Thing 15

I used my avatar to explore in Second Life. The Second Life worlds would take long time to explore. The people I've interacted with in Second Life are friendly. There are groups you can join in Second Life and even events and jobs! I would have a hard time working all day only to come home and work in a virtual world. I do think it is cool that the objects you build in world are yours to do whatever you want with them. It seems that people can make an income building or scripting in Second Life.

I think libraries could use Second Life to appeal to the generations that prefer they type of virtual interaction. I do wonder with so many libraries in the real world how Second Life would be used if each one of us wanted a presence in Second Life.

Thing 14

I really see the potential in library thing. Using an Internet enabled cell phone you could access your Library Thing to make sure you haven't already read a book before checking it out or buying it. Library Thing could also help you find books that interest you based on the likes of other Library Thing users with the same book in their catalog.

I think the books I put up on Library Thing ranged from 30 up to 3,700 so not the most popular. It was interesting to read what people are doing with one book on personal productivity. Library Thing really helps you connect with other people who have similar tastes in books. I have used a similar website called Shelfari (http://www.shelfari.com/).

Thing 13

I chose iGoogle for my start page. I already had a google account and gmail so it made this quick and easy to set up. I also took a look at Pageflakes. I like that Pageflakes was able to tell where I was and instantly guess at what newspaper to display stories from and the local weather and tv guide. I am supposed to make our intranet the default page at work but I would consider using iGoogle for my start at home.



I will probably use Don't Forget the Milk. I like that you can organize the events by work, personal and that you can import events to your calendar with iCal.



I would recommend Backpack to small workgroups or organizations without IT staff to support the creation of an intranet.



I have used the MSN calendar to share schedules with my wife. This works out well so we know what the other is doing in the evening. I'd like to use DFTM with her too.

I tried the PDFconverter and think it is handy if you don't already have a program installed to create a PDF.

Thing 12

I could see using something like Mixx to keep up on stories that are voted popular or recent on subjects that interest me. It might be nice to use the private groups feature to build content with friends who hold similar interests.

Mixx seems like it could save time by allowing the most voted on content to make its way to the top. Saving you the time of being distracted by other fluff on the page.

I have used Digg before to read popular sites from time to time. I have also marked sites for Digg.

Thing 11

I could see using Del.icio.us to tag websites for patrons to explore. I plan to use Del.icio.us to share tags with work colleagues so they can see some of the sites I have found usefull at work.

I know our library maintains a database of library recommended websites on our homepage. I think it would be nice if we could import those links into Del.icio.us to create another access point to these sites that as of now are only available from our website.

I like the fact that when you tag a site and other people also tag the same site, your tags are merged to help create more ways for people to find the site you originally tagged.

Thing 10

I like the more structured format the Wiki provides in collaboration. For example, headings will look the same and provide for multiple levels to easily format information.

We use a Wiki for our staff intranet and our department's internal knowledge base. Since things change so often it made sense to use a Wiki. I like that you can look back at previous changes and who made them.

I don't think Wikipedia should be banned however I do think users should remember that information posted could be inaccurate. I think Wikipedia can provide very up to date information and allows subject experts the ability to quickly build upon the work of others.

I did a simple edit in the Wiki sandbox. Using the "***" tags I created some new bullet points.

Thing 9

I liked Google Docs. It seems to respond faster than Zoho writer for some reason. I'm also more familiar with Google Docs and like the fact that it integrates with your Gmail contacts. I did like the fact that Zoho does warn you before you publish something publicly instead of privately. You really need to be aware of what you are doing before publishing something.

I think I prefer the way Google Docs integrates with Gmail. It makes it easier to share documents and keep track of what is going on with the other editors.

I think the Founding Fathers would have finished he Constitution much sooner with these types of tools.... and have spell check to boot!