Twitter world

I am relieved we didn't have to join Twitter! It is the least appealing form of Web 2.0 for me. It is meant for people with short attention span. And after using Twitter, their attention span is going to become even shorter. Eventually, they will stop speaking in sentenceses and start twitting! And why would anyone want to follow strangers or celebrities twitting?

Library Thing

I like Library Thing a lot. I signed up for it and will use it to keep track of my reading. It is very interesting to see other people's reviews on a particular title.

Google Docs

Docs are very convenient way of saving and editing my documents. I think it should definitevely replace expensive software such as MS Word, Excel and Power Point. As with all Google's products, the design is unclattered and user-friendly. I am convinced that all good thing in life (or a lot of them) come free!

You Tube

Honestly, You Tube culture is alien to me. Sure it is easy enough to use, but I am lacking time and motivation to use it. It is just overwhelming and contains a lot of "bikini babes"(not my favorite type of video). I actually liked the suggested technology video, except it was too fast paced. The captions kept flying around a tad faster then necessery, before I had time to digest information. However, the statistics about millions of users of Web 2.0 technologies made me think about how fast the world is changing. The other interesting angle about it is that it is easier then ever to reach vast number of people using these technologies, but harder then ever to connect to them.

RSS

I wasn't using RSS at all, but I will start using it in the future. It is very handy. However, I noticed that not all sites I was interested in have this feature. If the ikon is greyed out, tough luck, you are better off just adding it to Favorites! It was easy to add and edit feeds in Bloglines. I like the idea of orginazed approach to Internet. One of the biggest problems for me is not being able to remember where exactly was it that I saw great Humanities sites for example. The other great advantage of RSS is that it keeps you very current.

GOOGLE UNIVERSE

Yeap, there is a whole universe behind simple, uncluttered home page. I like
Maps, Gmail and Docs in particular. Google Universe can be very useful for storing documents on line, organizing your pictures or looking up houses you had lived in and landmarks you had visited in the past. There is a lot to play with in Google Universe. It is fairly intuitive. I don't remember how we ever lived without Google Universe.

FACEBOOK

Facebook is a total waste of time. I only wish I had time to put pictures, jokes and videos on it. Talking about pictures on FB, have you noticed that certain people are so glamorous, wearing evening gowns and drinking champagne in their profile pictures? I wonder if this is how people really see themselves or is it more a message they want to send - "Look at me, I have it good"?

FB can be handy to find out what your high school friends are doing now. It can be thrilling to find somebody after 20 odd years, cause the world is a global village now, but the initial thrill wears out fast, cause it is hard to keep up the long distance communication, even with people who used to be good friends.

Wikipedia

I love using Wikipedia for popular culture questions. It is easy to use and saves a lot of time! For example, I always look up directors' biografical info and filmography after going to movies or borrowing a dvd from the Public Library. Other things I used it for include cooking techniques and various bands. I love its democratic approach to sharing and editing information. I think access to information is one of fundamental human rights in 21 century. Public Library is also very democratic institution. I like that both Wikipedia and Public Library are free. That is another important modern concept in access to the information - you shouldn't have to pay for it. Of course, this open concept can lead to problems of quality control. Wikipedia acknowledges this potential weakness in "About Us" section. Public Library gets a number of reference questions that can be answered using Wikipedia. Wikepedia is very current. Wikipedia is easy to use and edit.

Best Websites on Delicious can be practical sometimes. I have used it when searching for consumer information. However, I liked it better when subject headings were just organized in alphabetical order. I don't like the fact that you can not use the search box for CPL bookmarks only. Sometimes it is faster to google it. I would use it when looking for sensitive information, such as legal, health and consumer.

CPL Web 2.0

I have some knowledge of Web 2.0, but I am sure I am missing a lot of details. So I am hoping that I will "connect the dots" or learn a lot about Web 2.0.

I am hoping it will be as much fun as Pirate Storytime!