Thing 4 - Flickr

I did have a little bit of frustration with using Flickr. Until I realized I had to load at least 5 photos and wait for them to be reviewed before they would show up in a search . Some of them still don't but I gave up trying to figure out why! Maybe they don't like Bob Dylan!

I think flickr is a great way to make your library more visible on the internet. After all when you are just looking at how things work what do you search on? Often it is you home town or where you live now, or a town you may be moving to. What a great way to learn about the community.

I have not tried any other photo posting website, but I have tried using Aviary's Phoenix program to edit photos on-line for free.

I am not to concerned about photos I post but I take some time and think about how public I want those to be. Unfortunately, there are many youth out there who do not think about that or think that because they are their photos no one else should be looking at them. They just don't realize once a photo is posted online it could be available forever and be altered.

Thing 4 - Flickr blogging

bob dylan in paper mache, originally uploaded by Chris Mag.

The Hibbing Public Library has a Bob Dylan display that now includes this statue made by a local artist.

Thing 3 - RSS Feeds

I love the convenience of RSS readers. I already have several subscriptions and scan through my list frequently to see if there is anything new and review the subjects to see if it is something I want to read about. Although I do enjoy and rely on this type of news service, I do worry that people are limiting their world to specific key words and may miss out on a lot of new information that may be underdevelopment.

I use RSS feeds almost daily to keep up on library news, changes in technology and fun stuff – cartoons, odd news, and other things to break up the routine of the day. RSS feeds are a great way to stay up to date on current events in any field of employment not just the library field. Every field has its own specialists and many are very willing to share their experience and expertise.

I have used “My Yahoo” for probably about a year now and am very comfortable with that, but I do think the Google Reader was probably easier to add sources to than My Yahoo is. I still prefer the My Yahoo display style because it shows the subject of the blog entry and how long ago the item was posted with older items automatically rolling off the list. I prefer this view so I can see the subject people are writing about not just the fact that they have written something which saves me even more time deciding what entries I may want to read.

Thing 2 - What is Web 2.0

Finding time to add a new activity is tough to do. I plan to do some work during slow times at the customer service desk but work requiring more concentration will need to be done at other times and priorities will have to be adjusted to allow for this project.

The Internet is an incredible source of information and fun activities such as shopping and vacation planning. I use it frequently for planning weekend get-aways. I also need to try to keep my husband away from EBay! he has bought everything from volleyball nets, clocks, poop bags (for picking up our dog's you know what), and even our car. Sometimes the convenience of shopping on-line is too convenient!

I do use several Web 2.0 tools to promote the library and the City of Hibbing but only at a very novice level. We are currently using blogs, wikis, Flickr.com, and de.licio.us for the public and I use my Yahoo page to read several RSS feeds. I would like to be able to expand my use of all of these tools.

I have read about the original 23 Things and thought it sounded interesting. I am looking forward to learning about all the new technology available and how it can be adapted to the library. And of course earning a prize is always fun!