Zoho and online productivity applications

I published my attempt at sending a Google document through to my blog page as below. However, the picture I inserted has been half obliterated (I thought it would resize) but no!....
Anyway, this I hope concludes my rather frustrating experiences of these applications on the web.

Sandbox wiki

Playing with the library Sandbox wiki gave me an opportunity for the "feel" of editing an actual wiki by adding my own blog link. It also highlighted some of the security possibilities of a wiki by having to input a password to access it, and to type in your name and email address for editing mode. I also took a peek at Holiday destinations (adding Rotorua and Whitianga) and TV shows (adding Gerry Anderson's TV series). I had to have several tries before a hyperlink worked with this. Using the link command didn't work as I expected it to the first time, but practice makes perfect, doesn't it?

I would like to know who added the Fluff TV entry to have a catch-up, as these are also some of my favourite shows. It looks as if Fantasy/Sci-fi is a favourite for librarians.

Wikis

What flexible things wikis are; I had no idea up to now that you could use them for conference/trip planning, project management or collaborative editing of a work. Another possibility I thought of was as a web-based notebook to organise my thoughts (boy, do I need this at the moment!:) I guess it works a bit like mind-mapping. All I knew of them to date was "Wikipedia". The Commoncraft youtube video gave wonderfully clear basic information on how to get started, and just how easy it was to use a wiki. It explained that wikis are great tools for co-ordinating information, and as such are great for giving a space for public feedback on library websites (although we would need staff assigned to monitor and answer them.) They also could be used for online tutorials.
You don't need HTML to write a wiki, and this may mean that in the future, standard web pages as we know them will be phased out. Various versions of wikis can support user login to prevent mis-use and vandalism. Maybe the new ACL web page could tap into the pool of knowledgeable and enthusiastic users. It could also be that a wiki could be easier to use and maintain than a fitch, and allow public viewing and comment as well.

Web 2.0 reading

Reading other people's comments on the use of Web 2.0 in libraries was totally amazing. Looking at "Away from the icebergs" does highlight some of the issues we already have at ACL. The numbers of (adult) customers coming up to the reference desks for assistance with blogs, email, digital cameras, flickr and even how to do basic things on computers is increasing. Many older users are feeling increasingly swamped and alienated with the new technology. The 'Click and Learn' classes which we hold have proved popular, and there is a demand for more than we can provide with the resources we currently have. The other comment on user education also hit home, saying that many libraries are insufficiently resourced for this: a better idea was to ensure that the search interfaces the public use are as easy to search on as some of the modern search engines.

Intrigued by the comments in the article "On the way to the library experience of the future", where "Libraries are not just collections of documents and books, they are conversations ..." After all, blogs and wikis are also conversations, so is this where libraries are headed? Also interesting was the observation that there may be competition amongst libraries for the best "librarian avatar" and the "people will collect librarians rather than books ..." Searched on Google for "librarian avatar" and found this article. Scary stuff!


The other thought that struck me was that librarians have expertise in cataloguing and classifying information. If that is the case, we could be developing a service for "tagging" online information for easier location.

The future of libraries was a conversation point at the LIANZA conference in Rotorua. Delegates were offered the chance to record what their vision of libraries would be in 2017 with interesting results. Here is the flickr link.


Another thought highlighted in the "Into a new world of librarianship" article was the use of Web 2.0 technologies e.g. wikis and blogs to connect with users online, and the idea that library users could participate by assisting in the creation of online library content. Perhaps we could also use a site blog for communicating up-to-the minute information to other library sites. Perhaps through Library Zone with an RSS feed? This could be useful, as our Reference Desks do not support departmental/site email.

Technorati and tagging

Had a bit of a squizz at Technorati. At first it appeared to be another search site plagued by pesky pop-up advertisements. Then I noticed the "clickable" tags. This is not always helpful as I was in for a surprise when I typed in motorcycles. Look at this link to see what I mean : http://www.technorati.com/tag/motorcycles?authority=a4&language=en What has a diabetic recipe got to do with motorcycles? (this is now on the second page).It was only when you viewed the actual post that it became clear that motorcycles had a small mention near the bottom of the page in the labels, along with "Riders against diabetes". I quite like the way you can search for the tags in either posts, blogs, utube or ....I searched for my own blog on Technorati and was totally amazed how easy it was to find it. I just used the search box to enter crystalines and here it is: http://www.technorati.com/blogs/tag/crystalines (but I have no fans ... boo hoo!) I checked out some of the blogs listed under the popular tag - amazing how many are about making money. e.g. this one: (I suppose anything to do with making money would make it popular!:)) Lifehacker, too, looked intriguing.

Del.icio.us

I've had a peek at the Del.icio.us site, and was quite impressed with the ability to store bookmarks. I like the idea of being able to save your favourite websites for use on any computer (saves having to remember them "Oh my aching head!"). Now all I have to do is remember the logons and passwords to all these fancy sites I have created.
The youtube video (Social bookmarking in plain English) audio kept stopping and starting, and it was a little difficult to follow. Trouble is, I'm quite sure that we're not supposed to download material onto work computers, and the public terminals don't accept downloads either. However, I did create a "network badge" which I can hopefully attach to this blog. This is the address I was told to copy and paste in:
http://del.icio.us/feeds/js/networkbadge/Darkcrystal1?name;nwcount;fancount;icon, however it does not seem to be working properly.; it is asking me to download a file to view it. Now I'm not sure whether I need to use a link roll or a tag roll instead on my blog.
Looking through the popular and recent tags was an eye-opener. The type of websites people like to look at was a bit revealing. I preferred to use the search function for more specifics.
The tag options sorting was interesting, and I like the way you can read other people's comments to the website and link to their bookmarks. However, I can't work out how to add a tag to a previously saved and tagged bookmark. I don't want to change the tag, just add another one. The edit tags function only allows you to rename or delete, but not add.

I am sure once I have the time to have a decent play I could sort this out. Maybe later... maybe next year.

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