iHCPL#19 Online Productivity Tools

OK, here I am using Zoho Writer. I am finding that it is very easy to use. The options are similar to what I regularly use. But the REALLY nice part is that it saves your stuff online. No worries about having a portable storage device with you. It is kinda like the roaming profiles at work. You log onto your profile and your stuff is there. The templates are varied and well thought out. I can see myself using this. I'll be putting this on my blog, instead of publishing from with in the blog itself.

All right! I did it! Now I'm adding an additional note to say - Zoho Rocks!

iHCPL #18 Social Networking

I've looked at Social Networking sites. If I were to join one, it might be Facebook or Yahoo!360 . I'm not interested in MySpace , it seems too hyped up. Facebook and Yahoo!360 make a better first impression on me. I'm not sure I want to wade too far into Social Networking at this time. I already belong to several Yahoo!Groups and like the contact I have in these groups. This contact is similar to some of the more specialized Social Networking sites like Dogster or Catster , but with my special interests all under the Yahoo! umbrella.

iHCPL #17 Technology

From World Book Online :

technology «tehk NOL uh jee», noun, plural -gies.

1. the science of the mechanical and industrial arts; applied science: He studied electronics at a school of technology.
2. the body of tools, machines, materials, techniques, and processes used to produce goods and services and satisfy human needs: Science has contributed much to modern technology.
3. a particular application of technology; any method, process, or system using special tools and techniques
to achieve a goal: medical technology. To reach the…conditions required for a net release of fusion power it is necessary to first develop many new technologies (Scientific American) .
4.technical words, terms, or expressions as used in an art or science; technical terminology or nomenclature

My favorite part about Technology has always been the TOOLS.
If you have the right tools, or can use what you have creatively, you can do most anything. That is why my favorite RSS feeds are Gizmodo and Make Magazine . They are always coming up with new tools or how to use them.

Regarding posting comments to other blogs - been doing that. I think it is nice to get feedback, so I try to give it.

iHCPL # 16 So, what's in a wiki?

Wikis are an interesting thing. You can open a wiki up to editing by anyone or limit it to just a few. A wiki evolves from what its users do. I looked at the iHCPL Wiki Sandbox. I added two items. One is my blog under favorite blogs and a website under favorite websites. I found it really easy to use.

I can see how it can be used to add and modify information for the "public", but it could also be easily abused if the wiki is not monitored or access restricted. That is one reason that I may use a Wikipedia entry as a starter point, but still find other sources to confirm any info.

Update: I have it set up to get emails once an hour if the Wiki is updated. It is fun seeing what others are adding.

iHCPL #15 Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

About Library 2.0 - some people may think "we've been there, done that". That may be true, but

Where are you going and what are you doing NEXT?

I think Library 2.0, and Web 2.0 for that matter, is something that evolves to meet the needs of its users. One examaple is the iHCPL program for employees and the matching iHCPL2 program for patrons at HCPL. These tools help employees learn how to help the patrons and patrons learn how to help themselves. The programs are voluntary, but available to those who want to participate.

We learn how to help others and make available the tools so they can also help themselves.

iHCPL #14 Technorati tagging

I've taken a look at Technorati and tried doing an advanced search by typing "Learning 2.0" as a keyword search in Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog Directory. The results ARE different. It also depends on whether you use the "exact phrase" option. I used the exact phrase option or quote marks for "Learning 2.0"as needed. I also tried it without and got 10X the hits since learning and 2.0 were used as separate keywords.

Searching by Blog posts using exact phrase option- There were 554 hits on blog posts.
Without the exact phrase option there were 6000+ hits. I'm sticking to "Learning 2.0" when I don't have an exact phrase option.

Searching tags gives me a variety of results because it searches for posts (127 hits), blogs (309 hits), videos (20 hits) and photos (20 x 20+ (400+) hits). Wow - a LOT of photos!

Searching the Blog Directory gave me 309 hits.

Searching results depend on how you phrase it. What you get might not be what you expect either - it depends on how someone else tagged it.

Popular blogs, searches and videos have some interesting results. I recommend checking this person's videos http://youtube.com/user/mwesch. They give you something to think about.

I'm not ready to get too involved with Technorati at this time. I may do so later.

iHCPL #13 Tagging and Del.icio.us

Tags are one-word (usually) descriptors that you can assign to things like bookmarks, blogs, books, and other things. These are descriptors YOU assign because that is what it means to you. As you can see to the right, I have a list of tags for my blog.

I've used Del.icio.us for work. It is handy to be able to access the links from any PC. Since it is a shared list, I get not only items I may have added, but what others have added as well. This gives me extra resources that I may not have known. The user comments give new insight on the various sites that I may not have seen.

I can see where this could be a useful research tool. The tutorial video showed how this can be used as such. Finding a good link and looking at what others have could get you another good link or lead you in a new direction.

I'm not ready for a Del.icio.us account yet. I don't have enough sites I want to track. but I can see where it coul eventually be useful for me.

#10 part ll - Having more Fun with Image Generators

Just because it is FUN! There are really so many fun things you can do. It's hard to choose just one. This one is from Sign Generator.

iHCPL #12 Library Elf

I get Library Elf emails for 5 different library accounts. I have 3 different library cards (different libraries) myself and watch 2 other accounts for family. I admit that most of the holds on the family cards are mine anyway, but I do have their permission to use their accounts.

Library Elf gives you a summary of all your accounts together, instead of you needing to go to each library site to check the accounts. This is really nice when you are waiting for stuff to come in for a request. Settings can be customized to your preferences. (e.g. number of days before item is due to be notified) You still get notices from the Libraries themselves, but I like the summary from Library Elf.


You still need to remember your card when you go to the Library.

iHCPL #11 LibraryThing

I have a Library Thing account and now that I remember the password, I can talk about it. As of this writing, I only have five items cataloged. I would have more, but I've been trying to weed my home collection to a more manageable size. Until that is done, there is no real time to use Library Thing . Because, once I start, I will be addicted. It is really easy to catalog your books. Your collection can be private or public. In a way, this site can be for social networking also. You can see who else has books you own and contact them to get recommendations.

You can see random books from my library at Library Thing on the right of my blog page.

iHCPL #10 Online Image Generators

This is is the result of using Comicstripgenerator . It was fun! I found that txt2pic has a list of various types of image generators. Have fun yourself!

Update : I added another post on image generators just for fun! Look for the "Dummies" book.

iHCPL #9 Finding Feeds

Finding feeds was fairly easy. It helped that sites I regularly visited decided to add RSS (or similar) to their sites. Bloglines instructions are clear and understandable. A few of my subscriptions are in the previous post. Take a look.

I looked at the tools listed by iHCPL.
Feedster has some preset "channels". This is nice when you just want to have a look a what is there without having to sort it out.
Topix has a feature to search news by city, state or zip and looks user driven.
Syndic8 seems more about statistics and syndication.
Technorati literally updates as you view it. It reminds me of those news tickers and the bottom of the screen on several cable news stations.

Since I've been using the Bloglines search tools, I haven't needed any others.