The Web According to Google #88: Wave, Buzz, and Mobile

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
the possibilities are endless for using Google Wave for collaboration but honestly I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to use Google Wave mainly because you have to work with others to actually experience it, which requires others to join the wave and their participation to see how it works. I get the main idea by watching the videos, but I am a hands on person so I need to experience it before I can really have a good understanding of it. Maybe I should buy the book? I will continue trying it out and if you too would like to collaborate on this learning experience my Google Wave address is Monicalynne570.
Currently the only online collaboration tools I am using is Google Docs at work. I tried implementing it with my daughter's high school choir parent association but so far it hasn't gotten off the ground. I hoped it would help us communicate better than just using email.
I discovered an overwhelming amount of information to read about Google Wave and how to use it but in a condensed version here's what I liked:
- Drag and Drop file uploads
- Wiki-style functionality
- Wave extensions though I can see some hours very quickly disappearing
I think the ability to work together using these types of tools is greatly under used in our world today. We still spend far too much time, resources and energy getting to a meeting to talk about getting something done, when we could be actually discussing and working towards getting something done with these types of tools. But don't be fooled however, if you aren't good at communicating this will not fix the problem only make it visible to more people.

As far as Google Buzz goes I just don't see why anyone would want to know that much about what I am doing really it's not all that interesting. I also don't need to know that much about what others are doing. I keep reading all this about accessing everything; Twitter, Facebook, Picassa, Flickr, etc. from one place but yet I'm continually signing up for new things to get this Wave, Buzz, Gmail, and so on, and yet I still can't access it all through one account. Then there is my work accounts and my personal accounts. Despite trying my best I still have difficulty keeping them separate because I can't remember all the usernames and passwords!

I read Google Mobile apps available for mobile phones including Buzz, Maps, YouTube, Search, and Gmail but at this time I wouldn't use any of them. I don't even know if my cell phone plan includes a internet package or if I pay per use. I have a phone that can access the internet but I've only done it once or twice and frankly it was so slow, it was quicker to call someone who had access to a computer to look up what it was I was looking for. I don't see myself using any mobile apps as ultimately I'd like to do away with my cell phone altogether. My land line is FAR more reliable; it's never dropped a call, it doesn't need charging, I can't lose it, it's mounted on my wall, it can't get stolen really and if it did I could replace it rather inexpensively unlike cell phones, I am not locked into a contract with my phone company. I am either at home or at work 90% of the time and the other 10% of the time I am almost always with someone who has a cell phone so I just don't see why people have been convinced they need one. Remember elementary school when you were taught the difference between needs and wants? Well folks, this is really a want that cell phone companies and our society has made you think is a need.

Tilt-Shift Videos

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

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.

Publishing Evolution #84: Writer Communities & Author Websites

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.

I could never narrow all the authors down to a favorite but I looked up many of my favorites and they all have websites and/or blogs. One Texas author I contacted once for a fundraiser my daughter's school was having for the choir was Cynithia Leitich-Smith. I decided to purchase books and then get the authors to sign them and use these as items for the silent auction. It was a big hit. The book that brought in the most money was Ken Burns' The War. Cynithia Leitich-Smith however not only autographed the copy of her book Tantalize but she sent us T-shirts, bookmarks, little stuffed animal bats, the works!

The idea of a book being published based on popular vote wouldn't help me to make a decision about a material. Isn't the New York Times Best Sellers' list essentially a popular vote? I don't always enjoy the books on their list. I read reviews particularly of those who have reviewed stuff I've liked in the past, look at award winning books, talk to other readers who I know enjoy the same kinds of books I do, all these play a part in making my determination.

Publishing Evolution #83: Paper to Pixels (or e-ink)

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.

iFiction was an interesting site to visit but since anyone can list anything there would be alot of sifting to do and who has time for that? Not me. So unless someone told me there was something there worthwhile I probably wouldn't go looking for something to read there. As it is my reading list is just about a mile long. My problem isn't finding something to read it's finding the time to read it. I do think it's nice to to able to preview something before you buy it so that's a nice feature but still not as good as the "library feature" where I can read the entire book and then decide if it's something to purchase or not.

Changing Behavior

Can you take a hard task and change peoples conduct and attitudes by making a hard job seem fun? Watch what a group of scientists did using fun or pleasure to get people to use a long stair case with a moving escalator right next to it. At first no one took the stairs, almost 97% of the people took the electric moving escalator. Notice how scientists changed how people reacted to climbing a long stair case as first choice. Now 66% more people took the stairs.

Did You Know 4.0

Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand

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.

“Gone are the days,” wrote former Publishers Weekly rights columnist Paul Nathan, “when self-publishing was virtually synonymous with self-defeating.” Best-selling Canadian author Margaret Atwood self-published her first volume of poetry Double Persephone in 1961, the year she graduated from college. The print run was only 200 copies. Atwood has gone on to become a best-selling and award-winning novelist and short story writer. Eragon by Christopher Paolini was originally self-published. The book was later published by Knopf. Other authors who have chosen to self-publish include: L. Frank Baum, William Blake, Ken Blanchard, Robert Bly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord Byron, Willa Cather, Pat Conroy, Stephen Crane, e.e. cummings, W.E.B. DuBois, Alexander Dumas, T.S. Eliot, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Benjamin Franklin, Zane Grey, Thomas Hardy, E. Lynn Harris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, Robinson Jeffers, Spencer Johnson, Stephen King, Rudyard Kipling, Louis L'Amour, D.H. Lawrence, Rod McKuen, Marlo Morgan, John Muir, Anais Nin, Thomas Paine, Tom Peters, Edgar Allen Poe, Alexander Pope, Beatrix Potter, Ezra Pound, Marcel Proust, Irma Rombauer, Carl Sandburg, Robert Service, George Bernard Shaw, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Upton Sinclair, Gertrude Stein, William Strunk, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoi, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Virginia Woolf.

There is a nice article on Lulu in Publishers Weekly magazine March 22, 2010 which can be read using the EBSCO database via HCPL.

I visited each of the websites for this exercise and of all of them, I thought Lulu was the most user friendly. I don't know how to tell what the quality of the acutal book is like as I would have to hold it in my hands and road test it before I could say but again, I have seen some pretty poorly put together books from the major publishing houses. Apparently Lulu sells lots of books not just ones they publish as I saw many books on their site that I have read but were published by Penguin and Little Brown and others. However I did find one called Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon which is published by Lulu. Due to it's local nature I would definetly read it and possibly even buy it. Xlibris did not have as easy to use a website. I don't like it when you click on things that open new windows. Createspace was okay since it's a format is one I am very familiar with because it's just like Amazon.