Thing #23: The Party's Over; It's Time to Fly

My favorite part of this learning project was also what caused me the most pain and frustration in the beginning: setting up the blog and learning the finer points of Blogspot--especially figuring out how to download pictures, create hyperlinks, and embed videos. I came so close in the beginning to just deleting this blog.

Before this I had intended to open a Flickr account (I did) and explore digital photography. I now feel much more confident about my ability to learn to do so. I am also much more aware about the incredible interactive sites out there and more open-minded about them. They really do have the potential to transform our lives and how we interact with each other. However, I am also more concerned about the potential for abuse regarding personal privacy issues.

Now, finally at the end, I am surprised how much I enjoyed doing most of the blog postings, which I spent far too much time, effort, and anguish over. I learned a lot about my personal learning style and how I'm way too much of a perfectionist, too easily frustrated, and make things harder for myself than they have to be.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? Newbies and technophobes need much more hand-holding and support, especially in the beginning. Small support groups would be a good idea, especially in setting up the blog and learning to manipulate the photos, hyperlinks, etc. While we were encouraged to ask co-workers, and while this is what finally enabled me to get over my frustrations in the beginning, it is not the easiest thing to get help this way. Time is very limited and there is no way someone can do a halfway decent job of completing this project without a computer at home and a lot of personal time. Many of the assignments could not be completed on library computers because of the restrictions on downloading, etc.

As for the rewards, the $25 gift certificate is nice, but definitely not enough of a motivation. I spent more than $50 in the beginning on books on Blogspot and Flickr alone. And if I had been paid for all the late-night hours I spent at home working on this project I could have bought a laptop. But that is not the point The reward for me is all I have learned about the amazing things out there in cyberspace. But the big payoff is the sense of accomplishment I now have and the resulting confidence in my ability to do more. I discovered I have wings.

Yes, I would definitely participate in other discovery programs in the future, although I am glad this one is over so I can catch up at my job responsibilites and my personal life. The learning challenge is now over. Long live the learning challenge! Let's raise a glass to emerging from darkness into light.

Thing #19: From the Web 2.0 Award Winners: ETSY, a Love Story

So much to do, so little time. Exploring the nominees and winners on Web 2.0 Awards site is addicting--and very distracting. But it's a great way to discover and sample the best of what's out there.

Getting down to business: I fell in love with Etsy last Spring. We were introduced by Chrissie, a jewelry artisan/librarian-to-be who interned in Youth Services. When I admired her unusual necklace she confessed she had designed and handmade it herself and asked me if I could guess the theme. And I did. "Rainy Day April" was clearly meant to be mine. Chrissie then revealed that she sold her one-of-kind jewelry on a site called Etsy. My first time I nervously typed in the URL and it was love at first site. And then, just when I was about to lose my self-control, "Rainy Day" was finally listed for sale and was soon mine. It wasn't long before I was obsessed, spending hours feverishly browsing through the endless shops of original, handmade items. Chrissie even apologized for introducing us. Yes, Dear Reader, I had developed Etsy lust.

Etsy calls itself "Your Place to Buy and Sell Handmade Things" but it is so much more. Only handmade items and materials can be listed by sellers. Those who don't toe the line can be reported and removed. One can search for items for sale in every conceivable way: by materials, tags, sellers, item description, by date listed, etc. Etsy showcases items in many different ways, including gift suggestions, etc. And while some shops are more expensive than others, more often the seller is an individual artisan whose prices are exceptionally reasonable and affordable.

But Etsy is more than just a marketplace, it's an interactive community. Anyone who wants to buy or sell there has to open a free account. A buyer can mark items and/or individual shops as "favorites"--a good idea as the goods and sites here stretch on and on, seemingly into infinity. Buyers and sellers alike can also mark favorite shops and items with a little heart and see who also has fallen for a particular shop or item. This is not a crass, commercial marketplace; it is a labor of love. These sellers want to find homes for their carefully crafted handmade items where they will be appreciated and loved--a bit like open adoption.

And oh, Dear Reader, I found so many things to love. My heart was pounding when I spotted the luxurious handpainted cashmere/silk yarn, a bargain and impossible to find elsewhere at any price. Then there were the Balinese Silver Earrings, the Hematite Bali bangle,
the dichroic glass pendant--since lost in the library, alas, but I'm learning to live with the pain. I'm offering a reward for its return. And there was so, so much more. Oh, yes, yes, YES! My ardor was out of control.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I now strictly limit my visits and purchases. But please don't expect me to give up Etsy entirely. And please forgive me for not introducing you in time for holiday gift-buying. But Etsy is no flash-in-the-pan. Just click and it will be there waiting for you. As for me, it's time to move on. There are so many more sites in the virtual sea waiting to be explored.

Thing #18: Online Applications: The Write Stuff

Online applications like WriteBoard, ThinkFree, and Google Docs have a big advantage over traditional desktop applications like Microsoft Office Suite: file portability. Because documents are generated and stored online they can be accessed from any computer anywhere. Files can be marked private or authorized for access by others so groups can interact to edit documents. This capability for interaction can significantly ease group projects .

In applications like ThinkFree and Google Doc, documents can be uploaded, edited, and then exported to a blog or web page. Some can even convert files to HTML or .pdf. While Google Docs and ThinkFree have more of the features mentioned, for the purposes of this challenge I used WriteBoard to generate this entry because it seemed the most user-friendly. It also has related applications that intrigued me, like "Backpack" and "Ta-Da List" which is touted as "the web's simplest to-do list manager"--definitely something I could use.

At any rate, online applications seem to be the way things are going so it pays to make an informed choice about which has the right features and meets the most needs. I opened accounts for each of these three applications and plan on spending more time exploring each before choosing one for more regular use. Right now I don’t have much need for the more advanced and sophisticated features of these programs. However, I can see that any of these could be useful and potentially invaluable for library projects.

Thing #21: Blogged Down With Podcasts: Are They Taking Over the World?

Podcasts are popping up like weeds, so who needs to search for them? According to a clip in the QL Learning blog, "podcast" was declared word of the year for 2005 by Oxford University Press. Well, I hope someone comes up with synonyms or alternate terms soon, because this whole post is bloated with the word. Podcast, podcast, podcast. Judge for yourself:
I explored all three suggested directories, Podcast Alley, podcast.net, and Yahoo Audio. Each, of course, is designed to facilitate searches for podcasts. Podcast.net organizes them in a search directory and lists the top ten search tags, as well as a list of the newest podcasts entered. This Yahoo-like directory makes it easier to search for a particular category. Podcast Alley also features some notable podcasts and lists the top ten. Yahoo Audio seemed the least oriented towards finding podcasts, which it just lumps together under "audio." What is interesting about Yahoo Audio, however, is that it rates the podcasts for quality. I don't know WHO rates them or how, but every one I looked at deserved the l out of 5 rating it received.

I also searched for podcasts with the tag "library" but turned up nothing worthwhile. I did turn up one on neuro science, however. Surely there's a neuro scientist somewhere who would find it worth a listen. In my opinion, just about all the podcasts I turned up did not deserve my time. Life is short.

In the end I went to NPR and had trouble choosing from its high-quality collection of past broadcasts. What a gold mine of highest-quality podcasts! I finally settled on NPR's "Book Tour" column to add to my Bloglines feeds. I had a hard time making up my mind. I'd also like to add Car Talk, Secrets of New York, and, and, and... Another favorite of mine, Border's Book Club is not available as a feed, but must be accessed through Border's website.

Great. Now I have a new vice. But produce a podcast myself? Oy. I don't think so. Like I said, life is short.

Thing # 22: E-Media Promising But Not So User-Friendly

Queens Library Digital Media has a vast, impressive array of e-books, audio books, music, and videos available for customers to download to PCs, MP3 players, PDAs,and certain e-book readers. That's presuming the user HAS one of these devices, which many of our customers don't, and files cannot be downloaded to library computers. All I have so far is a PC at home, but I like e-books so I tried downloading one audiobook to my computer. Everything seemed to be going well, although it took longer to download than I expected, but I was disappointed when I couldn't open the file. Windows claimed the file format, which I had never heard of, was incompatible. And I know bupkis about file formats.

I also hear that the MP3 format of the audiobooks cannot be downloaded to iPods because of incompatibility. But I'm not giving up. As soon as I get an MP3 player--hopefully soon--I'll try again. In the meantime I'll try and learn more about the different file formats. I've already downloaded audio books to iTunes from the Internet (all of David Sedaris--whoo-hoo!) so I'm sure it's just a minor technicality I'm missing.

One thing I like about the audio books is that while they can only be borrowed for 7days--after which they POOF! disappear--many of them can be burned to a CD or downloaded to a portable device or player. They're also available, sometimes for free and sometimes for fee, from Amazon and many other vendors and online sites.

As for e-books, I'd really rather read print materials than text on a computer screen. I feel the same way about e-book readers, although I've never tried them. I have, however, watched movies online from Netflix without a hitch, but had to download their program before I could download their movies. Amazon also has downloadable movies, but according to tech reviews they haven't been well-received because of technical problems. Like any technological advance, e-media has to go through a winnowing-out period so the kinks can be worked out and formats become more uniform. I look forward to being able to utilize these formats.

Social Networking: "So 2006?"

Today's PCWorld article "The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007" lists social networks as #13 and predicts that 90% of the huge numbers of "social networks and their founders will be back working at Starbucks." No surprise here.

Thing 17 1/2: Turning My Back on Facebook

Facebook wants to link the world. Excuse me if I find this somewhat disturbing. After reading the recent spate of articles about their new Beacon technology, including PC World's "Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought", I am more convinced than ever that we don't need Big Brother; we ARE Big Brother.

At first I thought Facebook was just another MySpace wannabe, only a little more exclusive and for a slightly older crowd. It's incredibly ironic, in a time when household shredders are commonplace and identity theft is rampant, that 25 million Facebook users are willing to give a privately-owned, profit-making enterprise permission to collect and sell data about their most personal habits. And Facebook's plan to hook up the world, as recently announced by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is indeed a brilliant idea. The 20-something Zuckerberg described his company's plan to turn what was just another social-networking site into "the most powerful distribution mechanism that's been created in a generation." $$KA-CHING$$

Every book you buy on Amazon, every tune you download, every site you visit, all this info and more can be available to all your friends and anyone else who cares to know. What a great time to be a stalker. And it's not only Facebook users on which the site collects information. According to their terms and conditions, anyone who merely accesses their site is granting them permission to collect data on them and archive it. And now the story breaks that their Beacon project has been collecting data not just on Facebook users, but also on third-parties who have never even accessed the site.

A Facebook presence could be quite valuable for any individual or company looking to market or promote themselves, so I can see a library opening a page for publicity and informational purposes. As for me, I decided not to open an account.