Three cheers for Technorati

The number of blogs on the web is astonishing. Seems everyone has something to say. And you want to know how to find useful, intelligence, knowledgeable and entertaining blogs to read?? Well look no further, Technorati is your answer. You will need some time to sit and meander through the vast landscape of available reads but I assure you something will definitely pique your interest. Every subject on Earth is covered in a blog and they very nicely catalog them at Technorati. I started with a search of learning 2.0 and found a great blog called Mashable. They blog about and report on all of the latest web 2.0 technologies. I also searched for some entertainment blogs to keep current on all the latest gossip! I found LaineyGossip to inform of the latest celeb news. You can find blogs on fashion, international news, books and reading, feminism, art, even parenting. This site seems so useful for librarians. If you are public librarian you could help patrons connect to so many other voices and if you are in the academic realm you can help faculty and students connect to academic association blogs as well as fellow members of their academic community. I think Technorati is a very valuable tool for any information professional.

Delic

After exploring the bookmarking site Delicious for this assignment as well as using it for other classes, I find I have mixed feelings on the site. I think as a bookmarking site that I can access from any computer it is a great tool. To easily find bookmarked pages at my work computer, home computer or at a library computer is very convienient and a useful time saver. I would definetly use this site for that purpose on a regular basis. As far as the use of tags, I have conflicted ideas. In theory it seems to be a great idea and a way to take social networking to a very useful level. But, I know I do not use tagging in any regular or meaningful way in my daily work on the web. For me and many others I have questioned, using tagging is just not a part of their daily research activities. In many ways it seems like just one more thing to add to the already overwhelming variety of web 2.0 tools and offerings. I imagine so many different ways tagging could be used in an academic library setting specifically in regards to reference but I really feel it is a tool that is not used by the majority specifically the average undergrad or grad in a university setting. For example a reference librarian I know was very excited to use tagging in an effort to help student with their researching needs. She felt it would be a great tool to lead them to valuable and relevant sources but the students didn't use it and she never saw the hopeful results she anticipated.

Finding the feed

What to follow, what to follow and where do I begin??
Tried Syndic8, not a fan. Unclear interface, confusing ways to search, categories to broad. Not getting me where I needed to go.
Topix.net wasn't for me either, too narrow, don't like how it intuits where you are and chooses possibilities for you. Not a helpful interface, almost too simple. It too did not get me where I needed to go.
Moved on to Technorati. Liked it. Good categories, found a variety of things to follow. Everything from gossip sites to librarian blogs to sports blogs. Informative, easy to use with good choices.
I found searching Google Reader to be most helpful for finding items to subscribe. I typed in a topic of interest and received good results, in some ways the most efficient method I tried.
I now have plenty of hot topics to catch up on!

RSS feeds are my friend

I am a fan of pretty much any Google device and the Google Reader does not disappoint. Easy to set up, easy to search for feeds, and easy to check on a daily basis(I pop right into the Reader after I check my Gmail.) I like the whole concept of RSS feeds in many ways. I don't have to remember to check all of my favorite sites everyday and with the feeder I can scroll through to pick and choose what I want to spend my time reading. In some ways it works for me like Twitter, which is invaluable to me on a daily basis. I get news, organizational information as well as personal updates, I rely on the feed to keep me aware of what is going on in the world and RSS feeds just enhance that even more.

It's easy to see how all types of libraries could use RSS feeds to inform patrons of everything going on in the library. The arrival of new books, events, hours, workshops the possibilities are endless. I hope the awareness of this service spreads even further into the mainstream.

Librivox

Open access is an idea I have a lot of interest in researching so this was an exploration I found informative. I admire the premise the Librivox. I appreciate the idea that anyone with internet access could have access to audiobooks. I did find the Librivoc catalog somewhat limited though. I understand it is a constantly evolving process but the selections available were not as broad as I would hope. Browsing with my personal taste as a guide, I probably would not use this site very often. But I will definitely check back to view the progress of the catalog

Podcastalley, I'm not a fan......

I am fully familiar with podcasts, I actually listen and subscribe to many, so I am not a novice. My preferred method of listening and looking for them is iTunes. Now, I am not an avid cheerleader for iTunes in general, I have spent wayyyy too much time trying to fix problems and learn how to maintain my music library to blindly declare my love for this software BUT as far as searching for, downloading and listening to podcasts, it is by far simpler and user friendly than Podcastalley. When I searched in Podcastalley I found so many outdated podcasts, not a great selection and unhelpful broad search categories. I spent too much time trying to find just one podcast that I found interesting. I glanced at the other suggested sites but wasn't happy with those either. It was a fairly frustrating exercise so searched for another directory on my own and discovered podcast.com. I found it immediately helpful and I loved the transparency of how to use the site. Not only is the interface easy to maneuver but you have the option of listening immediately without downloading or you can download and subscribe. I loved the choice of listening method and the choice pf podcasts. The searching categories were a bit narrower and made sense and the offerings were up to date. Ultimately I will continue to use iTunes for my personal podcast listening but I would use podcast.com as second choice. I will definitely not be using Podcastalley ever again.
I have included a link to an informative podcast that interviews librarians currently working in the field on a variety of current library topics. Great way to hear practical knowledge from those with first hand experience.