Blogline vs. Google Reader

Since this is the first time I am using/learning about RSS feeds, "readers" and aggregators and have never used either Blogline or Google Reader, they both seem very similar to me...and hard to use.

Both Blogline and Google Reader seem to be free online services used for searching, subscribing to, creating and sharing feeds and blogs. They can both be accessed from any computer without downloading any software. Both were very easy to start an account with. THAT is all I seem to know but I am sure that I will get more comfortable with both the more I use them.

One major difference I did notice was that it was easier to add feeds/URLs in Google Reader. All you had to do was put the URL into a pop-up and hit ADD and you were done. Blogline wasn't much harder but there were more steps along with figuring out which option I wanted to use to subscribe to the feed. WAIT...in going back to find out exactly what the steps were to add a URL in Blogline, I found an easier way! You can click on the ADD button in the top left corner and put in the URL and up will pop a list of feeds matching your search. (I guess I will get better the more I use both! :/)

Another very basic feature I noticed was that both would let you manage your feeds with folders. Both seemed easy to manage, but I did notice something on Google Reader. It had a "TRENDS" button that let you see your subscription trends and reading trends...very MT Anderson FEED-like!!! Not sure if I liked they way they use information to create a profile of you!! I did, however, think that Google Reader seemed visually more friendly.

I'm sure that as I become more familiar with both Blogline and Google Reader I will begin noticing differences that will make one of them my preferred "reader"!

"New to me" Social Software

Okay, actually del.icio.us was new to me, but I figured I should look for something else! I did however, search del.icio.us to search on the subject Web 2.0 and found a very interesting site. The site is http://www.pdf-search-engine.com/ is a book search engine that searches sites, forums, and message boards for pdf files. You can find and download e-books.

What "intrigues" me about this site is the endless possibilities. They have a number of search possibilities, including book search, ebook search, and downloadable free ebooks. They also have a full directory which you can search through.

I did find a "con" to this site. I tried to search for the MT Anderson book Feed but most of what was returned were pdf files on animal feed. One helpful pdf I did find while searching for Feed was RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators (which has a helpful section on Blogline).

Since I had no luck with Feed, I tried Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat and was excited by what I found. I found information on Theodore Geisel, a psychoanalysis of the characters in The Cat in the Hat, a pdf entitled If the Cat in the Hat Were a First Year Lawyer, information on Seussical the musical, teaching ideas that I can use for Dr. Seuss' birthday next year, and a downloadable sign language version of the book.

This is a site that I can definitely use in the future, either in teaching or in the library. I could see how this could really help me if I was working in a children's department in a public library. I could use it to find program activities, find out background information, or to just find interesting or funny parodies on other books. However, I can see how this site could be time consuming and possibly misleading, such as when I tried to search for MT Anderson's book. I will definitely return to this site to see what else I can find! Happy searching!

FEED by M. T. Anderson

Is Anderson's idea of the future possible? YES, I believe so. Is it desirable? No, not at all...at least not to me!

The idea of implanting a chip in your brain and watching feed casts all day! The idea of everything you think and feel being taken in by a corporation and a special profile being created about you for them! Knowing everything you want and hope for, sometimes before you even know it! All of these things were written about in the book and none of them seem particularly desirable.

On the other hand, being able to m-chat, having a dictionary or other information sources at your fingertips instantaneously, and being able to go shopping in your own head...now THAT is something intriguing!!

I believe that some day this might be possible. In the book, MT Anderson spoke of people walking around talking to people who weren't there...don't people do this now when they have on their Bluetooth? How many times have you been somewhere, thinking that someone was talking to you, but they were actually on the phone and you didn't know it?

There were a few really funny parts to the book. For instance, when Violet spoke of her father's job as a professor of the dead languages (FORTRAN and BASIC). The girls who had to go into the bathroom frequently to change their hairstyles because the hairstyle of the minute had changed. I found it funny that the word SCHOOL was trademarked in the book (so was clouds). But, I must say, as a first grade teacher, the funniest part was when Titus (is that his real name?) protested learning to read on the grounds that the Silent "e" is stupid!!

All of this is a social commentary on a world full of technology creating uneducated people who are driven by the feed in their heads. When the feed is off, no one knows what to do. Their life is overtaken by this technology, and to the characters, as Anderson wrote, "...everything that goes on, goes on on the feed."

BLOGGER vs. WORDPRESS

I have reviewed both blogging sites and have come up with similarities and differences. Below I have listed each. While searching both sites to compare their features I may have missed something, so please forgive me if I say one has the feature and the other doesn't and I am wrong! Thanks!

Both BLOGGER and WORDPRESS have:

• both are FREE AND EASY
• simple to use interfaces
• auto save
• add labels
• custom domain option
• blocks spam
• readers can choose to subscribe to your blog's feeds, so they're notified whenever you publish a new blog post.
• add photos and videos to your post
• feedback from your reader

BLOGGER has:

• HTML editor
• 16 design templates (drag and drop feature)
• add powerful gadgets such as slide shows, user polls, or even AdSense ads
• you can login to Blogger with your Google Account
• currently available in 41 languages

ADVANCED FEATURES of BLOGGER

• supports mobile blogging. You can post to your blog via email.
• Group Blogging-You can create a team blog, allowing multiple bloggers to contribute to a single blog
• To see what others are posting, they have Blogs of Note and Blogger Play
• They have the Blogger Help site and discussion group

WORDPRESS has:

• 24/7 support
• 3 gigabytes of file storage
• over 60 themes/design templates
• gives you up-to-the-minute stats on how many people are visiting your blog
• If you already have a blog and would like to move it over to WordPress.com, you can import your content from Blogger, LiveJournal, Movable Type, TypePad, or an existing WordPress blog.
• currently available in over 50 languages
• tag surfer feature makes it easy for you to find bloggers interested in the same topics as you and connect with them
• you can have as many blogs as you want
• you can add “widgets” to your sidebar
• track replies to your comments
• has a feature called “pages” which allows you to easily create web pages
• you can leave WordPress.com any time you want and your content isn’t "locked in"
  

ADVANCED SERVICES of WORDPRESS

• you can remove ads from your blog for a low yearly fee
• you can upgrade your blog
• it has a feature to help translate WordPress.com for international users
• you can access your blog from your cell phone or PDA

Brown and Duguid Readings--What messages can librarians/libraries take away from the reading

1. It takes a village--people learn from people

• One person usually does not know everything, but many people have a collective knowledge to keep things up and running
• Individuals in isolation often cannot do it all
• Collaboration is often a way of getting things done
• People in different roles possess different knowledge
• Peer groups provide support

2. New technology is a good thing--it compliments not replaces old technology

3. Making and maintaining worthwhile web pages is demanding

4. Network environments are costly and cost is often underestimated

Overall, businesses thought that working from home was a positive ("Put a computer in people's homes," Toffler insists, "and they no longer need to huddle," p. 79) yet Brown and Duguid discussed the concept of how this was not necessarily true. They discussed how people in different roles have different knowledge and this collective knowledge can be very helpful to others.

This information can help both the library and the librarian by realizing that people need to reach out to others for information, but not necessarily in person. This proves that a good, interactive website would be a plus. It is also a good argument for implementing IM/chat reference and librarian blogging. Creating these interactive websites, although often costly and demanding, would benefit not only the library but the user as well. Many people, not only the people that work from home, look for easy access to information on the Internet. A good library website can provide such information making the cost and demanding maintenance of a good website worthwhile.

Librarians are still a good source of information for people. Not only for reference, but also strengthening the argument for quality programming including programs that educate on new technology. Brown and Duguid discuss Internet designers and how often "most system development serves the interests of such dedicated users. In so doing, it ignores the demands such development places on ordinary users." (p. 81) These ordinary users would benefit from programs geared towards them, taught by librarians. Such programs could include the benefits of new technology complimenting the old, not necessarily replacing it. They also stated that peer groups provide a good support system, again indicating that such programming among peers would be beneficial.

Brown, J., & Duguid, P. (2002). The Social Life of Information. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.

Here are a few library blogs that would be good models for other libraries. They all have many of the same features, but below each I have commented on just a few that I really thought made the blog different from the others. Check them out!

http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/services/blogs.html
This library's blog contains: information on what a blog is, how to post, comment, etiquette, etc., blogs for different age level users, a teen area, book reviews, government information, new library services, events, and resources. It also has a large number of different categories, links, recent comments, archives. You can also register online for programs.

http://www.monroetwplibrary.org/blogs.htm
This library's blog contains: definition of blog and resources, different kids/teen/adult blogs, staff book picks, library events, and blogs on different databases.

http://www.wrightlibrary.org/blogs.htm
This library's blog has much of what the others have but also contains: information on voter registration and blogs on such useful categories as antiques, books clubs, business, consumer information, employment, finances, gardening, health, news, and taxes just to name a few.

http://www.loc.gov/blog/
Now THIS is a blog! The Library of Congress' blog cannot be done justice through my explanation, so go check it out...It contains excellent, informative categories, not only pertinent to the Washington DC area, but to others as well.

http://library.osu.edu/blogs/
Ohio State University's library blog, again, contains much of what the others do, but also library news, manga, peer library assistants, leisure reading, multimedia production space, rare books and manuscripts library, and blogs on each of their college majors.

http://blogs.library.jhu.edu/wordpress/
The Sheridan Library at John Hopkins University also contains much of what the others do, but includes such blogs as learn the library, ask the librarian, library hardware and software, library events and exhibits, tech tips, movies, online resources, publishing, and staff picks.