GOOGLE MAPS (Thing 14)

I explored Google Maps and found the street view of my house together with the satellite and terrain maps.

I also created a Google account and got into My Maps and created a map of my neighborhood and marked several sites within it. 

My Maps could be used for projects such as Amy had done where labeling of a neighborhood or a larger area is important.  Another occasion where this type of mapmaking could be useful is when traveling to another area and I would want to label the places of interest that I will be visiting and have it all on one or several maps.  It was fun labeling the map once I figured out how to get the basic map on the screen.

Here is the URL to my neighborhood map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=s&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102332777491580006048.000455751d5e71af4cc04&z=16

TECHNORATI (Thing 13)

I read the provided information about Technorati, went to the website and clicked on the various tabs, and did some searches. All I found were the opinions of individuals on any topic from A to Z. I really did not find this very helpful. I want to find information that is somewhat reliable and not individual opinions. I don’t need to know what a stranger, somewhere, thinks about a topic or about a person. I like to discuss topics with people whom I know.  

Also, I typed in my blog address and got connected to mysite. Then, I looked for a blog by a particular person whom I know, but could not find her blog through Technorati. However, I did find it through Google Blogs.

WIKIS (Thing 12)

I was really surprised at the number and kinds of wikis. There seems to be one on most any topic by the look of WikiIndex. Like everyone else, I knew and have used Wikipedia, and that is like an old friend. However, the others, like Wiktionary, Wikihow, WikiIndex, and the many library related wikis are completely new to me. I was amazed at the amount and breadth of information on some of the library wikis.

Just as with books, some wikis are better, more detailed and more reliable than others. And, yes, I would and have used wikis. But just as with books, if a person is doing a more in-depth research on a topic, she/he will have to go to many different sources or websites. So, one wiki article will not do, just as one book or a chapter in one book won’t do. Wikis have references and or links to other sites, just as books will often have bibliographies or references to other works. The caveat about wikis is that knows less about the qualification of the writer of the posted article than one knows about a book author.

The Library success and Library instruction wikis were particularly good resources for librarians. Both covered a variety of library related subjects, and each could be a good place to start when a librarian has a question about his/her profession, reader’s advisory, reference services, subject headings vs keyword search, etc. There are also links to other relevant sources.

I don’t yet know enough about wikis to give examples of applications that work well within libraries. But, if a library wants to set up a home page or some other page from which they want to have links to other sites and which they want to easily change, then a wiki sounds like a good way to go.

ONLINE RADIO SITES (Thing 11)

I checked out the three online radio sites, Pandora Radio, Last.fm and Live365 InternetRadio, mentioned on 23 Things. Both Pandora Radio and Last.fm require signing up/registering and creating a profile. Live 365 Internet Radio can be accessed without signing up and one can find any kind of music/stations throughout the world on this site. I had to spend some time navigating the various sites and or stations to find one that I liked. I personally prefer to go directly to a station that I like, such as WCPN, and listen to that on my computer, which I did for this exercise.

BOOK RELATED SITES ON THE WEB (Thing 10)

I looked at the book related sites mentioned in Thing 10. As a librarian, I found LitLovers the most interesting and useful. It contains a wealth of information on setting up and starting book clubs and book discussion groups while also giving guidelines for carrying out a book discussion (including generic questions for fiction and non-fiction titles).  Also has info on kids book clubs. There are links to lit courses, lit shops and lit fun. The latter has fun suggestions for recipes to use to complement a novel that a group may be discussing. And, best of all, one does not have to sign up to use this website!

The other sites suggested under Thing 10, BookJetty, GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari were similar in that a reader can keep track of his/her books, of what friends are reading, and find new titles similar to what one is reading.  From the tours that I took, LibraryThing seems to have the most versatility in what one can do with the books she/he reads, and it has a local link to area bookstores, libraries, etc.  Shelfari appears to be the most basic. The signing up to all is very simple, but one does have to sign up to fully use or examine the site.

GAMES (Thing 9)

I enjoy playing games on the computer.  I have played solitaire and free cell, both card games, before 23 things.  I tried some arcade games on the AARP site where there are also many other games — word games, card games, checkers, etc.  I played Yarnz where you had to shoot colored balls of yarn at other colored balls of yard.  There was a game similar to this on the free game website where you shot colored balls at other colored balls.  I also played Collapse on the latter website.  I tried Sudoko online, but I like the Sudoko on paper way better.  I enjoy playing games online and could spend hours and hours at it.  It is very addictive!

MASHUPS AND OTHER FUN THINGS WITH FLICKR, ET AL. (Thing 8)

I checked out Trip Planner and found it quite intriguing.  Since I don’t have pictures to put on a trip, I couldn’t actually use the program.  If one has taken a trip and would like to add their pictures and make a journal, then this would be a fun site to use.  I also looked at MosaicMaker, which seemed like it would be easy to follow, if one had pictures that they wanted to use.  The directions appeared to be straight forward.  Flickr Color Pickr is a creative site that lets a person use color in an imaginative way.  Here is one I liked

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78971310@N00/5315482/in/pool-circle/.

CHECKING OUT FLICKR (Thing 7)

I signed up for a Flickr account, read up on Flickr and looked at some of the pictures. I don’t have a digital camera as of yet, but am thinking of buying one. I liked this picture on Flickr of the inside of Mt. Vesuvius, as I saw it 4 years ago (http://www.flickr.com/photos/leonandloisphotos/2748804237/).  I can see where Flickr can be useful in organizing a person’s pictures, but I do worry about unfair use of another person’s picture.

BLOGLINES (Thing 6)

After establishing an account on Bloglines, I signed up for 6 rss links to various news sites and the Library of Congress.  It’s not that hard to use, but it all takes up a lot of time!

RSS FEEDS (Thing 5)

John showed me how to set up my own Bloglines account.  It is really very coool to have so many blogs on one spot.  Thanks, John.