Extra "Thing": Why I Think 23 Things is Important

Question: Why it’s valuable to you, to Maryland libraries, to the library profession—whatever you think the significance is.

I feel like this has truly been a learning experience. A cliche, yes, but I honestly feel that I'm much more knowledable about technology than I was 9 weeks ago. And I thought that I was pretty tech-savy. Little did I know that I had much more to learn and experience.

This sort of program is very important to libraries in general as technology continues to grow and expand exponentially. Libraries obviously are no longer "warehouses for books." They serve a much more dynamic purpose as a meeting place, a "third space," a tech. place, etc. And if libraries are going to continue to fill this tech. niche for the community, the staff needs to be away of the new and exciting things coming out every day.

Week 9, Thing 23: Summarize Thoughts on 23 Things

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

Well, best of all I think I liked discovering both the RSS feeds and Library thing. I've gotten to the point where I check my Bloglines on a daily basis, and those RSS feeds are fantastic for up-to-date news. I really feel like I'm even more tapped into "the know."

And LibraryThing, what a cool application. For a bibliophile, there are few greater joys than catergorizes and commenting upon the titles in your own personal library. What a great tool. I can really see using this in our book club.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

23 Things has really opened the door to experience new technology. I had always seen that little "RSS" button on sites, but never thought to check it out. I new what a podcast was, but never thought I'd be interested in them. But this has helped me to slow down and experiment with new things. Since I do have a tendancy to jump to what I think is a goal or a potential solution, I sometimes miss the experiences of a process. This has helped me to take a step back and slow down, which is certainly a lifelong learning goal for me.

3. Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Yeah - Mash-ups. How fun! And the potential for creative projects. I always thought if I wasn't savy in PhotoShop or some such program, I'd have difficulty creating unique digital images. But it be proved so easy with the sites I visited. I can see using them in the future.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I really didn't have any complaints about the format or the concept of 23 Things. If I can think of something, I'll post it here, but for now - nothing.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

Yes, I would. Granted, I was initially motiviated by the prospect of an MP3 player. But given all that I've learning over the last nine weeks, I would participate in something similar.

6. How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?

A worthwhile journey into the world of technology, and something you can walk away from honestly feeling that you know much more than when you started.

Week 9, Thing 22: Learning About Audio Books

I like Overdrive alot. I think the audio book is pretty cool. I learned how to used the Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium in LATI. I find it very easy to use. I was a bit wary about audio books at first. I admit, I was a bit of a snob. "Listening to books? What? That's cheating!" But really, but difference does it make if you read a book and hear the words in your head or if you hear someone read them out loud? When my wife and I visit my family in Ohio, we take an audio book for the 8 hour drive. And although I don't have an MP3 player right now, I think when I do get one it's primary role will be to listen to audio books. They're particularly useful if you're trying to get through a book and it just isn't working. Take, for example, Moby Dick. There were parts I really like about Moby Dick as I was reading it, but I got bogged down about halfway though when Melville goes into his (boring) diatribe on whaling. But, I found that listening to Moby Dick though Overdrive helps me get through the boring parts. And it's a good way to go back and listen to parts you've already read if you wanter a refresher.

Week 9, Thing 21: Finding Podcasts

I looked around through Podcast.net and found some interesting Podcasts. It was a pretty easy site to navigate. I found that I could find things either by clicking on a category or by putting in a keyword. I found a neat podcast called Social Science Books. I added that one to by BlogLines.

These directories can be useful, I think, as a sort of news/information resource. I feel like it's kind of like listening to NPR in the morning. After listening, you can usually come away with something useful (or entertaining).

The one thing I did wonder, though, was that a lot of the Podcasts I found ended on December 5th, 2006. Why is that the last entry for so many Podcasts? Or, maybe I'm missing something. Something to explore further, I think.

--later--
As I looked at the Social Science Books feed on my Bloglines, I see that there are very recent feeds. So, maybe the December 5th, 2006 date I keep seeing is just a function of the Podcast.net directory. I was worried that the podcast was out of date or no longer in service. But it's still going, so that December date must be arbitrary.

Week 9, Thing 20: YouTube

I really like YouTube. I've used it a lot before this. I've never posted a video on YouTube, but I like searching through and finding interesting clips. I like the current version. I tried their "Beta" version and really didn't like it. I found it hard to use. For example, I couldn't find the button to post a YouTube clip to my blog. Whereas on the original version, it's right under the clip itself.
And I think something like YouTube can be useful for libraries as a teaching resource. CCPL could make a clip on...oh, I don't know...roving reference. Then they could post it to YouTube, and it could be accessed by anyone at anytime.

Batman Animated Series Intro

When I was in junior high and high school, I used to love watching Batman: The Animated Series. This is the introduction to each episode. It's just one of those things that remind you of being a kid, and that make you smile.

Week 8, Thing 19: Web 2.0 Award Sites

And this site was sweet, too.

Goodness, all the great sites. So hard to choose. The award site could be additive. I finally had to cut myself off. I said, "Bryan, enough! Get back to your blog and post your findings."

And yes, that's what I'm doing. But when I'm done I may have to go back and check out a few more sites.

Let's see...two worth mentioning?

Under Fun Stuff, the winner was Cocktail Builder. Wicked cool. It's pretty self-descriptive. You can type in an ingredient, and it'll give you suggestions. You can type in a drink, and it'll give you the ingredients. Again I say, "sweet." (And remember, kids - drink responsibly.)

Odeo was cool, too. Crazy amounts of pod casts. And they were a bunch on comics. Right up my alley!

And the site itself was so easy to use. Easy descriptions, quick links. Great.

And yeah, I could see it being used in a library setting. A customer comes in a wants to know about publishing a book? Show them Lulu. If they're sceptical, use the Wec 2.0 Award as a reference. Or, a customer wants to check on stocks, but doesn't like Morningstar? Show them InstantBull, also a Web 2.0 winner. I think it would be a great resource for both librarians and customers.

Week 8, Thing 18: Online Publication Tools

O.k. I have to say, this was pretty cool. That little diatribe below about the Flash vs. Superman? I did that on Zoho Writer. And then, lickety split, I posted it to my blog from Zoho writer. So easy!

I am impressed.

And not just that. The Zoho spreadsheet, the presentation tool, the notebook, the to-do list - all great. And, the fact that this can be added to a computer's tool bar is so convenient. I admit it - this is a great application. Will it replace MS Office. On a person note, I hope so. (Those MS thugs are so smug.) Honestly, I don't think so. At least not right now. I think 98% of the population has no idea of these on-line tools and just how convenient they really are. But, I could see them getting more popular. And when they do, big groups like MS will have to scramble to keep up.

Flash vs. Superman

Who would win a race: the Flash or Superman? Tough question. Being a Kryptonian powered by the Earth's yellow sun, Superman can, as they say, "fly faster than a speeding bullet." And of course, there's the scene at the end of Superman: The Movie illustrating his super speed - Superman flies around the world so fast that he causes time to reverse. So clearly, he's got some skills.

But the thing is, the Flash is pure speed. Literally. He's connected to the speed force, an energy source from which all speed is based. The Flash can run faster than a bullet. In fact, he can break the sound barrier and (I believe) surpass the speed of light. And he's been known to use his speed to travel back in time. So, given that the Flash is tapped into the force that is intrinsically connected with the notion of "speed," I'd have to say that he is the faster of the two.

Thoughts?

(Yes, I am a big dork.)

Week 7, Thing 17: Wiki Sandbox

This was a pretty neat page. I like wiki's a lot, and this one was very easy to maneuver through. It really is fun to be able to reach in and play around with a page. "Add an image here, some text there. Oh, wait. Let's italicize the text because it's a title."

I have to say, I'm a fan of all things wiki. I'm a frequent contributer to Wikipedia, mostly in their articles about comic books and comic book characters. Sure, it can get frustrating sometime. You could spend a good hour cleverly crafting an ingenious biography of Batman during the 1980, only to have some tool come along and delete it because he or she thinks it doesn't fit in the article. But, there is mediation. Granted, those can become heated cyber-arguements. Although wikipedia is pretty good with the ground rules (no name calling, civil discussions, please, no mass-deletions out of spite), I've seen some arguements get downright nasty. So much so that an administrator has to lock the page for awhile to let people cool off. But, that just goes to show how passionate some people can be about their wiki contributions.

Week 7, Thing 16: Learn about Wikis

+O.k., so I just looked at the BookLover's Wiki for Princeton Public Library. What a good idea - for their summer reading program, they have those who register contribute book reviews for their wiki. Brilliant! Just the shear notion of getting to write their own review and post it on a wiki would get a lot of people pumped about reading. Plus, it's a way for the customers to feel that they are a visible part of their library. Great idea!

+And I just checked out the ALA 2006 New Orleans wiki. Again, great idea. If you're promoting an event, why not use a wiki. It's accessable to anyone and it's easily up-dated for accuracy. Plus, after the event is over, people can post their experiences on the wiki as well. Wow, great way to get out there with a new tool and reach a large number of people at once.

Week 6, Thing 15: Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

I read "Away from Icebergs." Nice article. The author makes the important point that as we've moved away from print-only resources, libraries need to do a better job of adapting the way they serve customers. The notiont of the "just in case" collection going the way of the dodo is readily apparent. Speaking from the experience of sitting on the Adult Print committee, we often ask ourselves if we need to purchase an item, or whether the information that item provides is already available on line.
I agree with his point that we need to increase our ability to educate the public in using these resources. Of course, we need to educate ourselves first, I believe.
And finally, his notion of the "come to us" policy of the library is useful. Customers "come to us" for a variety of reasons, many of which didn't factor into a library setting just ten years ago. So it's important that we know why a customer would want to still "come to us."

I also read "Into a New World of Librarianship." All in all, I agree with the author's basic theme that libraries need to step into the quickly flowing stream of technology in order to better serve patrons. Simply buying more computers isn't enough. Librarians need to know how to use the tools available to them so that they can in turn better serve the customer, and if that includes Instant Messaging, Mash-ups, blogs, etc., so be it.

Week 6, Thing 14: Explore Technorati

This site was pretty interesting - it's amazing how so many things can be connected in cyber-space. But honestly, I wasn't so into Technorati. Maybe it'll take some more time exploring, but I just don't have that much interesting in viewing other blogs. Of course, it seems like its an impressive way to search through tags and key words. But still, I just don't think I'd use this on any sort of regular basis.

Week 6, Thing 13: Discover Del.icio.us

Alright, this is pretty neat. Looking around Del.icio.us, I can see how this can be a useful reference and resource tool. I particularly like the option of viewing the tags in different styles (e.g., as lists, as clouds, etc.). I found the "cloud view" to be particularly user friendly. It was easy to find a subject and simply navigate through with a series of mouse clicks. This can be a useful tool for librarians to both collect information for public use, or as an internal learning tool within a system. Pretty neat.

Week 5, Thing 12: Rollyo

This is a link to my Rollyo. I call it Trusty News. It contains a few of my favorite and most trusted news sites.

And this one I use to search for comic book information. I call it My Super Heroes.

I think Rollyo can be really useful as a streamlined search engine. As an info. person, I could create a Rollyo for a particular theme that's commonly brought up at the information desk (e.g., a Rollyo that searches addresses or phone numbers, trusted medical information, etc.)

Week 5, Thing 11: List some of my Favorite Books

This is a pretty cool site. I am quite the bibliophile. For me, this would be a nice way to keep track of my books, my thoughts after reading them, etc.

Here's a link to my page:
http://

And, I actually figured out how to get a rotating list of my favorite books on the edge of my blog. Check'em out!

I like LibraryThing a great deal. I think it can be invaluable for keeping track of what I've read, and can therefore be useful when I'm asked by customers for recommendations. It can also be a neat way for bookclubs to connect and communicate.

Week 5, Thing 10: Play Around with an Image Generator

This is my little Bryan-Avatar.
Like me, he's trying to reach enlightenment. Unlike me, he seems to have succeeded.



I did this at http://www.meez.com/home.dm
and it was quite fun.

Week 4, Thing 9: Explore MERLIN and Other Library-Related Blogs and Feeds

O.k. This part wasn't so difficult. Honestly, I think I liked the search tools on Blogline and Feedster the best. They were really easy to navigate. I think the way that they are set up visually helps a great deal. If you don't see what you're looking for, be it a link or a feed or a category, you'll get frustrated. And I actually did find a couple comic book-related feeds. I didn't think I would, but apparently they're out there. There was even one by Marvel Comics! Sweet. However, I think searching for feeds is something that I will do with care. I don't want to sign up for every "Tom" and "Joe" who's got a blog about Spider-Man. (That's just one example.) One I'm getting at, is that there seems to be a lot of excess to go through until you find something you might want.

Week 4, Thing 8: Learn About RSS Feeds

Well, this was pretty cool. I went to Bloglines and set up an account. This will be an interesting experiment to see how I like the RSS feed as compared to a standard newspaper site. I've some pretty interesting feeds, I think:
*Daily Show Videos
*Guardian Unlimited
*National Geographic News
*Scientific American
*Library Journal News
and many more feeds beyond that!

I'll have to report later once I've given this some time to try out.

O.k. It's a few days since I first started playing around with RSS, and I have to say that I really enjoy it. Or more specifically, I like the fact that I can get news articles with such ease. It took me awhile to figure out that if I wanted an article to say, I had to actively put a "check" by it. This was frustrating at first, but know it makes sense. If I didn't want to read an article the first time I visited the feed, why would I want it there the next time? Answer: I wouldn't. So that turned out to be pretty cool.

Week 3, Thing 7: Post about Technology

I have to say, I am impressed by Flickr. The shear about of photos is amazing, as was the clarity of the images. I think I could spend a good while just thumbing through those photos. It makes me wonder if camera film will soon be extinct. There is just something about a digital image -- the crispness of it, I suppose. Is there anyone -- professional photographers, perhaps -- who still use film? I wonder. It's amazing to think that new generations will grow up never having used a roll of film. But it's amazing how digital cameras have allowed for the almost seemless swapping of images. Pretty cool, I must say.

Week 3, Thing 6: Mashups

This is a mashup I made. Although the magazine itself is fictional, the picture is quite real. It really is the Hissong fetus. My wife and I are very excited!

Week 3, Thing 5: Explore Flickr

I thougth Flickr was really cool. So many beautiful images.

In particular, I liked this one of an arctic wolf.

Howl at the moon, my brothers and sisters.

Let your cries be heard.

Week 2, Thing 4: Register Your Blog and Track Your Progress

Note to self: Bryan, remember to register your blog and save that file to track your progress. I mean it - Don't forget!

O.k. Done and done. I have registered my blog (I think), and saved the progress sheet to my memory stick.

Good job, Bryan.

Week 2, Thing 3: Set Up Your Own Blog

Done!

That was easy.

And the title, Howling at the Moon? Well, I think we just need to sometimes turn our heads to the sky and let our voices be heard. I suppose a blog is a pretty good way to do that.

Week 1, Thing 2: Pointers from Life Long Learners

O.k., well, I suppose the easiest technique on this list (for me, anyway) is to begin with the end. I find myself to be very goal oriented, almost to a fault sometimes. By that, I mean that at times I can get so focused on the end result, I fail to appreciate the process. As my wife says, "It's all about the process." I think she's talking about life when she says that, but I suppose it applies to pretty much everything.

In terms of the most difficult, I'd have to say that I have trouble creating my own tool box. Sometimes I feel that I have so many things running through my head, I don't allow myself the chance to stop and mentally file away a good technique or a useful resource. So I end up going through the same hoops when I'm faced with a familiar problem.

So, there you go.

E-Mail to myself:
This was a pretty helpful exercise. It was interesting to think about these 7 and 1/2 habits and how they might apply to myself at work (or in other situations). Easy to follow and easy to understand. All said, it was enlightening to do a little self-discovery. Nice resource.

Week 1, Thing 1: About This Program

This is a test. I hope I'm doing this right. (Fingers crossed!)

*Hey! It worked. Whaddaya know....!