maureen's blog

Social software seems like it has a chance of reviving the library's presence (as much as librarians/library students hate to hear this concept uttered, I think it's important) because above all else, it's fun to use. When people find out that they can use something that is fun in addition to being productive and even educational, there's a much greater chance that they'll stay interested, tell others about it, and return to try it again.

This week's topic is one of my favourites, as I believe that visual media such as photographs and videos can speak to people in different ways than print, and I think it speaks loudly that online media sharing software such as YouTube and Flickr have exploded over recent years.  They have creating vast communication channels that began as just entertainment at first, but upon exploring them, it seems they can be used for a wide range of uses in addition to fun (because who doesn't like fun?).

When I first heard of Second Life, I thought it seemed silly, that it was mostly a form of entertainment for computer geeks who create fake personas because they are too awkward for the real world.  However, the readings this week opened my eyes to its advantages, especially in an educational sense.

The Positives:

This topic is the one I have become the most familiar with, especially over the past few weeks working on the group Facebook project (which all of you should check out!). Personally, out of the networks discussed in this week's readings, I find Facebook to be the most interesting and also have the most options for incorporation into a library.

Taking my last blog holiday, see you next week folks!

~mreen

Similar to Angie's statement in her blog, I also admit to slacking a little on the whole tagging through del.icio.us. Though I'm blaming this on the fact that I hadn't used it before and therefore, didn't attribute personal value to tagging, out of ignorance. For years I have been been a slave to bookmarking favourites on my computer, creating a library of categories and hoarding websites with pride. However, earlier this summer something happened... my computer crashed, and I lost everything.

This week's topic has been one of my favourites so far, and I was excited to find out what wikis are and what they can offer.   It's really starting to become clear how each software takes a unique approach that can be useful for certain situations.

I'm going to take my blogging holiday as well..

See you all next week !

I've had limited experience with RSS feeds thus far, but first stumbled upon them last fall during my first term in MLIS, through another classmate who was known to be very keen on the cutting edge of library news. I definitely saw the benefits of having software that brings together all of my favourite websites...it certainly makes surfing the net more efficient, especially for someone who reads various newssites frequently.

I know I've just broken the third of Jakob Nielsen's usability mistakes in my title, but I just watched Juno again and that quote came to mind...anyways....