Overall, I have very much enjoyed participating in this programme, and it has lived up to my expectations.
I signed up for it as I knew my understanding and experience of web 2.0 was a bit patchy.
I was hoping to learn more and improve my "online confidence" and to look at ways we can incorporate the social web into a library environment.
I admit to being somewhat sceptical and reluctant to give in to the pressure to use web 2.0 both personally and professionally, but this programme had made me re-assess my views.
I now feel much more knowledgeable , far less intimidated by all that is "out there" these days, and positively enthusiastic about using some of it inside and outside my workplace.
As a sociable person , I can now see the benefits of online socialising along with those of face to face encounters and friendships.(much as digitised books and journals can be used in addition to the paper copies !)
Some highlights of the programme for me were:
Learning in a group environment and reading other people's blogs (for "sociable" read "nosy" !)
Editing the Sackler Library entry on Wikipedia
Finding out how easy it is to create and edit
wikis and blogs and use gadgets and widgets to improve their usefulness and appearance.
using igoogle and "reader" to create a central point of access to lots of useful online information in one place.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
fidgety widgets and gadgetywhatsits...
As with many of the things we have looked at in this programme, I am very impressed by how simple it is to use both gadgets and widgets, once you are in the right online place to find them and link them to another online space.
In my various online "travels" I have often been impressed by the layouts of the homepages of seasoned bloggers , wiki writers , and institutional websites that are full of these clever devices that take you between pages and applications. I always imagined it required very advanced web skills to create these links.
Now I see it is pretty straightforward ,and am inspired to do more with this blog and incorporate some gadgets and widgets into any future use of web 2.0 in my working life.
In my various online "travels" I have often been impressed by the layouts of the homepages of seasoned bloggers , wiki writers , and institutional websites that are full of these clever devices that take you between pages and applications. I always imagined it required very advanced web skills to create these links.
Now I see it is pretty straightforward ,and am inspired to do more with this blog and incorporate some gadgets and widgets into any future use of web 2.0 in my working life.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Things 19 and 20 Office 2.0 googledocs and Thinkfree
During the course of my online "education" over the time I have worked in libraries, I have seen alot of changes in the way we work and share information.
I remember when we got our own server with shared drive , meaning we could log in and access files and folders from any terminal in the building.This was then extended to the library service as a whole, so I can now log in at a PC in any library to consult a particuluar item.
The office 2.0 applications appear to be a further big step forward,with only a Google account required to access and share documents online from anywhere in the world.Call me old-fashioned, but this amazes me as much as the other aspects of 21st century communication I am rapidly learning to live with and love!
I found google docs very easy to use with clear screens and straightforward instructions,and had no trouble sharing a short document and creating a form.
Thinkfree was a little less straightforward ,but with time to learn its ways, I can see it has equal potential.
I remember when we got our own server with shared drive , meaning we could log in and access files and folders from any terminal in the building.This was then extended to the library service as a whole, so I can now log in at a PC in any library to consult a particuluar item.
The office 2.0 applications appear to be a further big step forward,with only a Google account required to access and share documents online from anywhere in the world.Call me old-fashioned, but this amazes me as much as the other aspects of 21st century communication I am rapidly learning to live with and love!
I found google docs very easy to use with clear screens and straightforward instructions,and had no trouble sharing a short document and creating a form.
Thinkfree was a little less straightforward ,but with time to learn its ways, I can see it has equal potential.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
the wonderful world of Wikis
Wikis are a part of web 2.0 that I am relatively familiar with, having joined several Oxford library ones and viewed others.I even created a wiki for the Sackler some time ago, but didn't do much with it, so this inspires me to re-visit it and see if we can develop something that will aid communication among a large number of staff working at different times at our issue desk.
I also use wikipedia quite frequently to find all sorts of information, and I have noticed that Wikipedia entries are usually among the first few hits on any google search.
This time, I looked at the entry for Sackler Library, and was pleased to see it is accurate, and even more pleased that I was able to edit the page myself, adding a few bits of information such as number of staff and size of holdings as well as changing the website URL to reflect the Bodleian Libraries name change.
I then had a look at a couple of other entires, one for a favourite TV show and another a politically sensitive issue, and was impressed with the quality of the discussions between contributors about accuracy, content and so on.
I warm to the whole idea of this very democratic means of sharing information but still have some doubts about how reliable any given entry will be,but for a quick and easy first search on a topic it is very useful.
I also use wikipedia quite frequently to find all sorts of information, and I have noticed that Wikipedia entries are usually among the first few hits on any google search.
This time, I looked at the entry for Sackler Library, and was pleased to see it is accurate, and even more pleased that I was able to edit the page myself, adding a few bits of information such as number of staff and size of holdings as well as changing the website URL to reflect the Bodleian Libraries name change.
I then had a look at a couple of other entires, one for a favourite TV show and another a politically sensitive issue, and was impressed with the quality of the discussions between contributors about accuracy, content and so on.
I warm to the whole idea of this very democratic means of sharing information but still have some doubts about how reliable any given entry will be,but for a quick and easy first search on a topic it is very useful.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
T-Wit T-Web2.0 Things 15 and 16 Twitter
Well, I have got a bit behind on 23 things again, but now have time to post about my experience of twitter.
I have to admit that my preconceived idea of twitter was that is one of the more "lightweight" and trivial areas of the web 2.0 world, probably fuelled by media stories of celebs and politicians tweeting their every change of outfit to the waiting world.
However, after signing up and giving it a try, I now see it does have a more meaningful side and is yet another method we can use to keep in touch with colleagues and our customers.
One of the first things I searched was "Sackler Library" and I was astonished to find someone had very recently tweeted a photo of the blossom peeking up over the wall opposite the library entrance in St John Street.There were also mentions of our namesake library in the US.
I soon realised there is a more seroius side to twitter and signed up to follow the BL, Bodleian and penguin books as well as some favourite authors, actors and comedians.
As ever, there remains the question of finding time to log in and read their latest tweets,but I am becoming a fan...though it remains quite disconcerting that total strangers have signed up to "follow" me on the basis of a single "tweet" !
I have to admit that my preconceived idea of twitter was that is one of the more "lightweight" and trivial areas of the web 2.0 world, probably fuelled by media stories of celebs and politicians tweeting their every change of outfit to the waiting world.
However, after signing up and giving it a try, I now see it does have a more meaningful side and is yet another method we can use to keep in touch with colleagues and our customers.
One of the first things I searched was "Sackler Library" and I was astonished to find someone had very recently tweeted a photo of the blossom peeking up over the wall opposite the library entrance in St John Street.There were also mentions of our namesake library in the US.
I soon realised there is a more seroius side to twitter and signed up to follow the BL, Bodleian and penguin books as well as some favourite authors, actors and comedians.
As ever, there remains the question of finding time to log in and read their latest tweets,but I am becoming a fan...though it remains quite disconcerting that total strangers have signed up to "follow" me on the basis of a single "tweet" !
Friday, 12 March 2010
Thing 14 LinkedIn
I first heard of Linkedin when it sent me an automated e-mail asking me to join the network of one of our readers,so I had put a short profile on already.I also knew that if anyone googled my name, the linkedin profile was one of the hits.
So, it was bit of a surprise when LinkedIn didn't recognise my previous membership and I had to create a new profile.
Overall, I am not that enthusiastic about the site.There were very few professional networks for librarians, and most of them were US-based,or had very few members.
I can see some advantages for sharing professional information, and perhaps finding people working in the same field but it doesn't strike me as a very useful web 2 application compared with the others we have looked into so far.
So, it was bit of a surprise when LinkedIn didn't recognise my previous membership and I had to create a new profile.
Overall, I am not that enthusiastic about the site.There were very few professional networks for librarians, and most of them were US-based,or had very few members.
I can see some advantages for sharing professional information, and perhaps finding people working in the same field but it doesn't strike me as a very useful web 2 application compared with the others we have looked into so far.
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Library space versus "my" space:Does Facebook have a place in an academic library?
I joined Facebook several years ago, having set aside my reservations about privacy and given in to the urge to find out what friends and colleagues are up to at any given time, as well as sharing my own thoughts, photos and so on. I now login most days to keep track of people, and have been surprised by messages from old school friends who I haven't seen in several decades (that's what you get for having a memorable surname...very few Bruders in this neck of the woods...)
However, I am also aware of the ongoing debate as to whether libraries should get involved in what is essentially a social space for our readers.Initially I thought not, but am now coming round to the idea of facebook as a good way to keep any of them that care to sign up as "fans" informed of changes, new resources and so on.The only downside I can think of is the need to login regularly to maintain the page/group and the risk of negative feedback and disappointing numbers of "fans" ! I won't let this put me off and plan to ask for permission to set up a Sackler Facebook page shortly.
I have been reading other 23 things blogs on the topic and was very surprised to learn (from James at O.I.L. posting an interesting item on the demographics of social networking sites) that my own age group (ie mid 30's to mid 40's) are the biggest users of sites like Facebook. I had been labouring under the illusion that over 40's were in a minority and that social networking was the preserve of "digital natives" ..what an eye -opener.
I also found a link to the "Alexa" ratings for the world's most popular websites
http://www.alexa.com/topsites
and as you can see, Facebook is second only to google in the rankings,with other networking sites very close behind.
However, I am also aware of the ongoing debate as to whether libraries should get involved in what is essentially a social space for our readers.Initially I thought not, but am now coming round to the idea of facebook as a good way to keep any of them that care to sign up as "fans" informed of changes, new resources and so on.The only downside I can think of is the need to login regularly to maintain the page/group and the risk of negative feedback and disappointing numbers of "fans" ! I won't let this put me off and plan to ask for permission to set up a Sackler Facebook page shortly.
I have been reading other 23 things blogs on the topic and was very surprised to learn (from James at O.I.L. posting an interesting item on the demographics of social networking sites) that my own age group (ie mid 30's to mid 40's) are the biggest users of sites like Facebook. I had been labouring under the illusion that over 40's were in a minority and that social networking was the preserve of "digital natives" ..what an eye -opener.
I also found a link to the "Alexa" ratings for the world's most popular websites
http://www.alexa.com/topsites
and as you can see, Facebook is second only to google in the rankings,with other networking sites very close behind.
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