#8 RSS Feeds

Well, I set up my bloglines account gle blog search up as unavailable. The Google blog search leads you to individual blogs, but I found nothing of particular use. If you were trying to find a very specific subject area, and could find some where the participants did not just ramble on, it could be helpful. Technocrati appears to be useful - I subscrbed to the librarians internet index through here.
If you took the time to find the best feeds for your purposes, then a bloglines account could keep you very up-to-date in your chosen field, providing you had the time to regularly read and digest the available information. At this point I can see me exploring this area further in the future.

#7Technology

Changes in communication technology, especially with computers, the internet and email, are swiftly impacting on many areas of our lives. For those who have access to these technologies, information in ever increasing quantities from all over the world is now available at the press of a button. Businesses can provide up-to-the-minute information about their products, and gauge consumer response via email. I asked for a pamphlet on watering systems in a shop recently, and was told to view the website. Contacting large numbers of group members by email is a massive boost to fundraising and social groups. The ability for anyone to publish their thoughts for all the world to see certainly makes "free speech" a reality. How to manage this information overload will become a problem in the near future.

#6Flickr mashups

There seems to be a large number of mashups which people have created. I quite like the montagr mashup, enabling you to group a large number of images with the same tag together. However, I could not work out how to transfer the big "picture" to my blog. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

morning stroll

morning stroll, originally uploaded by GooseGoddessS.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

#5 Discover Flickr

Just like the internet generally, flickr is overwhelming in the amount of photographs available for viewing. Even with the tags, and the groups, which serve to categorize the images to some extent, I can't help but feel they could do with a cataloguers touch. With vast numbers of images added by the minute, one wonders how many will ever be viewed.
The groups certainly enable a useful sharing of images. For example, within the bonsai groups, members are able to demonstrate various bonsai techniques, with members of the group able to participate in discussions, ask questions, etc.
I especially enjoyed the nature photographs - stunning sunsets, landscapes, flowers, - but how much time could be swallowd up skimming through these.

Starting somewhere.

Hi, i'm Mary. I'm a mum and a wife, I live in the country, and I work in a library. This is all a bit "out there" for me. The use of computers and the internet for access to information and communication has enormous potential, and I look forward to learning more.