2 years away from 2.0

Ok, Ok, I'm slack as when it comes to blogging - I really only end up doing it when some professional development opportunity requires it of me. I'm just not naturally verbose via the internet (although real life is a different kettle of fish!)

I'm now working in a scondment position at North Lakes Library - my fancy new title is Information & Access Officer and I'm looking after the SLQ 2011 release of Looking @2.0 for Moreton.

So here I am, having hit the third module "Get it out there" and here I am, getting it out there ("Put it back in!" I hear people cry)

Folksomonomonieswhatshisface...ah whatever & tagging

Clarefucious says "Everyone have photographic memory - some people just have no film"


Joined Del.icio.us - had heard talk about it previously but never had the inclination to use it. I exported all my bookmarks to my new account - I can definitely see why this is easier than trying to transfer favourite from PC to PC and makes sharing anything interesting quite easy.

I did however find the website itself difficult to focus on and read easily - it is rather pale and generic looking. Have put nearly all my bookmarks to private as I joined from home and as much as I love and trust you all, I'm not quite ready to share everything...


We have a list of eResources available from our web catalogue, but I imagine if the library did not have this function, a website like Del.icio.us would definitely come in handy by listing relevant websites in one easy to access place. The notes field under the web address title is handy for adding further clarification to the link.


I have looked at Library Thing previously and at the time thought it was a fabulous idea - the only thing is, I think a lot of things are fabulous, and as you know from my previous blogs, quickly fall out of love (or is it lust?) with these things. I can see if you're a dedicated 2.0 nut you may use it regularly and keep it updated and relevant, but for me I just don't go there enough...


Would be fantastic for smaller libraries though, or as a way to create booklists for different genres etc. I'm always in awe of the new tools people come up with.

Gimme an "R" gimme an "S" gimme an "R.S.S." Gooooooo TEAM!

Clarefucious says "When called an idiot sometimes is better to be quiet, than open mouth and remove all doubt."


OK, I have very little experience with RSS feeds but that probably hasn't stopped me nodding my head sagely when hearing them come up in conversation and saying things like "Oh, that's interesting" and "I understand perfectly".


License 2 Test Drive clarified things for me - so now I really CAN understand and cease making a fool out of myself (in that arena at least...). I joined with Bloglines which at first seemed a little confuzzled as it bleated an error at me, stating I was already a member and yet still sent the confirmation email through - it now seems happy to let me play within it's bounds without booting me out and screaming obscenities I don't need to hear (I get that enough from my co-workers ;).


I added a number of blogs to my feeds, including those that were professional (OPAL, SLQ, PLS & Librarian's Internet Index) and a few that were not (Dilbert's Daily Strip, Drawn! and Rotten Tomatoes - a movie review site).


I can see that if you're the sort of person to have many blogs on the go, this sort of website would be invaluable as it has everything in one place and at a glance. However, I've never been the sort to stick with blogs (either my own or others) and find that if things aren't right in front on my face when I open the net, I mainly ignore them.


I imagine looking at Blogline that there are innumerable number of ways to use the site effectively, if only you have the time to decipher, add, edit and maintain. I'm too busy finding ways to work big words such as "Innumerable" into my vocabulary.

Social Notworking

Clarefucious says "If man chase cars he will get exhausted"


I started my foray into the world of social networking a couple of years ago with a MySpace account - like most things in my life, it managed to hold my interest for about 2 months and then dropped off my radar. I also found that most people were simply adding others to get their number of "Friends" (and I use that term very loosely) up. Something about it seems to fill that need most humans have to be "The Most Popular" - it just reminded me about bad days in highschool - something most people can probably relate to.


What also annoys me about MySpace is the amount of time it takes to load the image-laden, often badly designed pages - all the while being blasted by someone's idea of "good" (and I use that term loosely as well) music choice from their mini-ap song player.


The journey to Facebook kept my hooked, once again for around 2 months - every now and then a flurry of activity will occur with my "Friends" and my interest will be peaked but that invariably goes away and is often replaced by a comfy chair and a good book. I will say this for Facebook though - it was a great way to get in touch with old friends (of the real variety).


Possibilities for your library to use social networking for client interaction, marketing and networking opportunities - I started a Young Adult group last year titled "YAAH!" (Young.Adults.Arana.Hills) - during the first meeting we discussed how we'd like things to work - one of the questions being "Would you like to create a MySpace or Facebook page for use by the group?" - the answer was a resounding "NO". The group is a diverse range of teens aged 12-16 years and yet only around 50% of them even had a social networking account. Interesting...

Wik-wik-wikiwik-ahh

Clarefucious says "He who eat cookie in bed, will wake up feeling crumby"

Finally had some time to check out Test drive No 3 - Wikis. Had a look at three of the wikis on the list provided and on the whole, liked what I saw. I visited the Wookieepedia site - a Star Wars based wiki featuring...well...Star Wars. Not really my cup of tea but interesting all the same (and go on, the name is cute!)

I found some good tips on job interviews in the Library Success: A Best Practices wiki - I've bookmarked it to go back to later and have a thorough lookie through.

Thought I'd continue on the random-bumper-sticker thing and give you all another one that tickled:

Thanks again to Flikr for supplying this photo by "awynhaus"

Flikr Photo

Clarefucious Says "Man who tell one too many light bulb jokes soon burn out"


Here's my chosen photo from Flikr, it was added by "Esparta" and tickled my sense of humour. I get a kick out of random bumper stickers.

I came across it by searching for "Mash it Up", which is a short film festival our library service is running. No idea why it surfaced, but shows how random searches can be!

I've heard of Flickr but never actually gotten on to check it out, I was impressed by the quality of most of the photos.

I can see how these photo sharing sites (I've used PhotoBucket and Webshots) are useful. It's a good back-up for all your digital shots and makes sharing with family and friends quick and easy.

Numero Uno

Clarefucious Says: Many hands make ticklefights fun

Hi all,

Here's my first entry in this blog, I have created a blog or two before, ranted about random things for a couple of days an lost interest - what can I say, I am a fickle beast.

Taking this Learning 2 Test Drive so I can assist my staff when they ask me questions about what to do - making stuff up will only get you so far... ;)

Looking forward to learning new skills and hearing from other library staff around Queensland.

That's me for now - a-shelving I will go!

Clare