Eureka!

I recently attended a Web 2.0 class offered by InfoPeople, and it really helped me understand some of the practical uses for all the Web 2.0 "products" out there. I will definitely be making greater use of del.icio.us, Bloglines, and some of the customized web search engine sites. I was a bit skeptical about all this Web 2.0 stuff at first, but now I can see that it isn't all just a exercise in narcissism. You can be as private or as public as you like ... and use these products for fun or work-related searches. Like life, Web 2.0 is what you make of it.

Finito --- All 23 Things

I looked at YouTube and the Yahoo Podcasts page --- both could be quite useful in searching for instructional material (on video), or broadcasts of performances, government agency hearings (presuming they are podcasted), and loads of other stuff. Like many other things on the Internet, some of the material is useful, and some of it is a tremendous waste of time ... much like television and radio, I guess ...

Up to Thing 17

Wikis and the online productivity sites are definitely quite useful. I can imagine using wikis for internal procedure manuals, or for creating library policies, guidelines or subject and community guides for the public. The online productivity sites are great for remotely accessing any document you might be working on.

Because I can't keep track of all these sites --- or keep all their names straight --- I'd like to see one-stop-shopping center for all these 2.0 applications. Users would have one account to log into (and not have to track several different passwords) and they could see their account listing all the sites that they subscribe to. They could also see any updates that have come in on their accounts. Apple has something similar in their .Mac account program, but I would like to see more free services.

Del.icio.us and Technorati

I created a del.icio.us account and explored Technorati. I can see where these might be useful in doing an overall search on some topic, or in checking for viewpoints on a certain issue. However, I'm also thinking of recent articles I've read about Andrew Keen, author of "The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture." He is cautioning us all about the decentralized nature of the web --- who wants to wade through all this trivia and self-expression when they're looking for some expertise on a topic? Also, I can't see spending all my time posting to blogs, posting videos, etc. Most of the time, I'm just satisfied with reading a good book!

Moving Through the Things

I've been steadily working my way through the 23 Things. My thoughts on nos. 9-12: Twitter: Still can't figure out what this is all about --- not sure how useful it would be to me. Online Image Generator: Very strange and interesting, but seems like a major time-killer to me. I guess people gravitate to sites like this when they're bored with online Solitaire, and other games. LibraryThing: I really like this site, but was disappointed that the "Suggestor" and the "Unsuggestor" features do not seem to be working. LibraryThing makes for a great new Reader's Advisory tool --- both fiction and non-fiction. I can see special and academic libraries making use of this site (not just public libraries), or creating something similar on their own. Rollyo is also another great tool --- I can see that this would be great for keeping up on professional issues or personal topics of interest. A news junkies' delight ...

Bloglines/RSS Feeds

I've now subscribed to two RSS feeds --- one for libraries (can't remember which one) and one for NPR news. I can't wait to get completely inundated with all sorts of info. ... So far, much of the 23 Things has been very straight forward. What amazes me is the tremendous amount of "stuff" we now have floating out in the cyberworld --- e-mail, photos, films, blogs, personal websites, etc. Now I know why television networks are worried about their future. People are spending more time watching YouTube and/or creating their own blogs rather watching traditional t.v., I guess. Will we ever run out of room to store all this stuff?

One other observation: I am very impressed by the websites for the Charlotte & McKlenberg County PL, as well as Denver and Multnomah Co. PL. They are definitely keeping up with the latest technology and making it useful, not just flashy.

Flickr

I've just spent a little time exploring Flickr. Looks like a great way to share photos. The Flickr mash-ups are interesting, but I'm not sure I understand how they work ... seems like the place to go when you want to kill some time.