Mashups

Mashups are an interesting concept and the people that can create them are very special. I have found a few that are fun to play with and can see how people would use them.

For libraries mashups would be fantastic but could take a lot of time to design and customise for each individual library service.

Mashups are the way of the future

Qlock - World Clock
World Currencies Map
Find a Public Library in US and Canada
New York City Taxi Fare

Instant Communication

Twitter is a great tool for catching up with friends, seeing news as it happens, following celebrities and seeing what they tweet from their daily life and catching up on people tweeting from conferences you can't attend. These tweets from conferences can be valuable information if the conference is on the other side of the world. Seeing the content of the tweet before the conferences papers are even available can help in day-to-day work. Twitter can also be a great way to promote to customers what a library or Council is doing that may not make the paper or even in some instances the website. Customers then have the option to retweet this information to people they know that might be interested in what Council or the Library is doing.

Chatting with friends and family keeps you up-to-date with what is happening and can be less expensive than phone calls in some instances. Chatting for customers in a library would mean that customers get instant gratification for the information they require. This can be a problem when there aren't enough staff to manage this service or the expectation of the customers is that the service should be available for more hours then the library staff can cope with.

i-google

i-google easy to use, easy to customise. This is something I could see myself logging into every day. All the news on one page, all technology news on one page, all book news on one page this is my idea of heaven right there!!

I have even made each page have a different theme that corresponds to the topic what a nerd I am!! I did try out the other tools but I don't think they are for me I like visiting facebook and exploring so I think the one stop shop for these wouldn't work for me, but I can see how they would work for someone who is too busy to go to all these sites individually or a business with multiple sites that they need to keep track of.

Google Docs

Google Docs is something that interested me when I initally did the training. I did attempt to use it with a group project but either the members didn't want to use it or it was blocked by IT at Councils.

I have had another look at Google Docs and could see myself using it in everyday life. With using a computer at home and a netbook for when I am not there. I am keeping files on a USB that I could be keeping on Google Docs.

I especially like that I can access Google Docs and work offline. Sometimes I don't always have Internet access or don't want it open. I like that I can colour code files especially as I would have multiple folders for work, uni (broken into subjects) etc. I can sync it with work I have already done in Office. It will also help with Block Quotes in university assignments.

Bring on me using Google Docs.

Event Management

Doodle is a good tool to use if you are trying to organise a meeting with people outside of the organisation. Gives options of date and time which is a great advantage rather than having to send emails back and forth about availability can enter into this and it does the work for you. Great time saver!!

Google calendar is a good tool to use with family, friends and work colleagues. Being able to see other peoples calendars has advantages. Can see when people are available when trying to set up events by looking in one place and not having to send endless emails for availability.

Event brite looks like a good site for setting up events espeically if there is a price attached to them. Would look great in advertising to bookonline and not have to wait for library to be open to make bookings.

Screencasts

Screencasts are a great way to teach customers simple things like reserving a book, signing onto databases from home, how to print a document etc. Time consuming to set up but would be of great benefit for customers and in the end timesaving for staff members.

Slideshare is a great way to see presentations that you have not had the opportunity to see or to refresh memory on something you have seen and forgot.

Nings

We have started to use a Ning in our Learning 2.0 committee. We have looked at Mosman Readers and found it to be an effective, well used and community based Ning.

I would think that Nings need to be promoted well to the customers to get the benefits out of them.

We have problems in our Committee that some staff have taken to it well and adopted it in their working day, while others are reluctant to use it and others are slowly learning it.

I think that for the best use it needs to revolve around a particular subject like Mosman Readers. It could be aimed at the book clubs that are run by the library and used as a tool for the customers to have discussions before and after the meetings. Suggest books to other members.