Thing 20: Youtube

I could waste some time on Youtube. Take a look at Battle at Kruger - a battle of lions, buffalo and crocodiles at a watering hole in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Not great film quality, but good action!

Thing 19: Winners

I had a good time exploring some of the winning sites. I especially enjoyed Forecast which was voted #1 in the Travel category. It lists airfares and notes if the fares are expected to go down or go up. It is also beta testing a hotel category - just enter a city and Forecast shows a map of hotels with rates. Of course, Google Maps, is a great site and I have been using it for some time. The driving directions have been accurate and it is helpful to have an overhead view of streets. Some sites were, in my opinion, totally useless - Say-So ("would anyone like to talk about Halloween costumes?") and 43 Things - which lists things contributors would like to do (get straight A's, stop procrastinating). I just couldn't care less.

Thing 18: Zoho

The free registration for Zoho was fast - I am now using it to post this to my blog (I hope).  There are a great number of features and incredible number of templates from which to choose -amything from student id forms to resumes.  It is understandable how this free service could catch on - giving Microsoft as run for its money.  What a good tool for anyone working on a group project - students or in the workplace.  And quite a convenience not to have to carry a flashdrive, etc. with you.  I like it.  Now to try to add it to my blog . . .

Thing 17: Maryland Sandbox Wiki

I added an entry to the Maryland Sandbox - Favorite Vacation Spots. Real easy.

Thing 16: Wikis

Wikipedia is great for background information in areas that I have an interest, however, I would not quote a wiki for a reference question because of the free and open editing which could very easily lead to wrong information. I think a better use would be for opinions or experiences. Perhaps a good use for a wiki for Howard County Library would be to establish a site for Columbia residents to record experiences and photographs of the development and growth of Columbia - what it was like in the "old days" of Columbia.

Thing 15: Future of Libraries

Having read most of the articles provided, I certainly agree that libraries have to change with the times. It is necessary to provide our customers with web access to our services, research tools and communication. But I hope that we will temper our enthusiasum and continue to provide the personal service to our customers that we have prided ourselves on for many years.

Thing 14: Technorati

Interesting - but, I have not caught blogging fever and do not anticipate having a need to use this site.

Thing 13: Del.icio.us

After playing with Del.icio.us and looking at other libraries pages, I could see using it in the library and also opening an account for personal use. In the library setting, it would be useful to have bookmarks which could be accessed from any information desk - a quick link to the health department's page on flu shots or the elected officials, etc. For personal use, it would be convenient to have bookmarks available on any computer - work, home, laptop. Although I did not take the time to open an account, it looked fairly straightforward and not too complicated.

Thing 12: Rollyo

I used Rollyo and entered six websites for vegetable gardening since this is a new interest of mine. It is a good idea, however, I don't know if I will use it much - especially for the subject I have chosen because I am not yet familiar with all the websites on gardening and don't want to limit myself to the few I know. I suppose I will continue to Google a question on gardening and learn which are the more reliable sites and add them to Rollyo.

Thing 11: Library Thing

This is the best so far. I love Library Thing. For years, I have been keeping a reading log and now finally, a great way to record my reading online. It is extremely easy to register, add books, change the display ( by author, title, date, etc.), access reviews, and more. The other "things" have been fun or interesting, but this is something that is really useful.

Thing 10: Meez

I could only get so far with this on the computer at my desk - it did not save the colors I chose, etc. But when I moved to another computer, it worked perfectly - what fun! I don't foresee using this much, but I'm happy to know what avatars are and how to create them.

Kathy's Blog of 23 things

Thing 9: MERLIN

I spent some time looking at MERLIN and the Library News Blogs such as The Shifted Librarian, Library News and Library Garden. Enjoyed seeing Beth's Blog on MERLIN. I will periodically check MERLIN - especially the shared training opportunities offered by library systems all over the state - handy if I come up short of CEUs. However, I don't see having the time to check the others regularly.