I don't know anyone who is actually using it. So, when I saw Talk on the list, I was excited to learn more about it. Talk is a free computer to computer voice and video chat through your Gmail account, which is also free and easy to set up. There's a video and voice plug-in for PC's and Mac that you need to install and after that you can talk with your friends and family face to face with just a few clicks! Obviously, everyone has to have a web camera in order to take advantage of the video, but even if your friend doesn't have one, you can still have a voice chat or one-way video chat. I am already pricing the web cam's to send as gifts to my family in Pheonix, and I can't wait to get started!
The other tool that I investigated was Google Images. I've been using Google Images for awhile now and I love it. For the library, I use it mostly to create new music CD and DVD jacket covers when items in our collection need to be re-boxed. But, it's also great for creating signs and posters as well.
I already have my igoogle homepage set up and customized, but I did add a couple more gadgets and changed my theme. I've learned that if you choose an animated theme, it can slow the system down significantly, therefore I try to stay away from those. I like changing the theme to match the season and I check the weather daily using the weather gadget that I have installed. I also use the date & time gadget as well as the Google news to view the headlines and stay current.
I saved all of my changes to my igoogle homepage because I'm pleased with the gadgets that I've chosen and I think it's nice to have your homepage look and feel the way you want it to. It just makes it a little more personal and comfortable to use.  

Thing 19: Best of the Web

I found a site on the 50 Best Websites of 2010 that was really interesting to me, seriouseats.com. This site is for everyone who enjoys good food. Whether it's dining out, cooking or just talking about great foods (on their blog) that you enjoy, this is the place to go. The site is very colorful and appetizing with lots of photos and a great lay-out. You can search for recipes, read news articles, watch video's or even shop at the Serious Eats Store for the latest cookbook, cutlery or cookware. They have video clips which include advice, tips, recommendations and news. If you click on "eating out" you can type in the city you're in and find the best places to go for a great meal, which would be great to use when you're traveling.
The site that I explored on the 50 Best Websites of 2004 list, was Fresh Direct. In staying with the food theme, this site is an online alternative to grocery shopping. They specialize in perishables, but offer everything from shampoo to fresh cuts of meat to catering and they deliver! Once you've placed your order online, their team begins to put it together, cutting meats to order, portioning your deli items and hand picking your fresh vegetables. Next, your items are packaged, weighed, priced and packed in boxes to be delivered by refrigerated truck right to your door! Amazingly, their prices are reasonable and the delivery fee is only around $6. They are able to keep their prices low by purchasing directly from the source, bypassing the usual layers of distributors and middlemen, which also means that the consumer gets the products four to seven days fresher than they would from the grocery store. Can you imagine how useful this service would be if you were unable to drive, or maybe for caretakers that can't leave someone home alone, or maybe you just didn't feel like getting out to go to the store yourself? The problem is, they only serve the New York Metropolitan area.
Anyway, I believe that both of these sites are useful in many ways, as well as being extremely user friendly. I'm surely going to visit the Serious Eats site again, and may even register to join. And, if I lived in New York, I bet there would be times when I'd order from Fresh Direct too!  

T16

I signed up with Grooveshark simply because it was free and I had to pick something. For those individuals who love music and have the time this could be fun. I myself have heard of some of these sites but I have a v-e-r-y large collection of music which includes rock, classical, jazz, r & b, country, blues and gospel. And as of right now I don't have the time or the desire to use any of these sites so when I want to listen to a song I just pop in a cd or plug in my ipod, mp3 player or my cell phone.

T13

I checked out Addictomatic, Social Mention and Google Alerts and found that there wasn't that much information on any of these sites about the Library. I think the library should just stick with Facebook, the blog or Twitter. I think I will enjoy my once a week Google Alerts from the Cake Boss and the News.

Thing 13

This is a very interesting concept. I think I'd benefit more by entering alerts that correspond to news releases of current events. Certainly if someone has entered "Largo Pubic Library," it's a timely way to pick up on a public attitude about our services etc. In so doing, the staff has the opportunity to be proactive in resolving an issue rather than being blindsided with a "gotcha" down the road.

Thing 18: More Social Networks, continued...

Okay, Linkedin looks like a great professional social networking site. It's a place to go to exchange information with other professionals all over the world. People are able to stay current with all of their business contacts. I like that they don't identify the people asking or answering questions and they offer it in six languages. I would recommend this site to those patrons or friends that are looking for a new job as well as small business owners who just want to stay in the loop with the professional community.
From what I could see, WebJunction is where anyone in the library profession can go to build knowledge and skills by sharing resources as well as experience toward common goals. They offer over 600 training courses on customer service, computer technology, library management and basic library skills. The computer training classes are self-paced (begin, stop and restart anytime), convenient to access and affordable. We can also purchase course sets, which are groups of 5 courses on key topics for specific staff skills or volume courses at discounted rates. I think that using the discussion group forum and training courses would be beneficial to our library staff.   

Thing 18: More Social Networks

Well, I checked out the 5 Fun & Safe Social Networks for Children and I found pros & cons with all of them. While they all looked fun, I'm not convinced that they really are safe. I'm still not comfortable joining any of the adult social networks, so I'm sure I would be hesitant for my kids (if I had any). Togetherville required the parents to create the child's profile and invite their friends for them. There's no ads, no outside links and no unapproved friends, which I thought provided some security and encourages the parents to participate. They offer preset comments, discouraging cyber bullying and inappropriate language, but all the child has to do is agree to a code of conduct and they'll be allowed to send original messages (a bit too easy in my opinion). What's What uses facial recognition software and a photo ID taken with a webcam to provide a secure log-in. The site only allows the child to "friend" kids that are within one grade above or below them to encourage interaction only with other kids in they're own age group. Also, they have a feature that encourages users to "Report it!" which reminds me of a neighborhood watch system. The parent and child sign up together using the parent's credit card information and a temporary password. But, I wonder how easy is it to change the password as soon as the child gains access to the site and their profile? Also, once the password has been changed, does the parent still have access? ScuttlePad didn't allow much exploration without signing up and I was not interested in doing that. But, it looks like they ask for a lot of personal information from the user to register. Also, they only allow preset comments which I believe is a bit restrictive to the older kids (above 6 or 7). The Barracuda Web Filter denied access to giantHello. Skid-e Kids seemed pretty cool because it has educational games, full age appropriate movies and they are continuously improving. They rely mostly on human moderators for their security features, but who are these people and why should we trust them? This one doesn't require as much parental control as some of the others, which gives the older kids a little more freedom, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. But, still the reviews were all very good.

Obviously, each parent has to research the idea for themselves in order to decide whether or not to allow their children to become involved in social networking. But, if it were me, I think I would discourage it at least until they were a bit older. Besides, between social networking, television and gaming... it's no wonder our kids today have issues with obesity!

Thing 12

Thing 17

I watched the Common Craft video and checked out Gather, Ning and Library 2.0 Group as instructed. I thought that Gather was very well organized and user friendly. I could understand the interest in using this site to get in the loop on your favorite topics and the current headlines. I explored the Gather Food Essential group and read through some interesting recipes. I did some keyword searching and found a recipe for Sweet Chili Rubbed Pork Loin that I thought looked great. So, I might find myself using this one again... and who knows, maybe I would even like it enough to join the group.

Ning seemed to be mostly for those who wish to create their own social website. Since I am not one of those people, I exited that one pretty quickly.

I though that Library 2.0 Group was interesting and a good way to see what's happening around the world with other libraries. I would probably visit this site again.

Lastly, I explored the Dogster site. If you have a soft spot for dogs, you will love this one. There is a lot of information here, including frequently asked questions, behavior & training tips, health care for dogs, as well as lots of photos. If you were considering a new puppy, this site can help you determine which breed is right for you and your family. I enjoyed this social site, and although I haven't joined it (yet), I'm probably going to re-visit this site again in the future. 
After visiting these social websites, I can understand why people are using them because for the first time, I actually had some interest in a couple of them myself.

T15

I checked out Podcast.com and Podbean.com and found Podcast.com easier to access. Out of the podcasts that I listened to  ESPN Daily and 60mins were the ones I liked the most. The only way I would listen to a podcast would be if I was stranded on a deserted island without my phone or mp3 player and had nothing left in my brain to think about or any song to sing. I think the library would come out better posting information on the blog.

T14

I looked at some of YouTube Videos of other libraries and I have to say I like it.
I think YouTube is a good spot to use for training as well as entertainment.

Thing 16: Streaming Music

Streaming music is awesome! I tried Pandora mainly because I've heard of it before, but also because my husband loads my i-pod shuffle with music from our i-Tunes library and it was mentioned that you can conveniently purchase songs from i-Tunes through a link on the Pandora site. In my opinion, Pandora is fabulous! Listening to music is one of my favorite things and if I could, I'd be plugged into the Pandora site 24/7.

So, I registered and began to create my first station by searching an artist that I like. The first song was, of course, by that same artist. But after that, Pandora just kept a variety of great songs coming one after the other. I only rejected a few of them, and there were some that I had never heard before (along with a couple new artists). They have a "thumbs up/down" feature that reminds me of Tivo. When you click the thumbs up button, you're telling Pandora that you like that song, and from there the site actually gets to know you and what music you will probably enjoy... very cool. The only negative thing that I've noticed so far, is that you're limited on how many times you can skip a song. If you reach the limit, a note pops up to tell you that you can't skip any more songs. Therefore, I tried to click thumbs down on it and the message was an apology and a promise that once the song was finished, it would never be played for me again. But, I still had to listen to the entire song anyway. 

Anyway, the station I'm creating has a lot of variety and is a work in progress. I will definitely be visiting this site in the future and exploring all it has to offer for personal use. Thanks for the introduction!