Positives: The search results page is incredibly inviting and attractive. The designers realized that users do not move beyond the first two pages of results in a standard list display so they must have worked on a alternative to the gigantic list. The results are impressive as your eye easily moves around the page instead of focusing directly at the top of a list and moving down. Also, there is more descriptive content under the link than in other search engines.
The liberal use of images, logos, and graphics.You will find it confusing when you move to the second and third pages of the results and see the same pictures that you saw on the first page of results. Your first inclination is that the same pages are popping up again and again but they are simply using the images again and again with unique links. Obviously, if you do this then you are misrepresenting the link as that image may have nothing to do with the link. This isn't the point though. The point is to provide visual access to the subject matter. I like this approach much better than a separate image search or a distracting frame filled with pictures.
The explore more categories on the right are excellent. My Google searches often lead to more and more refined versions of my original search query. By checking the explore by category options on the right I can take my search to another direction and one that I might not have originally thought of before.
Negatives: The results are odd and don't always make much sense. A search for an author gives you many results on books to purchase but shows very little that discusses the life of the author. Also, the results seem to be absent of any timeliness. Typing in the latest news makers gives you very little that points to recent activity involving the subject. The results seem to be heavy on Wikipedia and Mahalo entries which is fine but offers a rather static feel to the results rather than enlivening the ever expanding nature of the web and the information found in it.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The End Result
My indoctrination into web 2.0 and library 2.0 has come to an end as I have completed Helene Blowers' 23 Things and Meredith Farkas and Company's 5 Weeks to A Social Library. Below is a list of some of my most significant discoveries.
1. Delicious is now one of my most used web tools. I hadn't used it in the past because I wasn't interested in a tool that I thought was a duplication of something I didn't use that often anyway (bookmarks). I have a pretty good memory and recall and since Google is so easy to use I thought I was saving a step by just repeating searches. But then I realized how inefficient and time consuming that could be if my memory wasn't as strong as I expected. With Delicious, I don't have to have superhuman memory or incredible search skills. Whenever I find a site that will be useful for research or returning to later I simply post it in Delicious and tag it so I can locate it later. Using Delicious has already improved presentations, instruction sessions, and reference help.
To make life really easy, I have installed the Delicious add-ons into Firefox so I don't even have to locate the Delicious homepage to post an article.
2. StumbleUpon: see this post for my thoughts on this search technology. It works best in conjunction with Delicious. I am not convinced that I will be using SU a year from now.
3. WordPress: I had always used Blogger before but messing around with WordPress has been fun and beneficial to other blog efforts I am involved in.
4. Flickr: Photos have always put me off because of how you usually have to adjust and modify them once they are on your hard drive. I don't have the time or in most cases the expertise to do this easily. Flickr takes the adjustment level out of photo storage and continues to find new ways to make photo sharing enjoyable.
5. If I spend 70% of my work time on the internet it just makes more sense for me to want to do my wordprocessing and database doodling with a web based service that I can return to on my laptop or at home instead of holding my work hostage on my office computer. Google Docs is easy to use and improving all the time and I have used Zoho some as well.
6. This entire process has inspired me to share some of the things I have learned with my co-workers and we are in our second month of training in Web 2.0. The response has been very positive.
1. Delicious is now one of my most used web tools. I hadn't used it in the past because I wasn't interested in a tool that I thought was a duplication of something I didn't use that often anyway (bookmarks). I have a pretty good memory and recall and since Google is so easy to use I thought I was saving a step by just repeating searches. But then I realized how inefficient and time consuming that could be if my memory wasn't as strong as I expected. With Delicious, I don't have to have superhuman memory or incredible search skills. Whenever I find a site that will be useful for research or returning to later I simply post it in Delicious and tag it so I can locate it later. Using Delicious has already improved presentations, instruction sessions, and reference help.
To make life really easy, I have installed the Delicious add-ons into Firefox so I don't even have to locate the Delicious homepage to post an article.
2. StumbleUpon: see this post for my thoughts on this search technology. It works best in conjunction with Delicious. I am not convinced that I will be using SU a year from now.
3. WordPress: I had always used Blogger before but messing around with WordPress has been fun and beneficial to other blog efforts I am involved in.
4. Flickr: Photos have always put me off because of how you usually have to adjust and modify them once they are on your hard drive. I don't have the time or in most cases the expertise to do this easily. Flickr takes the adjustment level out of photo storage and continues to find new ways to make photo sharing enjoyable.
5. If I spend 70% of my work time on the internet it just makes more sense for me to want to do my wordprocessing and database doodling with a web based service that I can return to on my laptop or at home instead of holding my work hostage on my office computer. Google Docs is easy to use and improving all the time and I have used Zoho some as well.
6. This entire process has inspired me to share some of the things I have learned with my co-workers and we are in our second month of training in Web 2.0. The response has been very positive.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Book Wrangling Recommends: Paste Magazine
When I was growing up I couldn't wait for my weekly Sports Illustrated to show up in the mail. I would read each issue cover to cover. Now, the magazine that I anticipate receiving is Paste. Their tag line is Signs of Life in Music, Film, and Culture. This pretty much sums up the things that I enjoy watching or listening to. If an art form doesn't have something to offer spiritually or emotionally I don't have time for it. So, Paste serves as a good guide to modern culture for a father of three who can't keep up with blogs, YouTube videos, and hasn't had cable in 10 1/2 years.
And get this, last spring Paste held a promotion where they told prospective subscribers to pay whatever they want. What a risk but one that landed new subscribers like me. On top of that, each issue comes with a CD sampler of new music. I have discovered several quality acts through these CDs. I would highly recommend Paste for any fans of interesting music, film, or literature.
And get this, last spring Paste held a promotion where they told prospective subscribers to pay whatever they want. What a risk but one that landed new subscribers like me. On top of that, each issue comes with a CD sampler of new music. I have discovered several quality acts through these CDs. I would highly recommend Paste for any fans of interesting music, film, or literature.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Can You Relate?
I have seen this YouTube clip several times and it continues to make me laugh. You don't even need the subtitles to find the humor in it. It makes me think about learning curves. For any technology, there is an initial learning curve that seems insurmountable but once you move through the first exposure everything comes quick and easy. Even in an academic setting, there are times when we need to break down a resource or a database to its basic level or the student just will not make any progress with their research objective. Patience is a needed approach to reference work because every student interaction is different.
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