#22 Audiobooks (or “The end is in sight”)

I just recently began to explore Live-brary and have downloaded both ebooks and eAudiobooks. In fact when I leave work tonight I am going to knit little Roo a sweater while listening to Orson Scott Card's Invasive Procedures on my I Pad.

I am very excited about Live-brary eAudiobooks. Now when it is the middle of the night and I am knitting away when suddenly my audiobook ends, I don't have to pay for a new one. Yes, unfortunately this has happened to me. Several times.

My only complaint is that the science fiction/fantasy section is a bit over run with vampire and witches. I prefer aliens myself. Oh and the teen section needs more selection.

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

I have been listening to podcasts for sometime now. Of course most of them are about knitting. Knitpicks is my favorite. It has great interviews, book reviews and even yarn reviews.

Typically I use my i tunes to find new podcast that I may enjoy, but I browsed around Podcastalley for awhile. I discovered that there is pretty much a podcast for anything you are into. One podcast that I found to be interesting was AudioBook reviews. I added it to my RSS feed and will take a look at it from time to time to see what other people like to listen to.

#20 You too can YouTube

I am a fan of YouTube- to a point. I will be the first to admit that a lot of the videos are stupid and/or self indulgent. Having said that, there are also quite a few helpful ones. I know when I am having trouble with a particular knitting stitch, I can usually find a good how-to video. I also enjoy watching clips from SNL or comedians (Mike Birbiglia is hysterical and not too dirty).

Hmm. An application for the library website. We could have a video of the day/week. Maybe something techie or how-to.


Hope you enjoy this video. I met these ladies and they are great and so are there knitting books.

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

I enjoyed looking through the list of the Web 2.0 Awards. While scanning the list I realized that I already use a number of the sites frequently. I listen to Pandora in my cubicle all the time. I found my sweet little puppy Roo through the Oodle classifieds. I search Kayac quite a bit for vacation deals. I have plans to look into Mango for some spanish lessons. It comes highly recommended from a friend. But my all time favorite is Etsy. I have lusted after many a handcrafted item (see photo). I am not sure this site has any applications for use in a library setting as some others might but I love it.

#18 Web-based Apps: They’re not just for desktops

I have been using Google Docs for awhile now. My first experience was when Dave Jones created a Battle of the Books document that we could all add to. What a great way for a number of people to work on a project and have all the info in one place. I also find it handy when receiving documents from someone who is not using the same software. I will definitely continue to use Google Docs both personally and professionally.

#17 Playing around with PBWiki

Like most of the "things" thus far, playing around with PBWiki was interesting but I am not sure how much I would use it. For the most part If I want to what anyone's favorite blog or movie is, I will ask. But I could see a use for it if the library wanted to have somewhere where patrons could see what the staff was into.

#16 So what’s in a wiki?

Well, I can now say I understand what a wiki is. I definitely see how they can be of use. People always want the latest news, information, gossip, etc. and wiki sites seem to be somewhere one can get it fast. My only concern is that the information found may not be completely correct. So I would adviseusing discretion, always taking into account where said information is coming from.

I looked into a couple of the sites listed. I really enjoyed browsing around the Book Lovers wiki. I like the idea of reviews written by a number of different people. I will continue to check out this site when I need a book to read or listen to. I already found some great titles to add to my "to read" list on LibraryThing.

I have used the Pals wiki for sometime now. I use it to keep up with the goings on of Millennium Cataloging. I check to see when cataloging meetings are scheduled, print out any of the meeting handouts I may have missed, sign up for any cataloging programs I want to attend and so much more. It is a valuable tool for library employees.

I also looked around Library Success: A best practices wiki. I can definitely see how librarians would want to check out this site to either get or give information.

#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 …

Well I set out to try and understand Library 2.0. I read the Wikipedia article and some of the perspectives. I feel like I got the gist of it. I am all for libraries updating their services to meet the needs of the patrons and enlisting the help of these patrons in the development and maintenance of said services.

I really enjoyed Michael Stephens' perspective. In his article entitled, Into a New World Of Librarianship, Stephens said that libraries are "a social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience". As both a library employee and a library patron, I couldn't agree more. I felt his article took a positive approach to how technology could be used to provide a better experiece for the patron. I think any library and /or librarian that implements the stratergies he sets out in his article would be better for it.

I also read Rick Anderson's perspective, Away from Icebergs. While I found the article informative, to me it seemed more negative than Michael Stevens. Just look at the first word in each title, Away verses Into.

All in all, the five perspectives provided food for thought.

#14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

I played around with Technorati for awhile. The upside to this experiment is that I found an awesome blog... http://blog.craftzine.com/. And If anyone is thinking of giving me a gift, here is a great idea (see photo). The downside is that I could spend hours and hours looking at blogs.

I didn't sign up for an account because I have already signed up for a number of accounts for this 23 Things project. I will definately keep Technorati in mind when I need a project or want to catch up on what is Currently Hot.

#13 Tagging, folksonomies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

I just watched the del.icio.us tutorial. I could see where this site may be useful. The ability to keep track and access your bookmarks from any computer is handy. I would also like to find other people who are interested in knitting and check out the sites they have bookmarked. You would be suprised how many technologically savvy knitters are out there.

Laptop Compubody Sock....

comments about creating my own search engine...

Like most of the "things" we have had to learn about thus far, creating my own search engine was interesting. I just am not sure I would ever take it any futher. I am content with Google or yahoo. Typically I find the information I need with a basic search.

#12 Roll your own search engine

Select Search Engine...qtswfl.blogspot.comKniitingSearch The Web

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