So that's kinda fun. We'll see if anyone emails me back that they know me. I found the PPLD area (and the University of Illinois area -- GO ILLINI!) and marked the people that I thought wouldn't mind admitting they know me. So they say (theoretically) ok. Then what? Ok, so we've established we know each other. Actually, I already knew that. What happens then??? (Can you tell I'm playing with font colors??)
HEY! Did you see that CHRIS PETRIZZO is on the list? Now that would be cool to hear from him. But how does that happen, exactly? We miss you, Chris! Howzitgoin?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Subscribing to Co-worker's Blogs -- my need for feeds is larger than what I can read!
So, how does one pick which co-workers to feed off of? I wanted to add everybody! Even stopping at eight was probably a few too many for the time I have to read 'em. We shall see! Hey, I liked those cool people who know how to post pictures on their blogs! I'm gonna figure that out -- stay tuned.
RSS Feeds
Ok, I've been long-winded. This time I'll be shorter. RSS Feeds makes me think of getting forced fed more information than I can possibly absorb. Still, it will be very nice to know when something new hits the PPLD Blog, since I submit the Monument stuff for that. Now I won't have to remember to check it periodically, right?
23 Opportunities for Mashing up my Mind
Resentment of 23 Things is building within some folks around me. I listen to some of my peers as they race through their Things. Their goal is to get through their Things as quickly as possible. They are busy people. They have a lot of things to do besides Things. They grumble, they resent the time. I am sad. I think, they are missing an opportunity here. They have a choice. They can resist having to do Things, or they can welcome this chance to learn someThing new. So if you are one of those people, before you continue on your quick, efficient path think about this. Just as you can look at an optical illusion and see it one way one moment, and then other way the next, I would like you to try to think differently about 23 Things.
The Pikes Peak Library District is offering to pay you to learn about what is going on on the cutting edge of technology. Are you going to look this gift horse in the mouth? Do you think it doesn’t apply to you? Ok, so most of us know nothing about the concept of Web 2.0 or mash-ups. But do you really think that this stuff is going to become less part of the world we live in? All this stuff that the Things are made of is only going to become more embedded in our society, not less. We are learning about the stuff on the tip of the technology iceberg. This shouldn’t be stuff that we learn about and forget, moving on to the next item on our list. This is stuff that is part of our daily lives and will continue to build around us. Are you ready to throw in your technology towel and draw the line in the sand right here? This is all you want to know? Well, not me. This is an opportunity to try to understand how our world is changing and the direction it is going. Reach out and take the opportunity. They’re paying you to do it, for Pete’s sake.
Case in point, what I learned in Thing 6. What exactly does the concept of Web 2.0 mean? I had never heard of it before. So I looked it up on Wikipedia and what I think I learned is this. The web used to be an “information silo”, a place where information was kept and available for access. It still is, but now it is so much more. Introducing the concept of “Web 2.0”. Although the web technology hasn’t really changed, the way people are using it has. Now people look to the web for more than just information. They expect the web to be interactive. They want to be able to take the information and “mash it up” with other information on the web and make a whole new tool that everyone on the web can use. They want to collaborate. They want to add what they know to someone else’s knowledge (thus, wiki’s and blogs). Face it, folks. The way people are using the web is changing, and we’re not going back to the information silo days. We’re moving forward. Wanna come along? Or do you want to stop right here, knowing that as the years go by you will understand less and less about what people around you are talking about. Wow! What an opportunity for lifelong learners! You get out of this what you put into it! Don’t blow it.
The Pikes Peak Library District is offering to pay you to learn about what is going on on the cutting edge of technology. Are you going to look this gift horse in the mouth? Do you think it doesn’t apply to you? Ok, so most of us know nothing about the concept of Web 2.0 or mash-ups. But do you really think that this stuff is going to become less part of the world we live in? All this stuff that the Things are made of is only going to become more embedded in our society, not less. We are learning about the stuff on the tip of the technology iceberg. This shouldn’t be stuff that we learn about and forget, moving on to the next item on our list. This is stuff that is part of our daily lives and will continue to build around us. Are you ready to throw in your technology towel and draw the line in the sand right here? This is all you want to know? Well, not me. This is an opportunity to try to understand how our world is changing and the direction it is going. Reach out and take the opportunity. They’re paying you to do it, for Pete’s sake.
Case in point, what I learned in Thing 6. What exactly does the concept of Web 2.0 mean? I had never heard of it before. So I looked it up on Wikipedia and what I think I learned is this. The web used to be an “information silo”, a place where information was kept and available for access. It still is, but now it is so much more. Introducing the concept of “Web 2.0”. Although the web technology hasn’t really changed, the way people are using it has. Now people look to the web for more than just information. They expect the web to be interactive. They want to be able to take the information and “mash it up” with other information on the web and make a whole new tool that everyone on the web can use. They want to collaborate. They want to add what they know to someone else’s knowledge (thus, wiki’s and blogs). Face it, folks. The way people are using the web is changing, and we’re not going back to the information silo days. We’re moving forward. Wanna come along? Or do you want to stop right here, knowing that as the years go by you will understand less and less about what people around you are talking about. Wow! What an opportunity for lifelong learners! You get out of this what you put into it! Don’t blow it.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Praise for 23 Things (while looking at Flickr)
I hear a lot of grumbling around me in the branch, but it is mostly good natured. “Have you done your Thing for this week yet?” “I’m stuck on Thing 3.” “When do we have time to learn all these Things?” But underneath the growls is a grin and the corners of their mouths twitch as they grumble. Why? Because “23 Things” is the best Thing to hit PPLD since 7 Habits. Yes, it’s hard to find the time to do the lessons, and yes they are confusing at times for those of us who aren’t techies by nature. But I’ve been watching what’s happening in our branch and this is what I see: I see employees reaching out to help and be helped by each other. I hear lots of “ah-ha!” moments when someone says, “Oh! I get it!” I see people growing and expanding their knowledge bases, living the PPLD philosophy of life-long learning. And maybe the most fun of all, I see people with a new shared vocabulary, including the ability to grumble about a Thing. Everyone is working on the Things, and it provides a common base and a discussion point, whether the person thinks the Thing is fascinating or stupid. Thank you for giving us Things to talk about! It’s a good Thing.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Randomness on Wiki's
Ok, so wiki's can be a place for collaboration, or just a web site open to editing and comments. I guess I can see the collaboration piece -- it would be a good place to put projects that a ppld team is working on. But much of the ppld intranet hardly seems open to editing, though I guess the team's project would be living there. So I get it -- it's a place where a group can access shared information and add to it and work together on it. Am I right? It was kinda weird looking at other libraries' wiki's. Is ours available to the world like that? I didn't think so. How come theirs is and ours isn't? Or is it?
Sunday, March 2, 2008
More Questions than Answers on Blogs
So, now I'm blogging? Who would have thought? But why am I blogging? I'm not sure. Does everyone have an opinion that they think is so great they want everyone else to read it? And do we care to read all these people's opinions? With what free time? I can see reading an expert's blog on a subject I was interested in, but random thoughts on millions of random blogs? I'm not so sure. Still, this librarian loves lifelong learning, so I'll lip-lock with the leagues of leakers who like to liberate loudmouths. For now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
