Social Networks

Facebook has been a network I have used for some time. It is great to keep up with family and friend, especially with being able to see photos. Seems to be a great networking tool. As I am responsible for the childrens' storytime sessions at our library, I can see social networking, such as facebook or Ning, working very well. It could be a central point to go to, we could update our topics such as 'Pets', what craft activities we are doing, sites/books others recommend - it would be limitless. I will actually suggest setting up a network within our region which is made up of 11 libraries-large and small, to do just this. Why reinvent the whell when we can all work together and share resources and ideas?

I am enjoying the blog experience and have found so many wonderful blogs and ideas. A positive response to the devastating Victorian Bush fires can be found at http://ozgothquilts.blogspot.com/
a quilters group who are expressing their experiences or showing how they can be of assistance by exchanging or gifting quilts. Just shows how we can help in whatever small way we can.

wikis

One of the things I like about wikis is the collaborative aspect - anyone can add info without having to know the 'technical stuff'. And it's free. We just need to keep in mind is that everything is not necessarily 100% accurate. It may also be opn to spam etc. Wiki is a great tool to connect like-minded folk with common interests for sharing nowledge and to collaborate on special interest topics. I'm not sure I'm confident enough to set up my own DIY wiki. I have used Wikpedia heaps when researching but always verify the facts before using as a reference.

As our Regional Council libraries are about to amalgamate onto the one library system, wiki would be one way to communicate - perhaps by setting up procedure manuals on the "how to's and what if's". Wetpaint was interesting and is an easy, user-friendly way of communicating. Wiki has the advantage over blogging in that it is easily accessed by a group with common interests to form an online community.

Wow. I have just discovered to possibilities of "Flickr'ing! For those of you interested in family history and genealogy the Yarra Planty Genealogy site is a must - lots of links to lots of related sites. http://www.ypgenealogy.blogspot.com/. I am a keen tapestry weaver. I spent absolutely hours cruising the images and sites related to the topic. I also availed myself to the upload tool for photos for design ideas for future reference. Flickr is such a wonderful tool. I discovered places that have tapestries I have never known about. It would be very useful when researching for study or pleasure. Another online photo sharing community is Photobucket which offers image hosting, free photo sharing and video sharing. Some of the images are mind-boggling, some plain weird. Though I guess, like everything relating to the web, we have to keep in mind our sense of proportion. It is fun to browse though.

Wow. I have just discovered to possibilities of "Flickr'ing! For those of you interested in family history

Malanda Library