Kim's Info Pro Diary

Reflections after the SLA 23 Things Challenge

kimlib16 — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:58:24 +0000

I am grateful to the leadership of SLA for creating the 23 Things Challenge. This program has provided the necessary boost I needed to investigate a variety of new technologies. Although I am a Gen Y/Millenial it is hard to keep up with all of the new tools available on the web. This program has pushed me to check out sites I might have otherwise skipped over. It has also allowed me to think more deeply about how these technologies can be used in my work environment and the broader LIS field.

23 Things Challenge Completed!

kimlib16 — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:44:43 +0000

I am happy to report that I have successfully completed the SLA 23 Things Challenge. It only took me around 5 months!

Week 9: Podcasts, Video, Audio

kimlib16 — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:36:01 +0000

Video

I am familiar with the video sharing website YouTube and have mainly used this site to look for videos related to personal interests or view videos linked to from other sources such as email listserves and blogs. Since I don’t own personal equipment to record videos I have never created any video content to share with the online community.

I enjoyed exploring VideoJug and Metacafe for their niche content. Since I will be throwing a holiday party soon I searched for “how to” videos via VideoJug and located this excellent and concise video. If I had the appropriate content to record videos I think that Metacafe is an excellent source of info for amateur videographers.

We currently do not use video for trainings at my workplace. I think that VideoJug would be a great place to post training videos, either related to your specific workplace or to people looking for research assistance in general. I had never heard of VideoJug before so I am not sure how many people would think to go to this site instead of YouTube. However, it would be a great place for libraries to host their “how to” training content.”

**Also of note to government information professionals – President-elect Obama will be posting all of his addresses as videos online that will be accessible through his website as well as YouTube. I believe that this move illustrates the mainstreaming of video content into our society.**

Podcasting

Odeo

This was my favorite site by far. The design was clean and simple. The site was organized intuitively for users by broad subjects like art and people which were further subdivided.

The PodShow link went to a site called Mevio that featured video content. Podomatic featured more user-generated content such as tag clouds but it seemed more disorganized.

NetLibrary

I have used NetLibrary during graduate school. Unfortunately my local public library does not have a subscription! I thought that OCLC’s tutorials were excellent. NetLibrary provides a nice complement physical libraries. It would prove very useful to those traveling on business or for people searching reference works. While I would not want to read for pleasure via the computer, the full-text book search capabilities would come in quite handy for research.

Web 2.0 Awards Pick – dabbledb

kimlib16 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:33:14 +0000

When I checked out the awards listing I realized that I have used a lot of these websites or at least heard of most of them. This group of websites made me think about the vagueness of the term “web 2.0″ to describe such different online platforms and services. For example, I don’t think of sites like Monster and CareerBuilder as web 2.0 apps.

I decided to investigate a couple of sites that I had never heard of before:

dabbledb

This was my favorite new app. This tool allows for all types of data manipulation. I wanted to create a database but was a little way of the “free trial period” since I don’t want to be bothered with paying later.

urbanspoon

This app was featured on a recent iphone commercial. They demonstrated how you could select restaurants by shaking the phone. The website was a bit of a disappointment in that it featured the predictable links for location, price, and cuisine.

colorblender

This app was fun to play with because you get to choose color schemes.

Week 8: Online Apps & Tools

kimlib16 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:13:11 +0000

I am already familiar with some online productivity tools such as Google Docs and iGoogle. I am a big fan of keeping on top of tasks through “To Do” lists. I have found iGoogle helpful for integrating a variety of apps on one page such as links to my RSS feeds, top news, and a “To Do” list feature. I have been using Google docs to work on documents with other people remotely. I find it to be a more streamlined process to create and edit a shared document rather than pass Word files back and forth; even if you use the “Track Changes” feature.

I decided to test drive the mindmapping tool Mindomo.

I am only vaguely familiar with the concept behind “mindmapping.” I believe it is used to sketch out a concept and provide hierarchy and connection. I decided to create a map of my “LIS Career” thus far, including my MLS program, work experience, association involvement, and publications. As a I started building the map I noticed that the application was similar to Microsoft Project and Visio. However, I found it easier to use than either of those programs. I actually surprised myself because I enjoyed using the application. I found it very useful as a visual map of my career and plan on inserting all of my professional contacts so that I will have a nice visual representation of my network. You can find my map here:

LIS Career

Week 7: Wikis – Collaborative Portals

kimlib16 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:29:21 +0000

Wiki has been a buzzword for awhile now. I think that it holds great promise but I’m still not as educated about wikis as I would like to be. We currently do not use wiki technology at my office. However, there is some interest in learning more about wikis and piloting them for use within the organization. I hope that this exercise will allow me to learn more about the approaches others have taken to using wikis.

I focused on the Government and Library oriented wikis since these are my primary interest and most connected to my work environment. It was interesting to see the difference in site organization and style.

Currently my workplace uses the shared drives and the Outlook email system as our de-facto tools for organizing procedural, project, and policy documents. As with most workplaces this system creates confusion and stovepipes. One does not know which shared drive, folder, sub-folder a particular document has been assigned to. Documents and other important information can be locked up in email conversations. I believe that a wiki would enable my workplace to store important documents that are regularly referenced. However, there are my control and security issues to consider. Many organizations are grappling with how to use wiki technology because of fears about data security and privacy.

I really enjoyed the Organisational Wiki Adoption slideset. The slides emphasized how organizations must approach wiki technology in order to successfully use it. The main thrust of the slides was PEOPLE over PROCESS. This is really the underlying theme of knowledge management. Collaborative applications can only go so far in creating collaborative work relationships.

Week 6: Play Week: Avatars, Library Thing, and Rollyo

kimlib16 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:54:23 +0000

This week is all about having fun. I decided to try Yahoo! Avatars and Big Huge Labs to create some inspired imagery! I created an avatar modeled after myself but was unable to insert it into the blog or link to it. I created the Avatar through Yahoo! and they do not seem to have a mechanism for sharing avatars outside of Yahoo! Since I am not a regular Yahoo! user I wouldn’t see myself using this application for anything other than some personal fun. I used the “Warholizer” application through Big Huge Labs, which is linked with Flickr. I added my “warholized” image to my flickr stream which you can see here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042551@N06/3056752667/

I have explored Library Thing a bit in the past but never actually cataloged a book. I decided to catalog the textbooks from my LIS collection as well as one other LIS related book I purchased for personal interest. I’m not sure that I would ever catalog all of the books that I own. I enjoy reading but am not a major bibliophile. Check out my “personal LIS catalog” here: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/klyall

It is still a work in progress while I add reviews and figure out how to link to others with similar book collections.

Creating a customized search engine is great for pinpointing results if you are searching within a specific subject or industry. I used Rollyo to search within LIS websites. I added the following sites to my Rollyo search. You can find it here: http://rollyo.com/klyall/lis_community

This week’s activities have been a lot of fun and I enjoyed experimenting with new services. As far as professional applications I think that customized search engines would be directly applicable for special library environments. You could create customized search portals for different topics or clients. Customized search engines could help speed up the research process and aid in pushing news updates to clients.

Week 5: RSS and Newsreaders

kimlib16 — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:29:22 +0000

This week is all about keeping up to date by utilizing “push” technology. When I first learned about RSS you had to download a standalone reader software. For whatever reason this acted as a barrier to my adoption of this new technology. But once I discovered Google Reader I was hooked. I find Google Reader so convenient because I am a heavy Gmail user and also have a customized iGoogle page. I can click right into reader from my email account and I have reader set up as a widget on my iGoogle page. It is super easy to add and organize feeds.

I have just subscribed to Bloglines and added a couple of feeds. I tried to incorporate this “blogroll” into my blog here but am having some difficulty figuring out how and/or where to insert the code. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate my Google Reader feeds but I bet it would be easier if I was using Google’s Blogger service.

Overall, I think that RSS is a great new technology and service that information professionals MUST be providing to their clients. We really need to emphasize anticipating and not just reacting to client information needs.

Week 4: Photos & Images

kimlib16 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:09:58 +0000

I am excited about this session of SLA’s 23 Things. I really love taking photos, mainly of myself with friends and family at special events. I have not explored artistic or nature photography but that may be a new hobby to pursue I got a digital camera a couple of years ago, when the price was going down and the technology was getting better. I first upload my photos onto the Kodak system and then usually post to Facebook. One of the main things I like about Facebook is sharing photos and seeing other friends and acquaintances major life events.

This will be the first time that I use a more “open” online system to store and share photos. I have thought about the issues relying on closed systems like Kodak and Facebook but just never got around to using one of the newer services. I signed up for a Flikr account and will probably use Google’s Picasa as well since I am already a google user: gmail, reader, page creator, and iGoogle.

The section on mashups looks like it will be a lot of fun and is also something I have never tried before.

Reflections So Far

kimlib16 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:19:52 +0000

Being a Gen Yer (currently under 25 years old) I consider myself to be pretty techno-savvy. I wasn’t always that way since I didn’t grow up in a techno household but starting in high school I finally got a computer and a dial up connection and just started learning programs on my own and exploring IM, chat, and websites. Throughout the years and especially in grad school I have kept learning more about technology and using it more for study and work. Since I have been using social technology for awhile I figured I already knew everything or could pick it up within minutes.

SLA’s 23 Things Challenge is already teaching me about the variety of apps available and the best ways to use those apps. Just like library school taught me how to conduct a high quality and super fast search this program is teaching me how to quickly adapt to new applications and get the most out of using them.