Week #10: Already!?

I plan to use my Mp3 player to listen to new music. My boyfriend has already agreed to load up new songs for me from bands i have never heard of. We decided to do this after looking at lastfm and other music sites that help us find artists similar to ones we already like.

I would also want to download some Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. I JUST got into the series and the series started in 1994 so I am WAY behind. I'm apparently not alone because when I went to request the first couple of books, they were all checked out or in transit. Getting the book in audio format guarantees we never run out of copies AND I get it instantly (almost, considering my connection speed) from home!!! SWEEEEEETTTTT!

I love telling patrons about e-audiobooks!

Week #9: Trying to stop a bullet train

I had this discussion once in my Bible class in high school. My Bible teacher used to download lots of things and we asked him his stance. He said that you can't prohibit sound. Sound is not a medium owned by anyone. So taking it from something (like a cd) isn't a problem; its putting it on another medium (cd, ipod, laptop, etc) that makes it tricky. At the time, it sounded like he was trying to justify his actions...now it makes sense.

I personally try to avoid downloading in general, but the farther I get into the Web 2.0 mindset, I realize how diverse downloading is. It is essential to so many forms of expression and exploration and learning. Having that inhibited because people want to cheat the system, well that is just counterproductive to progress.

Illegal downloading is so rampant and made so readily available and the lines seem so blurry now. A matter of years ago it was out of the average individual's hands to reproduce something illegally. It took special equipment that cost lots of money and time to buy/make. Now, the tools the big companies are using are in our own hands, leading me to my next thought.

Big companies used to be able to get money from consumers for producing a product we could not, or would take too long or cost too much if we undertook every step of manufacturing ourselves. Now that we have those tools, big companies are panicking. And they should. There has been a coup.

This also goes for musicians and movie makers, they don't need record companies and movie studios like they used to. I love underground music. They make their own stuff, put it on a medium and get it out there. You don't see them worried about fans sharing music it gets them more listeners if they are good and feedback if they aren't. Music has never been a stable career, what else is new?

Lots of unanswered questions, but old men trying to hold back this progress are seeming more and more behind the times instead of trying to come up with new ideas and open their minds to the future that is 2.0...

Week #8: Photo Photo!

I love online learning because it is very individualistic. It is empowering that I can learn new things at my own pace in my own time. As individual as it is, it is just as much a group thing. Everything that I use/see/learn from was created my someone else. As I get out there and make my own mark, it is quite possible that someone may see what I have done and use that as a stepping stone as well. Yes, it does sound very hippie-ish. It is truly a life motto to live by. With Web 2.0 everyone contributes for themselves and in doing so can help others (intentionally or not).

Week #7: I need a new hobby!

I am not a drinker, overweight, or a cat/dog owner. So I was kind of let down with the choices. But of course Learn 2.0 had to call my bluff and throw in the adventure of finding your own. So I did. I love scrapbooking but rarely have the time to do it, or shop for the endless amount of small supplies needed to decorate my pages. Behold! Dozens of online communities doing ONLINE SCRAPBOOKING! My favorite was scrapease.com. I can make entire scrapbooks online. It makes so much sense because in the age of digital photography, most of my pictures stay on hard drives and disks and never make it to print. Woot! :P

Mindy is happy!

Week #6: Car Crazy

So in March my boyfriend flipped his '89 Bronco II one and a half times. Yeah. He was fine (thank God). I was calling his cell when the car quit flipping (Note: my call was NOT the cause of his crash). So I was able to talk to him while he climbed out of the front windshield that a bystander had kicked the REST of the way in. So in short, I am grateful he is safe and have been looking at cars since then. Girlfriendofboywithnocar was a possibility for a username when making this account, because it has been very defining for us and our relationship.

Working at the library has been great in general. I love how the library always has something relevant to my life. During this carless period, I found the Auto Repair Reference Center in the Online Database section of our Virtual Library. It has all major models and all years starting as far back as 1954 (talk about some collector/classics!)!! So my boyfriend and I look up recalls for the particular models we are interested in. His whole family loves project cars, so it's been great being able to provide them with that resource--I'm becoming quite car savvy myself!

Motormapusa.com was cool because it just helped us find another place to look for cars. We found models we were looking at as close as 15 miles from us.

The car search continues and I know I definitely feel like the library is right along with us. **add cheese and corn** :P

Week #4 FUUUUUUUNNNNAH!

Ok, So this week has definitely been the funnest and most informative. I am now subscribed to LonelyGirl15's youtube videos and have all summer to catch up...goodness.

I love the Web 2.0 awards cus it helped me find the best of the best of things I didn't even know you could be the best of! I love knowing that Meebo is there for me whenever I am on a foreign computer and can't download applications. IF ONLY OUR PATRONS KNEW THIS!

Pandora is like my boyfriend's dreamsite. He has very eclectic musictastes and is constantly changing stations. So being able to make his own station (something we have joked about before) is great!

One site I recognized was craigslist. It was good to see that a site I am familiar with had won an award.

Web 2.0...wow. The video was great. Beautiful!

It's past midnight and I have to work all day tomorrow. Nine hour shifts on Saturdays...the only thing I would change about working at the library!

(My mom walked in on me watching the Belly dancers from Artfest 2007 on Youtube...I had a hard time explaining to her how that was educational....:P)

Week #3

I first heard about Grokker in a library seminar that was required for my Freshman Composition class at UCF. They sped through the information so quickly that I couldn't get down where it was, so, I was overjoyed to have found it again! I like Grokker because I like colors (lol) and because I like being able to see "the big picture." Grokker also helps when you have a broad topic and you aren't sure where you want to go with it.

As I was searching for Mrs. Hodel's blog I stumbled across many of my co-workers blogs! It was funny, and a little eerie how easily I found them. But it is great for finding people who are doing the same things I am doing. I definitely got that small-world-after-all feeling and you don't get that often while searching online.

I think Learn 2.0 is fun. I wouldn't say that it works for or against my learning style as much as it *challenges* my learning styles. I don't really think about the lessons as learning because I enjoy them. I feel like my definition of learning has changed. In this era of knowledge explosion, learning is not always what you can recall from the past as much as it is knowing how to find the information you want when you need it. It is a scary and exciting thing!

Meet Meez Mindy!

Week #2

I have been writing in journals faithfully since I was about twelve years old. I didn't start really using the computer until I was fourteen. Since then I have been posting online and it is much easier because a) my handwriting is not above reproach b) the composition notebooks I was using would nearly burst at the seams and c) there is not much more room left under my bed to store all those journals!

I consider myself pretty computer savvy, but it's pretty bad that I didn't even know my work email address! Lol! I have had a Xanga blog and a Bolt blog. I love blogging site because it is so easy to post poetry for peer feedback. I don't write much poetry anymore but now that I have graduated high school it's easy to "spy" I MEAN keep in touch with my old classmates. ^-<

I can definitely see thread potentials for an ocls blogging site for patrons. Patrons' taxes are a majority of our funding so I think if they could express ideas freely we as a library system could improve at a pace more equal with the mindset of our constituency.

READER WARNING: My blogs are always long, skimming is your friend.

Week #1: Bloggin'

ROTFL! Wow! That medieval help desk video is so being sent to all my friends! I really can't tell you how many times I see that happening with computers. It is definitely a challenge at the library to move forward as fast as technology is progressing while not leaving people behind. At Southeast and I'm sure other branches do this, we try to especially accomodate our older patrons who have not grown up during the technology explosion. I still get asked where our CARD catalogue is!

One thing I have noticed is that it is a two way street. Young people who are so used to fast, instantly accessible information don't seem to want to slow down to find the great information in books. As a college student, I know the struggle of trying to write a paper with 12+ sources due in two weeks. It is much easier to hop online and get on academic databases and print out articles relevant to my topic than get in my car and drive to the library and find the branch(es) that have the books I am looking for. As much as I ADORE our MAYL service and am a faithful user, time doesn't allow me to wait for library books that may have stronger information than the articles I find so easily.

That was complicated!

Testing testing 1...2...3...Ok, be back later after I find my way around! *is excited* ^-^