Reflection (23 of 23 Things)

I've learned a great deal from the 23 Things experience. Previously I had a general idea of what Web 2.0 was and knew only a small handful of Web 2.0 "Things." I was intrigued by many of the Things; my favorites being Delicious, Pandora, YouSendIt, GoogleDocs, Hulu and Blogspot. However, to be honest, I have started using all of these but in a completely non-social manner. All are for my own personal or professional benefit and I neither look at or care about what others post or what others' favorites might be. Who has the time?

As for libraries and social media, I believe it belongs in certain places. Blogging or Facebooking as means of library communication and promotion makes sense. Do patrons really comment on our blog? I'd be interested to know how "social" our blog has become. Teens seem drawn to technology, so social media might be a drawing card for teen involvement.

I am against YouTubing/streaming story times and other programming because it physically removes the patron from the library, especially harmful to children. Kids need to be in the library, attending programs, gaining socialization experiences and skills and getting their hot little hands on the books, music, puppets, etc. and not at home or daycare center passively sitting in front of a monitor!

As for what FPL should/should not be doing with social media, I stand on the side of caution. Social media sites are labor intensive because they need to be kept fresh and timely. How much work per patron impact do they require? Are enough patrons regularly interacting with, or, at the least, hitting our social sites?

This was a fun and enlightening journey. Who knows maybe I'll continue the count with Mr. King and Mr. Porter!

Upcoming: Events and Things to Do (22 of 23 Things)

Upcoming won first place in Seomoz's 2008 Web 2.0 Awards. Quick question: how come the awards are two years old - in cyberspace that pretty much spells antiquity? Did they only try handing out awards for three years; from what I can tell they ran from 2006-2008.

Anyway, I digress. Upcoming is a WEB 2.0 site that allows it's users to view, comment on, and add upcoming events from anywhere. This site can then link the user to the event's website, if it has one, or to a ticket purchase site. There appears to be no requirements for type or size of event. From my browsing you can find professional sports events and big name concerts to high tea on Mother's Day at the local Bed and Breakfast. Organizers appear to be making use of this site. Upcoming's calendar goes out for at least several years (I got tired of hitting the forward arrow) and past events are archived as well. Archiving past events - seems like almost useless information.

It's quite obvious that a library could easily use this site to advertise storytimes and other programming, my only concern is the amount of staff time versus benefit. The site looks well run, but I never saw many "users" - I think 9 was the highest. This number is arrived at by viewers clicking on "I'm interested" or "I'm going" buttons. So how to tell if the site is getting much traffic if viewers do neither?

I'll keep this in mind next time I have company or just need something different to do. Checking things out when going on vacation would be another good use of this site.

Wikis (Thing 21 of 23 Things)

Well, another thing to make my head spin. I've used Wikipedia many times before for quick - but nonauthoritative answers, but honestly have not taken the time to really investigate it. Wow, this is a ton of highly organized/archived information! How do people find the time to edit, let alone write over 3 million articles for free!! Does anyone have a life? What size server or whatever does this beast reside on? Or is it everywhere? Ominous music swells. You can tell I'm fuzzy on the technical working of cyberspace.

O.K. enough ranting. Wikipedia is pretty impressive. The site is highly organized and beautifully archived. Their "guidelines" for posting and editing seem intricate and complicated, yet it states that you don't have to know them to participate. It's like the newbies will either learn the "rules" as they go or they'll loose interest and be edited into history. The good contributors get good reps and other editors/contributors look for them. Somehow I like the fact that the older the article is the "better" more accurate it is. It's kinda like real life - the older you are, the wiser you are - or at least I'd like to think so!

I'll probably never edit or contribute a thing to Wikipedia, instead I'll use it as I always have but with a greater appreciation of the collaborative effort involved. Are there other wikis in my future -who knows!

Podcasts (20 of 23 Things)

I checked out a good number of library podcasts. Some good, some not so good. I liked the podcasts of author talks and musician performances; for kids, I liked the book talks and the teen endeavors. By podcasting these special programs with authors and performances, patrons unable to attend the physical gathering can benefit. On the negative side, it also gives patrons a reason to not attend - they can always catch it online later - library stats go down and fewer people wall through the doors.

One library had a whole slew of nursery rhyme podcasts. There were no pictures, just a very short recording of a librarian reciting a single nursery rhyme. Also several of the libraries I looked at podcasted the reading of picture books. Again, no pictures and even most had no graphic while you listened - no page "dings' either. These can't be intended for children - the whole idea, or at least half the idea, of a picture book are the pictures!!! Having a disembodied voice from a computer reading a picture book leaves me cold! Where's the cozy lap, or energetic story time atmosphere? And of course, the pictures!! I'm not sure who these are suppose to serve. Perhaps adults in a ESL community, so they can hear the language and pronounce it better for their children?

I loved the book talks for readers. Short and sweet and to the point. I think using pod and video casts for the teens is a winning combination. Technology and teens and their ultra-tech existence makes sense and hopefully draws them into the library.

TV Shows & Movies -HULU (19 of 23 Things)

Okay, so I can watch classic TV or movies (even Lifetime ones) through a tiny window -is it more than 4" x 5"? It's not more than that! If there's a way to make it bigger I haven't figured it out yet? I found it! Didn't come up very fast the first time. I watched an episode of the Donna Reed Show-vintage 60's - stuff. It was great. I liked the way it remembered where you were, so if you stopped it would pick up where you left off.

How does it get or decide what to offer? I understand that commercials pay for what it has, but how do they get there? On my second video selection it asked me which commercial I wanted to see. Can you image that? Like I have a preference!!

I guess the social part of this site has to do with viewers rating the material and other people actually caring about their opinions. Seems like a stretch to me.

It's good to know that this exists, although I can't think of when I might be alone, bored, have no reading material, but will have Internet access and my laptop handy and will truly benefit from Hulu. Maybe on a plane some day, oh but then although HULU is free, the Internet wouldn't be!

Videos - YouTube (18 of 23 Things)

Okay, YouTube - I understand the concept and how to upload videos and establish your own channel. Not sure I get how to find or view other people's channels or fool with the myriad of presentation options. As with any of these Web 2.0 Things, it takes practice and practical applications to get proficient in the technology.

As I was perusing the YouTube website, it occurred to me that I have no idea what a video camera looks like these days. I know phones can take short videos, as can digital cameras. Do modern day video cameras have the same configuration as they did , say in the 90's, or are they much smaller - do they look like an iPad or more like a movie camera?

I watched quite a number of animal videos - funny but as I watched the sidebar options kept changing and making new suggestions - is this some sort of Pandora-like what video might she like Thing? Interesting!

I noticed that embedding a YouTube video in anything is quite popular, I have never done that before, but think I would like to try. I'll report back momentarily to tell you how I fared. On second thought I'm going to embed one right here:

Okay, so the whole screen didn't make it, but not bad for a first try!!!

It's easy to see how one can get lost fooling around with these videos - time seems to fly as you mindlessly click and watch other people's silly and entertaining amateur efforts. I know there is serious material as well, but from my afternoon's efforts, most of what I saw was fun, but frivolous.

Teen efforts in public libraries could easily take advantage of this technology; ie making book trailers or book talks. However, as a story time presenter, I am much more comfortable with real time performances. I take energy from the participating audience and would feel self-conscious if I knew a video camera were on me or on a puppet show performance. Any glitches would be forever recorded rather than forgiven and forgotten. I'm sure I could adjust, but it does add the additional pressure of the absent and judgemental viewer.

I learned a lot about the ever-present You-Tube!

Music Streaming - Pandora (17 of 23 Things)

Another winner! I'd already heard of this Thing, but had never played with it, mainly because I hate headphones, so at work was out, and had never bothered with any other computer music at home besides my Itunes. I had a lot of fun playing with all the C&W artists I like and creating my "Radio Station." This is a great site to learn about what other artists are out there that you might like. I was pleasantly surprised how close Pandora's choices came to matching my taste.

A downside is the limited number of "skips" you get daily/monthly, even if you pay. The free forty hour listening limit may be a little light for some heavy computer users. I can't imagine any of the limits being too low for me. Serious music lovers will probably still buy or borrow their music; Pandora does not give you unlimited access to the singular songs you love, just like the old fashion radio you get whatever they decide to play, but its more closely geared to your taste.

Fun! Fun! Fun Thing!!!