Technorati

My first impression of Technorati was it was way too busy. My mind could not easily comprehend all the information on the homepage. I looked at the list of top searches and recognized nothing. I clicked around a bit but nothing caught my interest. I thought who has time for all of this. I then used the search feature to look for blogs about Kiger Mustangs. I got 24 "returns". I looked at each and I was glad that I now knew of some of them. Keep in mind, I did a search for a very specific subject. I can't imagine the returns I would have received for a broader subject. I think Technorati is a good tool when searching for a very specific subject. On the other hand, just too overwhelming to browse through or search for a wide topic.

Online Image Generator

I had fun playing with the online image generators but I don't feel that I will play with them again. For me, I just don't have the desire or the time for such things. I hope that doesn't sound too snobbish because I don't mean it to be. Its just that tech stuff doesn't really do it for me. I prefer information.



The question is often posed in LATI asking how some of the stuff we are discovering through LATI can be used to help our patrons. I don't think online image generators can be much of a help. Although, some of our patrons do seem to have a lot of time to kill........so maybe.

Flickr

I am exploring Flickr and I think it is fantastic. I was talking to my colleagues at school yesterday and we were discussing using Flickr for our photography students to display their work portfolios. It seems that printing is expensive and somewhat unreliable at school. I had suggested that we could cut the expense of printing by using Flickr or some other photo site. My colleague Robin suggested that the school system set up their own site for photography students to display their work. Good suggestion but since red tape abounds, maybe we could use Flickr during the wait time.

Discovery Exercise:

I found this photo of a Kiger on Flickr. I have fallen in love with Kigers and one thing I love so much about them are the distinguishable characteristic stripes.

Lifelong Learning

I found going through the 71/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning tutorial very empowering. In the past, I had taken a graduate class that reviewed the habits extensively. It has been some years since taking the class and over time I have stopped thinking about and using them. I was glad to be exposed to them again. I do have some goals I would like to accomplish in the near and distant future and I will be writing a contract as suggested in the tutorial. Since I already have Habit 1, a goal, covered, I particularly liked Habits 3 and 4. If I want to achieve my goal, I will have to remember to treat problems as challenges and to have enough confidence in myself to succeed.