Thing 20: Books 2.0

A "back to book basics" Thing, combined with a future of books Thing. Nice!

I am interested in e-books and the Kindle. The sites that showed/discussed this product, and libraries that are checking out Kindles were the most interesting to me. If you are into this product or want to know more you can contact Michael Kucsak, Director of Library Technology, at UNF (and former NEFLIN employee). He is very knowledgeable about the Kindle.

On the book 1.0 front I looked at all the Reader's Advisory sites. I love to read fiction and wanted to see what was out there. One site I use is Fantastic Fiction. It has bibliographies of over 20,000 authors.

Thing 19: Other Social Networks

I took some time to visit WebJunction and Ning. WebJunction has a lot of great content. From their discussion groups, to webinars, to their great monthly newsletter. I quickly found myself in the bowels of site, such as following a couple of discussions and browsing back issues of their newsletter. Great content. Nice layout. I give it **** stars.

Ning was just okay. I will say the Library 2.0 group is hopping with over 4,000 members. It seemed that 3,995 of them were lurkers, but that's normal. A few do a lot of the talking/posting.

Thing 18: Facebook and MySpace

I created an account on both of these sites when I first began teaching my "Pop Culture" workshop. At that time MySpace ruled and Facebook was a niche social site for college students. Now Facebook has surpassed MySpace in the number of users and "time spent on the site per day" (a precious commodity when you are making your living off ad revenue). Each has their own appeal, which is probably why they can continue to co-exist.

I don't regularly visit or maintain either site, so I won't link to them here.

I will do a shameless plug for an upcoming NEFLIN workshop "Facebook for Librarians" in May.

Thing 17: Podcasts

I have been listening to podcasts ever since I bought an iPod a few years back. I downloaded iTunes and started poking around. I found that a few shows that I listened to on the radio were available as podcasts, usually the same day.

I set up iTunes to download these podcasts daily and then I started listening to them in my car and on my computer. Aaahhh, the good life. My love affair with the Tivo, now spread to podcasts. I could listen to quality programming on my time and schedule, with no commercials interruptions. Sweet!

I have listened to a few library webinars that were really podcasts. There was no visual content, just a talking head (without seeing the head). Depending on the subject matter and length of program (i.e., programs that understood my short attention span), some were good and some not so much.

Thing 16: YouTube

I couldn't narrow it down to one favorite YouTube video. Here are my two favorites that always bring a smile to my face.

John West Salmon (fake commercial).

The band OK Go singing on treadmills.

Thing 15: Rollyo

Geez, I'm getting nostalgic doing the 23 Things. I didn't think that would happen at all. I should be looking to the future.

Anyway I spent some time with Yahoo today...wait I mean Rollyo. Why the confusion? It seems like Rollyo does what Yahoo has been doing for years (and not necessarily better). Providing links to a select few websites on a particular subject. I compared the Yahoo Directory with Rollyo and found the latter wanting.

I turn my attention to the next week as the Things will be YouTube and Podcasts. I am already preparing for an onslaught of 80's music videos, and hearing the sound of my own voice through podcasting. Testing 1-2-3.

Link to Main Blog - 23 Things @ NEFLIN

Thing 14: Online Productivity Tools

I have been using Yahoo since the 1990's. I remember it being the first site that became a directory, or portal, to the rest of the Internet. I actually went and looked at MyYahoo page, which I haven't checked out for years. It is still there. Once I set up my preferences it still remembers.

Like many others I transitioned some of my online activities to Google a few years back. I also have an iGoogle page. Again, I haven't looked at it in a while. My default when signing in to Google is to go directly to my Gmail account. So much for increasing my productivity.

I have also been using my calendar through Outlook for seemingly forever.

I guess I am spread out and don't find myself doing everything in one place. On the flip side it seems to work for me!

Thing 13: Library Thing

Libraries are my thing, so I'm already thinking I will love Library Thing. "620,000 users and 36 million books in the system, almost guarantees you'll find some "eerily similar" libraries". I created my account and, not surprisingly, found some eerily similar libraries.

My taste in books is much more simple than my taste in music or television. This is why I'm not surprised to find folks with the same libraries.

I have made a habit over the years of reading fiction and non-fiction in a pattern. I read one fiction book, then one non-fiction, and so on. Keeps me learning (new words or ideas), keeps my brain from turning to mush (some fiction is more challenging to read than non-fiction), and both provide enjoyment.