The Web According to Google #87: Google Reader

I took the tour and then the first thing I did was import my subscriptions from Bloglines. It was very easy to do but I did not like that instead of only importing my subscriptions from Bloglines, Google Reader automatically added "staff picks" to my list of subscriptions. I don't like it when things are automatically added to something without asking me. I had to find them all (no, they were not grouped together) and "unsubscribe" them.
I like how in Bloglines once you read the new blog entries for each of your feeds, they no longer appear. In Google Reader, even if the entries have been read they still appear and the more you scroll down the longer the list becomes. I liked the blank screen. I liked the sense of accomplishment. If I want to see all entries in a blog, I'd go to the blog.
Some of my feeds include: Harris County Public Library (of course), other iHCPL'ers blogs, The Book Case and Points of Reference.

The Web According to Google #86: Calendar and Documents

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.

We also use Google Docs at our branch for scheduling purposes. Again the biggest advantage to this is the ability for many users to make changes to the same document. Just so I would have a little more experience with creating and sharing documents (rather than just using documents that already existed as I do at work) I decided to create a few and see if the choir booster club I am involved with might be interested in working with volunteer lists and other documents in this manner. I think it will be easier than emailing documents back and forth and wondering which one is the most up-to-date. I don't know how computer/internet savvy the rest of the board members are but hopefully with a little convincing and instruction I can get them using a tool they have never used before.

The Web According to Google #85: Resistance is Futile

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?

When I checked out Google Labs, I found several new products and gave them a try including Google City Tours, (sign me up for the Dublin tour!) I also took a look at Google Reader - Play but really that could suck you in and not release you for hours! Thanks to this app I discovered Paper cuts, The Possibilities of an Interesting Haircut, the photo used in this blog entry of the cool organizational technique for all your computer plugs, Astonishing Paper Illustration, and Truer Words. Now this one may have you rethinking your Facebook account.

I like Google Books and have used this many times. They almost always have what I'm looking for but not always in a very complete view but most of the time it's a good start. If you are a genealogy buff or just like history I would recommend highly Ancestry magazine. You can read the entire magazine using Google books. If you click on Magazines from the Google books home page it will list all the magazines alphabetically. Just click on the magazine title or you can click on the browse all issues link to see all the issues on Google books. These magazines unlike the ones in the library don't walk away. I also went to Life magazine and read the one published closest to my birth date, May 17th 1965. Though like today it's mostly ads it was still interesting reading. I liked the sports page which had an article about Randy Matson, a sophomore at Texas A & M who was the first to break the 70 foot barrier in shotput. On this day (they don't mention the date?) at the Southwest Conference track meet he threw a record shattering 70 feet and 7 inches. Now if someone were researching the shot-put event or even Randy Matson I could find a great article in this issue of Life magazine. The Debut of the first baby Beetle is in this issue as well. See if your birthday is there, they go back to Sept 21, 1953. If not how about your wedding anniversary? Anyway, if you have time to search for it you can probably find something of interest to you using Google Books.