Task 18 - iGoogle

I set up an iGoogle page and find it very similar to Netvibes which I already use.
I have something against monopolies so I'm going to stick with Netvibes, plus I'm happy with what it does and how it looks. I haven't looked at Google docs yet.

Tasks 15/16 - Wikis

Wikis have so much use in any field that is about collaborating and sharing information-so many uses for libraries. I really like Meredith Farkas' blog and her post on using a wiki for Subject Guides.

Some nice quotes on the LIBNET wiki.

Task 14 - Technorati

I really like the Technorati tour. It makes it look so easy to use and like a great tool if you are into blogs.

I'm now ready to do the task but I'm confused; the Technorati page doesn't look like the page on the video tour so I've gone to "Advanced search" (I wonder - do only librarians use 'Advanced Search' function?)to find out how many posts/tags/blogs there are on "Learning 2.0".

Looking at the 'Popular' blogs/tags/posts whatever... is interesting, but I'm not finding much useful stuff. I don't fully understand tags and how to use them for effective searching - all I can conclude is that they don't find me what I'm looking for.

Why would you use the tag "life"? What does it mean? There are 775,496 blogs with this tag. Oh well I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Task 13 - Del.icio.us

I can see the benefit of using this if you're using multiple computers - good idea.
I tried searching but found it difficult, the results were more interesting than useful. I found lots of blogs and this one - it's amazing - the absolute ultimate example of abandoned infrastructure that you can find all over Japan. I found this using the tags 'japan', 'architecture' - "Battleship Island".

Yay, finally I have an image on my blog; sourced from Skaddi on Flickr Flickr.


Berlin State Library-I think this is the one that features in the Wim Wenders' movie Wings of Desire. There are some scenes of the angels hanging out in the library.

Task 12 - LibriVox

It's a great idea and I like what they are doing.

I chose a couple to listen to but I was interested in listening to each of the versions available for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - a total of 3 and a fourth in progress.

The American accents are a bit much and one would put me to sleep but it's not fair to be overly critical, it's not easy to read aloud and make it sound good. It's interesting that one book can have several readers. It can be both good and bad as some of those voices could become quite boring after a while.

I also liked that the first version of Huck Finn had a pdf cd case cover you can print off.

Task 11 - Google Books

I like Google Books and to eventually have a tool to access the world's books is quite amazing. I've found some interesting and recently published books that are available full view. I'm not sure what Google mean that libraries will be able to 'subscribe' to the collection on Google. Well, of course it means money, but there I was thinking Google were doing this out of the goodness of their heart.

"My library" of books on Venice and its architecture is available for viewing.