Social Networking

I do know how popular these sites are, both from my children and younger friends, and I do see an application for the library. From the information in the articles I read, it seems inevitable that we (FVRL) will need to participate.

Meebo

I can't believe it, but I did it. I signed up for meebo, created a widget, and put it on my blog sidebar. I have IM'd before. I was ordering something on line and the company offered help through IM. It worked great, and I was really happy being able to communicate easily and quickly while I was still on line on their web page. I can see how the same would be true for our patrons. I guess one of the problems would be the staffing. Isn't what we can now do in SAM (sending messages to patrons while they are on the internet) a one way instant message? If there is such a thing, that is. Instant messaging might be nice among the staff.

More RSS

I explored two of the search tools, Topix.net and Syndic8.com, since I am more interested in news feeds than blogs. I added more feeds, including some library-related ones. I thought it was easier to find feeds through the bloglines Quick Pick than to subscribe from a site, but then I am still new at all this. I think patrons would be interested in the newspaper feeds such as the NYT and some of the foreign ones such as the Guardian.

RSS Feeds

Exploring RSS feeds was fun and interesting and not without problems for me. I was able to subscribe to the required number of feeds, and I have checked them since I subscribed. I really enjoy getting the word of the day. Some of the feeds I subcribed to found their way to the desktop of the computer I was using. Apparently I need more experience .

Mashups

Since I enjoy sudoku, I explored the sudoku/flickr mashup. It was a fun and different way of doing sudoku, and a fun way to explore the concept of mashups.


http://www.beckysweb.co.uk/sudoku/flickrsudoku.asp

One of my favorite things

The New York Times crossword puzzle is one of my favorite activities. I was happily surprised to find a picture of one of the puzzles on Flickr. Solving crossword puzzles is like aerobics for my brain, so I do them regularly. Luckily, as well as being good for me, it is also fun.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha_pineapple/463082579/

7 1/2 habits

The easiest of the habits for me would be begin with the end in mind. I can think of so many things I'd still like to learn. Perhaps narrowing down the goals would be more difficult. Maybe that's where the learning toolbox might come in handy.

The hardest habit would probably be viewing problems as challenges. I think I could do this, but I believe my first inclination would be to rethink my goal, possibly altering it or forgetting it altogether.