FaceBook

Okay, so I'm all signed up. Talk about information overload. My head hurts now. I should go lie down.

Social Interests

Well, I have a MySpace page. I know, I know, it is SO last season, but I didn't join until my cousins forced me to sit down and put it up there. Now everyone is bugging me to join Facebook. Can't we just pick one program and stick with it?!! Probably not. Each new site brings new ideas, other ways to share, and new technology. So, eventually, I'll probably break down and make a Facebook page. Perhaps as a Learn 2.5 Adventurer...

So - can the library use these social networking sites as a means to communicate with people? Of course we can. In fact, we already are, as mentioned in the Learn 2.5 module. One day, we may very well host an online library, as it were, where information is available with a few mouse clicks. As it is now, most professors add a requirement for one of your sources on research papers to be not Internet based. You can search newspapers, journals, etc online - and some websites already offer full books. I, personally, as earlier stated, like the feel of holding a real book with binding. However, I don't begrudge those who'd rather read it on their little personal screens.

Learn 2.5

So what happened to point 3 and point 4? Some sort of conspiracy, I tell you.

I'm certainly not a Second Life kind of person. However, as you can see from the right side of my blog, I do have an avatar. Quite familiar with those, actually. Hard-core Sims player here. LOL But not the online versions. Nope, I prefer to keep my gaming to myself.

I can see how OCLS would be able to communicate and educate others through a program like SL though. I really doubt that the animated virtual reality worlds would ever completely overtake using libraries or other resources in person. Remember when Stephan King decided to use the Internet and publish whatever that one book was that he published online and you only had to pay like a $1...? Anyways - my point is that I *hated* reading it online. I ended up wasting much ink on my printer so I could have the pages in hand. Something about holding a book and smelling that "musty old book" or "new book" smell... Ahh. This is much like the love of "new car" smell. It just can't be replaced in my heart with digital blinks and blips.

The Dark Side

"Luke... I am your father..." *strange hissing noises here*

Yes, I've been the target of phising before. Have I ever fallen for it? Nope. At least not that I know of... yet. I have recieved those emails asking me to update my account or my bank facts and figures. Odd thing really, but most of the time I don't have an account with that website or have any transactions with that bank. So those are pretty easy to spot.

I've also noticed that most of those banking sites have this little button you can push to notify them when someone is trying to use their system or name in a phising scam. Simply push button, forward the email, and know that their lawyers are using your information, plus that of others, to hunt down and stop the scam. It just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

I've also gotten emails telling me sob stories about how they aren't a U.S. citizen and they'd like to use my bank account to get their money into the country. Or that I've inherited money from some rich relative and all I have to do is give them my account information. Sorry folks, but I'm not falling for it. You want to get your money into the U.S.? - get a cashier's check or go to a money exchange. Rich relative? - Yeah, right, I've never heard of them, but they love me enough to leave me an inheritance. Get their lawyer to call mine.

Call me skeptical, but most of the time, if I don't know the person that email is from, I won't even open it to see what they want from me. Nowadays, it's just not worth my time and effort.

The one GOOD thing about those advertisements you get - Sometimes they have really funny titles. Like the one time I got an email from the "ball man." I laughed and just had to find out, so I did bother opening the email - it was someone selling monogrammed and personalized golf balls. I laughed harder.

Improvement

I'm not big for online college classes. I took a few and... I just like human interaction. However, for the fun "personal growth" sort of things, I really like online media. For example, "How Stuff Works" is one of my favorite sites. I still can't tell you how my washing machine works (because I don't care as long as it does it's job), but I can give you the website to find out for yourself. I've spent hours lost in finding out how things work... or rather, useless information about things like haunted houses and animals of all sorts.

So now you brought me 5 Minute Lifeopedia. Gee, thanks. Now I can watch tons of videos on useless information too. *shrug* Put me on Jeopardy, I'll do great on those odd topics they seem to come up with.

Memories of Oranges

I quite enjoyed taking a look at Orlando Memories. There's even a link directly to OCLS information. Wow! So it was a lot of fun to look at the pictures and such taken in just the past year. I also found the amusing article "You know you're from Orlando when..." My coworkers and I had a good laugh reading through some of them. So, if you haven't read it, go do so now. :-) I think a site like this helps us remember the past and also shows us how far the library has come from it's humble beginnings.

I like the Orange Slices website. There are many good ideas, and also some that just need a little refining. What I most enjoy is the fact that, since it is a blog, a good idea without details can easily be added to. Many of the best ideas come from a group working together.

Seomoz

Time to be honest, yet again - I hate Craigslist! I have a friend who swears she can always find anything and everything she needs on it, and I've tried but... I just find it infuriating. I mean, you pull up the first page and all it shows is about one hundred links. No thank you, I'll just Google it. However, I figured if THAT was number 1, I'd like to see how number 2 managed. So I decided to check out Oodle. I like it, cute name. It's... it's beautiful. It's craigslist made usable. You simply input "what" and "where." It's great. I can handle this. And, best of all, it actually found the things I was looking for.

Then, I looked at Philantrophy and found one of my most favorite web sites of all time. Care2. Click buttons to save things. It's paid by the ads and other stuff that the site hosts. Just take a minute to check it out. I'm sure you'll find something you can support.