Thing 23: Wrapping Up

Party!! I'm Done!!

Wow I can't believe I made it!! I almost gave up a couple of times but then would do the next "thing" and would learn something really great. I have a couple of favorite things-Librarything and from web 2.0 awards, farecast.com. I also really liked wikis and google docs.

I think my least favorite was technorati. For me the sheer number of blogs available is overwhelming and I am just not patient enough to read through blogs to find ones I'm interested in.

I don't think I will use bloglines and rss feeds because I do not really follow any web sites/blogs on a regular basis. However, I did recommend bloglines to both my husband and my son. I also recommended Librarything to my sister since she is a huge reader and always looking for recommendations. She can also use it to track what she's read and what she wants to read.

I was thinking web 2.0 would be great in teen services-maybe a wiki of whats in/whats out, whats happening, or what are you reading.

I would like to thank the OCL Webthings commitee for running this challenge. I have learned a great deal (and plan to get really good plane fares with farecast.com). It was nice to be able to learn at my own pace (as opposed to when I ask my teens to show me how to do something)

Thing 22: ListenNJ

For months now I had been meaning to go on ListenNJ to download an audio book to my ipod-hoping it would give me further incentive to remain on the treadmill at the gym. So I was really excited to see Thing 22 was Listen NJ. Boy was I disappointed to find out it is not compatible with ipod!!

I had some problems downloading the OverDrive Media Console the first time. So I deleted it and started over. Once I was able to download the Media console it was quite easy to download my audio book (I chose the Adventures of Tom Sawyer since it was one that could be burned to a CD). The download and burning process did seem to be slow however.

Thing 21: Podcasts

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelstories/podcast/london_0507/

I found a travel podcast about London. This was alot of fun to listen to since we went to London last summer. The podcast brought back some memories and made me want to return to London to see what I missed the first time. Podcast.com was very easy to use.

Thing 20: YouTube & You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpIu-R-1ej0

My YouTube link is to a video of Savion Glover tap dancing. I am a huge fan of Savion Glover-if you like tap, going to see him is a huge treat. (My favorite venue is NJPAC in Newark-his hometown and a beautiful theatre). He dances with so much joy, it is infectious and at some points his feet move so quickly they are just a blur.

I could get addicted to YouTube. I was watching so many different videos I had to remind myself I only needed to pick one to add to my blog.

Thing 19: Web 2.0 Awards

I am so excited! I found a web site under Travel which I will definitely use and tell everyone about. The site is farecast.com and it predicts whether air fare will go up or down. You put in your destination and dates of travel and it will tell you whether to buy your ticket now or wait-it even gives you a percent confidence level. The site lists airlines, prices and flight times. It even provides links to Expedia, bookingbuddy, Hotwire, etc. There is also a tab to search for hotels.

Last month my dad decided to wait a week to purchase his airline tickets to Ireland for a trip in September. When he went back to book the tickets the price had gone up $200. A predictor sure would have been useful for him.

Thing 18: Web Apps

Wow Google docs can be so helpful. Two of my fellow co-workers and myself are currently working on a display of famous NJ authors, actors, and musicians. Since 2 of us are part timers, working different schedules, communication can be difficult. It would have been so much easier to use google docs to organize tasks, compile lists of celebrities to be included, and to include display board signs for everyones input.

Thing 17: Play in the Sandbox

This was one of the easiest things we have done. It was so simple to add to the wiki and I didn't have to think very hard to come up with lots of favorites. I had fun playing with fonts and colors and background colors. The first time I added my link to my blog I added the url to the blogger web site-not my specific blog. But as soon as I realized my mistake I logged in to blogger and did a copy and paste to my blog. No problems.