foursquare

As a new smartphone owner, I am having fun playing with all the new apps and such on the phone. So this month, I am exploring foursquare. It is hard to do in the small town I live in since very few locations are in the system. However, as I travel to larger locations, I can find more places that are in the system.

I can see how some people would not be comfortable putting this kind of information out, but since none of my friends are using foursquare, it's not that big of deal right now. If you don't want to check in to a place, you don't have to or it doesn't have to be published.

My library was not in the system, so I added it. As of yet, I am the only person who has checked it at the library.

Google Maps

I played with Google maps for several days over the past weeks. I tried to move the marker for the library last week, but apparently I did something wrong as it was still not right today when I rechecked. Hopefully it was changed right this time.

Part 1 of the assignment - 1445 K St is the State Capital. I could see the cars along the street, but the only colors to see for sure were red, the others are light or dark. Hard to distinguish colors from a satelite. I like the street view better as it is easier for me to see where I am going.

Part 2 - Scribner Public Library worked and the marker was two blocks north of the actual library location. Most of the information was correct for the library. The director recently retired, so I added my name as director. I claimed the library and added hours and a description. We don 't have a website, but if we get one, I will make sure to add it to the business profile. I want to add a photo, but those are on a different computer, so I will leave that for a different day.

Part 3 - I use google maps when I travel around the state. I did not know all the features available. My son likes to play with the satelite feature and find Grandpa Cooper's farm in western Nebraska. I did not embed or create a map, don't know if that is something I will try later. It would be fun to use google maps during the summer reading program. May have to try that next year.

It was fun learning all the different features available with Google maps.

Thing 24

Back to doing library Things. I spent a lot of time searching on Twitter for Scribner, Snyder and any combination of the two along with some of the businesses in town and I could not come up with anythng. If I use Fremont or Norfolk Nebraska, I get a few things, but most of the information is at least a day old. Most people around here do their status updates on Facebook, so I spend more time with Facebook then Twitter. I will keep trying to find Scribner or something on Twitter, but not holding out much hope.

I signed up for some Google alerts and I have been getting those daily. I will have to change them some, as a lot of it is the same information I get in Google reader. I also post family pictures on flickr. I had signed up for flickr activity earlier. I have had a few comments on my photos, usually someone wants the picture posted in a group.

Since I am done with all 23 things for the Nebraska Learns 2.0 class, I will try to blog occasionally. I tried to go to work Monday, but the blowing snow prevented it. I have 4 miles on an east-west highway that is notorious for being terrible when it snows. I got about one mile out of town and went back home. Not worth the risk.

Tuesday the teens came into the library after school to help put the books on the new shelves in the the teen area. They got most of the books on the shelves, but some rearranging will have to be done as we have more books than shelf space.

The end or a new beginning

I enjoyed learning all the different 23 things. Some I will use everyday (like Google reader and delicious), some will be used on a frequent basis (like flickr and slideshare) and some will probably not be used very often (twitter). But all were very interesting and glad I got exposed to them. It is nice to be able to keep up with all the changing technology.

RSS feeds were a surprise to me. I did not think they would be useful. But Google reader is usually the first thing I check out when I get on the computer. I was also surprised by web apps and wikis. Both will come in handy.

I also enjoyed the blogging. The further we got into the 23 things, the easier it got to add things and make the blog more exciting. Hopefully it will be something I can keep up, probably not on an everyday basis, but at least weekly.

I liked the fact these things were offered online and I did not have to travel. It was also nice to be able to work at my own pace. Since I am usually the only one in the library, it was hard to work on them at the library. I worked on them in the evening after the kids were in bed (when it was quiet). Some weeks I could get several things done, and other weeks not a lot was accomplished.

I would gladly take more activities (or whatever you want to call them) if they were offered by the commission. The ability to work from my easy chair, learn different things and earn CE credits all at the same time is great use of technology. Thanks to everyone at Nebraska Library Commission who made these things possible.

Podcasts

I explored several of the different podcast directories. The one podcast I did like was from the Denver Public Library. I listened to "Only joking laughed the Lobster." These are like the old cassette tape and book kits I listened to as a little kid.

I found some other podcast dealing with the Chicago Cubs. These may be good to listen to during the baseball season. But a lot of them were 30 minutes or longer. I guess I don't want to sit and listen to something for that long. I would have to download them to my mp3 player so I can listen while I walk in the mornings.

I also like to listen to Todd n Tyler in the mornings. On the days I miss the show, I listen to the podcast. (Our library cleaning lady listens to them while she cleans).

I am glad to learn more about podcasts, but I do not think I will be spending a lot of time with most of the ones I explored.

YouTube

This is my video. (I even got it embedded on the first try. I am learning so much with these things.) I think it is so neat what some people can do with etch-a-sketch. Wish I could create something along these lines. Right, thats about all I can create is lines. This video just makes me ready for the baseball/softball season to start.

YouTube is so popular with the teens. It's scary to see what some people are willing to post about themselves. If (or when) we every get a web site, I would like the teens to be able to post library related videos to the site. Hopefully the videos would show the fun aspects of the library to encourage other teens to visit the library.

I could see promoting the summer reading program using YouTube. Or using YouTube to show different activities happening at the library.