Good Stuff from Google

As a Mac user, I'm all for efforts to break the Microsoft Office hegemony. I don't have MS Office on my computer, so I can't open Office documents even if they're sent to me. I use Apple's free stripped down word processor to do my writing at home. Frankly, Google Docs is better than Applewriter, so I think I should start using it at home. This way I would be able to access my documents from the Web when I'm at work without having to send attachments.

The biggest weakness of Google Docs compared to MS Word is that I don't see a way to view your Google document as it would look when printed. This is a problem when doing something like a resume or formal letter where formatting is important. Still, for most uses Google Docs is a "good enough" program.

The only Google tool I use is their toolbar. I'm sure Picasa is good, but I have iPhoto which is better. I don't have enough on my computer at home that I would really need Google Desktop. I should give Google Notebook a try but I haven't yet. As for Google Calendar, a simple paper calendar works fine for me.

A Wiki Quickie

I am a fan of Wikipedia for what Gary Price recently called its "long tail" coverage. That is, Wikipedia is able to have articles on thousands of more obscure or specialized subjects that no print resource would have the money to include. In these cases, the question is not whether Wikipedia is better than print sources, but whether comparable print sources even exist. In general, if an article on a particular subject exists in a standard print source, I'd go with that over Wikipedia any day.

As for radical trust, I don't think that concept is unique to wikis. We already have radical trust in the journalism and print sources which we use all the time. Or rather, we accept that people are fallible, have agendas, and sometimes are dishonest but trust that most of the time safeguards exists to avoid the worst of these abuses and that we need to be alert to what slips through. "Trust but verify" is a good motto for librarians to follow.

I think wikis would be useful for library organizations like FictionL where people regularly collaborate on shared lists such as fiction books on a certain topic. I don't see the advantages of a wiki for library patrons. For any wiki, people need some of way of being told when new material is being added for the wiki to be useful as a communication tool.

Fun with Podcasts

As a non-radio listener, I was skeptical about podcasting. I realize, though, that the virtue of podcasting is that one can be very selective about what one listens to in a way one can't with radio. I signed up for three book-related podcasts. One featured authors from Simon and Schuster. I listened to Lance Bass reflect on his memoirs and found Bass to be every bit as articulate and insightful as I imagined. My second podcast was called Book of our Times which featured authors perhaps more accomplished than Bass but presumably without his singing and dancing abilities. These podcasts were very long--an hour or more--much too long for me to listen to at work. My third and favorite podcast was Nancy Pearl's book reviews which I found on the NPR website. I really enjoyed listening to Nancy and appreciated the brevity of her reviews. Although I don't see myself giving up audiobooks any day soon, I wouldn't mind listening to Nancy as well in the future.

As for podcasting at the library, I think Nancy provides a good template: short reviews of new and favorite books or, in other words, an extended shelf talk.

Social Bookmarking

I like bookmarks as much as the next person, but I'm selective about what I actually add to my favorites. Although I see the theoretical value of social bookmarking, only actual experience with del.icio.us will confirm its actual usefulness for me. My biggest concern is that with so many people adding bookmarks, del.icio.us will become cluttered with junk. This seems to fate of every collection of bookmarks. I don't know what tags would be most useful to the library. Tags aren't always intuitive and can be junk just like bookmarks.

Social Networking for the Antisocial

I already have a Myspace account I use for lurking on other people's sites so I established a Facebook account. I used my real information on the off chance that one day some long lost friend will contact me. It is very easy to establish a boring page on Facebook. I think Facebook is a little too restrictive with their privacy controls. There's not much you can see on someone's profile unless you become their "friend," which is more than I want to do with people I may know only distantly. In this way the more free-wheeling Myspace system is better. I also am puzzled by the concept of "poking" on Facebook. I needed to do an experiment to see how it works and even then didn't see the point of poking.

I'M IMing

I had a few IM sessions with coworkers recently. I chatted with Pat Gaines and Julie Marks. The only problem we had was getting started. It seems to take a while before Google Talk recognizes when someone is online. Oddly, I was able to chat back and forth with Julie even though Google Talk still told me she was "Offline." This is all very strange. Also, my IM gadget didn't seem to pop up or make a sound when I had a new message from someone. This meant that I had to keep the gadget window open and watch for new messages. At the moment, Google Talk is a far from seamless way of communicating with coworkers. Meebo works better in my experience.

RSS Feeds: More to Ignore!

These days I hate to look at my groaning e-mail inbox because I have far too many e-mails automatically sent to me that I don't have time to look at but am reluctant to delete. With RSS feeds, I've now multiplied the professional content I get that I think might be useful but that I can't seem to find the time to look at. This is, as people say, a mixed blessing.

I like the blogs I've signed up for: a few from Library Journal and a couple Readers Advisory blogs. It was very easy to sign up for them using Firefox, a browser I appreciate the more the more I use it. Still, I think there are benefits to simply bookmarking the sites I like and visiting them from time to time. This way I don't see unread content piling up and making me feel guilty. I suppose RSS feed Readers would be most useful for sites and blogs that are infrequently updated. This way I wouldn't have to futilely check for new content again and again. My feeds, though, are from blogs that post plenty of new content, so this isn't so helpful.