Pets #74: Social Petworking

I registered my pug Bubba on doggyspace.com. This site is very similar to other social networking sites, like myspace or facebook. The registration process was very easy. After you enter your information, doggyspace sends you an email to confirm and then you put in all your pets information and you are ready to go. Just like other social networking sites, you can upload pictures and add information to your page. The site also allows you to connect with other animal lovers and become friends. The site has a journal feature. You can view and pose videos, join groups and give your opinion in one of the many polls. The site is really easy to use, especially if you are familiar with myspace of facebook, since it has basically the same format.

Pets #73: Losing a Friend

One website I found on pet loss was: www.pet-loss.net. I found this website to be very easy to use and very helpful. It has links for other sites and hotlines. It also had information about euthanasia and how to make that difficult decison. The front page of the site has ten helpful tips on coping with the loss of a pet. Another good site is: www.aplb.org, which is the Association fot Pet Loss and Bereavement. This site had some good information on how to help children cope with the loss of a pet, that I had not seen on other sites. It also had and "in memoriam" section where members can remember their pet. I thought this site was easy to use and had alot of good information. I would recommend both of these sites to any dealing with the loss of a pet.

Pets #72: Pet Health Online

According to the DogAge quiz, my pug Bubba is 9 years old in human years, which according to the site was much younger than other Pugs. Bubba is in good health, goes to trhe vet regularly, and gets a lot of exercise which all contributed to his young age. I think the test was fairly accurate, because Bubba is about 2 1/2 years old, and he is a very healthy dog. Bubba's fitness routine includes walks around the neighborhood, running in the backyard with my other two dogs, chasing squirrels and birds. Sometimes I take him to the dog park, so he can run around and play and socialize with other dogs. He really seems to enjoy that.

Pets #71: Finding a Pet

According to the Pet Picker quiz, the best pet for me is a bird. I don't think the quiz is very accurate though, because I would never get a bird. I used the Pet Finder website to look for pets and it was very good. I searched for different dog breeds in my area and I found many available pets. The site listed many different adoptions groups, and all the information you would need to adopt the pets including the cost, location, and contact information. This is a good site for anyone looking for a pet.

Potluck #50: Global Nation

The two websites I found to be most helpful were tripbase.com and igougo.com. I thought tripbase was very accurate. I put in my trip interests and it recommended several cities that I would love to go to like New York and San Francisco. I decided to go with San Francisco and I found igougo.com very helpful in planning my dream vacation. On Igougo.com I was able to find information about the many attractions the city has to offer, like Alcatraz, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, and Lombard Street. I would also like to visit the city's diverse neighborhoods like Nob Hill, the Mission District, the Haight, Noe Valley and North Beach. While I was there I would also have to include a stop at the famous City Lights Bookstore. San Francisco is known for its great restaurants. I was able to find lots of information and reviews on igougo.com about San Francisco many great restaurants. San Francisco has restaurants owned by many celebrity chefs like Wolgang Puck's Postrio and Michael Mina. Both tripbase.com and igougo.com were very helpful in planning my dream San Francisco vacation. I would definetly use these sites again.

Spring Cleaning #30: Take a Load Off Our Drives

For this excercise, I looked at the three different drives. I am familiar with all of them. I have used the S: drive before to look at photos of events that get placed there for everyone to see. So I am familiar with how to use it. I do not have to create alot of documents for my job. We mostly have templates and communal files that we all use to make our labels, barcodes, etc. There were not any files that I personally needed to delete. I do not have many personal documents saved.

Spring Cleaning #29: Email

I went through my work email and deleted all the old emails that I do not need anymore. I also moved the ones that I want to keep into folders. I created several folders so, that when I get emails I can delete them if I don't need it, or if it is something I need to keep I can put it in its appropriate folder. Now my email is much more organized and it is easier to find an email when I need it. I think that this will be very effective way to keep my email organized.

Spring Cleaning #28: Don’t Clutter Up Expensive Cyberspace

I read the article about GTD on wikipedia and it is a very simple method to staying organized. The basic principles of GTD: collect, process, organize, review, and do is very similar to how I stay organized. I have a monthly planner that I keep on my desk and I write down all the things I need to accomplish. This way I have everything in one place and I can see at a glance what I need to get done. I looked at google calendar and I thought it was very easy to use. However, I am not always in front of a computer, so I think that the best organizational method for me is the one I am using now.

Week 10: #23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning...

There were several components of this training that I enjoyed. I really liked the library elf and library thing. I think these are two sites that I would continue to use. I also was really happy that I had the opportunity to learn more about photo sharing, because that is something I was interested in learning more about. I also liked that the fact that this was a collaborative effort. Everyone got together and helped each other out, and I think it was a good bonding experience for the staff. It was really interesting to look at other peoples blogs. I came into this whole experience in the middle of it and it was a good way for me to get to know all my new coworkers. I would definetly be interested in continuing this training. I think that this experience was good for everyone because it gave us an opportunity to learn about things that we might never have done without iHCPL. I think the next step now is just to take it to the next level. I would interesting in applying the things I learned and doing more advanced applications. I think that the program was a great success and I am really happy that I completed it.

Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

I think that compared with the other sites I looked at the HCPL site is really good. I like that we have this available for people that want to use it. As far as I am concerned I really don't see the point of eBooks. I would not check one of these out. When I read a book, I don't want to have to stare at the computer screen for a long time. However, I did like the fact that there are music and movies on the HCPL site, that is really cool. I had actually never looked at the overdrive site before and I am glad I did because I do think it is a good thing, that we have this avaible for our customers. We had a lot of really good items on the site for people to use, so I think it is good. I am just not sure how much I would actually use this sort of thing, especially since I use a Mac at home, and according to the site its not compatible with Macs or iPods. Which I think is definetly a disadvantage because so many people have iPods now.

Week 9: #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

I was familiar with podcasts before starting this excercise. I already had the new york times book review in my bloglines account. I subscribed to a podcast about Las Vegas tourism, since I am going there next month. I used podcastalley.com and I thought it was really good. the site allowed you to browse for podcast based on subject, and they had thousands of entries. If you are looking for a podcast and you don't have itunes the I think this is a good site to visit. I think podcasts are very useful, because they are easy to make and anyone with a computer can access them. I think podcasts are going to become more and more popular. I heard alot about colleges used podcasts in classes, which I think is a great option for students. I took several online classes when I was in college, and I think I would have taken advantage of a class that used podcasts, if it had been available to me.

Week 9: #20 Discover YouTube and other video sharing sites

I think YouTube is a really cool website. I like that there is so much content, from anything to TV, politics, and random videos that people post. I enjoy just browsing YouTube and seeing what out there. I think that this could be a good tool for the library. I think it could be a good way to promote upcoming programs and services. YouTube is a really popular site so I think that people would appreciate if the library used it. The video I found is from my favorite TV show The Office. One of the funniest parts of the show are the pranks that Jim on plays on Dwight. I found a video that someone made of the top ten pranks between Dwight and Jim. This video is a good example of why I like YouTube, because anyone who is a fan of the show will enjoy this compilation. I couldn't figure out how to embed the video so here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyO7Fp1PuoM

Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

I think that Zoho writer is actually pretty cool. Anyone wh0 has used miscrosoft word before will find Zoho writer to be easy to use. I really liked the fact that it was easy to use and it is really convenient if you want to share documents. It was really easy to create a document and it had all the features of microsft word that I like to use, plus some great features that word does not have. I could definetly see how some people would argue that this could lead to the end of microsoft office, but I would argue that it wouldn't be anytime soon. But I think that this is a very useful tool, and I could see myself using it at some point.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your own home

Social networking is something that really does not appeal to me. A lot of my friends are on myspace and facebook, and they always try and get me to join but I am just not interested. Those two sites in particular, seem to me best suited for high school age kids, and I think that is part of the reason it does not appeal to me. I looked at several of the sites and the only one I really found interesting was dogster, I don't think I would actually sign up for it, but it did catch my attention.

Week 7: #17 Blog About Technology

When I think about the impact that technology has on my life, it is kind of scary. Sometimes I cannot believe how much I rely on technology. There is not a day that goes by that I do not use technology. And we really are all addicted to technology. Technology is constantly changing the way we live our lives. It effects the way we live, work, and communicate with each other. I know that my life is made so much easier because I have a cell phone and a computer. I think these are good things, but I think there is something to be said for not getting too attached to technology. It should make our lives easier, not control them.

Week 7: #16 So what's in a wiki?

I think that wikis are interesting, since it allows so much freedom for people to add whatever they want. However, that is also a downside because if no one edits the content then how do you verify the information. I know that with wikis like wikipedia, they verify that the information is correct. However I personally would not feel comfortable using information from a website like that because I don't know if I can really trust it. I don't think that wikis are a bad thing I just think that they have to be monitored.

Week 6: #15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

For me, Library 2.0 is merely a way to describes the different methods that libraries use to keep up with emerging technologies. As library customers become more technologically advanced, so should libraries. The objective of any library system is to address the needs of the people it serves, and Library 2.0 is a way to adress those needs. If the library just stayed the way its always been, some people will lose interest. And Library 2.0 can be a way to bring in those people who think libraries are obsolete. I think the most important aspect of Library 2.0 is education, educating library staff and customers on new technology and resources that can improve everyone's lives.

Week 6: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

I think technorati is a really good website if you are really serious about blogging. For people that are really into blogging, then I think it is a very good thing. I did not find it to be particularlly interesting or useful for me. I think technorati is probably enjoyed most by people who aew really interested in technology and the internet. I like to be informed about new technology, but I am not interested in it enough were I want to talk about it all the time. I think technorati is a good website, but it did not appeal to me personally.

Week 6: #13 Tagging makes the web 2.0 world go round

I think that this is a good tool because it allows you to be able to access your bookmarks from anywhere you can get online. And I also think this would be a good tool for research, because it allows you to see what other people have bookmarked which may contain relevant information to your topic. However, I don't know if this is something that I personally would use often, but I think I will sign up for an account with Del.icio.us.

Week 5: #12 The "Library" Elf will remind you!

I definetly like the Library Elf, because I am very bad about turning my books in on time. Even though I work for the library and I am here all the time, I still forget. I think any kind of extra reminders are a good thing. Ans this service was easy to use, all you have to do is sign up and the elf does all the work for you. I think this would also be a good thing for people who check out a lot of books at one time, or for parents whose children all have their own card, because they could register all the cards on one elf account. That would make it a lot easier to keep track of.