Well, to be quite honest, this was an interesting experience. I ended up opening a Flickr account, and uploading a couple of photos. I also did a lot of browsing. There are a lot of really cool things to see! I don't have a camera, so I had planned on finding on awesome pic to comment on. However, there is either something funky going on with Flickr right now or I'm taking crazy pills, because it is giving me the hardest time. Instead of working....the pictures I try and upload look like little empty boxes. So, I ended up using a photo of my own from a trip to Japan that I'd loaded onto Flickr. Cause of course, that one worked fine. It was taken in Nara, and as you can tell- I had a blast. I'd like to use Flickr in the future. In many ways it reminds me of Facebook, but because it is devoted only to photos, there are many more options. I can see myself using it more as I grow older (its a great place to store personal photos) and no longer use Facebook as much. I'll have to play around with it more, because urgh..... not having it work sort of made me want to throw the keyboard. Of course, I knew that Miss M. (a coworker of mine who usually sits in this place and will from now on be referred to only as Miss M.), would probably be unhappy if her keyboard went missing/broken/etc.... So instead, gnashing of teeth it is.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Flickr..... The 'Urgh' factor (Thing 4)
Well, to be quite honest, this was an interesting experience. I ended up opening a Flickr account, and uploading a couple of photos. I also did a lot of browsing. There are a lot of really cool things to see! I don't have a camera, so I had planned on finding on awesome pic to comment on. However, there is either something funky going on with Flickr right now or I'm taking crazy pills, because it is giving me the hardest time. Instead of working....the pictures I try and upload look like little empty boxes. So, I ended up using a photo of my own from a trip to Japan that I'd loaded onto Flickr. Cause of course, that one worked fine. It was taken in Nara, and as you can tell- I had a blast. I'd like to use Flickr in the future. In many ways it reminds me of Facebook, but because it is devoted only to photos, there are many more options. I can see myself using it more as I grow older (its a great place to store personal photos) and no longer use Facebook as much. I'll have to play around with it more, because urgh..... not having it work sort of made me want to throw the keyboard. Of course, I knew that Miss M. (a coworker of mine who usually sits in this place and will from now on be referred to only as Miss M.), would probably be unhappy if her keyboard went missing/broken/etc.... So instead, gnashing of teeth it is.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Really Simple Seriously (Thing Three)
Hmmmm... RSS.... To be quite serious, I've never encountered RSS before. Well, I've seen it from a distance, as if I were watching someone puke from far away. I know they're doing something, I recognize the motion, yet I have absolutely no clue what exactly they're doing. I'm all like, "Why are they doing that?" It all gets jumbled up. So, although I couldn't recognize RSS from far far away, as I got closer I had an "Oh yeah" moment. RSS makes a lot of sense in the information overload world we live in. I hadn't used it before, and to be honest, I'd made due without. However, RSS will simplify my life exponentially. I wish that I'd made use of it while in school. Not only could I have been more up to date with classroom subjects (potentially), but teachers could have employed it to organize their own lives. Come on, let's face it, teachers are wayyyy disorganized. So too does RSS have the potential to help connect people in business settings. Already, I'm excited because I'll finally know when my friends/business buddies, (yes, plural- I am popular), update their blogs. Personally, I am a podcast addict, and this will allow me the freedom to no longer obsessively check the site for possible updates.
When it comes to actually using RSS, it was a bit confusing at first. I may know this and that about the inter-web, but Miss Sticky is still a pupil in many other ways. I wait and watch sort of like a stalker, but not as creepy... or as obsessed. I'm still tweaking my searching techinques. How do I find that obscure podcast and where the heck is its RSS feed!? It will take a bit of time for me to feel comfortable in the RSS world, but it has the potential to knock my socks off. I know it can't be as easy as pie, but that doesn't mean I don't wish it was.
After all, who doesn't like pie?
When it comes to actually using RSS, it was a bit confusing at first. I may know this and that about the inter-web, but Miss Sticky is still a pupil in many other ways. I wait and watch sort of like a stalker, but not as creepy... or as obsessed. I'm still tweaking my searching techinques. How do I find that obscure podcast and where the heck is its RSS feed!? It will take a bit of time for me to feel comfortable in the RSS world, but it has the potential to knock my socks off. I know it can't be as easy as pie, but that doesn't mean I don't wish it was.
After all, who doesn't like pie?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Technology, the final frontier (Thing Two)
As an individual who grew up in a world that was 'gone crazy' with technology, I can say that many of these 'scary new' things are old cheese. I, like many other twenty somethings, got an email in junior high, have had a MySpace and Facebook account for years, and know that LOL isn't some new plague. (Unless online IM dating is considered a plague, I've seen that strike and it isn't pretty. "U R 2 Cute" Gag.) So, when I first heard about some of the different parts of 23 Things I was left thinking, "so what, this isn't new."
And that's what makes it so unfortunate. The library, like baggy sweaters and the band Poison, has gotten stuck in the not so distant past. While its patrons are busy MySpacing it out, the library worker (especially if they're over thirty, sorry to say) is the one who has the questions. I'm lucky enough that in many ways the library I work at is making the effort to move into the next century. "A computer room? Golly, I'm on the interweb!" We do try to connect with our patrons, and give them what they want. The programs we have seem to be based on what our patrons might enjoy, and it seems to me like we're always looking ahead. Which is good.
With the world hurdling (does that make sense?) itself into an age where all a person needs to survive is internet access, a computer and the website of a pizza delivery place, I almost worry that the library will become obsolete. The library evolves for its patrons, but how much change must happen before a library is no longer a library? I've actually had nightmares about a day when a library contains no books. After all, if they can just be downloaded and read on your computer why have them at all? (Seriously!? Does that not make anyone else slightly nauseous? I must feel the paper and smell the ink!) And, did I spell nauseous correctly? It might be, nausous...no, I think I had it right the first time.
It is a bit weird to see a library really branch out and get 'with it.' (Anyone else have fond memories of card catalogs?)Most of these changes really are for the best, and I applaud the efforts of library workers everywhere. Others though, seem a bit much. A coffee shop in a library? Really, is that giving our patrons what they want or just jumping onto the bandwagon of 'coolness'? Because of the 'hipness' that is found in technology, I sincerely hope that libraries will be able find a balance between retaining their origins and embracing the new world. You know, now that I think about it, this might have all come about because of how much I love history. The idea of so much change, with a disregard of all that has come before, really wierds me out.
If a library no longer has books, just what is it?
Freaking scary, that's what.
And that's what makes it so unfortunate. The library, like baggy sweaters and the band Poison, has gotten stuck in the not so distant past. While its patrons are busy MySpacing it out, the library worker (especially if they're over thirty, sorry to say) is the one who has the questions. I'm lucky enough that in many ways the library I work at is making the effort to move into the next century. "A computer room? Golly, I'm on the interweb!" We do try to connect with our patrons, and give them what they want. The programs we have seem to be based on what our patrons might enjoy, and it seems to me like we're always looking ahead. Which is good.
With the world hurdling (does that make sense?) itself into an age where all a person needs to survive is internet access, a computer and the website of a pizza delivery place, I almost worry that the library will become obsolete. The library evolves for its patrons, but how much change must happen before a library is no longer a library? I've actually had nightmares about a day when a library contains no books. After all, if they can just be downloaded and read on your computer why have them at all? (Seriously!? Does that not make anyone else slightly nauseous? I must feel the paper and smell the ink!) And, did I spell nauseous correctly? It might be, nausous...no, I think I had it right the first time.
It is a bit weird to see a library really branch out and get 'with it.' (Anyone else have fond memories of card catalogs?)Most of these changes really are for the best, and I applaud the efforts of library workers everywhere. Others though, seem a bit much. A coffee shop in a library? Really, is that giving our patrons what they want or just jumping onto the bandwagon of 'coolness'? Because of the 'hipness' that is found in technology, I sincerely hope that libraries will be able find a balance between retaining their origins and embracing the new world. You know, now that I think about it, this might have all come about because of how much I love history. The idea of so much change, with a disregard of all that has come before, really wierds me out.
If a library no longer has books, just what is it?
Freaking scary, that's what.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bloggy Bloggy Blog (Thing One)
I, like many, have decided to embark on the wonderful adventure that is "23 Things on a Stick." I'm sure there will be laughter, tears, and keyboard mashing, but with my fellow librarians, I'm sure we can pull through. (Well, at least 75% of us....some stragglers I'm sure will be devoured by wolves or sink with the ship or etc, etc, etc...) Step 1- create an awesome blog that everyone will be totally jealous of. I'm sort of familar with the internet and all its trappings, so this wasn't as hard as I feared it might be. Although, to be fair, I had a wee bit of trouble exporting my avatar. That could be because at first I only sort of read the directions. Bad Miss Sticky! After going back and reading them thoroughly, it was much much easier. Now I can stop and gather my bearings before continuing on. Does anyone else sort of feel like they're on a magical quest? Just me? Give it time.
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