Reflections

The FC 23 things made me work with a variety of applications that could be easily be applied at the library. I believe that having the opportunity of exploring all types of applications gives me a broader look of how new technologies will make life easier for the common individual. By completing the 23 things challenge I have the knowledge to apply all this technologies to my everyday life. This is my last post and I want to thank the 23 things organizers for giving me the opportunity to learn about all this new programs that made me interact with the internet with a more active approach.

My Turn

I tried to teach my Dad how to use the RSS feeds to get a personalized set of new every morning. He said he likes how RSS filters the news to keep him informed about the topics that are interesting to him. My dad is a politician so he doesn't really care about science and technology news, by using RSS feed he can stay informed on politics. RSS feeds can help reduce our paper consuption because we can now stop using the newspaper and rread all the news on our computers.

Social Networking

MySpace and Facebook are the most widely used social networking sites in the web. It is extraordary the great success that social networking websites have had the last five years. New generations will never forget a birthdate again because this sites alert the user when a birthdate is coming up. The user can also create a personal blog on MySpace which can be used the same way that blogspot.
Facebook doesn't allow the user to modify his/her profile, the lack of this feature is no problem since Facebook is famous for the tons of aplication that will make interact with your friends by playing cards, posting funny messages, bid on games, etc.
This social networking technology could be embraced by the lirary to create a link between the library and the student. Don't forget to visit the library's MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/fullertoncollegelibrary

Online Productivity Tools

Online productivity tools let groups of people interact with each other online by sharing files, calendars, memos, to-do lists, etc. This technology could be applied in the library to share a common calendar for all the staff in which we could include important dates such as birthdays, library events and holidays.
Notemesh caught my attention because it could be very helpful to use this program in classrooms. By using this helpful productivity tool, missing class would no longeer be a problem because the student can always go online and check other student's notes.

Wikis

I just visited the pages recommended by 23 things and I find it amazing that the internet now offers the possibility of grouping incredible amounts of information created by the common user.
The good thing about this is that information is becoming more easily available to the general public. However, since the the general public can edit the content of any wiki, it is up tot he user to decide if the information found in this wikis can be trusted. For example, consider the most popular wiki in the internet Wikipedia, in which many of its articles show a clear bias and prejudices towards certain topics.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a useful way to stay informed on any topic that catches your attention. Podcasts can be compared to RSS feeds because they automatically update to show you the latest content. The only difference is that RSS provide only text content and podcasts can provide audio and video. I visited the sites recommended by 23 things, I found out that there is a lot out there for any imaginable interest. However I personally prefer using iTunes as a source of podcasts since I can then download these podcasts to my iPod.

Video Sharing Websites

Video Sharing Websites such as YouTube and MySpace Video give users the opportunity to upload, share and comment on videos. I really liked the Warp tool in YouTube that allows people to navigate through videos in a more practical way. Another feature that I found on YouTube is called Streams, people can join Streams to chat with other people who are watching the same video as you are. Internet video broadcast is a phenomenon that will become more popular as shown in the graph below:

And don't forget to visit the library YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/fullcolllibrary