Thing 9 - Online Communicatin'

I tried both Zoho and Google Docs and actually liked the look and feel of Zoho better (although I am so wedded to the MS products, I kept looking for things that must have been there, but I couldn't find). However, nothing beats not having to log into another site! Loved that I could login ONE TIME to Google and see my blog plus fiddle around with the Google Docs site.

Now. Onto evaluation and usability. I guess I can see where this would be useful, but in my current job, we all have access to the same word processing software. When we want to share and edit things, we simply send an attachment and voila, we can change wording or whatever else we need or want to change.

However, there have been times in the past that I've wanted to flip from working on a document at home and at work. Currently, I have the dreaded Microsoft Office 2007 (yes, it really takes some getting used to ) so to switch back and forth I have to remember to use the "save as" option. Additionally, we've had patrons come in needing certain editions of word processing software and (for obvious reasons) we can't accomodate everyone. Using one of these online software products (especially if you can upload or download your stuff) to create a personal document would negate that necessity and you'd be able to access your work from anywhere. That's where I see the usefulness of this product. But for me personally? No. Probably not.

Thing 8 (nomer dva)

Well, I think I'm just going to skip Thing 8. I see all the cool and neato things one can do with photos and, again, I can even sorta kinda see how this might be relevant to a library (presenting an end-of-SRP party scrapbook for kids to view online, promote some special event or "Month Of" event at the library), but I just don't have the patience to do this with the limited time and tools at my disposal. I think I will just move on ... this one ain't gonna happen.

The Deadline is Here

Well, it's April 16th and, uh, I didn't exactly finish in time (shocker, I know). I will continue to plug away at this, however, and if nothing else, I know that I'll keep a blog of some sort going. It's just been too much fun (and slightly addictive) to completely give it up. In the meantime, Thing Eight is on its way ... sometime.

Thing 8 (nomer adin)

Can't do this thing yet because I don't have any photos at work! I'm getting increasingly annoyed with this project that requires us to manipulate all sorts of stuff that we have to already have on hand : "Create a slideshow", "Share your photos", "Organize your photos", "Create motivational posters with your photos", &etc. This thing will have to wait until I remember to a) bring my flash drive home and b) remember to put photos onto said flash drive and bring to work.

Oy vey. I think I'm just annoyed because Michael Johns went home on Idol last night. Grrrr....

Thing 7 - Let's Communicate!

Email :

I remember first hearing about email when I was working as a library assistant in Boston circa 1993. My boss was recovering some reference information from a colleague in London and I thought, "whoa! that is cool!" Well, we've come a long way, baby. I don't know anyone (and I mean that in the most literal sense) that doesn't have an email account. [tangential aside here : just switched from dial-up to DSL at home, yes you can laugh, which means ... had to give up my lovely, lovely visi.com account! sniff... r.i.p. My email will now have an "msn" tag like half the country ... ] In any case, email seems to be as standard as the U.S. Postal Service these days. And, if you can handle the junk mail and spam, free email is easy to find. In a nutshell, I can't imagine communicating without email (both personal and professional), but I'm sure that will change within my lifetime.

I.M. :

Until lately, I was not familiar with the ins and outs of IM. However, it was recently introduced to me at work (for work purposes only, shucky-dern) and OMG, soooo addictive, what a great tool! Use it all the time, love it, wish more people had it, I can see this is even more effective use of electronic communication than email. But it's a dangerous tool in that conversations can run much longer than necessary, should one choose to go that route ... In terms of library use, this is a brilliant tool, and for those of us that would die and fail on the job without multi-tasking, it is a godsend. All hail I.M.!

Text Messaging (...on the other hand) :

Don't get it. Don't use it, although I have tried it. I'm not a "small screen" person, so using my cell phone for anything other than talking is extremely taxing on the eyes (however, one might add, I don't have an I-Phone ... hmmm ... maybe that's the issue. Anyone got a few extra grand lying around that I can have? :-) Nonetheless, the video clip from U of Buffalo was intriguing, even if it was a bit cheesy and pat (I had to say that). Still, I prefer I.M. for "instant" communication. Too bad you need a computer for that!

Web Conferencing, Podcasts &etc. :

After attending PLA this past weekend, I thought : "next time there's a major conference, why don't I just try a "virtual" attendance?" All joking aside, I can see that web conferencing would be an effective way to stay on top of issues in the professional field, should travel not permit a physical presence (just look at the cost of airline tickets these days ... sheesh). Podcasts are wonderful as well, although not completely accessible by the public at large ... yet.