MySpace, Bebo and Facebook

Ah MySpace, Bebo and Facebook are familiar friends! I've had accounts for all three sites for a couple of years now and have to addict to being a Facebook addict! I prefer Facebook as I like the layout and find it easiest to use. And most people I know also use Facebook too. I quite like designing my profiles on MySpace and Bebo though as you have more options in terms of background patterns, adding photos to your main page, different colour fonts, etc. I like the official artists pages on MySpace as well. In terms of security, I never put on details such as my address, phone numbers etc, and I lock my profiles so only my accepted friends can view my page. I had a look at the ACL and Rotorua Libraries pages on Bebo. It's a good idea to use Bebo as that is what the target age group use. To me, the pages read like they are trying a little too hard, but they are updated regularly and it is another form of advertising for the library.

ebooks

I haven't quite embraced the ebooks phenomenon yet, but I can see the benefits. I don't think I'd ever get used to reading a novel on a computer- there is nothing like curling up on the couch with a good book- but if you were travelling I think it would be much more convenient to carry about travel guides and a novel or two on an ebook reader than in your lugguage! I had a look at LibriVox and searched for 'Pride and Prejudice' under audiobooks- I like to listen to these on the bus. It brought up several results but I realised they were read by different people which was the reason for that. They've got a large collection out there and I see they are adding new titles all the time.

Podcasts

I have to start off by saying that I found this exercise easier than I thought I would. Maybe after becoming a "genius" at RSS feeds it set me up well. A few weeks ago, quite coincidentally before I started this exercise, I was looking at Rick Steves website and there was a link for podcasts so I subscribed through iTunes on my laptop and now every few days I get a new travel podcast. However, I had a look on Podcastpickle and Rick Steves podcasts are listed there under travel, and you can subscribe quite easily via the RSS icon. There are certainly lots of interesting podcasts out there. But like RSS feeds where I don't have time to read everything I subscribe to, I fear with podcasts I won't have time to listen to everything I subscribe to either! I also think it is handy that you can listen to podcasts from radio shows later on, so if you miss an interview with an actor, writer, athlete you can go to the radio's website and listen later.

YouTube

OK, I have to admit that even before I started this exercise I was a huge fan of YouTube. After discovering it just over a year ago, I've become seriously addicted. I have an account and have "subscribed" to many "channels"- this is great because you get a list of new videos they have uploaded. I watch videos of clips from TV programmes (past and present) and sometimes even whole episodes, music videos, and interviews/news clips of athletes, celebrities that I wouldn't get to see otherwise. And I think it is pretty user-friendly. The layout is simple and everything is just a single click away. I search for videos that I want to watch, rather than view the "featured" or "videos being watched right now" etc, but like any search you get results that aren't relevant. I'm not a fan of the "comments" feature on each video because it doesn't seem to be well-moderated, and while you can get useful answers (i.e. "what is the background music in your video?", "do you have 'x' song by 'x' band as well?") there is also a lot of spam/obscene comments, etc. I think YouTube is good because there are lots of videos on there that are educational but you wouldn't get to view as easily any other way.

Here is a video that I like, it is "Why Gorillas aren't allowed in the library". Takapuna staff would have seen it already but it still gives me a chuckle each time I watch it- see for yourself:

Web 2.0 Awards

I chose 'Yahoo!Answers' to have a look at. It's a good resource, but there isn't really any authority on the answers people provide. A few people cite where they have got their information from, but not many. I think it would be a good place to start to research a subject, or if you just wanted an answer for your own personal use. And it doesn't really seem to be moderated in any way, like say Wikipedia or most forums.

Zoho Writer

Very useful! Not only can you save your documents to view and edit on any PC, but it is like using a much more user-friendly version of Word/Publisher! Everything was just a click away and the buttons were all easy to find. Here is my document:

Holidays- after Web 2.0, I think we will all need a holiday and this looks like just the place! I can almost touch the cool sparkling blue water, feel the sand beneath my toes, the warm sunshine on my back and smell sunscreen in the air. Even if I don't make it to Bora Bora summer is finally coming to Auckland and with all our beautiful beaches on the North Shore this is right on our doorstep! How lucky we are

Rollyo

Well, I have to admit that at first I couldn't really see the point of Rollyo..but after creating my search roll I could see the benefits. Rather than having to wade through searches that have lots of unrelated results, you can just add what sites you would like to search and then you can just search those sites. Great! So for travel, I addded Lonely Planet, National Georgraphic and Contiki and next time I want info about travelling to a country I can start there. I even managed to add the rollyo searchbox on to my blog.