Google Analytics

A high percentage of visitors to this blog come through Firefox (67.19% of visitors in the last month). The next most commonly used browser is Internet Explorer, which was used by 21.88% of visitors. The number of Firefox users is more than three times as many! A respectable 9.38% of visitors used Safari.

Just under half of the visitors to the blog (43.75%) connected to the internet using cable. The connection speed of another 34.38% of visitors is unknown.

I probably spent way too much time looking at this today--it's fascinating!

Google Docs on Campus

The assignment asks us to make a prediction about the usefulness and acceptance rate of online document sharing tools like Google Docs on college campuses. However, I really don't need to predict anything. I began using Google docs in my very first graduate school course in the fall of 2007 and have used it on most of my collaborative projects since then (which in library school amounts to a lot of projects--we love teamwork!). Professors and classmates are open to and encourage the use of these tools.

I have yet to share a document with a professor of a face-to-face class as I did this week for SCILS598, though. So far, they do still seem to prefer attachments or printed assignments. Still, I think we're moving toward this. In the case of printed assignments, I think we are all becoming more conscious of the amount of paper we use so some people are bound to start looking for alternatives. Google Docs has the advantage over an attachment because there are no concerns about software compatibility, items getting lost in inboxes or accidentally deleted, or any of the other myriad problems that arise with attachments.

Google Reader vs. Bloglines

• I notice that Bloglines has a "notifier" option that allows you to choose among several means of notification that there are new posts for you to read. I poked around and I don't think Google Reader has any "notifier" function, much less several means to choose from (on Bloglines these include a Firefox add-on and a cell-phone notification).
• I notice that both have pre-selected recommended subscriptions to help you get started.
• Bloglines "clip blog," where you are able to post a clip from one of your feeds and comment on it caught my attention so I poked around a little on Google Reader and not only do they have the option of sharing posts with friends (though I think these friends must also be on Google) but they also allow you to post a clip to your blog. I'm going to start taking advantage of that!
• As with any Google product, I like the Google Reader links to all of my other Google tools.
• I was actually coming around to Bloglines and thinking to myself "wow, I might prefer something to a Google product" when I clicked on my SCILS folder and that automatically marked every post by every student as read. I couldn't figure out how to mark them as unread and once I clicked out of that screen I could not figure out how to go back and read old posts. That's easy to do with just one click on Google Reader. Now, I'm going to have to go to each student's blog individually to catch up on those posts and know that in the future I can click on just one feed at a time. Annoying.
  

LiveJournal vs. Blogger

I've been using LiveJournal since 2001, I think? Maybe 2002... And I've been using Blogger since 2007. I've made 105 posts in LiveJournal (almost all memes) and 157 posts in Blogger (almost all actual posts), so I guess my preference is clear. Here's my bulleted comparison:

• The number one reason I prefer Blogger to LiveJournal is that I access it through my Google account, so, with one login and password I'm able to access my e-mail, my blogs, my iGoogle page with widgets selected by and useful to me, and my Google Reader page.
• The number two reason I prefer Blogger is also related to the fact that it's a Google product: I love the Google look. The clean, white space. Love it.
• Because I needed to use Blogger help today, one thing I noticed that the services have in common is the community help centers. A lot of the tech support is provided by fellow users. Does that not just epitomize 2.0 technologies? I love it. A lot of time help pages are written by the designers to go along with how they envisioned their product being used. We all know that what a designer intends and what a user actually does often differ.
• One thing in LiveJournal's favor is the ability to create a number of icons (the exact number depends on the status of your account: paid, unpaid, etc.) or avatars. With Blogger, you've got just the one. Obviously, you could just insert a new picture every time, but I like how LJ allows you to frame a post with the "mood" link, an individual icon, and even what music you are listening to.
• Another thing I like about LiveJournal, and the reason I keep using it, is that it's so easy to set varying privacy levels to posts; of course, a drawback is that users must be on LiveJournal to have access to private posts.
• A final plus in the LiveJournal column that also keeps me coming back is the LiveJournal community concept. You can create or join a LiveJournal community around just about any interest you can imagine and anyone who is a member can post, comment, etc. It's really neat.

I know I pointed out more plusses for LiveJournal, but the fact of the matter is I prefer the look and the ease of use of Blogger for my blog.

Thing 18: What's up, Docs?

I've already used Google Docs quite a bit (and I heart it), so I figured for this exercise I'd try something new by composing this blog entry in Google Docs then publishing it to Blogger. I'll open it up and edit after it's published to let y'all know how it went.

ETA: Well, there was a lot of white space between the title and the body of the post and I can't quite figure out why. That's easy enough to fix, though, and publishing from Google Docs was a cinch. I liked how it even published the name of my document as the title of this post.

Thing 16: Wiki Wiki Waa

Sometimes I try to remember what my life was like before Wikipedia and I can barely recall. I feel the same way about Google, Amazon, and IMDB. Remember when you used to recognize someone in a movie, but you couldn't think of what you'd seen them in before and you wracked your brain for days? Clearly, I digress. On to the topic at hand: library wikis.

I browsed several of the wikis suggested on the 23 Things blog and I have to say, I am extremely impressed with the ALA Annual 2008 Wiki. What an amazing resource for anyone attending the annual conference, but especially for first-time attendees! The 2009 one still needs a lot of work, but I have no doubt it will get there.

More on Google Reader

This isn't one of the 23 things, but I thought fellow Google Reader users might appreciate this article: HOW TO: Use Google Reader Like a Rockstar.

Thing 10: Don't Shoot the Messenger

In college, I was signed on to AIM 24 hours a day. Literally. (And yes, I do mean literally. It drives me crazy when people say "literally" when they really mean "figuratively.") It was my main method of communication, even when talking to my roommate who's computer was just on the other side of the wall from mine!

I haven't really used it much since then. Occasionally someone will instant message me through Facebook or Google chat, but I don't really like either of those as well as I liked AIM. These days, I generally prefer other forms of communication to instant messaging. That's not to say it doesn't have its uses. I have been using AIM much more often since I got engaged to chat with my maid of honor and my mom so that I can send them pictures and links while we talk. There's definitely an advantage to the multimedia capabilities of chat that you can't capture over the phone. There's also the advantage that you can hold several conversations at once. Still, for me, these advantages rarely outweigh the disadvantage of having to be tied to the computer.

Despite my preference for other forms of communication in my personal life, I think that online chat can be really useful in a library setting, not only by adding another means of connecting with our patrons through chat reference, but also by enhancing our ability to communicate and collaborate with other librarians. ALA or TLA committee members can "meet" in chat rooms or librarians can use internal chat services to communicate with staff at other branches, for example.

Thing 9: Feed Me, Seymour

I was going to share my top three Google Reader feeds in this post, but it was just too hard to choose so few from so many! So, here are my ten favorite feeds (in no particular order). Check 'em out and enjoy!

1. Cute Overload Pictures and videos of animals doing what they do best: being adorable!
2. xkcd The subtitle says it all: "A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math, and Language." A total must for geeks (like me).
3. The Superest "Who is the superest hero of them all?" Only time will tell...
4. Unshelved Do you work in a library? Enjoy webcomics? Check out the daily adventures of Dewey and the rest of the folks at Mallville Public Library. You'll be glad you did.
5. A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago I discovered this pop culture blog years ago when I saw a post on a message board that said Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes would be guest-live-blogging the National Spelling Bee there. At the time, I was a fan of the show and I've always been a fan of the Spelling Bee.
6. Smart B****es, Trashy Books The Smart B****es love romance novels and they aren't ashamed to say so, but they're also not afraid to bust out the snark when necessary. Love it.
7. 025.431: The Dewey Blog You thought my love of xkcd, spelling, and romance novels was geeky? This blog breaks down the construction of Dewey Decimal numbers. Yep, I was in the marching band, too.
8. A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette It's snarky, but I love it.
9. The Misadventures of Super Librarian Meet Wendy, librarian and romance reader. I want to be her when I grow up.
10. USA Today's Pop Candy Another Wendy! This one covers all things pop culture, even mustaches. Especially mustaches.

Thing 8: Real Simple

I already subscribe to 36 feeds on my Google Reader (22 of which are library or literature-related), so I wasn't sure I'd be able to find three more I'd be interested in. I should've known better...

First up: Dinosaur Comics

The near-daily adventures of T-Rex, Utahraptor, and Dromiceiomimus. The dialog changes, but the pictures remain the same. And it's always hilarious. I have no idea why this wasn't already in the feed...

Next: Life Tips Vegetarian Tip of the Day

Last: The Huffington Post and Tree Hugger, both recommended on that Time magazine list of blogs.

I told you I should've known it wouldn't be a problem to find three.

I don't have much to say about the last three since I've just subscribed to them, but they seem interesting. We'll see how long they last!

Thing 5: Flickr

Here's a photo I found on Flickr when I searched "Pflugerville." (from: http://flickr.com/photos/txkimmers/3157796/) The whole "love written in grass" thing is a little contrived for me, but I like the style of the photograph and I love the bright orange flip-flops near the bright green grass on the concrete gray background.

I took a couple of pictures of the Pflugerville Community Library, but opted not to sign up for Flickr after all. I already share photos through Shutterfly (for sharing with family because it's what some of them were already using); Kodak (for sharing with friends for the same reason); and Facebook. I'm also wary of signing up for anything else online. Just for the heck of it, I recently made a list of all of the online tools I use and my username for each one (don't worry--I shredded it!). There were around 60 things and just while typing this paragraph I've thought of two more I forgot! I've got an Amazon account, a Facebook page, three e-mail addresses, a LiveJournal, etc. and so on and so forth. It's becoming unmanageable and I am a bit concerned about security.

Extra Credit: Compare Picasa and Flickr

Picasa and Flickr seem to have a lot of the same features: photo editing, sharing, organizing functions, etc. Flickr seems more user friendly and yet, if I were to use either, it would probably be Picasa because I already have a Google account and I wouldn't have to add anything to my list of usernames!

Things 2 & 3: xtra credit

Blogging from my iGoogle page!

Thing 2: Teh Google

I already had an iGoogle account, but I hadn't logged into it in quite some time (whoa, only 204 days until my wedding?! When did that happen??). I am not sure why, because I'm a major Google devotee. I use Google Docs for school assignments and for wedding-related spreadsheets tracking our guest list and budget; Google Maps to get directions (I'm always getting lost!); Google Reader to keep up with all the pop culture, news, and library blogs I follow; and gmail and Google Chat to keep in touch with friends and family.

Some new features I hadn't been aware of were the ability to add an artist theme and to view my gmail and Google Reader feed through iGoogle. It's great to be able to view everything in one window. I also added some new gadgets while I was logged in, including the UT Libraries catalog widget and the Dictionary.com and Wikipedia search box.

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joesuspense/29237776/.