Thing 14

Okay, I understand Technorati a little better after this exercise. I'm still not completely comfortable with it, but I do feel like I could use it effectively at this point. I thought it was interesting that out of the top 5 blogs listed by fans vs authority, there were three that appeared on both lists. I didn't expect to see such a high correlation between the two. I was also surprised to find that many of the top 15 searches related to topics unfamiliar to me. I noticed that when I clicked on the tag, 'phil bradley' I got hits for every blog that included each term separately, rather than the complete item. That should be corrected, I think. All in all, I think Technorati is a tool that I would like to introduce to my campus in hopes that it might encourage some of our teachers to get involved in the blogosphere. Personally, I may use it to find other blogs that pertain to my interest to replace some of the ones that I currently have on my Google Reader that may not be as useful as I first thought. Regarding tagging...I love the way that these little guys work! It's so great to be able to sort and find items according to the keywords that make sense to me. Of course, it becomes a little like assigning subject headings when it comes to finding information based on the tags of others. What made sense to them may not make sense to me and vice versa. I like the 'recommended tags' feature found on many of the sites we've explored, as that provides some order to the organization. I guess it's the librarian in me, but I feel like there should be some semblance of authority for all of these keywords, although I appreciate the freedom to use whichever tags I choose.

Thing 13

I had heard about Del.icio.us, but didn't know all the ins and outs of its use. Now I can appreciate its popularity! I've often found sites that I want to use again, but can't locate the bookmark when I need it, or I've forgotten to bookmark the site, etc. Del.icio.us solves these problems! I can see lots of potential for the use of Del.icio.us on my campus. People are always asking me where I have found the materials that I use during storytimes, lessons, or RIF distributions. Being able to share all of these sites online so that anyone on campus can access my bookmarks from any computer is an amazing and powerful way to collaborate. Even better, if the librarians in my district registered and set up Del.icio.us accounts, it would provide quick access for all of us to the collected wisdom of the group regarding useful sites. I will definitely work on getting my bookmarks imported and organized on Del.icio.us. M-M-M-M-M good!