Now We Know Everything About Everything!

Ok maybe not, but this was a pretty good program.  I've never been too interested in social networks and other web 2.0 stuff, but these exercises pushed me to at least take a look at sites that I wouldn't be investigating otherwise.  The highlights for me were the blogging and Google Reader.

Music...Web 2.0 Style

For this exercise I checked out Last.fm.  The site was pretty good but not perfect.  First the good stuff:

Last.fm seems to have a pretty good selection and lots of information about bands, albums, and even specific songs.  The more obscure you get the less information there is, but there were numerous bands that I was surprised were on the site at all.  Also, this is one of the few sites that seems to be pretty good at guessing what I would be interested in.  For instance, if I type in "Sir Lord Baltimore" the site also shows similar artists such as Leaf Hound, Granicus, and Bang which is not only correct, but is also what I would be interested in listening to if I were already listening to Sir Lord Baltimore. The site is also well designed and easy to use.

Unfortunately, the site is not perfect.  First, the sound quality isn't great.  It sounds like they're using mp3's which always results in poor sound quality, and I'm sure the problem is compounded by these terrible Coby headphones.  Second, the songs aren't always the original version of the song, and I believe are not even always by the original artist, yet they are presented as though that is the version that is actually on the album.  This is inexcusable, and I would be surprised if they haven't had complaints from artists.

Anyway, as for Web 2.0 the site has all of the usual features like, comments, tags, music sharing, etc.  Also like usual I can't say that I'm too interested in that aspect of the site.  I would like the site better if they took out all of the social networking features and instead focused on expanding their selection and replacing the fake versions of songs with the real deal.

Online Productivity: Productive or Just Cost Effective?

For businesses with limited resources and a limited need for complex spreadsheets, documents, etc. something like Google Docs could be very useful.  You get some basic "Office" type programs without having to buy Microsoft Office, and because it is all online you also don't need a network for file sharing.  However, for businesses with more resources or ones that need to create complex documents "online productivity" is probably not the answer...at least not yet.

I mostly tried out the spreadsheet part of Google Docs and I found two glaring problems.  First, it does not convert Excel spreadsheets very well.  It appears that during conversion essentially all formatting is lost, and if you have any charts get ready to redo them.  My charts did not show up at all in Google Docs.

The second problem is that the programs are a little too basic.  For instance, the spreadsheet program does not have any easy way (that I found) of creating heat maps like what is possible in Excel 2007.  Even worse, it seems to be missing some very basic features such as the ability to zoom in and out.

My verdict:  Cost effective, but if you want real productivity stick with Microsoft Office.

Online Book Communities

For this exercise I mostly looked at LibraryThing.  This site looks quite useful for people who have extensive personal libraries and have trouble remembering what they have or keeping their books organized.  I was also impressed with the extensive information that users can get for each book.  The book reviews are useful too I'm sure, but reviews are certainly not unique to this site.

Unfortunately, this is another "Web 2.0" site that does not seem very useful for me personally so I did not create an account.  I do not own an extensive collection of books, nor do I ever have numerous books that I am waiting to read.  Also, while having the ISBN, publisher, etc. is useful for libraries, I do not need to know that information for books that I own.

Like the previous exercise, I would also have to question the way that web 2.0 sites supposedly allow you to find people who have the same interests as you.  On LibraryThing I searched for one of my favorite Beatles books and looked through the libraries of some people who also had that book.  I had a very hard time finding anything else in their libraries that I was interested in.  It looks like if you have an account with LibraryThing you can see other people who have the same books as you.  It is difficult to tell from the screenshot exactly how this works.  This would be useful if it only showed people who had many or all of the same books.  Sharing one book in common is not an indicator of many common interests.  For instance, for me to be particularly interested in someone else's library, it would at least need to include books on astronomy, babies, and classic rock.

(The Site Formerly Known As)Del.icio.us Leaves a Bad Taste in My Mouth

Am I missing something?  Why would I use the site formerly known as del.icio.us (now delicious.com) to find information online instead of just doing a Google search?  Let's do a little comparison.

I want to find the site for National Geographic so that's what I type into Delicious.  I get a bunch of sites dealing with National Geographic, but the main page for the site is nowhere to be found.  Since Delicious is supposed to be all about tags I click on a tag labeled "nationalgeographic", and am greeted with a bunch of seemingly random articles, etc. from National Geographic.  Next, I click on the link to see the bookmarks sorted by popularity.  Surely, the main National Geographic page would be the most popular and would appear first...right?  Well, yes and no.  After looking through the new list, I finally find the main page for National Geographic which is in fact the most popular.  The only problem is that even though I am looking at the "popular bookmarks" they are still not sorted by popularity, so the entry I was looking for was 5th on the list.  Now let's see what happens with Google.

I go to Google, type "National Geographic" into the search box, and the main National Geographic page is the first result.  I click on it and I'm there.

Outside of work I do not see any benefit in looking at other people's bookmarks either.  I clicked on the user that came up first for the National Geographic page, and I see that this person has 3332 tags.  The majority of these tags don't have anything to with my original search or anything that I am interested in.  The bookmark sharing seems to assume too much.  A Delicious user and I both being interested in National Geographic does not mean that we have any other interests in common. The person I have the most in common with is my wife, but even she and I probably wouldn't have any bookmarks the other would want to look at.  The delicious website says that "we can show you the most popular bookmarks being saved right now across many areas of interest".  I do not believe that a social network is better at deciding what I'm interested in than I am.  When I'm online I want to see information that I'm interested in, not necessarily what everyone else thinks is currently interesting in that subject area.

I do see that with only looking at co-workers work related bookmarks, Delicious could be useful in sharing information at work, but I don't see myself using it at home.

On a side note...  Did anyone else find it a bit strange that "vegan" was the #2 tag for JPL?  Who knew that vegan(ism?) was so popular?  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

No Luck With Podcasts

Ah yes, the trials and tribulations of finding a good, up-to-date podcast.  Let me start by saying that I did not use iTunes for this assignment.  Unlike the silhouettes at right, I am not nearly cool enough to own any Apple products.  These silhouettes must also have a lot more money than I do because I can't afford to purchase products based on how cool they will make me look.  I think the last Apple product I used was the Apple IIgs.

Anyway, I began my podcast search on PodcastAlley.com and immediately ran into some problems.  Unsurprisingly I couldn't find any podcasts related to what I do at work (periodicals), so I tried to find some blogs about music or libraries in general.  Unfortunately, every podcast I clicked on ended sometime in 2006 or 2007.

Next I tried the NPR site.  I clicked on "podcast directory by topic" and went to the music section.  There seemed to be a lot of jazz and classical music, but there were also a lot of podcasts where I couldn't tell what they were by their names such as "Ear to the Ground" and "Aspen Hot Wax".  At this point I was guessing that "Ear to the Ground" might be a reference to "When the Music's Over" by The Doors, and that "Aspen Hot Wax" is either in the wrong section or focuses on Barry White songs.  Well, I was wrong and wrong.  First I tried "Ear to the Ground" which I found showcases musicians from New Mexico.  Next, I tried "Aspen Hot Wax" which showed some promise by mentioning the 50's, 60's and 70's, but it all fell apart when the next line read "highlighting artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley...".

Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley?

Ugh.  That's it for me.

Google Reader

I don't have too much to say about this one.  I signed up for Google Reader a while back.  It is easy to set up, easy to use, and it is pretty handy getting all of the usual website updates in one place.  My only complaint is that the presentation is much more boring than the actual websites.

Which Will Change Faster: Technology or Me?

I'm voting for me. 

Yes, technology changes all the time.  Computers get faster and smaller, people text each other instead of talking to each other, and maybe one day we'll all be driving electric cars.  Everyone is always talking about how quickly technology changes and how easy it is to get left behind, but people can change very quickly too.  The following photo shows the type of technology I was interested in as recently as the beginning of this year.

Now, however, I am interested in technology such as you see below.

This, folks, is the Ultimate Crib Sheet which as the Amazon.com review says is apparently, "the epitome of ease and convenience.  Instead of needing a separate sheet, waterproof pad, and mattress pad, parents can just use one Ultimate Crib Sheet. This fantastic nursery bedding accessory combines absorbency, comfort, and wetness protection in three layers: a sheet on top, soft padding in the middle, and vinyl next to the mattress."

I'm not sure if I should say, "Wow!  Talk about cool technology!" or, "Yikes!  What is happening to me?"

Goo-Goo-Ga-Joob!

Like probably almost everyone, I have used YouTube before.  YouTube is definitely a mixed bag.  There's lots of good stuff out there and there's lots of stupid stuff.  Of course everyone has their own opinion on what is good and what isn't.  My only problem with YouTube that sometimes I can't find what I'm looking for because all of the relevant videos have been deleted due to copyright infringement.  For libraries, YouTube could be used to create a video tour of the library, or maybe to show videos of programs the library has.

I couldn't settle on one video to post so here's two for your viewing pleasure!  The first one is the famous "these go to 11" part of Spinal Tap, and the second is "I am the Walrus" from the Magical Mystery Tour movie.  Goo-Goo-Ga-Joob!

Flickr

Flickr looks pretty useful.  I know I have a bunch of pictures that should be backed up.  I'll have to look into Flickr more on my own time.  Here's the photo I chose for this exercise.

This is a scene from The Big Sleep right around some of the best lines of the movie so far.  Here's the whole exchange:

Vivian: So you're a private detective. I didn't know they existed, except in books. Or else they were greasy little men snooping around hotel corridors. My, you're a mess, aren't you?

Marlowe: I'm not very tall either. Next time, I'll come on stilts, wear a white tie and carry a tennis racket.

Vivian: I doubt if even that would help. Now this business of Dad's. You think you can handle it for him?

Marlowe: It shouldn't be too tough.

Vivian: Really? I would have thought a case like that took a little effort.

Marlowe: Not too much.

Vivian: What will your first step be?

Marlowe: The usual one.

Vivian: I didn't know there was a usual one.

Marlowe: Oh sure there is. It comes complete with diagrams on page forty-seven of 'How to Be a Detective in Ten Easy Lessons' correspondence school textbook. And, uh, your father offered me a drink.

Vivian: You must have read another one on how to be a comedian.

Marlowe: Did you hear what I said about the drink?

Vivian: I'm quite serious, Mr. Marlowe, my father...

Marlowe: I said your father...

Vivian: Help yourself! Now look, Mr. Marlowe. My father's not well, and I want this case handled with the least possible worry to him.

Marlowe: That's just the way I was going to handle it.

Vivian: I see. No professional secrets?

Marlowe: Nope.

Vivian: I thought you wanted a drink.

Marlowe: I've changed my mind.

Vivian: Then what - ? How did you like Dad?

Marlowe: I liked him.

Vivian: He liked Sean, Sean Regan. I suppose you know who he is.

Marlowe: Uh, huh.

Vivian: You don't have to play poker with me, Mr. Marlowe. Dad wants to find him, doesn't he?

Marlowe: Do you?

Vivian: Of course I do. It wasn't right for him to go off like that. He broke Dad's heart, although he won't say much about it. Or did he?

Marlowe: Why don't you ask him?

Vivian: You know, I don't see what there is to be cagey about, Mr. Marlowe. And I don't like your manners.

Marlowe: I'm not crazy about yours. I didn't ask to see you. I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them long winter evenings. And I don't mind your ritzing me, or drinking your lunch out of a bottle, but don't waste your time trying to cross-examine me.

Vivian: People don't talk to me like that.

Marlowe: Ohhh.

Vivian: Do you always think you can handle people like, uh, trained seals?

Marlowe: Uh, huh. I usually get away with it, too.

Vivian: How nice for you.

Marlowe: Just what is it you're afraid of?

Vivian: Dad didn't want to talk to you about Sean at all, did he?

Marlowe: Didn't he?

Vivian: Would you find him if Dad wanted you to?

Marlowe: Maybe...I'm wasting your time. Goodbye, Mrs. Rutledge.

Good stuff!  Not as good as The Maltese Falcon so far, but we'll see.  I'll be watching the second half tonight.

Wikis, Microblogging, and Bears! Oh my!

Yay for Wikis!

Until now, I believe that the only wiki I've looked at much is Wikipedia, which has always been quite useful.  I liked some of the library wikis with their current information showing popular books, reviews, and user comments.  The main benefits of this format that I see are the input from patrons, and the ease of editing the wiki to include new material.  Now on to microblogging.

Thumbs Down for Microblogging

Ah yes, microblogging...the bane of my existence.  Ok, maybe its not that bad, but I am not a fan of microblogging.  I already signed up for Yammer a while ago, and while it seems like it might be useful, nobody seems to have much to say (me included).  Not having much to say is better, in my opinion, than how most people seem to use Twitter.  I have no desire to know where everyone is at and exactly what they're doing at every second of every day.  The only thing worse than reading a bunch of inane posts about random people's daily lives would be reading a bunch of inane posts by celebrities who use Twitter.  Apparently though this is what literally millions of people like to do.

Bears, the No. 1 Threat to People Everywhere!

At least according to Stephen Colbert.

P.S.  I forgot to say anything about technorati, so here we go.  Seems like a useful site for finding info about blogs or finding new blogs you might be interested in.  Unfortunately parts of the site weren't working correctly when I tried it so I don't have much more to say.

It's a girl!

It's a girl! ...most likely. We didn't see any boy parts, but the technician said it's always harder to be certain that it's a girl.

Anyway, say hello to Clara Anne! :)