Learning 2.1 Begins

Time to start learning a few more interesting things that I never knew about.

#23 Summary & The End

This has been an interesting journey!

I thought I knew most things when it came to the internet and libraries but much has changed especially from the "1.0" to "2.0" where once it was really just a one-way street, now the users are collaborating as well and we are seeing just how powerful this is.

On the fun side image generators provided lots of entertainment. We managed to make up a few, bluetooth them back to your phone and then MMS them as cards for birthday's etc. Adds a real personal touch.

It's good to see there are some really innovative people out there, sharing their knowledge and using Web 2.0 tools to do it. Also special thanks for the opportunity to do this through LIS.

#22 Audiobooks

I hunted around for some good sites in the Audiobook arena and found the Project Gutenberg the best. Most of the titles I would be interested in aren't there. then again this is mostly books that are out of copyright etc. The iTunes store has more recent titles for a small fee.

I do prefer to read an actual book although I have tried a couple of audiobooks before I have had to close my eyes, avoid distractions and "imagine" but ended up falling asleep. Still some people with more patience than myself may find them enjoyable.

I downloaded "Great Expectations" to try it out since I only recently read it again, hence the reason I called the blog this.

#21 Podcasts

I only recently got an iPod after my old little MP3 player couldn't hold the amount of things I wanted anymore. Having an iPod means you can only really update it through the iTunes software.

I tried a few of the sites like PodCastAlley.com and thought I better try a library orientated podcast. So I selected Library Geeks. They even have their own blog etc.

Once selected my iTunes software automatically detected a podcast and added it so that I can be subscribed. I just listened to this on my PC but if I did get public transport into work I'm sure podcasts would be a good way to pass the time.

#20 Youtube

YouTube gets mentioned and quoted all the time now. In news reports, on the spot reporting and even the Prime Minister was getting in on the act. In the US there are channels dedicated to political parties and candidates, it's happening here as well. As well as giving these people a voice, it gives everyone else the chance to comment and vent as well.

Here's a really simple test. I took a 5 second video on my mobile phone out the window here at work then uploaded it to YouTube. The result appears below.

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

Hunting around on the internet for Web 2.0 sites doesn't seem to be a very difficult task anymore. There are thousands out there claiming to be something special.

Since I'm interested in mobile internet web 2.0 applications I thought I would try out twitter. They claim the following:

Find out what other people are doing in real time. Become part of a world-wide community that keeps in touch by answering the question, “what are you doing?”

Now had to set this up and post. On the right column is now a widget that updates if I want to let everyone know something. You can even add what your doing from your mobile phone.... now would I really want to do that?

#18 Online Productivity Tools

I have had the opportunity to try out some of these online tools and applications. As time goes by it is starting to become harder and harder to distinguish between what is and is not online. Also with faster access speeds to the internet and the introduction of Ajax programming, this will be the future.

I have a Google account and have set up the Google Docs and Spreadsheets. This is the 2nd generation of this and it keeps improving all the time. To prove just how easy it is I have embedded a small piece of a spreadsheet into the blog. If I sign into my Google account I can edit it and the edited version will appear below. Pretty clever. Also anyone who I have given permission to edit this document can log in and collaborate as well.

A sample of what I created is linked below. There was even a feature since Blogger is a part of the Google stable to publish directly to my blog from the online application.

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