As I look back on all that I have published these past few months, I am struck by a single thought: why is anyone reading this? Surely, the three of you had better things to do with your time? I've done little but complain, yet here you are, back again. Perhaps it is some form of masochism.
In all seriousness, this was truly a learning experience. I learned that I can't keep a deadline to save my own - well - let's say skin. Also, it seems I don't care for a great many things, or their names. Shakespeare once asked if (and I'm paraphrasing) the names of things really affected their innate qualities. Yes. They do.
So, if given the opportunity, would I do all this again?
2008-02-28
2008-02-14
The Bryan's 2.0 Experience
The self-titled post.
It has been a long, hard row to hoe getting this far. There were randomly placed stones strewn about the field, blocking any attempt to cultivate the land. Some of these boulders, namely the ones known as blogging from the circulation desk (like right now) and procrastination, were added by yours truly.
This is not, however, supposed to be a rant of the faults or failings of this program or its participant. What this is supposed to be is an analysis of the positives. So:
The best things in this life are the simplest and most flexible. The same is true for the applications explored in this exercise. Those options which improve communication without being cumbersome win out over those which fail to do so.
RSS allows end users to consume content in a manner that suits them while permitting the producers of said content to disseminate information to a wider audience (that is, it's quicker and simpler to add a feed than to frequent a website, meaning that more people will have an easier time getting the message). Similarly, the direct comm-oriented bits (IM, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, etc.) allow the rapid transmission of ideas without a cumbersome interface (for the most part). There is a reason that cell phone text messaging is so popular: it's fast and easy.
Which brings me to my final point, one which was also made much earlier: portability is paramount. RSS, IM, MySpace? Welcome to 2000. Really. Some of this stuff has been around since the 90's! Amazon has had user-reviewed products and the so-called long tail since what, 2001 at the latest?
Around the same time as all this, an ingenious little device known as the BlackBerry made its debut. By combining the powers of a PDA, cell phone, and (underpowered) notebook computer, this little guy brought all these cool webby particulars into the palm of your hand. Now Steve Jobs has given the BlackBerry a fancy touch screen and two-year period of servitude, er, service contract. By releasing the product as the iPhone at five times the cost of its predecessor, Apple has revived interest in portable computers.
Welcome to the future.
Style over substance.
It has been a long, hard row to hoe getting this far. There were randomly placed stones strewn about the field, blocking any attempt to cultivate the land. Some of these boulders, namely the ones known as blogging from the circulation desk (like right now) and procrastination, were added by yours truly.
This is not, however, supposed to be a rant of the faults or failings of this program or its participant. What this is supposed to be is an analysis of the positives. So:
The best things in this life are the simplest and most flexible. The same is true for the applications explored in this exercise. Those options which improve communication without being cumbersome win out over those which fail to do so.
RSS allows end users to consume content in a manner that suits them while permitting the producers of said content to disseminate information to a wider audience (that is, it's quicker and simpler to add a feed than to frequent a website, meaning that more people will have an easier time getting the message). Similarly, the direct comm-oriented bits (IM, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, etc.) allow the rapid transmission of ideas without a cumbersome interface (for the most part). There is a reason that cell phone text messaging is so popular: it's fast and easy.
Which brings me to my final point, one which was also made much earlier: portability is paramount. RSS, IM, MySpace? Welcome to 2000. Really. Some of this stuff has been around since the 90's! Amazon has had user-reviewed products and the so-called long tail since what, 2001 at the latest?
Around the same time as all this, an ingenious little device known as the BlackBerry made its debut. By combining the powers of a PDA, cell phone, and (underpowered) notebook computer, this little guy brought all these cool webby particulars into the palm of your hand. Now Steve Jobs has given the BlackBerry a fancy touch screen and two-year period of servitude, er, service contract. By releasing the product as the iPhone at five times the cost of its predecessor, Apple has revived interest in portable computers.
Welcome to the future.
Style over substance.
It's A Cigarette
Why the image of the hand-rolled cigarette, you ask? This is why. Near as I can tell, Rollyo is short for "roll-your-own", and the image seemed to fit. I poked at the site for a bit, tried a few searches (including the "rare books" one), and came to one irresistible conclusion.No; Google is just fine, thank you.
2008-02-12
What the World Needs Now
Just over two weeks left in this guided exploration of the Wired. Now, apparently, I'm supposed to tell anyone with a computer what books I've read. In other words, this thing wants me to check out LibraryThing. Sure, I'm game.
I doubt that the books I chose are of particular interest, but here they are. A quick glance will reveal they run the gamut from the esoteric to the familiar. This is not a surprise to anyone in the know. Also, one may note that my name is my login. Personal preference.
As for the experience, it was relatively painless. The site is a bit picky when it comes to passwords, however: my usual security codes were a bit too elaborate for them. Searching for books and adding them to my profile was fairly straightforward, the hardest part being finding the right edition of each book. Take The Battle of Jutland, for instance. There were some five different editions, only one of which I had read. Finding the right version of The Divine Comedy was even more of a struggle, one involving heavy artillery and trained badgers. And though a first edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy may once have graced my greased palms, it no longer resides anywhere near my shelves.
Come to think of it, I believe I read the paperback.
2008-02-08
Public Image
Okay, it appears that the time for serious discourse has passed and the time for merriment is upon us. As an effort to educate Virginia Beach Public Library staff members on the new and exciting applications available online, we were to create funny pictures.
M'kay.
Not that I'm one to shy away from any opportunity to goof off, but I felt kind of guilty looking through the offerings hinted at by the benevolent director of this little experiment. That is, until I found FD Toy's Motivator. Everyone has seen these; they are the things managers put on the walls when real human motivation is not really an option. Said higher-ups would rather put up a poster that says "LEADERSHIP: something displayed every day" underneath a picture of a mountain climber rather than display any actual leadership. I used to work as a telemarketer. Every square inch of spare wall space was covered by these inane sayings. In a way, they were darkly humorous, like House or certain episodes of M*A*S*H. Take, for instance, a poster urging ETHICS over the middle manager who always fleeced his sales reps to make an extra buck. Or VIRTUE over that one rep who most certainly lacked any sense of Victorian propriety. Great to have at parties, though. The sales rep, not the poster.
Anyway, my brain immediately came up with dozens of inappropriate and hilarious uses for this "tool". Most of which are, naturally, not going to appear here. I like having the account, and Google does censor egregious posts.
M'kay.
Not that I'm one to shy away from any opportunity to goof off, but I felt kind of guilty looking through the offerings hinted at by the benevolent director of this little experiment. That is, until I found FD Toy's Motivator. Everyone has seen these; they are the things managers put on the walls when real human motivation is not really an option. Said higher-ups would rather put up a poster that says "LEADERSHIP: something displayed every day" underneath a picture of a mountain climber rather than display any actual leadership. I used to work as a telemarketer. Every square inch of spare wall space was covered by these inane sayings. In a way, they were darkly humorous, like House or certain episodes of M*A*S*H. Take, for instance, a poster urging ETHICS over the middle manager who always fleeced his sales reps to make an extra buck. Or VIRTUE over that one rep who most certainly lacked any sense of Victorian propriety. Great to have at parties, though. The sales rep, not the poster.
Anyway, my brain immediately came up with dozens of inappropriate and hilarious uses for this "tool". Most of which are, naturally, not going to appear here. I like having the account, and Google does censor egregious posts.
2008-02-02
The Greater Serves for the Lesser?
Yet another thing about online audio and video. Okay, I'm game. After perusing the audio archives of a couple of progressive libraries, I noticed more than anything that the files were, for the most part, formatted with the MP3 codec. For the uninitiated, "codec" is short for "compression-decompression", in other words the method used to cram the sound into a tiny chip and later release it back into the world.
Apple uses AAC format for its Ipods. MP3 is the industry standard for music and is compatible with most players, thus the term "MP3 player". There are dozens of codecs, most propriatary in nature. So, "podcast" should not apply to MP3 files, which are incompatible with an IPod. MP3 files must be converted to AAC to play on the fashionable player, losing information (read: sound quality) in the process.
None of this really matters much for online audio productions. Most are voice only, and would be better served by different codecs anyway, ones more suitable to the spoken word. These are probably incompatible with any digital music player but would sound great on your cell phone. Okay, enough pedantry today.
What about the content? That is beyond the scope of this post, but I'll give it the Old College Try. A given organization will have to judge for itself what should be shared with the public. A story, just as audio or even as streaming video, read aloud and posted on the library's website would be cool. A catalog of library events that can be downloaded and played on a portable player might be useful for the blind or busy (or both).
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