Online Applications

I just created a slideshow of 4 poems I like using Google Docs online presentation software. It was a frustrating experience because the document wouldn't save properly and I lost it about 3 times and had to start from scratch!

That didn't make me feel confident or enthusiastic about going back and using Google Docs in future, although the general idea and group-editing function is useful. Anyway, here's the presentation.

If anyone wants to add to it by putting in a favourite poem of their own, feel free! I believe you can do this at: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dtrv3dr_0hpd79sg8

If you find the text too small to read on the blog, click on the "Open in New Window" icon next to and to the right of the "Slide 1/5" box at the bottom of the slideshow.

Places I've been... Mapmaker Mashup

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

Still not sure I understand the whole idea of a mashup - definitely got the basic gist, but not confident I could explain to someone exactly how it works!

I especially love the "Star Viewer" mashup by Keir Clarke. That's one I'll be re-visiting in my own free time. Voicethread was very interesting too.

Search Cube is a good mashup for anyone who likes information presented in a visually appealing way. Check it out at: http://www.search-cube.com/

Podcasts

I discovered the joy of podcasts a while ago when a friend put me onto a GREAT and HILARIOUSLY FUNNY British radio show called "The Ricky Gervais Show" presented by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (creators of the TV show "The Office.")

The show started in 2001 (I think!) on XFM radio in the UK, and by 2006 the podcasts were rated the most downloaded podcasts of all time.

If anyone's interested, you can listen to episodes here: http://www.rickygervaisshow.com/2.htm

The picture above shows Ricky and Steve, along with Karl Pilkington, producer of their show, who became an accidental celebrity when he started talking on air while the show was being recorded and contributing to the podcasts.

Podcasts also open up a range of exciting possibilities for libraries: customers could review books and upload their review podcasts to the catalogue. Celebrity author talks could be downloaded via the catalogue. Podcasts could also be used to train library staff at a distance.

Link to my LibraryThing account...

LibraryThing, you make my heart sing!

What a great idea Library Thing is! So many ways to connect with readers who have the same taste and interests... so many ways to find new reads! I can see this is something I'll probably get quite sucked into.

Videos

I just finished the 23 Things lesson on videos. I've been a regular visitor to YouTube for some time now and I love it - it makes me feel optimistic about the human race! When I watch the news or read the newspaper the stories are so often negative and horrible - war, crime, injustice... Gets me down sometimes, makes me feel a bit cynical about human nature! So it's so lovely to see hundreds and thousands of people putting up schmaltzy YouTube videos about their pets, loved ones, hobbies, or just doing frivolous, inventive, creative things. Balances out all the nastiness a bit!

In relation to libraries, I thought the idea of video book reviews was espec. exciting! Maybe one day eLibCat could host videos of patrons doing book reviews! You could search for a book and watch different reviews of it before ordering it for yourself or grabbing it off the shelves :-)

I'll leave you with another YouTube video of one of my favourite comedians - Dylan Moran - doing part of a standup routine.

RSS Feeds

Today I set up 3 RSS feeds for my blog from:

PostSecret: a website displaying an ongoing community art project in which people write down and mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. No restrictions are made on the content of the secret; only that it must be completely truthful and must never have been spoken or revealed before. Selected postcards have been published in PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (ISBN: 0060899190), published by Harper Collins/Regan Books in 2005. Second, third and fourth PostSecret books were also published in subsequent years.

Strange Maps: Who doesn’t like looking at maps? The website Strange Maps shows you all kinds of interesting - weird - bizarre - quirky maps out there.

World Wide Words: This website pays homage to the idiosyncracies and oddities of the English language, presenting weird and wonderful words, each with its own potted history and full meaning.


I like RSS feeds - they really are like getting a personalised newspaper delivered, covering specially selected topics I'm interested in. Obviously, it would be great to harness RSS feeds for BCC libraries. There are so many great library blogs out there that staff could be getting updates from, to learn from and for professional development.