We're up to Thing #30, a lovely round number. And for this, we get to pick anything off the Webby list, anything that strikes our fancy?
I started with the idea of picking something practical, maybe something from the art section that might be of value to the KANEKO-UNO Library. But my internet connection is too slow to get any of those art sites to load properly. I had particularly high hopes for the Color Chart, and what I saw of it was beautiful. I'd love to explore it sometime when I have access to a higher speed connection. But I had to abandon it for now in favor of something a little more friendly to low-end DSL.
While there's a lot of potentially valuable stuff for libraries, I found myself drawn to the 1000 Awesome Things blog. I don’t necessarily see a strong library application for it, but I like it. Everyone needs a break from the nastiness and misery and meanness that permeates our world. This blog is like an antidote. It's upbeat and uplifting (without being saccharine or glurgy), reminding us to take joy in the simple pleasures life has to offer, like sleeping in our own bed after an exhausting trip or finding something you lost so long ago you gave up on it. I had my own experience with the latter this summer, when I found a turquoise and silver ring I'd lost over a year earlier. It was under the seat of my old car, which I was cleaning out to sell. I wore the ring every day until I lost it again last month. But I'm not worried. If it's meant to be, it'll find its way back to me.
The posts on 1000 Awesome Things are kind of rambling, rather like the above paragraph. They remind me of The Tick's monologues, and starting about halfway through the third post, every word I read, my mind heard spoken in Patrick Warburton's voice. Go on, pick any post, and imagine Patrick Warburton standing by the bus stop coffee vending machine and telling you these things. Bonus points if you imagine him in a blue superhero suit with emotive antennae.
And that just makes me smile. I think that's the whole point of the blog. To cheer you up no matter what kind of day you're having. And who doesn't need that?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
FTC Disclosure
Since now the Federal Trade Commission requires all bloggers to disclose whether they received any payment or perks of any kind for reviewing products, this is my disclosure/disclaimer to apply to all of my previous reviews on this blog. It also applies to all of my future posts related to the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program.
None of the web services explored during the Nebraska Learns 2.0 exercises provided any compensation to the participants in the program. None provided me with something complementary for the explicit purpose of reviewing it. The only people who asked me to blog about these services are the Nebraska Library Commission staff members who select and moderate the exercises. I am under no obligation to complete the exercises. My opinions about the services are my honest impressions based on my experiences using them.
I would be eligible for continuing education credits for completing these exercises, but my library does not require them, so I have not filled out any of the forms necessary to receive them. My only benefits from blogging about these services have been knowledge and experience.
Early in the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, during the original 23 Things, I had permission from my supervisor to do the exercises on work time, if other duties permitted, because this was considered professional development. These days, I do these exercises at home, on my own time, not because permission was revoked but because we are simply far too busy at work to spare any time for this. I expect to continue to do the exercises on my own time for as long as I continue to participate in the program.
I work for the Criss Library at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. My opinions here are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of my employer.
For that matter, no one asked me to write this disclosure. But I'm not entirely clear about how the FTC expects bloggers to comply with their exceedingly confusing rules, so I figured, better safe than sorry.
None of the web services explored during the Nebraska Learns 2.0 exercises provided any compensation to the participants in the program. None provided me with something complementary for the explicit purpose of reviewing it. The only people who asked me to blog about these services are the Nebraska Library Commission staff members who select and moderate the exercises. I am under no obligation to complete the exercises. My opinions about the services are my honest impressions based on my experiences using them.
I would be eligible for continuing education credits for completing these exercises, but my library does not require them, so I have not filled out any of the forms necessary to receive them. My only benefits from blogging about these services have been knowledge and experience.
Early in the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, during the original 23 Things, I had permission from my supervisor to do the exercises on work time, if other duties permitted, because this was considered professional development. These days, I do these exercises at home, on my own time, not because permission was revoked but because we are simply far too busy at work to spare any time for this. I expect to continue to do the exercises on my own time for as long as I continue to participate in the program.
I work for the Criss Library at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. My opinions here are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of my employer.
For that matter, no one asked me to write this disclosure. But I'm not entirely clear about how the FTC expects bloggers to comply with their exceedingly confusing rules, so I figured, better safe than sorry.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Visual Bookshelf
Oops, I kinda let Thing #29: Book-Based Social Networks slip by me. I did sign up for Visual Bookshelf on Facebook, but so far I've only added five books (and they were from the same series, so they really should only count as one). I just never had time to really get into it this month, and I had trouble working up enthusiasm because this thing seemed like a combination of two things I'd already done, LibraryThing and Facebook.
I might go back later and try to fill out my Visual Bookshelf. I'm more likely to use it than LibraryThing, because it's integrated into Facebook, so it's in a place I already go instead of another site I have to remember to visit. But since October is over, I'm afraid I flubbed this lesson.
I might go back later and try to fill out my Visual Bookshelf. I'm more likely to use it than LibraryThing, because it's integrated into Facebook, so it's in a place I already go instead of another site I have to remember to visit. But since October is over, I'm afraid I flubbed this lesson.
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