Secret Asian Girl wrote these:
The video was alittle short, I was expecting more information? But I like TopTenReviews slogan, "We do the research, so you don't have to." I'll keep them in mind as a potential source for reference questions. I have heard of and am alittle familiar with 4 of the ten sites mentioned in the TopTenReviews article, Photo Sharing Services Review; Photobucket, Flickr, Webshots, and Kodak Gallery. Where's Snapfish? When it comes to online photo sharing services I use Kodak Gallery most often. I have a Facebook account though I don't use it as a photo sharing service.
"When looking at what students are required to read in school in 2010, it might as well be 1960. We need visionary educators who see bold purposes for school and who understand that what students read in school has profound, lifelong effects, both good and bad."
Every time I read or hear the words Google Wave I can't help but think about a stadium and "the wave" that goes on there. I think
I have a personal Google Calendar but I don't use it often. I still prefer the paper calendar for my personal life. We have a Google calendar that we use at our branch library and it is essential. The reason it is so valuable is because it is collaborative. Everyone can post their events to it and everyone can see them.
Google products I use on a regular basis include Google Maps, Goog-411, (and yes it's FREE) Google books, Google Scholar, Blogger, Google Calendar, Google Translate, YouTube, and iGoogle. I recently attended two webinars on Google books and also learned about iGoogle from a webinar. I have a GMail account but don't use it as my primary email because I've had the same email address for over 12 years. I use Google Maps over other products because of the ability for very easily alter the given route. You can now use the Google Earth feature via Google Maps by downloading a 3D plug-in. I use Goog-411 instead of information because it's free! Is there a competing product for Google books?
I have never personally contacted an author because I read something they wrote and felt the need to communicate with them. I have been to many author speaking engagements which I enjoy very much. I've heard Chris Crutcher, author or many books for young adults, Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight Series, Richard Louv, author of Last child in The Woods, Mem Fox, author of many children's books as well as books for parents and teachers, Jim Trelease, reading advocate and author of The Read Aloud Handbook, Ken Burns, although really a director and producer of documentary films he usually has companion books to go along with these films which he has autographed for me, Jarrett Krosoczka, author or many children's books, and Chris Van Allsburg just to name a few. Almost everytime I read a book, especially one for a book club I'll visit the author's or book's website to get more information for discussion. All this being said if an author did not make all this information so readily available it would not in any way take away from my enjoyment of a book especially with regards to a work of fiction. It is nice to have additional information about the non-fiction titles I read and this is usually the easiest way to start a search for such information, by going to the authors website, but again not a deal breaker if they don't have a website.
As the proud owner of a Kindle I can tell you I love the flexibility of knowing if I needed or wanted to read something immediately I could do so, however that being said when I purchase a book or even music, I want a tangible item I can touch, put on my bookshelf, etc. I want to know that if something happens to my electronic device; theft, loss, damage, overall failure, I still have the books or CDs. Though reading pixels can be very convenient, overall I prefer the experience of reading paper. Determining which is more important, speed or reading in paper form, all depends on what I am reading for and when? If I were going on a long visit or vacation somewhere I'd rather take my Kindle because I could take several books with me without any extra luggage space required. If I need to read something very quickly for work or school I'd use the Kindle because of the convenience of speed. If I am just looking to read my next bookclub selection or a book for enjoyment I almost always borrow it from the library or if I do purchase it I would buy it in print format. Price is an important factor when it comes to the decision to purchase a digital book. Something I think Amazon is missing is the sale of a book with a digital copy, like a DVD when you purchase it, sometimes comes with a digital copy. I would be much more likely to purchase a book that gave me the ability to receive a print copy as well as a digital copy for my Kindle.
Think of the books (like the shown) that we wouldn't have if it weren't for self publishing! All kidding aside, I think self publishing, vanity press, print on demand whatever you want to call it is a great idea. There are so many instances when you want a quality publication but your audience doesn't warrant your publication to be printed by Random House. Genealogy books are the first that come to mind though I am sure there are many types of publications that will benefit from self publishing. As a reader, it would not matter to me if a title went through the traditional route to publication or if it was self-published. I have read plenty of "fluff" published by major houses so it isn't always a guarantee that what they print is worth your time and attention. I would however exercise caution when it comes to reference material.
Technology, new developments, change of any kind and the degree of influence it has all depends on how much money it will make for those who control it and how much it will cost those who consumer it. So when it comes to "futurecasting" I would say follow the $ trail.
Well we've come a long way since these....
To go along with the latest iHCPL training module The Future of Media I thought this might be of interest. It's the YouTube Video Speed Dashboard. You can perform your own speed test. The image above is a screen shot of the speed test I performed on a college computer here at the Tomball branch of HCPL. To read more about it check out Google's Next Step in Speeding Up the Web.
I went to Hulu and searched for shows from the DIY Network, a channel I like but don't receive. They have shows I like including Desperate Landscapes, Bathtastic, Kitchen Impossible, and Blog Cabin. It appears that the full length shows are available. Not on the DIY network but also under the home and garden category was a show I wasn't aware of called Deserving Design with one of my favorite designers Vern Yip which airs on the HGTV network. Full episodes are also available of this show. Wanting to find a show where full episodes are not available I kept looking and found that though clips of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "full episodes are not available for online streaming at this time." I also went to TV.com and searched for Deserving Design which is available as well as the other DIY Network shows I mentioned earlier. The Ellen DeGeneres show only had 2 video clips available to view on TV.com. I found that Hulu had a nicer presentation and was easier to search as compared to TV.com. 
I was watching the Ellen Degeneres Show on TV and then I went to work and read the assignment for this post and thought about searching for a video from the Let's Dance portion of her show that day. I used Blinkx and Truveo to try and find it but ended up going straight to Ellen's website, searched for it there and found it. Even after I had the name of the particular clip I couldn't find it using Blinkx but it came right up with Truveo. When I typed in Ellen Degeneres Show February 4 I got 4 results from Truveo whereas I got 47,000 results with Blinkx and in this case Truveo did not list the particular clip I was looking for, though it's from the show on February 4th. I don't know if is was among the 47,000 clips on Blinkx but then I wasn't going to look through that many. Suffice it to say it wasn't on the first page of results. If I were looking for a particular video I might not use a video search engine to find it and would probably go to a different, more direct source. However if your just browsing I'd use Truveo, Blinkx, YouTube or Hulu.
