twitter

The information posted on the CPL Twitter accounts is predominately upcoming programs and events, or other links that the customers may find interesting.

Twitter works well for that kind of information because it is communicating library services to a whole new audience. The information is concise but can be communicated completely within the quantity limitations of Twitter.

LibraryThing

I only used the site for searching. It appears to be fairly user friendly. I liked the reviews of specific books but could get the same information on the on-line CPL catalogue.

I read some entries under "Talk" but am not really interested in that kind of thing.

As for cataloguing my own books...I can't even begin to imagine having the time.
Besides, I don't keep many personal books, that's what libraries are for. I just borrow anything I need, and needless to say, the library has already catalogued it.

Google Docs

So I had look at Google Docs, and a quick peak at Google Calender. I normally just use the paper calender I have hanging in the kitchen, so I found the squares on the Google calender a little small.(I couldn't get anymore than 3 notations entered). At this point in my life I don't have any need for an hourly daily calender.

I really like the Google Docs. Actually the whole Google package is great. I probably wouldn't use Google Docs right now, but can see the potential for uses in a large number of scenerios. Any group activity involving the developement of documents would find this product very useful.

Flickr/YouTube

They both appear to be kinda fun if you are into that sort of thing. The quality is good on both, but like anything on the internet, the content can range from junk to great.

I wouldn't use YouTube, I don't have the time, and just wouldn't want to be that out there.

I've got three kids that email grandkid pictures. Two of them use a program thru Shaw and I like that better because they set it up as a little streaming video.

The third kid puts her stuff on Flickr because then she can send little individual videos within a group of pictures, but then you see all the old pictures too. That just seems like a waste of time for what I would need because we save all the pictures to disc anyway.

Anyway, there's a lot of options out there, and I think sometimes we just latch onto the one we discover first that partially suits our needs because thats where our comfort zone is.

rss

Hi! Yes I was able to successfully sign up for a Bloglines account and I was able to add feeds on the suggested subject topics. I eventually got a rss feed added to Bloglines with a lot of help from a co-worker. On the instructions it says to type in the URL (address) of the website. That is not correct!!! It is actually the URL of the rss feed that you need to type, and that is slightly different. We only had one staff person in our whole department that knew that. She has been a very busy lady!!!

Google.ca

I really do like the google.ca product. I have recommended it to friends. There is such a wide variety of services/information available under one location. In some cases you may find other sites where the layout of information is better. (ie BNN is a great site visually, but Google Finance provides more information).

The Google Earth site is really cool (though you do have to be aware that the images may not be up to date). It's great to be able to checkout specific address around the world.

Google Books

There is so much stuff in Google, but I think Google Books is one of my favorites. I like the fact that in many cases you can view the complete book or magazine and there is no complicated downloading process to complete before you can view the item.

I also like Google Finance. You can see a large number of the World Markets and Currencies on the first page.