Discovery Exercise #7.2

Looking through bloglines feeds via subject was a reasonable experience – easy to use & filled with all sorts of links. I liked using google news (will perhaps use this more for work). Found it strange being able to feed to blog comments & subscribe (atom) to other people’s blogs (the whole non-privacy thing feels unnatural to me) – subject searching worked fine, except when unfortunately, some blog comments seemed to get off the subject track somewhat & you found you were looking at ‘all manner of things‘ along the way!
I found that doing a search for feeds or blogs inside a site was useful, as it took you straight to their selection & some even had links to take you further.
I also came across ‘newsonfeeds.com’ which provided an extensive list of aggregators for searching (incl the ones mentioned above). As with all things on the web though, it is wise to be prudent when searching unknown sites ; I‘ll keep searching over the next few days & see if something even better turns up.

It is most likely that I will end up checking the regular websites I use from now on, just to see if the pages I’m on have update feeds available – purely for interest sake of course!

Discovery Exercise #7.1

Well ! - what else will we be doing in a few year's time. There’s so much information out there, someone had to think of limiting the amounts somehow - it takes time to wade through it all on a regular basis. To begin with I dreaded the thought of being on the receiving end of more information – I mean I’ve already got email to sift through - lots to look at, lots to read & lots of ‘other stuff’ happening. I can understand how good this process is though & appreciate how it works & would save time & money, esp if you have only a few minutes to log on & check for updates on several sites. Having selected some news item feeds earlier in the week, I can now read my ‘personal’ news files – I guess that feels pretty good. However, if you don’t manage your files, you can probably end up with limitless numbers of incoming mail. I may still want to check the original site & see what else is going on, but would do so feeling more confident having already read any important bits. But yes, it is a good tool. Perhaps I’ll even start to use it more often over the next few weeks ; will see.
Good to see the library feeds ; I’ve subscribed to the new titles & what’s on : I guess in the future, latest books from specific authors or particular subjects will be feedable ; couldn’t see much to subscribe to on the Paperplus site or Whitcoulls. Maybe the libraries are way ahead on this one.
Subscribing to topics in the Herald works well, as you can identify section/topic/category etc but still seems to me that you will get stuff you don’t want – doesn’t look like you can completely get away from all of that. Can see how it would be good for those looking for jobs – employment / librarian – it all comes to you.
Must be a feed here somewhere for Lianza, but I can’t find it!

(Clip Art as info like music flows on ..)

Discovery Exercise #6

Searching online has become for me a regular source for finding information & enjoying images. It has been easy & relatively simplimatic to find what I'm after - mostly for things associated with the books that I'm reading at the time. I've also become a fan of online video clips - the ones that help you achieve a task & the ones where you can watch news/entertainment or interviews eg President Obama's inauguration or Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent". It's true that you can't believe everything that you read or hear, esp on the web but you can't either in books, newspapers or on TV - you just need a 'rounded' point of view. When technology is used for the greater good (not just to entertain), it becomes undeniably 'newtonish' ; surgery is one of those areas I am in awe of. Having experienced a machine performing surgery with the surgeon only directing it, is one such example ; with virtual training for such specialised procedures now almost commonplace - in my opinion, this is where technology really stands out - the benefit of mankind.

Discovery Exercise #5

These tools are great - imagine being able to create your own comic strip of some memorable occasions or a mosaic filled with photos you like or even a mighty jigsaw. Thought this would be marvellous - perhaps to even combine the two - a jigsaw of a mosaic of photos that you love.

Looks like anything is possible - lots to delve into here.

Discovery Exercise #4

I love looking at pictures, they always tell a story. Using Flickr was an eye opener; in as much as you can get involved in other people’s lives so easily & see what they are doing but also it’s a way to join in on a worldwide scale & share common interests in a much more sociable way. Great to see the library sites & how we love to communicate with other librarians but also the photos – esp the historical ones that we would not have known about - I would never have thought to look for National Library photos of WWI or II or even send a Christmas card with them via Flickr – Wow! Searching photos by Places makes you feel part of a group, esp if you have also ‘been there’; I can see how that would appeal to some young travellers. By suggesting other tags that relate to your subject, Flickr can draw you down a variety of pathways – however as common tags are used by ‘everyone’, you need to use clusters to narrow your search although you can still end up wading through pages to find ones you are looking for. If you were a regular user though, it would be sensible to have your own groups & not do the ‘public’ thing. I also feel uncomfortable about looking at what feels like someone else’s private photo albums, but that’s the key here I guess, the purpose is to share wonderful images with each other & encourage a common ground for meeting other like-minded people. A great way to find out what is going on in the ‘personal world’.
I enjoyed so many images – click this link to see a place my girlfriend visited recently:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fesign/2418357814/

this link is a great close-up of Gaudi’s work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machinemade/3762870249/

isn’t this one simply wonderful?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejbot/3764180692/

Discovery Exercise #2

What did it feel like creating this blog? It was really a lot of fun, seeing an instant result was great & achieving this step felt really good. After this initial exhilaration however, the issues at hand started to turn things into a bit of a drama - deciding what to put & where, backwards & forwards, editing & deleting to find just how to show a photo that wasn’t a post & what would work with the ideas I had. The basics for blogging are clear & easy to use – it’s just getting to know how it all comes together. The more you delve, the more you understand – on the face of it gadgets seem just as user-friendly, but pit falls abound no doubt, so will take these bit by bit. To begin with, this blog has started out ok – but will probably need some modification as I go through the web 2.0 process - best thing is that it can be edited, as thankfully nothing is ‘cast in stone’.
(rosetta stone pic from google images)