Watch This Video: The Power of Web 2.0
Listen to this Podcast: Web 2.0 Continued
The Web 2.0 phenom continues to grow larger and it continues to change the way people use their time. This module will introduce you to some more Web 2.0 applications that may be helpful to share with patrons or in your personal life. After teaching the first course, I am sometimes surprised when I have to explain Flickr or Youtube to someone - not everyone knows this stuff! Have you noticed that?
Lets start out with some fun stuff. Are you planning a trip and wondering when you might get the best prices on airfare or hotel accommodations? Check out the cheapest time to travel to your destination with Farecast . Want to search all of the travel websites at once and find the best deal? Of course you do.....take a look at Kayak. So what is the difference? Farecast can tell you WHEN to travel for cheap, Kayak will let you find cheap travel now. Time is money my friend! Neither of these sites sell tickets, they just point you in the right direction.
Looking for a new apartment or trying to rent out your second home? Try Rentometer. Want to sell your house without using one of those pesky realtors? Maybe you want to see what has sold in your neighborhood? Check out Zillow. Disclaimer...Zillow claims my house is worth about $140,000 more than we were asking for it, just last year, and it didn't sell, so take the valuations with a grain of salt. Maybe those pesky realtors aren't so bad anyway....
Is the day that you hear your favorite band on the radio the same day that you stop liking them because they have “sold out”? Check out this website for your future former favorite. The 61
Pan Images is a Google project that is linking text to images. It will also allow you to search for images by translating your words into other languages. Kind of cool. Do a search for “library” Pan Images. As we are on the topic of images, here is one of several new digital imagining websites that goes one step beyond our old friend Flickr.
Maybe you have a program going on at your branch that you want to tell the world about or maybe you have a patron asking about the XYZ event that is supposed to happen? Try Upcoming, it is a Yahoo product that list events in any city in the country. The default is San Francisco, but you can easily change your location. Want to list an event? Use the link on the lower left side.
Texting has become a primary means of communication for many people. We offer the public the opportunity to text us questions and receive answers back via text – take a look: OCLS Texting Service
Have you signed up for OCLS Alerts yet? OCLS Alerts will send you reminder notices for your library materials and class registration. Here is the complete story and sign up page OCLS Alerts ***your cell phone provider may charge you for text messaging depending on your plan***
Lets end this exploration on our favorite topic - FOOD! Take a look at Im Cooked. Im Cooked combines your Aunt's potato salad recipe with a video of her actually making it. Since it is almost lunchtime, and I am hungry, I did a search for pizza. Don't do this if you are hungry, it won't help.
And finally……. Big Brother You knew that it was only a matter of time before this happened…
eXplorerer - I am thinking that I might not have scratched your Web 2.0 itch just yet. Maybe I didn't get the exact one you were hoping for, but I think I can help you help yourself. Now, I am going to let a secret out...I don't spend my days trolling for web 2.0 apps - not enough time in the day for that. I go to the source of all the good ones! Knowing where to find the information is the biggest part of the battle, right? You taught me that! So here it is: SEOmoz's 2008 Web 2.0 Awards.
Adventure - Since you are more experienced and have some skills, this week, we are going to tap into your deep pool of knowledge and ask you for an opinion. If you are stepping up to do these Adventure activites, you "know stuff"'; that is a given. Now tell us what you think about "stuff". Here is the first one: Author and presenter Clay Shirky has some very strong opinions about why people are turning off thier TVs and tuning into the blogging world. Take a few moments and watch his presentation and tell us in your blog whether you agree or disagree. Does this guy have a valid point or is he full of frijoles? Where's the mouse? Were you suprised by the statistics? How has your own TV consumption changed within the last year? Will it change in the future? Is this Web 2.0 stuff just a fad or is it a societal shift in behavior? The video is 16 minutes long.
