Google Labs

I have a new fascination.

I think that I will now devote my free time to exploring all the different Google Labs out there. I particularly liked the one where we can create our own web page- very simple, very easy... it doesn't have as much flexibility as other programs, but seeing as the target audience is probably the technologically challenged (me) or those who just have a simple paper they want out there, it's ideal. I actually played around with one, and I've included the link below:

http://sjvandermolen.googlepages.com/home

(Just be warned- I did slip onto my soap box briefly at the end. It shouldn't be too onerous, but..)

I also had fun looking at the pictures of Mars, although that one seemed to be a bit of a dead end. Or at least, I didn't find any other links.

Again, this may be my own level of competence (or lack thereof) at work, but when I tried to do the search with extra information, I didn't really see any difference. Maybe I'll go back for another look when I'm less sleep deprived and check whether I missed some crucial step...

Still, I really liked the web page function, and may use that as a medium to get some ideas "peer reviewed" without paying for postage or the headache of individual addresses.

Searching for Search Engines

For my experiment with search engines, I tried the same search term on Yahoo, Mooter, and Exalead. I'd never heard of two of them before, I had very little idea of what to expect. Just to be contrary, I picked a rather esoteric term (Zivio Ethnic Arts Ensemble- the name of my dance group) and let each chew on it.

I was impressed with Yahoo's results, because the very first item was my group's homepage. The other top 5 results were variations on that theme, such as performance calendars and other options from our website's menu. Mooter and Exalead (who came up with these names, anyway?) didn't quite make that standard. The first item on each list was the same, and while it was the performance calendar for my group- which is pretty close- I didn't see the main page anywhere. Nor were the rest of the top 5 in each site quite as closely related as the Yahoo results (there were also several instances of repeats).

I was alittle surprised not to see Google on the list. Although I suppose it's too well known to be a tool for encouraging people to explore.

Well, I'm too tired to write more now. I'll finish this later in the event that I get up the energy. Apologies if this post didn't make sense.

Online Application Tools...

This could theoretically be the answer to every college student's frantic prayer (which is ironically often interspersed with creative swearing), the one where a paper is due in 2 minutes and the jump drive with the paper on it won't read on a school computer. (And since you're probably wondering, yes, this has happened to me.) As much as I love being able to access my information, though, I'm not entirely sure how this method is superior to email. Perhaps I have just not done enough research yet, but it seems that it would take about the same amount of time to open an attachment, and it will all be in the same format anyway.

However, I can also envision many other scenarios in which I would benefit from various online application tools. One is the feature on creating documents that allows several people to work on a document at once. If anyone reading this has not had the dubious pleasure of coordinating 5 schedules to find a time for working on a group project (and of course with all 5 people being full time students with outside jobs)... this might make group research and writing much easier as a process, and therefore might save my sanity.

Granted, most of the applications I find useful are due to my status as a student. I rather doubt they would be such a distinguished asset in all the other fields out there. I can think of several scenarios in which people physically located far apart must collaborate on a project, but many more others in which the pertinent people are all located in the same work building or where the project, being of a sensitive or complicated nature, requires face-to-face communication.

Ah well. It was fun, anyway.

Library 2.0

I thought of coming up with a witty, sarcastic title for this post, but my brain seems to have failed me. Oh well... I'll get one next time.

Anyway, I've just been learning about Library 2.0, which is apparently rather like Web 2.0. Whatever that means. It rather surprised me, though, that this term is more like a philosophy than anything else. If I understand it correctly, it encapsulates the idea that it is not enough for libraries to excel at their traditional roles, but instead must constantly strive to adapt their services and styles to the ever-changing public.

Why, you ask? Self preservation. According to some authors on the subject, the traditional role of libraries is already heading out the door, and if we fail to change with the times we risk extinction (not to be melodramatic or anything). One writer was bold enough to claim that even keeping hardcopies of books will soon become a pointless, expensive exercise, and that we should begin cutting back to prepare for this change.

I agree that times change, and that in many respects the needs which libraries fill are altering. But it seems too simplistic to say that we must begin building the libraries of the future by anticipating cultural shifts today. There are too many variables to consider, and if nothing else there are too many individuals who enjoy the old-fashioned feeling of a real book in their hands or talking to a real reference librarian face-to-face. I like that Library 2.0 seems to advocate flexibility, but I'm not convinced that we should aspire to the degree of fluidity some authors favor.

Generating Blogs

I have discovered two things: first, that it's incredibly easy to create customized pictures with text. I have millions of options online to write my own words over pictures, mine or someone else's, and create sentimental or funny mementos.

The second thing I discovered is that I don't know what to write for these things. I have dreams of coming up with something so witty and clever people will see it and think, "Wow, I wish I could do that." But really what happens is that I look at other people's ideas and think, "Wow, I wish I could do that." However, I think at any rate I will have a lot of fun messing around on these sites, regardless of my dubious talent to use them.

To salve my wounded pride, I also took the opportunity to look at some map generators which show all the places I've been in the world. Considering that I'm still pretty young, it was satisfying to see so many places highlighted in red. (For those who are curious, I've included these images below.)

All the programs I tested seem like fun ways to jazz up my cyberspace interactions. They could be a cute way to let someone know I care, a personalized invitation or card, or just a funny moment to file away in memory. And at least for that, if nothing else, they are made worthwhile.

My Visited Countries>

Get your own Visited Countries Map from Travel Blog

My Visited US States

Get your own Visited US States Map from Travel Blog

Now What?

Well, I have completed the next step in my training-- namely, to research RSS feeds and create one of my own. This, I feel, I did with moderate thoroughness and a surprising amount of success (meaning moderate success). It was actually fun to go around clicking "Subscribe" to everything, knowing that I'm not going to get a huge bill a month from now. Anyway, I got my minimum number of feeds and I can check that off the list.

But now what?

Well, I guess now I have to go to my Google Reader account to get the compilation of feeds. That's awesome, except I'm not in the habit of doing so, and therefore I haven't yet remembered to make use of it. Of course, it's been more difficult than usual to remember the last two weeks... because for that time my home internet has been down and my only contact with cyberspace has been in miniature frenzied sessions on whatever computer I can find, therefore making my short forays the equivalent of runs for medical supplies: essentials only.
But I digress.

Anyway, this does seem to be a good tool. I can pick and choose which sources I like for my information, and this program will automatically combine new updates from those places on one neat site for my convenience. If I do get in the habit of using it, I think it would be very efficient (more so if I used it for work). The only downside I actually saw was that the site's navigation wasn't intuitively obvious. The only function-related problem I can imagine, not having yet had extensive experience, is that RSS feeds might only prove useful if I'm looking for brand new stories, rather than archived ones. Other than that, thumbs up!

Motley Mashups

I'm still not entirely sure what a mashup is, but just knowing that they exist has already put me way ahead of my previous learning curve. As of right now, I'm getting the impression that mashups are peripherally connected to some larger site, in this case Flickr, and that they find innovative ways to search, categeorize, and use the information from that site.

The ones I liked best were the map and color search functions. The first allowed me to search Flickr photos by location on a world map, while the second made it possible to search all photos in a specific color scheme. Not only could they be incredibly useful, but to be honest, I really liked them because they're pretty dang cool!

Of course, there are a few drawbacks to each approach. For the map search, the relevant photos will only display if they have been tagged or if the features in the photo are distinctive enough to suggest a location. For the color search, while it makes it easy to find monocromatic photos with one dominant hue, multicolored photos without an overarching color scheme will fall by the wayside.

Still, these are two very impressively inventive ways to look for information on the net. I like that someone was thinking outside the box. Specifically, the "search term" box.