Social networking - Week 12

Hello! today I got acquainted with social networking sites, a definition of them is - a social network site uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities and or people who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. I had a look at Facebook and Myspace. I looked at the examples of libraries who are featured on social networking sites - the British Library on Facebook and the Rotorua Public Library on Bebo. I think libraries can use social networking sites for research, marketing and support and development applications.Other applications can be in keeping up with developments in the library, can advertise library events such as author talks,book group club meetings, school holiday activities, can promote the services that the libray has on offer.I had a look at Second life which is an internet based virtual world where residents interact through avatars.
I am happy that I have finished the program and it is now out of the way. I have learnt many things that I have not heard of before. It was very good that the State Library organised this program. People who work in libraries should keep up with what is out there on the internet so that we are in a position to help our clients.
I enjoyed doing web 2.0 program and will now explore www.webware.com - cool web 2.0 applications for everyone.

Online applications and tools - Week 11

Hello! today I learned about online versions of productivity software have many of the same features as the versions installed on our computers but they are quite different. I had a look at Google Docs software which allows users to create and share your work online, you can create, edit and upload your work , you can import your existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, or you can create new ones, you can access and eit from anywhere, you just need a web browser and your documents are stored securely online, you can share changes in real time, you can invite people to your documents and make changes together at the same time and it is free to use.
I then had a look at Zoho another program where you can work online. I checked out Zamzar which converts file formats fro free- image formats, doc formats, music formats, video formats and other formats. I got acquainted with Slideshare which allows users to share presentations with anyone in the world. I next looked at Thumbstacks another program for making and sharing presentations on the web. I had to do an exercise where I created a document in Google Docs and then I shared it with the administrators of the web 2.0 program at nsw.pln@gmail.com. I am overwhelmed by the number of online free productivity tools available. I think that Google docs can be used to create flyers for library activities, flyers could be approved much more quickly because your supervisor has online access to them, this is much faster than emailing your flyer and then waiting for an update flyer from your supervisor. Another use could be for creating procedures for libraries several librarians could work on a document at the same time.

Skype - Free internet telephony service


Hello! my name is George Yaroshevich and I work at Earlwood Library a branch of the Canterbury City Library service.
I wish to tell you about - Skype, a very reliable internet telephony service which anyone can download for free to their computer.
It is very useful for guys like me for staying in touch with family and friends and the voice quality is ultimate!
I have used skype to make calls to Europe and America. I make calls from my computer free to other people who are reistered on skype and
I make cheap calls to landlines and mobiles around the world. Skype also offers free video calls so you can see who you'ree talking to for free, for video calls you need to connect a webcam to your computer and your freinds also need to have a webcam so that you will be able to see them.Skype also has cheap sms messaging, you can send files across during your cnversation. There is also voicemail and call forwarding features on skype. Over 300 million people in the world use skype. I have been using skype for 4 years now and have notified all my friends about it, I would recommend it to anyone.

George Yaroshevich
7th March 2008

Mashups - Week 10

Hello! today I learned about mashups, I learnt that a mashup is an application that combines data from more than one source into a sinlg integrated tool. I checked out Mappr then I had a look at BigHugeLab, a site where you can do cool stuff with your photos such as making id cards, calendars, jigsaws. The I looked at London a life in maps. I also checked out Voicethread a site where you can add voice information to a digital image. I had a look at Googel Maps API. I then did the exercise, I had to create a mashup and upload it to my blog. My mashup was a jigsaw image of the Sydney Opera House. In libraries mashups such as Vicethread could be used for local history and tourist information.

Week 9 - Podcasts and audio

Hello! today I got acquainted with podcasts. I found out that libraries can have podcasts. I had a look at LibVibe a library news podcast, then I checked out Denver Public Library where you can access archives through podcasts. I found that you can listen to a podcast throught the mp3 or wav formats and you can watch them on media players such as windows media player. You first have to download the padcast to your computer and then you can hear or watch them on your media player. I had a look at OCLS podcasts. I found very interesting to explore the Denver Public Library podcasts wich include children's songs, nursery rhymes , intreviews and news. I listened to podcasts on the British Library site.I learned that you can subscribe to rss podcast feeds to most podcasts. I learned that a lot of libraries in America have podcast feeds that people can subscribe to. I think audio and video podcasts can be used in libraries for many uses such as - book reviews, poetry readingd, lectures on specific topics, celebration of special events, oral interviews, library newscasts. I also listened to podcasts on Library Service Wiki and the Online Education Database.

Week 8 - social search engines

Hello! today I learnt about social search engines, I found out that these search engines determine the relevance of search results by considering the interaction or contributions of users. I checked out the following answer boards - YahooAnswers and WikiAnswers, I found the anwers given to be informative and helpfull. I had a look at Answer Board Librarians where librarians are supposed to provide answers on popular answer board sites such as YahooAnswers and WikiAnswers. I think promoting library services through answer boards is a good idea and willl keep us in the public eye .I posted a question on Yahoo and I will receive an answer within three days. I learned a lot today. I will encourage school children to use answer boards when they use the interent in my library.

Library thing - exercise 7

Hello! today I signed up for Library thing. I did the quick tour to get an overview of the key features and functions of this site. I added 5 books to my library. I enjoyed exploring this site. I will try to put my entire home collection of books to my library.

Technorati - Week 7 exercise

Hello! today I signed up for Technorati and I successfully claimed my blog. I found Technorati easy to browse and also entertaining it had blogs tagged in wide subjects such as sports, technology. I spent quite a lot of time. I found that Technorati keeps track of all the blogs in the world. It is marvellous.

Social bookmarking - del.icio.us

Hello! today I set up my own delicious account. I had to restart firefox browser and clink on a link sent to me by email. I found del.icio.us interesting and useful. I had a look at the Sutherland shire tags clouds and Cleveland public library tags, I saw that these libraries are tagging by subject and can also have unbundled tags. I have not yet worked out how to put a delicious link to my blog but I will return to this exercise when I get some help. I found at times it takes a long time to sign in to delicious.

Embedding a youtube video for week 6

Hello! I am so happy I was able to embed a youtube video into my blog. At first I was a bit hesitant but I managed to work it out by reading the instructions several times and it worked. I also signed up to youtube and I will be uploading my favorite videos for all the world to see. I alsso had a look at goole video and it is great too!

today I leaned about wikis.It was a surprise to me to learn how simple it is to contributeto or to edit an article which appears in the wikipedia. You don't need to sign up or to sign in, and you can be anonymous if you wish. I am a bit worried about the reliability of information going into the wikipedia, for example about a specific medical condition. I think wikis can be used for libraries such as - book reviews, event planning, distribution of minutes. I checked out many wikis. It is fascinating.

RSS Feeds

Hello! today I created a Bloglines account. I think RSS is a lot of fun. It helps me to sort out information that you really need.. I think it could be used for marketing purposes in libraries. I found it nice to access the latest news form the ABC. I selscted 6 feeds - ABS blog for librarians, BBC news, Bloglines, Library bytes and Powerhouse museum photo of the day.

Hello! I have been very busy today. I accomplished what I set out to do. I created a flickr account today and uploaded three photographs. Tomorrow I will take photos of my colleagues at work and upload the phtos to flickr. I think it's a lot of fun. I will tell my friend and some relatives about flickr. I also explored flickr and found there are thousands of photos on different topics. It is so interesting looking at all these photos. I will have to sign out now because it is almost 1 am and tomorrow I have to go to work early. Goodbye.

Hurdles at work

Hello! it is very late again close to midnight. I had a very bad day at work. When I arrived I discovered that our main staff computer had been taken away by IT staff for urgent repairs. It was stressful to do any work with 3 staff present and only one computer to use. I have just finished registering my blog. I want to learn everything about social networking. I think the idea of lifelong learning is a very good one. This is because new knlowledge keeps being added at an astronomicale rate and it is wise to try and keep up with the latest news. I am so tired I feel that I cannot think clearly. I cannot do any of this program at work because all content is blocked out on our staff computers and it is very difficult to get acces to our public computers. I am forced to do this program at home. I think using a blog at our libraries will be very useful because we can blog information about our activities and events and generate interest with new customers. It will be useful to also upload photos from the various events that will take place in our libraries. I think I will sign out now before I collapse from exhastion. Goodnight!

Hello! I feel very happy because I have just created my very own first blog! It is very late close to midnight, I feel very sleepy. I will be able to add all sorts of things in my blog.