KILL THE BIRD.

I just found out a guy named Lonnie got a haircut. Does my brain have room for this information? Is it twitter making my head hurt? And even if there was useful information tweeted, isn't it already gone? (I better check now to be sure!)... Nope!, but some girl got sunburnt yesterday. That's too bad.

And this is a fast-growing phenomena? That's too bad, too. I thought Twitter was a fast-dying fad that peaked a year ago. I was looking forward to NOT hearing about it in the future. I don't know if I'm just in a bad mood today, but I truly dislike Twitter and everything it signifies about society. Maybe it's just because I have an aversion to birds, in general

We tweet everyday from the Humanities Department about upcoming events, or what's going on in our department, but I can't say I ever felt like it was a worthwhile way to spend my time. (Especially since it usually turns into a mathematical dilemma trying to fit anything sensical into 140 characters.) I don't know who is following out there, so I can't say for sure if it's worthwhile, though. Maybe it is. But I still hate it.

From a library-tweeter perspective, sure, why not? Doesn't hurt.

From a tweet-reader perspective. Nope... Never!

Speaking of which, I'm gonna go tweet about this year's SRA.

LibraryThing

I've been using this site for over a year and have always found it to be great fun, and surprisingly informative. It's quite addictive at first, filling the shelves with (up to) 200 books, but does wear off if you don't visit for awhile. It's hard to say what my favorite part of LibraryThing is, as it has many attractive features.

It's a great way to make lists of books you own, instead of some boring excel spreadsheet, for book collectors who are in over their heads. I have a separate account for books I WANT/NEED, which is easy to print out before I go off to the bookstore.

The recommendations are surprisingly accurate. When authors I have been curious about but always choose to dismiss keep showing up on my recommendations list, it gets hard to ignore, then I have a whole new line of literature to discover.

ALL TIME MOST FAVOURITE ASPECT OF LT: The covers! Even though it's more of an Amazon-based feature, I love being able to choose the covers of the books in my virtual library. I often find much cooler covers than what is really on my shelf, and makes me a much better book-shopper... (I will seek out the cover, the Edition, I like best instead of settling for whatever is at the bookstore).

This Exists?!

I don't know how long Google Documents has been available, but if I had known about it a couple of years ago I never would have purchased Microsoft Word for my home computer. All I really need is the most simple of Word templates - nothing fancy, so Google Documents would have totally been adequate for my needs. I remember being shocked at the price for Microsoft Word hardware... If only I had known about this.

I guess it would be pretty annoying if the internet was down, or if I wanted to work on a document without being plugged into a network, so maybe I would have needed Word anyways. Not too sure how I can apply this great discovery to my work at CPL, but I will certainly pass the information along whenever applicable.

I've also been trying to find a template for recreating the feel and look of a typewriter for a long time, and the easily searchable selection of templates Google Documents has to offer led me to a somewhat satisfactory interface. Now I can create typewriter style documents without the noise, grime, sore fingers, and maintenance of an actual typewriter.

flick & tube

flickr is less user-friendly than youtube.
flickr has pretty pictures.
youtube has funny videos.

Really Silly Situation

Really Simple Syndication is not for me. I was successfully able to set up a feed, but wish I hadn't. I ran into problems because I didn't want to set up a favorite on a work terminal, and if I want updates from a certain resource my strategy has always been to GO THERE, not COME HERE. There is something to be said for the act of seeking and discovering. There is something lazy about really simple syndication. Maybe it's too simple. Maybe I haven't had time to properly explore this "most useful resource", I'm too busy searching for what hasn't already been fed to me. Either way I'm glad it's over.

What's next?

I Googled Google

So many products to choose from... Hmmm... I work at a library... Google Books?

Google BOOKS!

As a purist, the idea of digitizing books has always made me feel sick. It still does, but boy do I like having access to all these books online. There's a lot of books out there that I won't be able to buy in my lifetime, although I'm trying to buy every book I want, but now I can access books that aren't on my shelf.

The best part about Google Books is the search function. Being able to CTRL+F a book is hugely useful for research, or to find specific parts of a book without re-reading for hours, even if it is only a "preview".

One problem with Google Books is that the book you need is rarely available due to its copyright limitations (which is great!). Sometimes it seems like they purposely digitize only books for other people. Who are those people, anyways?

There's a whole lot more to this that I should explore, but it's been really busy here in Humanities with National Poetry Month and I'm a sub so I don't work as much as I'd like to.

F%@#BOOK, 2.0 part IV

Facebook is definitely not a time-waster for me. Even in the instance that I am just wandering through the site, wasting time, that's when I will end up finding something - an event or opportunity of some sort, that I wouldn't have heard about anywhere else.

The only aspect of Facebook I don't like is how other people sometimes use it. Anyone who feels the need to report their thoughts on an hourly basis should start a new facebook of their own - some kind of ultra-facebook. I feel sad for these people and then stop wanting to be their friend, even in real life.

Nowadays, it's the promotional potential of Facebook that impresses me. Being able to "Become A Fan" of certain pages and get regular updates on events is really useful. And the ability to announce interesting opportunities, and the possibility of finding them, to and from people I generally respect, is a really good thing.