zoho, zoho, it's off to work we go!

Thing number 18 already! The following was composed with zoho writer. I published it directly from zoho's site, and it was easy as pie.

Zoho writer is a cool tool!

All the little buttons here are intriguing!
They even have some emoticons here to use!

Here is a table	that was easily added
You just select the table button	and tell it how many cells you'd like!

There is a chart for inserting "special characters" so that I can type "my fiancé" correctly!

Zoho writer is similar to any "word" program. It's conviently housed on the web, so there are no problems with OS compatibility, and you can save the file in any format. Zoho has several other services that I found interesting, such as zoho show, to make things like power points. (they even have a wiki!)

Playing in the Sandbox!

Thing #17 was "Add an entry into the Sandbox Wiki created with PB Wiki". I visited the Maryland Libraries sandbox wiki. It was pretty fun, I must say. I added my blog to the "favorite blogs" page, and I when I viewed the "currently reading" section, I decided to add my current book! You can see my edit here. This was really easy. You don't even need to know html. I also discovered that any one can create a wiki. pbwiki.com lets you make a free one. This sounds useful for someone running a club, fan site, or the like.

Wikis!

I'm on to Thing #16. We were asked to learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them. wikis are huge networks of information on anything under the sun provided by anyone who wants to contribute. That fact has always discouraged me from using these types of websites as resources for something I need the absolute truth on. Any average joe can edit the page on rocket science, plus the navigation on wiki sites has always been a little confusing for me. I can see, however, how it would be beneficial to librarians to use wikis for researching topics for patrons (while using more trusted sites as supplements), or sharing information with other libraries. I actually didn't find anything that really interested me on any of the suggested wikis. I think I prefer the infamous wikipedia. This site has millions of articles on anything you can possibly imagine. I like how these articles have a place that editors list the external resources they used. I also think the random page link is pretty fun to play around with. I've been from an article about an australian high school to an article all about britney spears's baby one more time tour (haha). There are links to entries that pertain to what you searched for, so you could be lead on a seemingly endless trail of information. Here is information on fallston, MD. I learned that Melvin Mora from the Orioles lives or lived in the area. I had a lot of fun looking at the demographics of various cities in maryland. While Being circumspect, wikis make learning fun!

The Future is Here!

Thing number 15. Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 & the future of libraries. With the evolution of web 2.0, the library has had to morph into it's own 2.0 version, adopting new ideas for creating and supplying new services to the public. I read the OCLC article Away From Icebergs. It presented a few challenges (or "icebergs") that libraries will potentially face in the future if we don't all shift over to serving in 2.0 form. Another article that rang true for me was Into a New World of Librarianship. Librarians themselves need to become 2.0 as well. They need to be trained in and study the new technologies that will allow them to help patrons navigate new channels of research. Because before you know it, 3.0 will be here!

Getting Technical With Technorati

For Thing #14, I discovered technorati! It is a HUGE network of anything related to blogs & blog posts, including videos, photos and more. I conducted the suggested search for "learning 2.0" in blogs and posts. These 2 searches differ in that you either find blogs dedicated to learning 2.0, or just one single post about learning 2.0 that could be from any type of blog. I did my own search for australian shepherds. I found a blog belonging to an aussie breeder in Texas. There were also tons of pictures and videos of australian shepherds in the technorati search results.
If you have a membership with technorati, you can keep a list of your favorite blogs! I will probably join the site at some point. When I do, I think my first favorite will be engadget, a really neat blog all about technology. It is also ranked #1 in technorati's top 100. Technorati is yet another site I've discovered through 23 Things to spend hours and hours on!