Thoughts on 23 Things

Overall, I enjoyed learning about all the new 'things' of Web 2.0. While it may not directly help me with my customers, who mostly are into 'My Space', it gives me a broad base of understanding of what is actually out there. Most people that I know outside of the library field have never heard of wikis, blogs, & other cute little technie things, so I feel like I've gained some arcane knowledge of the future of the Internet.
In particular, I found that I could actually use what I learned about online bookmarking and office applications. Very practical. However, most of the 23 Things were simply recreational and only appealed to my intellectual curiosity.
One major drawback to learning the 23 Things is that the instructions to accomplishing a particular challenge were not broken down into the smallest incremental steps. It presumed that the user had some knowledge of the process and could learn intuitively. You should always start with the basics and build, bit by bit, from that point. No step should be considered insignificant. Then the student can be successful and feel good about the project.

Downloadable Audible Books

I can tell you right away that I can't stand 'Overdrive'. It is ridiculous to offer a downloadable book service with so little selection and so few copies that you end up with a waiting list on all the bestsellers. You might as well just come into the library and check out the same books on CD. You could also get on their waiting lists and perhaps get them sooner. And, to add insult to injury, you can't download them from library computers. You need an 'Overdrive' station. Finally, if you you do find something that you want to listen to, you have to download special software. It's very laborious.
'Net Library' is, simply put, a superior product, but, alas, much pricier. 'Project Gutenberg' has promise, but at the present all it offers are a few tired, old public domain books. It's of limited use. 'World eBook Fair' won 'hands down' in overall quality and selection, but then it is paid for directly by the consumer and not by institutions. It doesn't fit the model of 'free' public library offerings. Perhaps, this is one of those situations where you should pay your money 'up front'. It would simplify life.

Podcasts

I don't find podcasts very interesting, because I don't 'listen well'. I just don't enjoy it. I am a visual person. As a result, I prefer reading. However, reading looks like a 'lost' pleasure. So many people want to 'read' their books on CD or tape. These are the folks who would adapt very well to the world of audible podcasts.
Of course, there are exceptions. I love Garrison Keillor's deadpan sense of humor on 'Prairie Home Companion' on PBS radio, and since that is available as a podcast I added it to my Bloglines Reader. It will be good as a chuckle. http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/prairie_home_companion/news_from_lake_wobegon.xml
I found http://www.podcast.net/ difficult to use. http://www.podcastalley.com/ & http://podcasts.yahoo.com/ were much more 'user-friendly'.

Scottish Fold

'You Tube' is fun to look at when you have nothing better to do. I love looking at videos and pictures of cute cats. I like this one in particular.

Web 2.0 Awards

Map search engines have come a long way with http://www.wayfaring.com/. You can create personalized maps. However, I will point out that it is a little difficult to manipulate and somewhat frustrating. For example, at first it told me that Leonardtown, MD didn't exist. It's an exciting promise of what map search engines might become, but it has to become a little more 'user-friendly'.
A lot of award winners were interesting, but they fell into 2 categories, either strictly recreational or serious IT professional. Very few were appropriate to the public library environment.

Online productivity tools

I love the whole concept of online office applications, because that means you can easily access and work on your documents anywhere you have an Internet connection. No more floppies, CD's or zip drives! This is analogous to going from land line telephones to cell phone technology. I've tried Zoho Writer which seems easier to use than Microsoft Office. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I've checked out Google Docs & Spreadsheets, which seems to be a 'bread and butter' type application and not have as many functions as Zoho. However, you can integrate it into a personalized iGoogle page which is a major advantage if Google is your home page.
The next thing that I am going to look into is publishing from both programs. Which is easier, and which is better?

Sandbox Wiki

Sandbox Wiki is supposed to be fun? I don't think so. I've registered, which is easy enough. I could even add it to 'Favorites Blog' page. However, when it came to making the link work, I spent over an hour, probably close to two, going around in circles, trying to locate what I was doing wrong.
It finally worked, but I have no idea how it happened.