Youtube

Hi there.

Try this on for size:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO10s_HK6d0

One of the most insane and funniest things I have seen. I really don't know why it was produced, but it was and it made me laugh out loud. Hope it does the same for you.

This could have a very good purpose if connected to our database or catalogue. It would be a helpful way of explaining to patrons some of the various procedures that occur in the library and even some of the things patrons can operate themselves such as placing holds or where to search for an item.

The website is enormous and you could get lost in amongst the myriad videos there. Just trying to decide on tags to search under is daunting. But occasionally you get a pearler and it makes it worthwhile.

Enjoy it all!

Discovering Web 2.0 tools

Back again!

Just checked out a fun little site taht was a winner called Onesentence.org. Stories are told while using only one sentence. Not much to do with a library, but I thought it(or something like it) may come in handy for some of the short story comps that happen throughout the year.

I liked that it was a very simple idea and a very easy site to navigate and follow. Something that can catch your attention for the right amount of time. Just 'the bare essentials.'

Enjoy if you will.

PBWiki

Nice little bit of fun here. Soooooooo many people like either cats or dogs! What about all those other fascinating animals out there? The Moose? The Orang Utan? The Spotted Quoll?

I am hoping that my link will come out ok as I just right clicked on the URL in the address bar and copied and pasted. It seemed to work so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

PBWiki

Wikis

Wow. These wikis are really something. I realised that they were able to be updated by (almost) all and sundry but I hadn't thought about their use as an alternative to emailing before. This type of information sharing would come in useful between branches of our library service and the council service with the planning of the new library and even between libraries with purchasing ,or aligning of collections, of books.

Even the adding of information as it comes to hand is very useful. Some of the smaller groups within the library can use these with ease to concentrate their ideas for meetings and such.

Wikis may lead to incorrect information from time to time but as it is quite quick to edit any text this probably would be caught before any great lentgh of time has passed.

I might delve into them a bit deeper.

Library 2.0

G'day again.

Have just read a couple of the perspectives given about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. Very interesting reading. I am caught in a bit of a quandry as I can see the need for( and am excited by) new technology and looking forward to the future, but (even given my relatively young age) I still love to be able to delve into books, periodicals, etc. To have something real and tangible in my hands is something that I hope I'll always be able to do in my life.

Don't get me wrong. I have found new and wonderful information at my fingertips in regards to other blogs that I would never have found if not for the 'net. To be able to read and check that information immediately is something a book or magazine will never be able to match. The instantaneous link and promise of a faster and broader base of information is very exciting.

I still love my books (and of course my collection of Phantom comics) so I hope there won't come a time when items like these are not produced anymore due to the overwhelming ease of the web.

Technorati

Hi there.

Just checked out Technorati and I can't really say I think that much of it. Yes the idea of having blogs listed and all their tags being available is good to have in one spot, but it is all too much. The sheer volume of blogs on particular topics is counter productive to doing a simplified search. Typing in a tag and then having to sift through mountains of blogs to get specifically what you are after seems very time consuming.

If you were after a lazy day searching for anything that took your fancy, it would be great fun. But sadly, I did not find Technorati much chop.

Del.icio.us.

Been a while.

Just looked at Del.icio.us and saw what a great tool it can be for quick links and searches. Being able to link straight to the page you are after and not having to search under various other keywords is such a breeze. Doing a quick search on "golf" brought up hundreds of different links and just adding a few of them is very handy.

The only problem with using it as a research tool would be knowing what tags other people had used. My idea of, say, the word basketball and its links may be completely different from someone elses and have nothing to do with the search I'm performing. And limiting a research question to my own definition may not get the desired answers.

Other than that it is a good and useful tool to organise my own 'favourites' in a way that would make a lot of sense to me.

Now, to Technorati and beyond!

tootles

Rollyo

Have just checked out and linked( through a Rollyo toolbar on the side of my blog) to Rollyo. It was a fun little exercise and it was a valuable tool for quick searching in my very limited field of web use. The sites I normally go to did not include most of the Phantom links because I can do most of my searching through my own resources at home. I just thought it would be interesting to have those links as a way of informing people who view my blog about the history of the Phantom.
Once again, I can see that it would be useful in our work environment, however it would probably only work in the back room. A general search engine for all staff to refer to when faced with a particular query over the phone or at the front counter. All staff contributing with different sites with different topics would be a goldmine of info for some of the weird and wonderful things we are asked.
I have put the Rollyo search icon on the side of my page for anyone to view. I just used the general selection that the site had prepared plus a few of my own( to see if I could operate it). It seemed easy enough and the only problem I had was the linking to this page when any change I made to my list wasn't reflected directly onto the link. Having to go backwards and forwards each time was time consuming but it got worked out in the end.

Happy searching from me!

TTFN!

New friend

adopt your own virtual pet!

Thanks to Helen for the idea.

Oh boy! Another piece of fun to be had whilst learning! This was just a basic one but thinking up slogans and going through each of the sites was heaps of fun. Here is the link to the site I got this one from:

http://www.warningsigngenerator.com/

Like I said, it was just a basic one but there are so many other sites you just can't stop at one. There may be a few more of these on my blog just as little bits of funniness to pass the time. Adding these to the blog also seems to brighten it up and creates a new look each time. To be able to update quickly and see the results is fantastic too.

TTFN!

Backtracking with Flickr Mashups

I don't mind these Warhol pics too much. They look cool if you can get the right picture on there(Probably not my ugly mug!) and are quite a colourful addition to your blog. Thanks to Gayle for taking the pic. I'll be back later.

Tootles

Back again.

Sooooo much stuff to do on those different sites. And sooo much fun to be had! I have already mentioned to my wife about the Tooth fairy letters that you can print up and when my daughter is old enough( to lose a tooth) we'll definitely be back there to give her an extra surprise.

The idea that you can create your own picture into almost any design is amazing. I could see this working in the work environment as a fun exercise(eg. trading cards to swap and collect or the 'Hi my name is...' badges) Very easy to use and even more fun to compare with what everyone else has done.

This was a backtrack post to complete numbers 6 and 7 I think. I checked out my tracking log and seemed to miss out on those two. Turned out to be the most fun of the lot so far!
TTFN

Fun with image generators

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!! What fun! I've checked out all sorts of Chuck Norris 'facts' and made myself into a South Park character. I'll definitely be back tomorrow!

Rss Feeds

Rss Feeds
It's been a while. Have been away and working hard, so not much time for the blog. I've just checked out RSS feeds for the second time and have just created a bloglines account(So many logins in such a short time!) To check out the feeds I have subscribed to go here(hopefully):
http://www.bloglines.com/public/monkeymanplusthree

I have a couple of wierdo ones on there so be prepared.

Once again this is not one of the items that I would use everyday( as I tend to go to these sites daily I don't really miss any updates anyway) but I could see the worth in having it connected to our library catalogue. One quick click of the mouse and patrons could get updates from the Herald Sun or the Age and possibly even( given time) be able to read the news online after they have browsed for books. Getting online reviews of books and directly being able to place holds on them is another option.

The only part of Bloglines I found slightly frustrating was that it had no topic based lists for quick reference and in relation to Australia that you could directly subsribe to. I know that's half the fun of the net(discovering new sites) but to have at least the main news sites in each country would have been a help.

Anyhoo, I will now be keeping an eye out for the RSS icon on pages that I travel to and will be reminded to add these if they are informative or just plain make me wet myself with laughter when I read them.
Tootles

Flickr

Have just been floating around the Flickr site and looking at some cool and beautiful pics. The site is huge and I have been lost in there for about 15 minutes just browsing and wondering how I could utilise it in some way. It probably won't come into use so much at work(although I will be able to refer patrons to it for amazing photos) but I think it could work quite well as a tool to use at home. I am slightly averse to sharing my dodgy home photos with the world( I know I can create a guest list so not everyone can view them.) but being able to use some of the fantastic images to create cards for birthdays and such could be the thing to do. It may have even prompted me to begin taking photos of my area and posting them. It has always been a pipe dream to take a photo that makes people stop and comment. This is kind of what I'm talking about.

I've always loved looking at the ocean or pictures of the ocean and waves. It reminds me of how much fun I've had whilst surfing and waiting for waves to come through.

Placing that pic on this blog wasn't the hardest thing to do, but I'm learning how to do it in a more refined manner now. And Flickr may just help me to spruce it up a lot more.

By the way, on the home front, our guests arrived last night and chaos ensued. Kids talking louder than they ever have before and toys of all descriptions underfoot. It truly is a warzone around our house right now.

TTFN

Blogging frenzy

Just about to begin work on my flickr account. Something else new that I have had experience with before but have not really had the time or inclination to use properly. Reading the other blogs has been fun and it gives me a good idea of what to write/type in future blogs. I read a particular blog online every day and am seeing some familiar setups(ie the way the blog looks and reacts) to my own account. A week ago it was all mysterious to me but now it is becoming a little clearer.
In home life our little house will become a LOT smaller tomorrow as we will have some house guests( 4 of them) staying for a week, possibly longer. It was just starting to get a little cramped with just the three of us(and the bump) , but now with 7(!!!!!!) it will make things harder. Three kids under 5 and four adults. Wow. Having gone and looked at Eynesbury estate yesterday the thought of a newer, larger house seems to be the right way to go. Oh yeah. Now for the money to pay for it!

Number one

Well here I go. First blog and I'm slightly confused as to what to write(or type). It was fun to go through all those details while signing up. Trying to think of all the things that you do daily, weekly or monthly and really don't consider to be special in any way. It's just what I do. It was also hard to try and limit my musical tastes, favourite things to do and other stuff. I'd be there for ever and a day if I was to list everything that I liked listening to.
Anyhoo, crapping on does give your blog a bit of meat and substance and makes it look like you've been thinking about it real hard.
I'll have to think of some more for the next one.
Tootles