Thing 19 - Other Social Networks

I read the article about Gather trying to become the MySpace for books, and I'm not so sure this will work. Who would go willingly into a new site where the stated objective is marketing? What's in it for the average (non author) user? I know MySpace was originally intended to be a place for musicians to market their work, but look what it has become. Sure, music is still a part of it, but not, by far, the biggest part. Next I looked at some of the other sites. I'd already used WebJunction, for some library training in the past. So I checked out Gather, but, as I've already explained, was not too excited about their mission. Next I tried Ning, and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover that I'm already a Ning user, having joined the James Patterson Community some time back--I even have one friend. I've been a fan of Patterson for while now--Alex Cross is one of my favorite good guys. The chat on Ning's James Patterson Community so far hasn't been riveting, but maybe it will get better. And I get an occasional email update about new releases. This must be one of the reasons Patterson is such a popular author among the young adult crowd--he knows where to find them (online).

Thing 18 - Facebook and MySpace

I set up an account on MySpace a couple of years ago, at the invitation of my daughter. A complete novice at social networking, I neglected to fill in the details on my profile, so in the space after the question, "children?" the default response was "no." Of course this sent my daughters into peals of laughter. I think they said they were lol or something like that. As soon as I figured out how to edit my profile, I changed it to "proud parent." For quite a while I used MySpace as a way to "network" with my own family. When they didn't answer the phone for example, I checked their MySpace page for updates and the latest photos. MySpace has been a lot of fun, and has allowed me to explore some things I did not know how to do. It was here that I learned how to "blog." I started blogging book reviews, in the hope that I might connect with other readers. And here that I learned how to upload photos, and I even created a slide show. Once you try it you'll be hooked. And don't worry about safety issues. It isn't that hard to become your child's friend on MySpace. The one thing that I do not like about MySpace is the commercialism that crops up -- I know that nothing is free, and the ads probably pay for the site maintenance. But I'm talking about the so-called "friends" who seek you out and then, once you've accepted them as a friend, they try to sell you some Omaha Steaks! I really don't need to purchase food on a social networking site, so these friends will be deleted.
Here's a recent photo of my little granddaughter, Grace, hamming it up with a pair of sunglasses. Her Aunt Leah took the photo, uploaded it to MySpace, and I was able to see it, save a copy, and print it immediately. How cool is that???



Facebook came next. I don't understand why it is so popular, really. It's about the same as MySpace, but it is easier to find people you once knew. Not for me, because many of the folks in my age group are not into social networking. But the software apparently looks at your friends' friends and gives you suggestions on who you might want to add as a friend. I'm not too fond of this feature, but must admit that I've added some friends as a result of it. Of course, most of my friends here are also related to me. We've even added a family reunion group just for us, that cannot be viewed by the public. So far the only ones to sign up for it beside myself are under 40! Come on, all you baby boomers, get with the program and set up your own social networking page! You can be my friend!

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 16 - You Tube

You Tube is, by far, my absolute most favorite of all the 23 Things. Who could have predicted this phenomenon? The world has certainly become a smaller place since You Tube. We can now share our happy moments, our sad ones, even our silly ones, with everyone else in the entire world. What a blessing this is. I found a great clip of a young girl performing a flaminco dance that I would like to share with you now. Take a look at it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAUwCEbPhA8

Or for those among you with more sophisticated tastes, here is a clip of Elvis singing
"Amazing Grace:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDyXLnarP7Y

And another live recording of Elvis singing "I Can't Help Falling in Love" that has been viewed more than 800,000 times since it was posted, about a year and a half ago. I wonder what Elvis would have thought about YouTube???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7VG4I_b2Fk


One day soon I'll have the courage to add a video of my own. Wait for it with measured anticipation.

Thing 15 - Rollyo

I've just added a Rollyo search box to my blog, so I think this is what Rollyo does--it gives you a way to search all of the relevant websites for your term. You can list some of your favorite or recommended websites to search, so the results would be a better (more reliable) list of hits to peruse. This might be a better way to present the Great Links on the library's webpage. As it is now one must first know that they are listed under "Look it Up," and then "Great Links." There are some really great websites there, but I wonder how many patrons actually find them. If we used Rollyo for these, they could be grouped into the same categories they are now.

Thing 14 -- Online Productivity Tools

There are so many gadgets (or is it widgets) that you can put on your blog or your website. I don't really see the need for most of them, although I must admit to forgetting an important appointment recently. Perhaps I do need a gadget! One that will stun me into consciousness and make me remember where I am supposed to be and at what time! My old fashioned hand written date book works just fine, when I remember to use it. And I can carry it around with me wherever I go. What could be better than that? Ah, well, but the assignment is to examine online productivity tools. So I will start with a definition. What are they? I found a list among the online resources provided by NEFLIN. They include things like Zoho, 30 Boxes, Google Docs, Bloglines, and Pageflakes. I've seen or tried most of these, so I think my focus for this exercise will be the online calendar. The name "30 Boxes" sounds fun, so I have set up another online account with yet another user name and password. Now I have my schedule for the month of March online. I can have "buddies" who could have access to my calendar. The calendar will be available to me when I am not in the office. And the calendar will also be on my blog!

Thing 13 -- Library Thing

OK, this one I really love! It's like MySpace or Facebook for librarians and other booklovers! I've been putting my own book reviews on MySpace (yes, I know, it's like spitting in the wind). Now I think I'll just put them into Library Thing. You can instantly connect with others who have read the same book. After you've entered enough titles, you will probably begin to see a few people whose reading tastes are similar enough to yours and you may want to join a discussion group. The Library Thing tour was short and sweet. The sign up was very easy. I now have 5 books in my "library." My books on the whole are pretty popular. I've read some other reviews. I've added a Library Thing gadget on this blog. How? From the Library Thing account, go to add a widget, copy the html code, then go back to your 23 things blog. Go to Layout, then click on Add a Gadget, then choose Add html. Here you will paste the code you copied from Library Thing. Tada, you now have a search box on your 23 things blog that allows your viewers to type in the title of a book they might be interested in reading and quickly see a review. I'm still investigating discussions and local events. To be continued....
Well, now, it seems there is a fly in the ointment. Unfortunately Library Thing has a commercial side that is not apparent at first glance. Upon clicking deeper and deeper into the information, I found this statement:
"Enter 200 books for free, as many as you like for $10 (year) or $25 (life)."
All of the book covers must also provide a link back to Amazon, it seems. So this Library Thing is not exactly free. I'm a little disappointed. Mainly because I plan to read way more than 200 books and will not be paying anyone to talk about them online. Guess I'll stick with the freebees, MySpace and Staff Intranet.