Thing 4- RSS and News Feeds

RSS and news feeds are a very handy device, especially if there are web sites that one consistently visits. However, my concern with this is that one can become too complacent in the dynamism of the web. With new websites and blogs arising at a logarithmic rate, and time being a limiting factor will we truly continue to search out alternative websites for a better news feed? Will we become narrow in our focus and forget to look at a greater variety of websites? Having "total immersion" in the ocean is very different than swimming in a concrete pool. So with this one might want to set limits and not forget the greater picture.

Thing 3: Blog Search Tools

I looked at Technorati, Search Engine Journal, About.com and a fairly new one called Hakia. I agree with some of my fellow bloggers that Technorati could be intimidating. I did, however, enjoy reading their series of articles: State of the Blogosphere / 2008 , Day 1 through 6. Since I actually enjoy statistics, I was impressed by the depth of some of their studies. Search Engine Journal was even more intimidating. There was too much blog jargon (is that a term?) that I felt I needed a special dictionary for some of their articles. About.com was excellent. I believed the format is easy to read, the articles are geared for some just getting into the "internet arena" and they seemed very current on issues. Hakia is in beta testing and its search method is semantics not keywords. The search technology will enable retrieval of information via concept or meaning match.
I decided to look for reviews of the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyers in all these search engines. I received information from all except Search Engine Journal. Technorati gave me blogs on movie reviews, vampires and the book. About.com gave me several book reviews, some even from book clubs. It also gave me a biography and interview of Stephanie Meyers plus additional information on the other books in her Twilight Series. Hakia gave information solely on book reviews on Twilight.
Overall About.com and Hakia came out on top for what I was searching. They gave me specifics for Twilight and the Twilight Series. Both of these websites were easy to use and quick with results. Since I am doing most of my blogging from home and all I have access to is slow dial-up, I appreciate speed when I can get it.

Thing 2.5

Just to thoroughly finish with comments on Web 2.0/Lib 2.0, I was impressed with some of the articles and the videos and truly amazed with the enthusiasm of John Blyberg and Stephen Abram.

When I was a great deal younger, I would visit my cousin in Laguna Beach. She would insist that we would not just walk and wade in the ocean but we would need to have a "total immersion". Despite getting face planted and knocked about by some decent waves, I fell in love with the water and later became a scuba instructor. With this NEFLIN program, it seems as if I am walking into the water and slowly becoming totally immersed in the various aspects of the web. It is my perception that the steps are the experience-based study guide and my blog is a reflection of those experiences. These tools that we are learning to use are important for the task at hand and the Web is extremely dynamic, however it should not be the only way to experience life. It is not the only environment that we need to learn about.

Thing 2: What is Web 2.0

Friday, January 16, 2009
I have read the article Exploring Web 2.0 and Libraries from Library Technology Reports 42.4. It was interesting in its description and comparison to Web 1.0. In movies, I have always been leery of sequels, however there have been improvements over the years. The main thing that I have noted with this project is that we cannot remain static. With the increased number of patrons that enter our doors, we are forced to grow faster and try to anticipate their needs. With younger individuals as well as retirees that wish to continually learn, we need to expand our virtual library in addition to the technological training of patrons and employees alike. I am hoping to read more on this subject and add further to this portion of the project.

Thing 1: Setting up my blog

Thursday, January 15, 2009
I have just registered with NEFLIN. So far setting up the e-mail with google, blogging acct with blogger.com and registering have all been straight forward and somewhat easy. That is, until my husband picked up the phone and disconnected me so that I had to redo a few steps. Oh well, practice makes perfect. My biggest concern at this point is threefold. 1. Focusing on the computer and learning the intricacies of the web, will I forget to look outside and enjoy the turkeys strolling by the window, 2. will I ignore the important people in my life because I am concentrating on the screen, 3. will my butt get to be bigger than it already is because I'm sitting here in front of a stupid screen blogging!!!

January 15, 2009
This is my first blog. I never believed that what I had to say was anything to write home about. LOL. With this project change is inevitable, however adaptation or extinction do not have to be the only choices. Those choices are linear and since the Web and its technology are not, we must develop a paradyme that includes the "dwindling elderly population" and baby boomers as well as the younger constituents. We cannot disenfranchise one group to accommodate another. There needs to be a balance in our pursuit to give good customer service and to provide responsible and fundamental change in order to engage our future taxpayers.