Locating Podcasts (Thing #21)

Since I received my ipod last Christmas, I have regularly used itunes to search and podcasts. I find it amazing that there are so many different podcasts out there. There really is something for everyone. I think that using podcasts for storytimes and booktalks is really cool. It enables libraries to reach an audience that they might not be able to reach otherwise.

Discover YouTube (Thing #20)

I think that YouTube has some incredibly funny things. It is great for entertainment. It is also a bit scary. I think that the scarriness and entertainment part overshadows what could be the possible educational side.

Yahoo Answers (Thing #19)

What amazed me from the web 2.0 awards list was how many different catagories there were. I remember back in the forth grade playing the first version of Oregon Trail on the old Apple IIc. It was mostly text and mechanical bleeping sounds. Now, there are so many different things that you can do. It is amazing. I took a look at yahoo answers. Although I would not seek medical or personal advise in this way, I still found it very interesting. People can ask any question and then wait for someone to answer.

Online Productivity (Thing #18)

I have previously used google's spreadsheet productivity program for a collaborative genealogy project that I had worked on. It was very user friendly. I liked how I could do my work and then send it on to the next person to work on. Everyone that was working on this project could participate even though we used a variety of productivity packages.

I was thinking that google's online productivity program might also be useful to me to use for my schoolwork. I normally bring in my flash drive so that I can work on my school homework during my breaks or lunches. Instead, I could set up my homework and work on it from both home and work.

Sandbox Wiki (Thing #17)

The Maryland Libraries Sandbox wiki is a nice idea. It is another way to get suggestions and recommendations. However, I did not really care for the format. It would have been hard to find specific information is that was what I was looking for.

Wikis (Thing #16)

I really found the idea of wikis to be interesting. I took a look at several library wikis and can see the use for them. It is a great way for people to share their own wealth of information. I like the thought that anyone can add to the information alrealdy in place.

I did a search for genealogy wikis and have already found a few that I have bookmarked. I plan on using them to share information and to provide stories about my ancestors.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 (Thing #15)

I really like the thought of web and library 2.0. Being able to share and collaborate information and ideas has many implications. To tell you the truth, I am a little bit leary of putting to much of myself onto the internet. I think that while the sharing is expanding, sometimes people forget the privacy implications. There are way to many scary people out there.

Technorati (Thing #14)

I am not to sure that I completly get the idea of this site. The way I understand it is that it will place HTML code inside of your blog so that web searches will be more likely to pick it up. Will it also create "hot links" (like I have seen in other blogs) that will lead me to other websites for more information on that subject?

I don't think that I will use this much because I have not become interested in the whole idea of blogging and reading other people's blogs.

Tagging (Thing #13)

Maybe I just do not get it, but other than accessing your favorites from any computer, I really do not see the point of tagging. I do not really see this being used for research assistance.

Rollyo (Thing #12)

I set up a rollyo search for some of my favorite genealogy sites. Although I can see the use in rollyo, I was not very impressed with the results. I can run a similar search at google or yahoo. Also, with a mass search engine, the results might come from sites that I might not have thought about putting into my rollyo. I do not think that I will be spending any more time there.

Library Thing (Thing #11)

When I first took a look at library thing, my initial impression was that it was similar to Amazon's rating system. As I looked further, I found that it had many more useful tools. I really liked the list of tags that it placed on the books that I added. This gave me some good ideas for other books that I might be intersted in reading. Also, I liked to see the list of books that other people have. With this information, I have made a list of other books that I would like to read.

Online Generator (Thing #10)

I had fun playing with this image generator at DoppleMe. I could not figure out how to make my image bigger in my blog. I made a figure for each member of my family. I think that they turned out kind of cute. I do like that I can take any of these images and use them as an avatar.