Much To Do...

There's a lot to take in this week. It's not just Remember the Milk and Jott, but the seemingly countless ways they interact with other services. There's probably some combination here that would really work for me, but I'm not sure what it is. What I am sure of is that I desperately need something to help me remember things. My wife (who is weeks behing on Project Play I might add!) will attest to the fact that I ALWAYS forget something when I run errands. I make lists, but I forget to add important stuff. Even worse, I often forget the list itself. So paper lists have their limits.

I must admit to finding a certain amount of satisfaction in creating papers lists, crossing things off, and tossing the list. It just doesn't feel like I'm getting anything done unless I'm killing a tree! (To be fair, I do use scratch paper which I then recycle, but still).

I have a list of new tools that I intend to explore more fully when I have time. Remember the Milk and Jott are going on that list. Please, nobody hold their breath.

Google Docs (and everything else)

Interestingly enough (or maybe not, I don't know), on the same day that I complete this assignment I see a post on the Winnefox 2.0 blog about another blog called The Googlization of Everything. The blog is written by Siva Vaidhyanathan, whom you might remember as the author of Copyrights and Copywrongs. I think it can be difficult to look at Google as anything but wonderful when they make so many of these great tools available free of charge and without even pummeling users with too many ads. Seems worthwhile to be skeptical, though.

That said, Google Docs is really slick. Late last year I uploaded our various schedules in Google Docs so that my department would have easy access to them from outside the library. The collaborative aspect hadn't really occurred to me. I can certainly see using that feature in the future.

Week 1 - I'm IMin

I've been using IM, mostly at work, for more than a year since I learned about some of the features in AIM Pro. I thought that I might use the screen share feature quite a bit, which I don't, but I have become a regular IM user anyway. The Menasha Public Library uses a Meebo widget on ours contacts page (http://www.menashalibrary.org/contactus). I would say we get 1 or 2 questions via Meebo each week and for most of them, Meebo is a quick and efficient way to handle them. Most of my IMing occurs with other library staff, both here and at other libraries. I find it to be a very convenient way to communicate quickly. It's not as obtrusive as a phone call and it keeps the email inbox a little less cluttered.

I added the Meebo widget to my blog and was amazed by how easy it was to do so. I next added my professional AIM account (mpljoeb) and a personal IM account (with a grand total of two buddies) to my Meebo account. Rather than using AIM, I'm going to try using Meebo for a couple of days for all three and see how that works. I'm online most of the day while at work, so feel free to say hello!

Reflections

I have enjoyed Project Play from start to finish and am really looking forward to Semester 2. I came into this with varying degrees of familiarity with these tools and was eager to learn more. I do manage a certain level of self-guided exploration in the area of new technology, but there's a lot to be said for a structured approach, especially when it's put together as well as Project Play has been.

With the possible exception of LibraryThing, I expect to be using all of these tools in my professional and/or personal life. I not only have a much better sense of how to use these tools, but perhaps more importantly, I have a far greater idea of *when* to use them. I have a pretty good knack for figuring out new technology, but it's especially helpful to have it placed in a context that allows me to see where a it's been useful (or not).

Stiki Wiki

While I have found every week of Project Play to be informative, this might be the week where I will take the information and put it to immediate use. My Adult Services department has been charged with adapting/rewriting our Internet Acceptable Use Policy. I already knew that we wouldn't be able to find the time to sit down as a department and work on this face to face. I also knew that email would be too cumbersome. I started the conversation on our departmental blog, but now I'm convinced that a Wiki is the answer. I've already signed us up at PBWiki and am waiting for the email confirmation. I think this will be the perfect way for us to collaborate!

As for the assignment, I really had to look hard for a Wikipedia page that didn't already have the library linked. I tried the library where I work (Menasha), used to work (Neenah), and live (Oshkosh), but they all had links. So, I started to think of other Wisconsin cities. Apparently, as a librarian, my mind works alphabetically because now the good folks at the Antigo Public Library will find a link for their library in Wikipedia. You're welcome! :)

I also played around in the sandbox a little bit, adding a couple of my favorite authors (Jim Harrison, Jonathan Carroll, Wallace Stegner) and titles to the long list of contributions.

del.icio.us

I *think* del.icio.us is finally starting to click (pun intended) for me. I've been at the Menasha Public Library since June. Our del.icio.us page is one of those listed as an example this week, but I have to admit that I didn't quite understand the appeal the first couple of times I looked at it. I'm still not all of the way there, but I'm getting there. It becomes a lot more clear when you create and account and start to tag your own sites, as opposed to seeing only the finished product. I still don't care for the look of the site - it's a little too spare. At least now, though, I see the benefit.

As far as other uses, I think there's potential for us with a library's local history collection. Like most libraries, we have many photographs in our collection with little to no description. Opening these up to tagging might result in people adding information about these photos that we didn't know.

I'm not a cataloger. In fact, I didn't even have to take cataloging in library school. In spite of that, I like controlled vocabulary. While 'cookery' is a confusing heading for most people, at least you know that by using it, you should get all of the cookbooks in the library. Tagging seems far more likely to result in missing a resource.

Flickering

Dave_and_Joe
Originally uploaded by Joe Bongers

I happened to have this photo handy in an email message, so I thought I would use it to start my Flickr account. That's me on the left with a good friend that I hadn't seen in more than 3 years. When I walked in the door, he handed the camera to his 4 year old daughter and told her to take our picture. I think she did a nice job.

Prior to working on this assignment, I had only visited Flickr a few times. I usually ended up here following links from a blog post or website. It's so incredibly easy to use, though, I'm not sure why I didn't investigate it sooner. It seems like a great way to stay in touch with friends and family.

The most obvious use for Flickr in libraries is the promotion of events. It helps to generate interest in future events if you can show how much fun people have had at past events! There is also a tremendous opportunity in a site like Flickr where you might be able to catch the interest of someone who might not find themselves on your library's website.

No dislikes or favorite features at this point. Everything seems very easy!