Second Life

To be perfectly honest, I have a hard time grasping the second life concept. Why not live to the fullest in your real life instead of creating a second one? That said, it is valuable to have an understanding of this Web 2.0 activity so that we can better serve our patrons. Here is the avatar I created for myself: I don't have a desire to "live" in Second Life. There is so much happening in my actual life that it seems time consuming to create and live in another one. As with many online applications (e.g. chat) people can choose to represent themselves as someone their not. This concerns me. It might be fun to play around with Second Life for an hour or two, but other than that I can't see myself using it faithfully.

Web Apps

I must admit I was unaware of the great applications available on the Web! I have grown so accustomed to Microsoft Office that I hadn't considered there was something else out there. I really like the options to share documents with others and track the history of revisions. Both Google Docs and Zoho seem like they could be really useful. I need to remember to show them to patrons who want to save their work but don't have a flash drive and are hesitant to use email. I also like the ability to convert documents into PDF format. I can see myself taking advantage of this feature.

Search Engines

Our task this week is to explore a variety of search engines, specifically Rollyo, Mamma, and Dogpile. Some of these are new to me and offer unique and interesting features. Rollyo allows users to create a customized search engine. Mamma eliminates any unnecessary results and provides a shorter list to select from. Dogpile combines search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask, and Live Search. It also provides a list of favorite searches done recently by users. All three appear to work well and returned results relevant to my search (bridal shower ideas). Some of the same websites were in the top ten of each search engine. Overall, I think Dogpile is my favorite because of its ability to combine all search engines into one. That said, I will probably continue to use Google since I am most familiar with it.

Podcasting

I listened to several library related podcasts: Nancy Keane's Simple Booktalks, Pierce County Library System Book Reviews, Sno-Isle Libraries Hear a Story, Uvula Audio Kids Podcasts, and LearnOutLoud.com Lit Summary Podcast. Podcasting is definitely a useful tool for our patrons. It provides information in yet another medium. It is great for people who may not use the physical library space on a regular basis, but still have Internet access. Potential topics include book reviews and "how to" workshops (e.g. how to plant bulbs, how to make a cake, how to compost, how to conserve fuel and energy). I have a small amount of experience with listening to and creating podcasts. I check in with the Sno-Isle Hear a Story podcast regularly and have recorded three stories in the past several months as well.