Task #9 - Week 4

As far as finding useful information, I primarily used Blogline's Search Tool. I typed in a keyword and more often than not found useful feeds to add to my Blogline. I did have some trouble with certain sites that initially were listed as having an RSS feed, but as I tried to add them to my Blogline account I was informed that the particular site does not provide an RSS feed. I had to dismiss a handful of potentially useful blogs because of this. I am not exactly sure why they were included in the initial search retrieval because I was certain to select only those blogs with RSS feeds (I am paraphrasing here - I can't remember the exact terminology).

I used Feedster as well, although a lot of information that I retrieved using this search tool did not seem to be very useful to meeting my objectives. While using Feedster, I located several feeds that were not entirely relevant to the initial search goals.

Task #8 - Week 4

RSS is an excellent tool for keeping up-to-date on the latest information concerning libraries and the technological advancements within them. Actually, almost any piece of information out there is available for users to collect with a few mouse clicks. After registering, it took a few attempts to find useful information, but as I became familiar with navigating the official Bloglines website I was locating helpful blogs and feeds in really no time at all. I filed six useful feeds that I feel will aid me in the immediate future, whether that is as a current graduate student or a future media specialist.

I see librarians using RSS technology as a way in which to minimize research necessities. I am not suggesting that using RSS should be used for the purpose of getting librarians out of tedious research. I am suggesting, however, that RSS allows a librarian to set parameters so that the collecting of research information is minimized. It is still up to the librarian to choose what information is useful for research purposes and what is not.

Week #3 Flickr Tasks

2007-09-08: PSU vs. Notre Dame
Originally uploaded by Ed Dame

What's up, everyone? Hopefully your week is going well. After much trial and error (you'll notice that this is my brand new blog), I was able to export this picture from Flickr to my blog.

It is a really cool picture of Beaver Stadium during 2007's Penn State-Notre Dame game. I've never heard the stadium that loud before, and I've attended plenty of games. It was pretty amazing. I know, I know - all I seem to talk about is Penn State. I'm sure it gets more than a little annoying, but State College is a big part of my life and I'm always thinking about something related to PSU.

Flickr is a great tool and the photos at one's disposal are essentially endless. I will be using Flickr much more now that I have successfully learned to navigate and "explore" the contents of the website.

Welcome To My Blog......

Welcome LS 589 and any others who may stumble on this blog! The 23 Things that we will complete over the course of the semester should be about exploration more than anything else. As I mentioned in an earlier discussion board post, I am not exactly the most technologically savvy person, but I am more than willing to update my skills and stay at least one step ahead of the masses.