Favourite Web 2.0 technologies

Podcasts wins hands down. I've been addicted to podcasts inse acquiring my first MP3 player some time ago. There is so much on offer from the ABC, BBC & BBC particularly for book lovers.

I also like wikis especially wikipedia. I was surprised to find an entry for my uncle who lives in the Seychelles. I like the concept of many contributors to any topic but of course you do need to exercise caution and verify information located.

The great advantage of the technologies we have been exploring is the way they can reduce isolation. I grew up with a good local library which was always accessible to me it was only 3 kilometres away and my family and I spent many hours there. Not everybody is so lucky. Disability, illness or distance can severely limit access for many. This is where I see the great advantage for the public library in these technologies. I would like to see progress in the provision of access for all to training and the technology to utilise the tools with special programs to cater to special needs groups. Then we can hope for the true 'library without walls' ideal and access for all.

I have enjoyed reading the blogs of my colleagues. It is interesting to see the opinions of people I know but not well. Hecuba I like the ginger cat. Librarychick hit the spot with gripes about stationery costs. My pet hate is the caps being left of markers so that they dry up and have to be discarded.

I loved looking at what people are reading, their favourite books and what is in their library.

Thankyou to Lynette &b Lesley et al for this opportunity to explore Learning 2.0.

Victorian Libraries Learning 2.0

I've been working my way through this program for the past few weeks. I was already familiar with many of the different Web 2.0 offerings.

Flickr has its advantages but there is so much rubbish out there. Some users seem to take heaps of photos and them load them all to Flickr without assessing their quality. Poorly composed, overexposed, out of focus etcetera they still load them. There are some really good photos on this site, inspiring to the amateur photographer and it's these which I like to see. I am always interested in photos of Mauritius and there are some really good ones on Flickr.

I enjoy soime blogs and regularly follow up on some. My own library has had its own blog for a little while now thanks to Gitte our Online Services Librarian. The Age Green Guide has a section each week which recommends varius logs and I usually investigate.

Librarything is okay but I'd never keep it up. I'm the kind of person who starts such projects but quickly lose enthusiasm for it and move on to something else.