Week 10 The end is here

It has been an interesting discovery exercise. I enjoyed playing with wikis and image generators and I think both of these are useful tools. Some of the tools we looked at weren't as applicable to special library context but that's ok as part of the journey was just seeing what was out there. This learning experience provided a good overview of the various web 2.0 tools and will allow us to now use the ones that best meet our clients needs

Week 9 Podcasts etc

#22 Audiobooks - I have to admit I stiil prefer a paper book . However that said I did have fun at the world ebook fair sale. I can see where this site would be very useful for public libraries
#21 Podcasts - I wasn't aware of the podcast directories such as podcast.net so it was interesting to have a look around
#20 I have tended to avoid youtube as it is easy to lose a lot of time simply looking at the weird and wonderful stuff that you can find. However I did find an interesting frog video

Week 8 Online application

#8 Online Productivity Tools
I hadn't used Zoho Writer before so it was interesting to use it. It seems easy to use but within the ATO context I can't see where we would use it given our need for confidentiality. I also had a look at Google docs and I thought it was very easy and straightforward I do like being able to use my existing gmail account to register so I am not juggling a number of passwords around. This is where google has an advantage if you can use a number of applications under the same user name and password

#19 Examples of Web Excellence
I enjoyed having a look at all the nominees and winners and just reading what they were all about. Just looking at the list demonstrated the variety of web 2.0 tools that are out there. I had a look at wetpaint just to see how different it to other wikis and I was surprised with the amount of variety that is there. I also had a look at http://pipl.com/. This is labled as a people finder and claims to be the most comprehensive people search on the web.
Pipl on its page states :

"Pipl's query-engine helps you find deep web pages that cannot be found on regular search engines.
Unlike a typical search-engine, Pipl is designed to retrieve information in real-time from the deep web, our robots are set to interact with searchable databases and extract facts, contact details and other relevant information from personal profiles, member directories, scientific publications, court records and numerous other deep-web sources.
Pipl is not just about finding more results; we are using advanced language-analysis and ranking algorithms to bring you the most relevant bits of information about a person in a single, easy-to-read results page. "

What I like about it about the search engine is that you can enter country and city data for the person you are looking for and I also like how the results page works. I tried it for a few people and was surprised with the information that came back it picked up my space pages and other blogs as well. I searched on my thirteen year old nephew and as well as showing basic details from his my space account the rest was private so I couldn't snoop. However he had set up another account and I could read his complete profile - I think I have now have some blackmail material ( just kidding). However aside from snooping on what people have put on theweb it will be a handy tool work wise for some of the people searching I do.

Week 7: Wikis

I must admit that I like Wikis. They are simple to use and have a lot of application in a Special Library environment .They are very useful as subject guides and also as a way of presenting a variety of information.

Week 6 :Tagging , Del.icio.us and Technorati

I have used Del.icio.us and Technorati before and while I have found them interesting, I haven't embraced either with any great enthusiasm. I can see where Del.icio.us can be useful for researchers if they wanted to follow the trail and find additional serches but when you are short of time you haven't got a lot of time for exploring. Technorati is a useful tool when you need to search blogs and the like but again I haven't had a great need to do that

Still Having Fun Week 5 extended

I have to admit I had lots of fun playing with Image generators etc. I found this interesting frog generator. Everytime you click on it you get a new frog picture.
http://www.allaboutfrogs.org/funstuff/randomfrog.html
However I suppose I will have to stop playing with images and look a the other tasks for week 5 as I am just a bit behind
Library Thing was interesting but is not really me but I can see where the social aspect of sharing your faavourite books would appeal to some. While I had previously known about library thing,I hadn't known about the groups aspect. I can see where it will can have some applications in a library invironment if you wanted to highlight particular books. etc.

While I had known about Library thing I had to admit I hadn't know about Rollo this is certainly something I intende to play around with abit more as I can certainly see the benefits both as a researcher and as a way of providing assistance to our clients

Having Fun

This flower image genator at http://www.imagechef.com/ic/flowers/ is a great way of saying it with flowers but it may be more appropriate to say it with suns