Web 2.0 Training - Flickr, Part 2

Flickr and other photo sharing websites are pretty useful. I have visited them in the past to see pictures of family members that are living across the country and to see the places and things they are doing. But I had never actually joined Flickr until this week...I'm really bad at remembering to take pictures when I go on an adventure. My wife has the same problem, but we decided to buy a digital camera in December and force ourselves to start using it. We took several pictures with our new camera when we went to Las Vegas in January, and now that I've joined Flickr, I can let other family members see images from our trip as well as backup these photos online.

I think Flickr could be utilized by the children's departments at CHPL. Pictures could be taken of story times and shown online; librarians could also look for images of story times at other libraries and see if there are props or books that can be incorporated here in Henrico. Flickr could also be used for contests - maybe kids could take books with them on their summer vacations and take pictures from far away places with their Twin Hickory copy of "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" in hand. Children could then see all of the cool places the books have journeyed while being encouraged to bring along something to read on their trip.

Web 2.0 Training - Flickr, Part 1

Originally uploaded by thefacelesskid

Today I created my own Flickr account, but since I did not bring a digital camera with me to work, I decided to randomly search the Flickr archives for concerts that I've attended recently and see if I could find myself. I'm not sure if I've succeeded here - I'm only about 50% sure that the guy in the lower right hand corner wearing glasses is me. But I DID drive down to VA Beach to see The Gaslight Anthem in October, and I WAS standing in that general area, so I think it's a good bet. Still, it would be nice if the photographer had taken another step or two back so I could confirm if this is definitively me...does this glasses-wearing-person have on one of my shirts, or is he standing next to my wife? These would be key facts in determining the true identity of the man in the lower right hand corner.

But whether or not that is me, the concert was awesome! The entire crowd sang along to every word of every song. I'm convinced that singer Brian Fallon was cloned from Bruce Springsteen's DNA and born sometime around 1980 to punk rock parents. He told a couple stories about visiting places that are mentioned in Springsteen songs, and he even wore the same kind of beanie that Bruce wears on the Live At Hammersmith Odeon DVD. Definitely check out The Gaslight Anthem if you like good rock 'n roll.

As for me, I'm going to check out some more Flickr, and think of ways that we can use it at CHPL. Flickr Away!!!

Web 2.0 Training - Podcasts

I've been aware of podcasts for a long time; almost five years ago, my friend Jason was telling me how podcasts would replace radio, and how we would be able to easily listen to whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted (and avoid the junk that was on most commercial radio stations). But I didn't really jump on the podcasting bandwagon until I got an iPod over a year ago. I usually only listen to the radio when I'm driving; now I could load a podcast onto my iPod and listen to that instead. And yet, when I'm driving, podcasting still takes a backseat to my cds, WNRN, and AM Sports Radio. But there is one place where I always listen to podcasts - the gym.

Podcasts are perfect for the gym; they force your brain to listen to a conversation rather than acknowledge the heavy weight lifting that you're currently sweating through. I've found that most of my music is too fast or too slow to match the medium, steady pace of lifting weights, so listening to podcasts was the perfect solution. (Obviously, it's a different situation if you are on a treadmill; your mind is too fried to pay attention to a conversation, you need fast music that motivates you to keep going. I've found H2O albums to be the perfect choice...on the rare occasions that I can actually motivate myself to get on the treadmill in the first place.) Now I lift and listen to people talk about sports, movies, music or current events - the only problem is when something funny is said and I start to laugh mid-lift. My new routine to get ready for the gym involves changing clothes, filling my water bottle, and loading a podcast onto my iPod - it's just natural, I don't even have to think about it. In fact, it still throws me off that my favorite weekly podcast was canceled at the beginning of the year (Weasel Radio, based out of Madison, Wisconsin). I used to listen to Owen and Ben argue sports, music and politics every Thursday, but then Owen went and moved to Seattle. Yes, I'm nostalgic for a podcast gone by...how's that for living the Web 2.0 life?

I think podcasts could be very useful at the library. Story Times could be recorded and then archived for future listening. In fact, you could just bypass the actual library 'Story Time' and record the librarian reading a book in the comfort of their own home. Maybe sound effects could be added as well - you could have a whole Story Time Podcasting Production! You could turn book discussions, computer classes, and live appearances by book authors into podcasts as well. Podcasts could be geared towards a broad audience, or target a specific group, such as teens or Henrico County residents. There are a variety of ways this technology can be utilized at Henrico County Public Libraries, and I look forward to seeing how we will move forward into the podcasting world.

Web 2.0 Training - Twitter

I apologize to the Web 2.0 Committee Member that created this week's lesson, but I really don't see the point of microblogging through Twitter. If I'm going to take the time to read something online, let alone follow it on a daily basis, I would hope that it contained more substance than 140 characters can provide. And I don't think that Twitter is a useful tool for work at the library either; why would anybody want constant one sentence updates telling them about each day's events when they could just go to the main website and look at the calendar? Anyways, I think my distaste for Twitter was accurately described by ESPN's Bill Simmons:

In 15 years, writing went from "reflecting on what happened and putting together some coherent thoughts" to "reflecting on what happened as quickly as possible" to "reflecting on what's happening as it's happening" to "here are my half-baked thoughts about absolutely anything and I'm not even going to attempt to entertain you," or as I like to call it, Twitter/Facebook Syndrome. Do my friends REALLY CARE if I send out an update, "Bill is flying on an airplane finishing a mailbag right now?" (Which is true, by the way.) I just don't think they would. I certainly wouldn't. That's why I refuse to use Twitter.

Amen.

Of course, the video in this week's lesson about Twitter did include the quote, "Carla's friends followed her updates, and learned that she recently discovered a passion for Van Halen," which made me laugh out loud, so I guess this week's lesson wasn't a total waste.

...Oh, and just to clarify, I laughed at that quote for its randomness, not because I dislike Van Halen, whose first album should be owned by everyone. Even the Hagar era had its moments - somewhere in the depths of 100.7 FM in Radford there is a recording of me belting out the opening to "Poundcake" in all its glory. Still, the idea of somebody discovering Van Halen through Twitter would make David Lee Roth spin in his grave.

Web 2.0 Training - RSS Feeds

This week I learned about RSS Feeds, which enable you to check for updates on numerous websites by just visiting one page. I have never used RSS Feeds before - I can count on one hand the number of websites that I visit on a daily basis, and it has never felt time consuming to go to each of these pages individually. But in the spirit of learning, I decided to set one up anyways.



The video mentioned Yahoo Reader as a viable RSS Feed, and since I have a yahoo email address, I decided to try this instead of the two other sites suggested in the Web 2.0 Blog. I added several websites to my Yahoo Reader, but the results were mixed at best. Some of the RSS Feeds would work as I had assumed they would - I clicked on the headline, and the article opened in another box on my Yahoo Reader page. But when I clicked the headlines from some other sites, the internet browser just went to that particular webpage for me to read the article - it was as if I had just gone to the webpage from the beginning! I returned to my Yahoo Reader page by clicking the back button. Another problem I encountered was that some of the webpages had actually been updated more recently than my RSS Feed initially stated. I also found it frustrating that I could not read comments on the RSS Feed, only the main article. In the end, I think RSS Feeds would have been a lot more useful ten years ago when we had to spend five minutes waiting for each webpage to load. But I'm not sure how much time is saved these days when the internet moves at light speed.



I have also been racking my brain to think of ways that RSS Feeds could be used at the library. Maybe an RSS Feed could be offered that tells about all of the events being offered at the library - but I don't know if that's necessary when we already have a calendar on the main website, plus events are scheduled well in advance and don't require the immediacy of an RSS Feed. Perhaps an RSS Feed could be set up that lets patrons know whenever new books are added to the catalog. This way patrons will know whenever their favorite authors have a new book out. Of course, we might have to set up a separate RSS Feed devoted to James Patterson - I think he has a new book out every month!