BettyBlogger2011 the final course.

How time flies! I can't believe our course is over. Most of it was fun.

1. After completing BettyBlogger2011 I definitely feel more comfortable InWeb 2.0. I think overall I would rate myself a 7.
2.BettyBlogger2011 exceeded my expectations and I feel very comfortable with what I have learned.
3.The hardest thing was time! I did complete all the tasks but I wished I had more time to explore some of the websites we were using. Hopefully in the Fall I will have time to revisit some of these sites.
4.The "self directed" aspect worked for me and I knew I could call BPL if I ran into problems. I did find some directions from LL did not correspond with the websites but I think that is the webistes constatly changing. Unfortunately I did not make it to any drop in sessions and I will also miss our closing party.
5.I would recommend BettyBlogger to a friend.

LL on a personal note I loved your sense of humour - combined with food what more could we ask for. Maybe a nice bottle of wine. Enjoy what is left of the summer.
Thanks
MaryO

Task #9 Library Thing

How cool is this "thing". Finally I can keep a track of all my books.

Here is the link to my library :

http://www.librarything.com/profile/mobeirne

I will definitely continue to use this Library Lady.

Enjoy our last week together.
MaryO

Task #8 RSS Feeds

Another interesting task this week. I had often seen the little RSS icon on websites but never bothered to see what it was all about.
The one feature I really like is that you can follow a particular news feature or article without having to wade through lots of websites/pages to get new information.

One of the feeds I am following is  "BBCiPlayer to come to Canada" Now even more excuses to watch BBC comedies and dramas.

Two other feeds I am following - Dewey Divas - those wonderful Toronto ladies that force me to keep reading new books. and last but not least 101 Cookbooks - great recipes with cool photos every day.

Library Lady it is all your fault - this food theme is running right through my life.

Loved this task and will definitely continue to use RSS feeds even after I graduate from BettyBlogger2011!

Betty Blogger #7 Wikis

Another good learning experience with the Library Lady this week. Google docs was interesting and very easy to use and understand.
The dish I will bring to our picnic is Greek Pasta Salad. A wonderful combination of Greek Salad (my favourite) and Pasta with lots of Feta Cheese.
I am still new to Wikis but I work at a different public library in Halton (gasp!) and we use a Wiki and it is easy for staff to contribute and a useful communication tool.
Have a great week.

Google docs

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=13RssvYo05K5u01bPPD57vj1U8Z5sZp2NwxtOwDnqpck&amp;embedded=true"></iframe>

Picasa - Task #5

This weeks task was actually quite fun. Picasa is a great site and really easy to use. I watched the "how to" video and it was very informative.
I am not a huge camera user but will probably download Picasa to use at a later date.

I searched "cooking" and yes some of the pictures that turned up were not what I would consider cooking but yes some delicious photos also of great food.

The photo I emailed you of the Eiffel Tower had the following tags: 2008, Europe, France, GRD, Opera, November and Paris.

A good task this week, thanks Library Lady.

Week #4 Social Networking

Ok so after Diigo last week, Twitter is a blast. I signed up for an account and am now following 16 people and that was in the first half hour. I did find the BPL twitter under BPLBook2000 and I will continue to follow this.

My concerns with social networking are the same concerns I have with all things "computer" and that is how it is used and allowing everyone to have privacy when they want. Twitter is a great way to get news quickly and then if you wish you can read more later.

I think I will continue to use Twitter after BettyBlogger is finished. I am currently following some news sites, some tennis sites and of course Food sites  it always comes back to food.

Have a great week everybody.
MaryO

Betty Blogger Week #3

Tagging, ok so I got really frustrated with Diigo and could not understand what it was all about. I walked away and came back a little later and finally the penny dropped. This is a useful tool, I have even downloaded the app to my iphone.

I bookmarked a couple of sites

BBC Good Food  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/ - and the tags I used were BBC food, BBC magazine

Kobobooks http://www.kobobooks.com/  - and the tags I used were ereader and ebooks.

I found this tool difficult at first but I think with practice it would be useful. I don't think I will use Diigo a lot ouside of Betty Blogger but never say never. I cannot live without my iphone and my ereader!! who knew.

Try and stay cool on this stinking day
MaryO

Week 2

Youtube.
This is the link to my current favourite on Youtube  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfaz9mJ0-IE

this is a book trailer I recently discovered - its just a quick video but I found it enticing and am interested in reading the book.

As the parent of two 20 somethings I am very familiar with Youtube as over the years they have sent me numerous links to all sorts of videos. We are all familiar with the wedding couple who had their entire wedding party dance down the aisle, the sleeping pussycat, even Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle.

 Youtube is fun and many artists have been discovered using this site. Just think of our own Canadian favourite Justin Bieber who first performed on Youtube at a really young age. It's a great site for undiscovered talent to post videos. Companies use  the site to promote products, books, movies etc. Advertising companies are making ads just for Youtube.

The downside of Youtube is that it is immediate and far reaching and people try to imitate things they have seen.  Just recently a young man in BC was killed when he tried "car surfing" so he could post his video on Youtube and another young man was killed in Australia (I think) when he tried "planking" a little to close to the edge of the balcony.

It's a fun thing to do - you could spend hours watching videos of cats sleeping - there are currently over five thousand videos of cats sleeping - who knew?

Have a great week.

Day One

Hi fellow Bettybloggers, this is my first blog and I'm not sure what is more daunting, the technology or thinking of something good to say.

I think this task rates about a 5 for now. I have taken a sneak peek at the other elements of the course and am intrigued by some of them and nervous of others. My overall comfort zone with Web 2.0 probably ranks about a 4 but am hoping to learn lots.

Looking forward to reading how everybody else is coping. 
Have a great Thursday