How was the summer??

I know, i know, i haven't finished the course but i'm doing the final assignment. This is because I'm giving up on the one I can't figure out for a few minutes and talking about the course while I calm down and take a deep breath!!

Well, first of all - what did I think of the library lady? well, awesome of course!! I like her writting style, but the information in the blog is clear and easy to follow. (for the most part - right now i'm frustrated with one little bit!!)

I was a little dissapointed at the start of the course because it seemed to be going over basic stuff, but as the course carried on, alot was introduced that I wasn't knowledgable in, and appreciated all the information. (its unfortunate I got bored right when it was getting good, so i know had miles to catch up on when i finally got interested again - a deadline will do that to ya!!) If you had asked me at the beginning what i would have rated the course, i would have gone with a very low rating, but over the course of hte summer, it has proven itself to be a very worthwhile course!

I think the most challenging part was having to wait week to week honestly. I would have prefereed it to be totally doable on your own time - like have everything be uploaded and you can go in to do it as you please, not wait week to week. I could have sene myself complete alot while on vacation if all the information wa there for me to access. Obviously I like self directed learning since i want this couse to be even more so!!

Definatley, I would recommend this course to a friend - especially one in my boat woho has been ou tof the working worlod for a bit with kids and needs to brush up!!

thank you library lady!! I give this course a good solid 8 out of 10! And my knowledge of web 2.0 the same.

LibraryThing

I have to say, I LOVE the idea of librarything!! I love sitting and talking to people about the books they've been reading. I know the people that read similar books to me and am always wondering what they are reading now! If i could get all my friends on libraryThing and start sharing info, that would be amazing!! I think its a great concept for book club members - kind of a virtual extension of the book club. I also love the Betty Blogger idea of adding it to your blog. I get tired of just seeing the little icon that says "book I'm reading" - honestly, who cares. I perfer seeing what books you like enough to add to your library list. I"ll definately be using LibraryThing again!

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/beckyhewis

Google Docs Rocs!!

RSS feeds

I have to say this was a bit of an easy one - but that's only because I've put hours of time using google reader and figuring it out earlier this year, so i feel justified having found all my homework done for me today!! I love, love, love blogs - i get lost in them. The tv remains off while i spend hours reading all my favorites. Around Christmas one of my favorite blogger went off line - which i understand having kids and no time myself!! Can you imagine how happy i was when hundreds of other followers commented how much they would miss her, so much so that she re-evaluated and i found my best bloggers friend back up on line again!! I love blogs!! I love using google reader - so easy. My friend kept raving about it since she blogs and reads blogs continually!! Google reader, whoo hoo!! I love it!

My two altime favorite blogs are
Crazy mom quilts (which thankfully she decided to restart again just months after quiting - hallelujah
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/

Anna Maria Horner - the woman is a wonder! The has an army of great kids, awesome husband, can knit, draw, sew and paint, and has made herself a household name to us quilt obsessed people!
http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/

wikis

well, i'm posting out of order - because i couldn't figure out number 6 and need to call on my husband for some computer help tonight!! So, on to number 7 and forget frustrating number 6!!

Wiki's seem pretty fun! I'm constantly on wikipedia, but hadn't realized there was a lot more out there. In the world of blackberries, instant messages and pinging, seems perfect to have a larger venue to talk and plan amongst friends. I loved the idea of the picnic - you've hit on an issue we encounter all the time amongst my husband's large family - planning big meals for big families, while not expecting his mom to do it all. Normally we have thousands of emails whipping around, but next time - thanksgiving - i think i'll start my own wiki train!! \\

For the bettyblogger picnic, i couldn't find a dish that wasn't covered, so i cheated and offered refreshments - why not!!?? you need to eat AND drink, right?

You've definately got me on the wiki band wagon betty blogger!

photo sharing

Well, the world of Picasa just opened up a bit more to me! I've been using Picasa for sometime now to edit my pictures, but i didn't realize there was more to Picassa. I have friends that upload albums to the web through picassa and i may just give it a shot! Picassa is insanely easy to use for editing, so i would assume the same for uploading albums.

The picture i found was one of may favorite places in the world - Stowe, Vermont. The tags it has on it are Vermont and 08. I think I will continute to use Picasa photo sharing becuase its easy!

I facebooked you!!

I honestly can't imagine where we were without facebook!! I've been on facebook for some time now and love that it connects to people that I may have misplaced their email or not bothered to obtain because of facebook. I like following my freinds's status updates to see how their doing, and give them a call if they've had a crummy day. For family stuff, its easy to facebook a bunch of family members to talk about an upcoming event and start chatting over facebook. I have even set up a facebook account for my own business - which I find well organized. The business aspect of facebook remains much less personal than regular facebook, which I appreciate from a business standpoint. Plus, on my buisness facebook account, I can pick managers of it, so that if my sister for instance sees a glaring spelling error, she can correct it from her office at work - and not have to call me to remind me my spelling is horrible!! Such a nice added bonus in life!!

diigo

Hmm -didn't even know diigo existed! Is that bad?? I use google reader to bookmark everything since its easily connected to the blog, but I do like the idea of taging. It seems easier in my mind to tag than to have to make files like I have set up for filing all the blogs i follow into their proper subjects. I wonder, not having an ipod or itouch how much i would actually use diigo. I love the idea of adding notes and stuff - that would be great. I think I'd need to spend a lot of timing playing around with it and seeing how much of a crossover i could do with it into my own format. My question is if i have google reader can it take the information and cross-reference so i don't have to add the bookmarks into both. I have tons already added in google reader and wouldn't want to take the time to redo that. Right now I'm obsessed with all things related to sewing, so my tags are sewing, embroidery, stitching and quilting. I follow the Purl Bee and Anna Maria Horner obsessively, so they were the obvious first 2 choices to add to my diigo account. Don't worry - i will be found late this evening, navigating around diigo to see if i can figure out some answers about using both google reader and diigo. For now though, since I am a week behind, I must catch up with my homework or i fear the wrath of the library lady!! No really, I'm just interested to find out what more in the world of blogging she has for me!!

Kari Chapin is my hero

For this post, we in library world have to find a video on youtube we love. How easy is that! I've just been reading this amazing book on how to make your own handmade business in the craft world- The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin. This book goes hand in hand with the course since it mentions how to use social media. Kari mentioned numerous youtube videos I wanted to watch, so I've spent my time wisely, sort of!! How easy it is to get lost in youtube world! But then an idea hit me - search "Kari Chapin"!! Low and behold i'm listening to my current favorite author talk! Fun stuff! So, now I'm hooked - i've become a youtube fanatic! I'm going to see how many of my crafty blogs i follow are linked to you tube - which is I am sure why youtube has become so popular! You read about things, but in a couple clicks, you can see even more!!
Follow this link to find out all about my current favorite author!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsQi3oZ8L-4

watch this video of craftsanity to see one of the big youtube crafters out in the crafting world

current web2.0 knowledge

So - first day of my summer course - sitting outside in the poconos on vacation, yet, dedicated student that I am - I'm doing my homework! So, how much knowledge do I have?? Well, a little - maybe a 4? I have my own blog I just started, and have listened to my friends talk about theirs, but I get very muddled in the world of blogs. So, I'm excited to make my 4 become a 10!!