To all those that say this 23 Things Oxford programme is turning out to be more work than first imagined, I say phooey! This has to be the most enjoyable task I’ve been given. I made a special effort to bring my headphones to work with me (well, that’s not entirely true as I carry my iPod with me for those long trudges up and down Morrell Avenue) and I spent a leisurely half hour of my lunch break listening to whatever podcasts took my particular fancy. I was delighted to discover podcasts for Mark Kermode’s film review show, Zane Lowe on Radio One and a radio version of the Onion! I knew about Podcasts and had a vague idea that you listened to them on mp3 players (or, indeed any piece of software that could play mp3s) but that has always been my method – download an mp3 and play it as you would any other media file. Podcatchers (it’s a great word isn’t it?) or, by default, “Podcatching” is entirely new to me and I was delighted to discover that audio or video feeds could be added to my Google Reader account at the click of a button. I love having all my chosen blogs and podcasts sat side by side, and it couldn’t be easier. I suppose it’s a bit like receiving newspapers and magazines through your door that you subscribe to, only they have little TV screens and speakers attached to them. How fantastic a notion is that?

The biggest revelation to me was the Oxford University podcasts, or more specifically, podcasts featuring academic lectures and talks. I think the potential for students here is amazing. On one hand it is a way to offer supplementary material to that which has been delivered in a particular lecture or talk, but it could also be a way to revisit material relating to a subject or course. This would come into its own if you could not make a lecture, for example, or if you wanted to make further notes (in the style of a journalist conducting an interview via Dictaphone – shorthand will only take you so far, right?). For this, you would maybe need special access via the use of a password or membership number when enrolled on a course. But think of the potential! You could be an actual “virtual” student! You could be a foreign student and never actually visit the academic body you are foreign to… but, yes, why would you want to do that? Certainly, as a means of supporting existing students, it’s great. It’s a bit like ITV2 and other such digital channels that offer repeats and addition material to that which has already been shown. Students have it so good these days!

YouTube I know and am at one with. Was there really ever a time when the internet existed before YouTube? Was there ever really a time before YouTube… period? I would like to think that I am familiar with most of its features and benefits but a completely new feature to me was the YouTube EDU channel. I didn’t know that some academic bodies had their own channels and, actually, I hadn’t taken time to look at the channels much at all. I suppose if net-based media is to replace television, it makes sense that it would have its own channels. I liked the way Cambridge had its own channel with videos including a history of Cambridge and information on admissions. I think this is an excellent means of appealing to potential students – it strikes me as the perfect way of getting a feel for whether you would like somewhere before you take the step of visiting. A virtual tour of the city or the colleges would be a great use of this application. And of course, every channel is peppered with links to its other Web 2.0 strands; facebook, twitter pages etc. I am impressed by how all these web technologies, with their slightly individual purposes overlap and share with each other.

Asked to look for library-related videos on YouTube, I went straight for the Silent Rave that happened at University of York Library. Yes, it really happened and no, I wasn’t there at the time. Take your pick here or here.

As if by magic, Thing 10 actually dealt directly with the sentiments expressed in my previous blog entry (I didn't sneak a peek ahead, honest, guv!). So, yes, social bookmarking sites can be used, and indeed already are being used, by institutions such as libraries. I think it's a pretty good idea, although it works on the assumption that we are all delicious (sorry, "del.icio.us"... or have they dropped that now?) users. I suppose really you could achieve the same result by providing links on a web page.

The real advantage to sites like delicious is the interactive element, demonstrated by the "networking" task. In doing this, you effectively set up an ever-growing, constantly updating "favourites" folder all related in some way to the topics you chose or the things you like. I can see huge potential, although I wonder if you were to start networking with, say, five or six users or institutions (much like the RSS feeds for blogs) how would you ever keep up-to-date?

http://delicious.com/carl.jones

This is another Web 2.0 technology that has somehow passed me by, but at last I have my own delicious page! Once again I am rather embarrassed to say that I had heard of it... but didn't really know what it was! Social bookmarks. Whoever heard of such a thing?

Well, I like it. I like it a lot. First things first, the site is really easy to use. The addition of the yahoo login made this easy-as-pie (for me and all my fellow Oxford 23 Things participants) and I was adding my own bookmarks within seconds. The design is really lovely and minimal and the features are easy to navigate. Obviously the "notes" and "tags" are optional although I decided to indulge myself, but you could quickly add all your favourtite links or transfer your pre-existing favourites should you so wish.

It was good to be able to go through my Oxford 23 Thingers' shared links so effortlessly and I found a few worthwhile recommendations. The tag feature really comes into its own here and makes casual browsing very straightforward. I can see how this could be useful within an institution (A library profile with useful bookmarks for librarians, for example) or just for fun. Sometimes personal recommendations are better than generic searches through vessels like Google (an old trusted friend, nonetheless). And sometimes you don't know what you’re looking for, do you?

One criticism: tags without commas. That one's there to catch you out. Yes, it gives you instructions and yes, it has an intuitive feature that pre-empts the most popular tags associated with your chosen bookmark, but still... all my tags had a comma after them and I had to go back and edit them out. Silly commas.

picnik - no walk in the park!

I had serious problems with picnik; not with the function itself but with getting the site to work. I guess you could say I had serious problems with flash player, confounded further by the fact I am doing the majority of my "Things" in the workspace rather than using my laptop at home. The version of flash player used at the Bodleian is fine but I found myself in a "virtual memory pop-up box" loophole nightmare. When I finally found a way of getting into the site satisfactorily via a slightly different address, I decided to put off my editing skills to the next morning. The problem with that was I spent the next morning at the HCL Cairns Library where the version of flash player is... not up-to-date enough! Gah!

I'm sad to say I had further problems with picnik the next day but I think I can blame the flash settings rather than the site itself. I was not able to use the interactive flickr feature, so I had to upload and save my files manually. Anyway, I had a bash and came up with these:

A bit of extreme colour and exposure manipulation in the first one gave us the nice orange and blue contrast that does not exist in the original, and more subtle changes in the second one with some text added.

I don't think I'll be using picnik again. It's a cute site and quite attractive, but requires a lot of memory to run, which is unlikely to be a problem for most people. The editing tools were a bit basic (although fine) and I must confess it took me a while to discover the framing, editing and "stickers" tools which were more fun. All in all, more fun than fab, but I reckon you can get a lot more out of free-to-download software such as GIMP.

Try not to sniggr at the daft spelling!

Ah, yes. Flickr! For so long I have avoided thee! To be fair, I'm a big fan of photography, and the birth of digital photographs really has opened up the medium in ways which are amazing. Never before have high-quality images been so accessible, easily produced and easy to access. The only problem is that I don't really take any myself. I can't even claim to own a digital camera (phone thingy gadget aside). I am, however, fully familiar with Flick(e)r and, actually, think it's a great site.

My experience with the site was a positive one. I already had a Yahoo user name from years ago, so joining could not have been any easier - literally one click and you're in. The layout is straightforward and easy to navigate. Uploading pics was a cinch. Joining the 23 Things Oxford "pool" was simple, too. I will say that this exercise forced me to trawl through my old(ish) photos for the first time in a while, so that was a bonus. One of my favourites:

And that's that. Alas, I don't think I'll be using Flickr very much as I just don't take many digital photos, but I can see its benefits. I think maybe this site is best for personal use - a way of sharing photo albums virtually with family and friends for example.

I'm falling behind with this 23 Things lark! I tell you, this is a lot of push for my £10 Amazon voucher!

and another Thing...

Well, I must say, despite seeing the advantages of some of the other Web 2.0 technologies we've tried out thus far, this is the first one that has really transformed my life!

I was certainly aware of "RSS feeds" but I didn't really know what they were. I had some vague idea that they were simplified versions of web pages that could be easily viewed on, say, a mobile phone. Now, of course, I know differently. I followed the steps outlined in the 23 Things Oxford blog and I was thinking, "Yeah, I get it," but by the time I had added a few feeds and I'd had an opportunity to revisit my Google Reader page and see them all lined up with the number of unread posts highlighted, I was hooked!

I have admitted to following blogs at home already, but I've never really kept up with too many of them as it's just too time consuming. Up until now I have simply saved the link in my favourites folder and very occasionally revisited the odd one. Who can really be bothered revisiting every webpage they've bookmarked on a regular basis... one at a time? Well, not me at any rate. But this is brilliant. You can see at a glance what's new and what takes your fancy. I think you could easily manage to follow a high quantity of blogs this way. In fact, this exercise gave me the bug to start hunting down some more of my own.

My favourite library-related feed is Swiss Army Librarian. I was particularly taken with the idea adopted by one Children's Librarian who selected a number of books that she thought were good but had boring covers and had children design their own jackets to wrap around them! We could have some fun doing that in the Bodleian, although it could prove problematic. Anyone fancy having a go at a quirky redesign for the Journal of Urology?

My feeling on blogs is that they are all too often used as personal homepages or as online diaries which aren't always interesting or informative unless you happen to know the blogger. That having been said, there are some excellent ones. I have some great links saved on my laptop to blogs covering film posters, music I enjoy, quirky design and general silliness. A favourite of mine posts bad photoshopping in posters and adverts. Another is devoted to the cataloguing of fictional books within books. It seems to me that the best blogs are those with a focus.

Outside of personal blogs, is there a market for professional or institutional blogs? I think there probably is. For one, it is a great place to post "breaking news". For example, during the recent snowy weather, the Oxford Brookes blog was where I found out the up-to-date opening hours (which saved my girlfriend an unnecessary and cold walk). I have been very pleased to see the latest book titles, news (and, in some instances, special offers) posted on publishers’ blogs, and many authors (as well as non-literary celebrities) keep an online diary with thoughts and opinions, too. A blog would be a great means of keeping abreast of, say, the latest developments with the OULS Book Storage Facility at Swindon (new photos on the website, folks!).