This puppy’s inner indexer/cataloguer is torn between running screaming into the distance and enjoying - plus occasionally appreciating - the weird and wonderful? side of web 2.0 that includes tagging / social bookmarking / folksonomies.
One nice ‘potted version’ article that I came across - that you can share with all those you know who look blank (or worried) when you say tagging - is was ‘7 things you should know about social bookmarking’ on the Educause website - a useful summary, including discussion of the good, the bad and the folksy.
Technorati can be interesting - have to agree with their “…zillions of… some of them have to be good” headnote ! I just haven’t found many yet - and no, I’m not counting the fun ones that I peeked at!
It did point me in the direction of some other interesting sites like… Thoof - a cute combo of tagging site and wiki, but still in its infancy, eg. a recent search for ‘library’ had only 4 hits; and BoingBoing - self proclaimed ‘directory of wonderful things’ - lots of stuff to chase through (interesting history of BoingBoing’s real-world to e-world life in Wikipedia entry).
Well, del.icio.us is a bit of fun - useful place to store and share your own choice websites, blogs, etc, as well as to pick up on ‘what-other-people-are-looking-at’ (or, to put it in tv cooking show speak: ‘here’s one somebody else prepared earlier’ !
The value of what one might call social search refinement seems to work best, perhaps naturally, when the numbers of users/contributors hit a (fairly large) critical mass. Enough bodies putting in their 2 cents worth, or by default not doing so, can push the more useful sources to the fore.
The dear 75 year old Australian Broadcasting Corporation took a curious leap in the tagging direction, when, on July 1 2007/this year, its news website was redesigned and ‘my tags’ and ‘my stories’ (for bookmarks) sections appeared ready for (inter)action. Worth noting that the tag library is well populated and exudes an air of authority, control and sense ! So either ‘Aunty’ was very well prepared (no surprise there) and provided an authority list… or (and?) we, the ABC viewers and listeners, are a truly erudite bunch!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
A thing about LibraryThing... and Rollyo
So now we have some tech toys that can 'save time' once you've spent the time setting them up!
LibraryThing is pretty cool. One can quite quickly DIY one's books into an illustrated catalogue. Timing was good - recently went to my fave bookshop's annual sale (Galaxy Bookshop) to stock up on latest goodies from f & sf genres. So I promptly-ish added the latest purchases (and some of the ever-so-large stockpile of my monographs) to my little corner of LibraryThing. Though it has a few idiosyncrasies that are unavoidable in a beta version, it is a very handy way to keep tabs on one's collection. The ability to add your own/read others' reviews or use the suggest/unsuggest options = nifty!
The inclusion of covers is very useful - so many titles now come out in multiple covers... can be hard to keep track if one bought the book some time ago but haven't read it yet - and it appears reincarnated on the bookshop shelves!
Rollyo is another fun tool out there: use it to create your own specialised search engine to trawl the websites of your choice. Can be very useful. Nice, too, to be able to test/use/modify for your own the searchrolls others have already added.
LibraryThing is pretty cool. One can quite quickly DIY one's books into an illustrated catalogue. Timing was good - recently went to my fave bookshop's annual sale (Galaxy Bookshop) to stock up on latest goodies from f & sf genres. So I promptly-ish added the latest purchases (and some of the ever-so-large stockpile of my monographs) to my little corner of LibraryThing. Though it has a few idiosyncrasies that are unavoidable in a beta version, it is a very handy way to keep tabs on one's collection. The ability to add your own/read others' reviews or use the suggest/unsuggest options = nifty!
The inclusion of covers is very useful - so many titles now come out in multiple covers... can be hard to keep track if one bought the book some time ago but haven't read it yet - and it appears reincarnated on the bookshop shelves!
Rollyo is another fun tool out there: use it to create your own specialised search engine to trawl the websites of your choice. Can be very useful. Nice, too, to be able to test/use/modify for your own the searchrolls others have already added.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
And here is the news...
Next on the playlist are the delights of RSS and blogs as sources(?) of news and information (or is that more like opinion, with news and information running not-so-close second and third?!)
Bloglines is one example of a reader to use to gather such joys of e-news to your browser... as if one doesn't have enough to do sorting email!
There are several others - have a play and find one you prefer.
For news around the planet, the Wolf gets some of her updates by RSS feeds from the BBC , the ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that is!), and Crikey.
Library and information feeds/blogs/blogs with feeds, etc, are varied, to say the least.
Just a couple of the many (and sometimes worrying!) blogs out there that I try to find time to peruse include: Jenny Levine's The Shifted Librarian (interesting discussion lately on Second Life), Stephen M Cohen's LibraryStuff and the new-ish blog by power searcher Mary Ellen Bates - Librarian of Fortune.
One blog host, Blogspot, includes an index to librarians’ blogs. Unrelated to Librarians’ Internet Index, it gives an alpha list by blog name with short description. 'Wide-ranging' is an understated description! Currency seems to be bit of a problem - but we all know that difficulty in our online lives!
A sample of sites with useful - for work stuff - RSS feeds: 'The Australian' newspaper (particularly the business and IT sections), Scientific American, Parliament of Australia website and SearchEngineWatch .
A useful place for library minded readers to start learning about RSS and such tech toys is at Curtin University's RSS page.
Bloglines is one example of a reader to use to gather such joys of e-news to your browser... as if one doesn't have enough to do sorting email!
There are several others - have a play and find one you prefer.
For news around the planet, the Wolf gets some of her updates by RSS feeds from the BBC , the ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that is!), and Crikey.
Library and information feeds/blogs/blogs with feeds, etc, are varied, to say the least.
Just a couple of the many (and sometimes worrying!) blogs out there that I try to find time to peruse include: Jenny Levine's The Shifted Librarian (interesting discussion lately on Second Life), Stephen M Cohen's LibraryStuff and the new-ish blog by power searcher Mary Ellen Bates - Librarian of Fortune.
One blog host, Blogspot, includes an index to librarians’ blogs. Unrelated to Librarians’ Internet Index, it gives an alpha list by blog name with short description. 'Wide-ranging' is an understated description! Currency seems to be bit of a problem - but we all know that difficulty in our online lives!
A sample of sites with useful - for work stuff - RSS feeds: 'The Australian' newspaper (particularly the business and IT sections), Scientific American, Parliament of Australia website and SearchEngineWatch .
A useful place for library minded readers to start learning about RSS and such tech toys is at Curtin University's RSS page.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
And now for... more pictures - with a difference!
The Wolf has been out playing on the internet... again... this time learning to find her name in the most surprising places!
Yes, the Wolf is a star! But you all knew that, really... didn't you!?
When the Wolf travels, she chooses to fly...
And as the Wolf is a Gemini...
Thursday, June 7, 2007
A flick thru Flickr
And now some more illustrations for your viewing pleasure, selected from all the many and varied pics posted on Flickr from folks around the globe !
Hopefully links will remain stable - another test of the user-friendliness of technology!
Wolf (tries to) take the time to stop and smell the roses ... but works too hard !(from 'csstudios')
A neighbour of the wolf (from 'Doug Lloyd')
Ahhhh! the technology - from the days of perusing a photo library's stock by peering thru a magnifying lens or leafing thru prints... to typing a subject/topic/item of interest into a search engine or photo website... or just browsing.
PS - hey, you out there! - don't go getting any ideas that this is some grey-muzzled old wolf blogging away - this wulfie just happens to read alot about 'the ways things was' :)
Hopefully links will remain stable - another test of the user-friendliness of technology!
Wolf (tries to) take the time to stop and smell the roses ... but works too hard !(from 'csstudios')
A neighbour of the wolf (from 'Doug Lloyd')
Somewhere near wolf's place... (from 'bobj03054)
Ahhhh! the technology - from the days of perusing a photo library's stock by peering thru a magnifying lens or leafing thru prints... to typing a subject/topic/item of interest into a search engine or photo website... or just browsing.
PS - hey, you out there! - don't go getting any ideas that this is some grey-muzzled old wolf blogging away - this wulfie just happens to read alot about 'the ways things was' :)
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Seeing things!?
And to see if the blogging pictures work !
Credits for this lovely photo: "A gray wolf looks out from his snow covered forest.Image Source: Brooks, Tracy - Mission Wolf/USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service " via The Wolf Den website at http://fohn.net/wolf-pictures-facts/
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