Thing 22 - Staying Current

My very first post on this blog was way back on January 12! That was nearly 3 months ago. I remember wondering why anyone would want to have a blog. Well, now I have a blog. It feels a little like a diary, only this diary is anything but private. Blogs will be a way of life for me now, since I've discovered how easy it is to keep up with my favorite people and places through a travel blog or a grand child blog. My daughter started a recipe blog, and it has come in very handy, too. No more recipe cards filed away in little boxes!
I think that I will continue to use many of the tools I've experimented with in 23 Things. The best part is I will be able to assist patrons who ask questions about them. It's been fun -- sort of like getting a license to play for pay. I have completed all of the 22 things so far on work time. I can still remember the not so old days when surfing the net on work time was frowned upon. Working on 23 Things has successfully removed the shadow of guilt! I think that 21st Century Librarians will need to stay very tuned in to technology, not only to relate to the younger generation, but to be able to help the older generation navigate the Information Highway. To do this I plan to look at the Internet at least once each day (OK, more like 10 or 15 times a day). I will continue to blog; perhaps I will post a daily epiphany. I will continue to view the beautiful flickr photos and those entertaining you tube postings; perhaps I will post a few of my own. I will keep up with all the latest world news with my CNN feed and with all my 23 things bloggers on Google Reader. I will continue to use the biggest and best wiki, Wikipedia, and I will visit Library Thing from time to time to see what's going on in library land. I will revisit each of the 23 things and perhaps add to my blog. After some time passes, I expect I will gain a new perspective, and possibly even learn something new. Above all, I will not be afraid of new technology. I will run headlong into the surf and live in the 21st century.

Thing 17 - Podcasts

The "Podcasting in Plain English" was short, but very informative. I was not impressed with the podcast.com selections, because they took so loooong to load and play. CNN radio is pretty useful, and right up to the minute. On the morning after Obama's interview on the Tonight Show, they already had a podcast about it. I found a podcast for one of my favorite TV shows, 24. It was voice only, and consisted of two people discussing characters and plots. They talked about the results of a survey on the most popular villain, the least favorite scenes, etc. Interesting, but not something I would ordinarily choose to spend my free time on.
My favorite podcast remains Radio Arlecchino. This was created by the University of Texas at Austin, and offers a variety of different ways to learn Italian. Each podcast covers a particular aspect of Italian grammar, and it can also be downloaded in pdf format and printed. Users have the ability to send questions in by email. The podcast can be delivered to your iPod through iTunes. This is by far the most effective (and least expensive) Italian lesson I've ever found. And I've been trying to learn Italian for nearly 2 years now. Here's the site in case you'd like to take a look at it yourself.
http://tltc.la.utexas.edu/ra

Thing 4--RSS feeds

OK, I finally got it. I only wish that I had watched the video first! It was a short and sweet but to the point explanation of what needed to be done. While I understood the concept of RSS feeds, I wasn't so sure why I needed to subscribe to a reader. This is explained quite adequately on the video. The reader gives you one place to check for all the websites you are interested in. So I am now a Google Reader and have feeds from ACLD bestseller fiction, CNN, several of my co-workers 23 things blogs, and the Millhopper Staff Blog. Whew! I love it when I learn something new! Now it's onward and upward to thing 5!!!