THING 20

Tunnels Beach, Kauai
Originally uploaded by Кoлдун

I enjoyed exploring Flickr and saw a lot of amazing pictures including the picture from Kauai. It has the potential to be a very useful site for the hundreds and hundreds of pictures on my computer at home. The tools for organizing pictures will be very much appreciated.

THING 19

I found several useful and fun sites on Webs 2.0 Awards. The useful sites included Yelp (for information in different cities), Flickr, Medstory and Librarything (where you can search for books, read reviews, etc.). Some of the more fun sites that caught my attention were Fun and games2web. I'm sure there are many more sites worth visiting when time permits - this is definitely a site to bookmark.

THING 18

I explored Tecnorati and looked at various blogs but was not particularly interested or impressed. This is not something I see myself spending much time doing.

THING 17

Del.icio.us has been one of my favorite topics so far. I have created a del.icio.us account and started bookmarking sites I have on my home computer. It will be great to be able to access these sites from any computer and not just at home. I'm sure this will be something I use regularly.

THING 16

I can see why MySpace is so popular - it is easy to use and is a good way for teenagers to express themselves and stay connected. It is not, however, something I think I would ever use.

THING 15 - SOCIAL NETWORKING

After reading several articles on social networking, it is evident that today's teens are very connected to the internet and social networking. Social networking has the potential to be a great marketing tool to promote programs and services offered by VBPL. To keep up with today's world and reach those who don't physically come into the library, you have to go where they go.

I don't think that I personally would create a MySpace or FaceBook account and probably would never check it even if I did. But it is a way for teens to connect with each other and that is important. It is also a way to get information out to those you want to get information to. In April after the tragedy at Virginia Tech I know that FaceBook was a very important tool for many - even those on campus used FaceBook to check on friends they could not get in touch with. Locally, a couple of people told me their kids had gone on FaceBook to check on friends of theirs from high school who were at Virginia Tech.

THING 13

Reading about wikis was interesting and I'm sure the possibilities for use in the library are endless. Every wiki I looked at had something of interest. I really enjoyed the Book Lovers Wiki (Princeton Public Library) and found several books I want to read and also enjoyed the Subject Guides (St. Jospeh County Public Library).

THING 12 - IM

I think IM is a great tool for VBPL to offer its customers and the public. It is a great way to reach those who cannot or will not come in to the library. Its popularity and usage should only continue to grow.