Blogger

Although I used to read some of my friends' blogs on a regular basis and I had been told they were easy to create and maintain, I never felt motivated to create one of my own. But I have created one now. I have registered it, I have changed some advanced settings, and I have explored some other blogs and have left comments. Really glad there are some familiar online presences here! :)

iGoogle

I enjoyed creating my iGoogle page and I can see that having your favourite gadgets readily available at a single click of the mouse as well as a splash of bright colours can cheer up your day!

After much consideration, my five choices are:

• YouTube and I promised I would be strong and resist the temptation of watching more than a short video whenever I log on to work;
• iTunes because musical variety is one of the spices of life;
• Daily Literary Quote because I like quotes sometimes;
• Places to See because I'm committed to enjoy the delights our planet has to offer;
• BBC News - UK edition.
  

I have to admit I found some of the gadgets a bit strange such as eyes that follow the cursor around the screen and so on but perhaps I'm missing the point and they are the future of online entertainment after all!

Great Expectations

The 23 Things Programme seems an excellent opportunity for me to expand my knowledge of the wide range of Web 2.0 tools available and also of the extent to which these can be effectively used to increase levels of service provision within libraries.

I know that my second personal objective is a bit ambitious (hence the title of this entry!) but after reading "A Guide to Using Web 2.0 in Libraries" by the Scottish Library and Information Council and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland as recommended, I noticed that words such as "potential" and "could" (instead of "would") were often associated with expressions such as "[enhancement] of library services". I am keen to embrace Web 2.0 tools in a professional environment as well because I am aware of the numerous advantages of the use of Web applications to facilitate information sharing and collaboration; however, I'm also interested to find out whether these benefits have ever been quantified somehow in a research project or something similar.

Anyway, there is only one way for me to find out and that is by experimentation so I thoroughly welcome initiatives like this one where an active and shared learning approach is encouraged, and look forward to accomplishing all the tasks proposed.