Wrapping up

Finally made it to Week 10 and the wrap-up!

For the first few weeks into the Web 2.0 training, I had no contact with my colleagues or my local library representative. When I went back to work, I realised that due to restrictions on our work PCs, very little of this course could be accessed at work which meant all of it had to be done at home. Must admit, I had already been using a lot of it not realising it fell under Web 2.0. I also learned a lot of new stuff that I had not used before like Delicious, LibraryThing, RSS aggregators and Geocaching. I am grateful this introduction to Web 2.0 was offered to us and am so glad I took the opportunity to do it...and complete it.

As a uni student, I generally use these weeks to unwind from the hum-drum of study and assignments during semester. Instead, I found myself spending time on my home PC completing this training which was rather time consuming. It feels good to have reached the end (personally, I feel like the learning has only just begun)and completed the 10 weeks topics within the time frame without any assistance.

Thankyou to all that followed my blog and posted your comments.

Geocaching

Approximately 3.5kms up the track in the beautiful Ellis Brooke Valley Reserve in Martin, is a seat at the coordinates S32 03.892 E116 02.452. Following the trail uphill into the bush is where the cache is 'supposed' to be. Don't attempt this track unless you are very fit and can take Perth's current rising temperatures (and have plenty of water with you) Did not find the cache - only because I got distracted with the spectacular views from the top and had run out of water to proceed. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning. I will certainly attempt to walk this track again in winter to view the picturesque falls there. Maybe I'll have better luck with the cache then.

I think Geocaching is a nice way of arousing the interest in community to find things rather than just handing it over to them. I did wonder about trusting others to replace the cache in the same spot so others could locate it. I'm sure there are plenty of mischievous ones out there - but then maybe they are not the type that would enjoy geocaching.

Podcasting

To me, a podcast is between ordinary blogging and radio. It is merely a method of publishing and distributing audio files on the internet. It is so simple that anyone at all can produce a home-made film or radio over the internet. Being on the internet, it can be broadcast the world over.

As a student, I find podcasts great for our lectures. They are useful especially when going over lectures before exams and catching important information we might have missed the first time. This also means we don't waste time taking notes during lectures. Student waste valuable time circling the car-park for a parking bay before lectures. With Podcasting, the need to get to a lecture in time is eliminated.

Pertaining to libraries: Many library patrons cannot make it to a programme they would like to attend because of work/prior commitments. It would be nice if programmes like author talks, health talks etc were Podcasts for those that could not make it to a programme. Library patrons could also listen to an update on what's happening at the various branches. Marketing could use Podcasting as form of communication through some media outlet.

Online Video

If you are a pet owner, then you'll understand the feeling of caring, sharing, loving and being loved by your pets. You can have endless fun with them and you know they make loving companions. The time and money you invest into your pet is nothing compared to the massive amounts of returns. They make you happier people and happy people are generally healthier people. You've got to be responsible to care for your pet and that responsibility makes you feel needed. The more you love, the more you give and the happier you are. Studies show that interacting with a pet helps to reduce levels of harmful neurochemicals in the body and raise the good ones
OK that's enough of what we already know/feel about our pets...what else can pets do for us? Check out this amazing video clip .....

Tweeting on Twitter

At last...I'm Tweeting too! Actually, what started out as a learning experience has become quite interesting.  Initially, I thought this was one that I would not use but am having fun talking to others using it. There sure are some interesting people twitting out there....some are hilarious!

Twitter sometimes known as SMS of the Internet  has 190 million users, generating 65 million tweets a day and handling over 800,000 search queries per day (Wikipedia). You can narrow down your  methods of searching for information about an event or organisation by using #tags. Interesting to know that only 29 libraries to date use Twitter as a professional communications tool, and that includes Cockburn Library and Victoria Park Library.

If you'd like to tweet me, I am on elf2704

Facebook

For libraries, Facebook it is a nice way of showing other libraries what's happenning in their world. A great way to connect to friends or to people within your organisation (that's if you work for an organisation that does not restrict social networking!) I personally do not believe it is good for 'customer service' in libraries. Not all patrons use computers - and not all patrons that have computers use Facebook.

For this course, I opened up a Facebook account although I have my personal Facebook account that I rarely use. We cannot access Facebook at work and I do my best to spend minimum time on my PC at home. The great outdoors (even if it just my back garden with all my pets) is more appealing than time spent on my home PC. To connect with friends, I'd rather pick up the phone or meet up with them.

Delicious/Tagging

Delicious helps keep all the stuff that interests you in one place. Saves time especially when you look for something you found on the net and want to get back to at a later date. Guess once you start using Delicious, it could become addictive. Personally, I don't believe I would use Delicious as I am quite happy just to use my own bookmarks rather than share others. It the kind of thing you either use or you don't. I can see how it could be handy in the library to have your most popular websites grouped in one place rather than saving them to favourites. What's nice is that once you tag your bookmarks, the collections emerge automatically.
The link to my Delicious is http://www.delicious.com/elf274/