Things 13-15

I had heard people refer to Prezi but I had never seen a presentation myself. I must say, I am very impressed! It is so much easier to use than Powerpoint and so much more dynamic. I did wonder if it would be a bit too much with things zooming in and out all over the place. Indeed my first attempt did make me feel rather seasick, but I remembered frames to group text and pictures together and was away! I struggled to embed my Prezi onto my blog but it seemed to be successful when I restricted viewers to simply going back and forward. I don't currently do presentations in my work but if I did I would definitely use Prezi! In fact, I have been so impressed that I have passed the existence of Prezi on to others.




At first I wasn't sure about the point of Doodle, as I thought you could just use Outlook. But then I realised that the beauty is that you can invite people through email, Facebook or Twitter and you don't need an account.

Survey Monkey is yet another useful Thing! The library where I did my traineeship used it to do a survey on satisfaction, which is so vital to service improvement/justification and with Survey Monkey it is so easy.

I do like my lists so was interested in RTM but I have Outlook for work and tend to use paper lists at home. I think RTM would be useful if I had internet on my phone, as I would be able to check my list wherever I was!

I used Google Docs during my Masters course. One of the modules consisted entirely of group work and Google Docs made it so much easier to work collaboratively.

Reflection

I am going to use this break to reflect on all I have done over the last month. 

I am now pretty used to Blogger and so far it has done everything I have needed it to. 

I go on to iGoogle less and less now that Wimbledon is over but it did get me into the habit of checking Tube updates, which is good.  I deleted my First Great Western RSS feed fairly swiftly, as I got a list of every single train running and how late they were.  I will however set up feeds in the future, as I can see their potential.  Google Reader now tends to be the way I keep an eye on other 23 Things blogs and I am also acquiring quite a random knowledge of all things ice cream due to my Google Alert.

Reflecting on Things 8-9 made me realise that I had not utlised them again since.  I was about to write that it was because I had had no need for pictures but then I remembered my blog, so here you go:

Funnily enough trying to use Flickr this time, I soon discovered the same problems others had encountered - I was struggling to find an image to show exactly what I meant.  I was being a good librarian and thinking of related search terms when I remembered that I actually had the perfect photo myself for one of these other terms.

I have found myself straying back to Facebook.  I think I need time to appreciate Twitter, as at the moment I just log on, quickly scroll down and log off.  Just in the last day or two however I have become aware of one distinct advantage.  I have started to notice that I am reading things in newpapers, which I was already aware of a few days ago thanks to Twitter, for example, can a macaque own copyright?!

I have taken the opportunity to explore LinkedIn in more detail, even looking at the profiles of some respected library professionals.  I am resolved in my conclusion that I should not join until I will be able to dedicate the time to keeping it up-to-date.

I am looking forward to the rest of the Things.

Things 10-12 + Cool Extra Thing

Already an avid Facebook user, I have recently been toying with the idea of joining Twitter, as I feel like there is more happening on there.  I have therefore used 23 Things as the impetus to set up an account but have decided to use it personally rather than professionally.  I am finding it difficult to adjust at the moment, so set am I in my Facebook ways but I am making an effort to use it in place of Facebook for the time being.  I do like the rapid exchanges but think I will continue to use Facebook for pictures.  I have followed one library and thus completed Thing 11.  I am also involved in updating the SCHS Libraries Twitter account so I have experience of its more professional use.  We tend to tweet interesting thing happening in the world of health and education but I see other libraries provided updates about their services.

I decided not to join LinkedIn because at the moment it would be one too many accounts to try and maintain.  I fear it would become neglected, which would not give a favourable impression.  It is still good to be reminded that it is there and may be of use in the future.

Most of the library Facebook pages seem to provide updates on new material and events.  The use of pictures to show new books and the fact that people can see the answer to questions that they may have had themselves are good.  I do however think that striking the right tone between professional and personal is quite tricky on this medium.

Things 8-9 + Cool Extra Thing

I was aware of Creative Commons but had not thought about it in the context of Flickr before, as I had never used the site.  I tend to use my own photos but now feel excited about the untapped resource I have to explore!

I decided to continue the ladybird theme but didn't have much luck with the tiny variety so thought I would try the other extreme, and what could be more extreme than a ladybird the size of a baby elephant!



Thanks to asw909 for image via CC licence



I found it extremely simple to add images using Blogger, although I only discovered how to do captions by accident.

Cool Extra Thing

I do like to play about with my photos but have tended to use Photoshop.  I was a bit disappointed with Fotoflexer, as I had seen most of the effects before.  That said, I was still rather pleased with this:

Branston and Pickles in pop art

I had great fun with PhotoFunia and have already got a couple of friends interested in having a go themselves.


Week 2 Update

I have still been making use of iGoogle but only to keep an eye on Wimbledon and the Tube.

Things 4-7 + Cool Extra Thing

I have experimented with setting up a homepage like iGoogle before, and found that features such as the weather forecast are a novelty to start with but that this soon wears off.  With that said, I am currently enjoying Wimbledon updates and also hope that it will stop me forgetting to check the tube before leaving work.  I was most tempted by the games (my beloved Bejewelled was available) but as it is for work I decided I should probably steer clear so just added London Daily Photo and Spider, as a bit of frivolity.

Trying to find a RSS feed made me realise that there aren't really any websites that I check daily.  I had a flash of inspiration however and checked First Great Western.  I was met with an unpleasant list of cancellations and delays but I guess it is better to be prepared.  It took a while to find the actual feed but Google Reader itself was simple and I found the blogs that I am following were already there waiting for me.   I set up some folders to help manage my different subscriptions.

Extra Cool Thing -

Again my lack of searching for meaningful things regularly became apparent and my first idea for heartwarming pictures of baby guinea pigs was thwarted, as you could not filter by image!  I then remembered my developing obsession for all things ice cream and am proud that I think I have successfully managed to limit to UK updates.

I have found this week more time consuming than last, this wasn't due to the tasks themselves, but more with trying to think of sites and searches of interest.  I can see how the Google Alerts in particular could be of use to others, I was intrigued by the concept of keeping an eye on your competitors this way, as I have never worked in that kind of field.

Things 1 - 3

Setting up the blog was easy enough, the hardest part was trying to decide on a name and a design (I am still not entirely happy with either!).  I was however pleased when, in my search for a profile pic to make my blog a bit more exciting and individual, I stumbled across my photo of the tiny ladybird!

I currently don't find Blogger the most user friendly site to navigate but I am sure I will get used to it in no time.  It is quite alien for me to reflect publicly on my progress but this will be a new skill to develop alongside learning the Web 2.0 technologies.  However, I don't think I will get hooked like I could potentially with something like Twitter!

Adding tags was also simple and they seem a good way to check quickly if a post is of relevance.