To Summarize...

I have lots of different thoughts as I come to the end of the Learn and Play experience, and I'd like to share a few of them here.

First, I enjoyed the VARIETY of web technology that we covered. We didn't just play around with one type of thing, but discovered many. We delved into the world of pictures and how to create unique images. We looked at how to share ideas online with tools like Delicious, Wikis, and newsfeeds. We explored the potential of communication as we discovered podcasts and Twitter. We also had some fun with videos on YouTube and the image generator. (Since, after all, wasn't the whole goal to have fun?) :0)

Second, I appreciated the opportunity to BE HONEST about how we felt about the different technologies. There were some that I really enjoyed like YouTube (my favorite), podcasts, and wikis. Then there were others that I either didn't find as interesting or I didn't see as personally relevant to me like Library Thing and Library 2.0. The thing was, I didn't feel pressure that I had to enjoy everything. If I didn't enjoy something, I could say so, and it would still "count". The option to agree or disagree is all a part of the discovery process, and I was grateful that we had that freedom.

Finally, I'm excited about the fact that these discovery excercises don't end here. Discovering them was just the first step. Now that we've discovered them, we have the opportunity to USE THEM and incorporate the ones we liked into our daily lives. For some, Twitter has become an addtion to their online life. For others, they now have a way to share photos online with friends and family. For me...who knows? Maybe one of these days you can listen to one of my podcasts, read my book published through the Web 2.0 tool Lulu, and watch it on YouTube after it's made into a movie...all without leaving your own living room. :0) Yay for Learn and Play!

Books Go MOLDI (but not like they used to!)

Not only did I log in to the MOLDI site, but I also selected a few items to download. The more I discovered about this cool site, the most excited I got about the potential that it holds. With sites like MOLDI, you can make a trip to the library at home just by getting on the internet. I'm anxious to see where this type of library service goes in the future. One feature that I thought would be neat to add is for "requests". That way, patrons can let their opinion be known about what kinds of things they'd like to see converted to a digital format.

Podcasts

Well, I had a hard time figuring out how to add the RSS feed to my blogreader account. However, I found reading about how to do your own podcast VERY interesting. I didn't realize that it was so simple. Amazing how not that long ago you really had to be somebody to have your own broadcast over radio. Now, you can be just anybody and the whole world can listen if they want. Another great thing about podcasts that I've found is it's usefulness to current radio programs. If you happen to miss it, all you have to do is go to their website to download and listen to the broadcast you missed. Talk about cool! ;0)

YouTube! :0)

Ok, so YouTube has probably been my favorite "Thing" so far. Mainly because, when else do you have an excuse to watch movies at work...and get paid for it. ;0) Anyway, I decided to post Deanna Durbin's and Judy Garland's very first 10 minute movie "Every Sunday". I'm a big fan of old movies, so it seemed appropriate, besides the fact that Deanna and Judy are two of my favorite actresses from the 40's. Enjoy!

More Fun Stuff...

I enjoyed looking through the items on the Power Tools page and even downloaded the Catalog plugin...neat tool! The latest post was on Google, which I currently use both as my homepage and email server. I thought that Google Lively was interesting, though I imagine that it will appeal more to kids and teenagers than adults. However, I'm interested in downloading and exploring Google Talk, since I chat with friends ALOT on Gmail.

Finding a "Real" Lulu

I mostly explored the site lulu.com, which specializes in assitance with self-publishing and online marketing. As a person interested in books, I also naturally have an interest in writing and publishing. In past years, I've attempted to get some of what I've written published. However, the writing market is competitive, and it's hard to crack into the world of being a published author. As time has gone on, and the potential of the World Wide Web has increased, I believe that sites such as Lulu will enable little-known writers to publish and share their work without the hassle of soliciting big-time publication companies.

And, since I'm in the business of quotes, I thought I'd quote a quote from the Lulu community itself:

"Lulu.com's goal is to be a global marketplace for our users and letting the community decided the best sellers. Our hope has been to have 1 million users that sell 10 books instead of 10 authors that sell 1 million books -so far over the past five years, we're on the right track."
- Lauren B. Parker, Senior Communications Specialist

Playin' Around with Wikis

This one was probably the hardest as far as trying to figure out how to add my blog to the Favorites blog page. I almost had to ask for help on this one, but I kept trying and finally did it by myself! :0) I'm learning to see the value for wikis as I work more with them.

"It is a new day and a new chance to try again."