Week 4 – Adventures in eMail

Welcome to week 4 – I do hope that you’ve all been enjoying the process as we’ve been moving through it. If you have any recommendations for additional things, by the way, feel free to email me, and we’ll see. They may already be on the list, but if they’re not…

This week, we’re going to take a look at a different kind of email – Gmail from Google.
I suspect that some of you are already Gmail users, while others may not have tried it out. For my part, I’ve been using it for so long that every other email tool seems a bit antiquated. As you take a look at it, you’ll note a lot of differences from Novell’s GroupWise, or other email accounts you may have used in the past.
If you’re new to Gmail, blog about some of the things that you like, or the things that you don’t like. If you’ve been using Gmail for a while, tell us why, and let us know if you like it?
If you’ve been using blogger for your blog, you already have a Gmail account – just go to
https://mail.google.com
and log in with the same userID and Password. If you want to create a new account, you can go to the above address, and look for the phrase: Sign Up for Gmail! 

You can also find out a bit more about the features of Gmail at: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about.html

A good blog to subscribe to might also be: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/ - Google’s own blog about changes and updates in Gmail. They often release enhancements and this is where they annouce them. 

Have fun, and share your thoughts!

Next Week: an actual Library-specific  topic, eBooks!

jjs

The Elevator -

All, 

After a meeting with Maintenance yesterday, I wanted everyone to be aware that the elevator passed a usability inspection last month. They are going to order a new motor, so that it will quiet down again, but for the moment, it is safe to use. 

Jan is going to change the signs, and we'll go back to the old way of using the elevator, primarily for staff and accessibility issues. If you see or hear the elevator being used, keep an eye on it. 

Thanks, 

jjs

Week 3, part 2

Week 3 is drawing to a close, and I hope that it's been interesting, so far. 

The section on blogs is nearing the end, and tomorrow we'll move on to something a little different, but let's keep up with the blog posting through the remaining weeks. 

I hope that everyone has 'chosen' a blog reader, be it the Google Reader or Bloglines [does anyone use something different?] and that you've got all the 21 Things blogs set up in it, as that will be one of the primary ways that we'll all keep track of what's going on with the following weeks. We can, and should, be using comments on each others blogs as well, just to remain in contact as we go through this. 

jjs

Welcome to Week 3 of "21 Things"

We’ve looked at a lot of blogs, shared some of our favorites and created our own. This week, we’re going to look at a pair of tools that ‘aggregate’ blogs themselves. While it’s possible to bookmark individual blogs and check on them now and again, what an aggregator or ‘blog reader’ does is to keep track of the blogs that you want to follow, and when you log into your aggregator account, it only shows you blog postings that have been updated since your last login, which saves a lot of time, and allows you to go through them more quickly and more conveniently, without having to look at every individual blog only to find out that many haven’t been updated.
This week, we’ll take a look at a pair of tools that perform this function. They’re rather similar. Google Reader is one of the tools, and if you created a blogger or Google account to build your blog, you’re more than half way there. http://www.google.com/reader/
Another tool you might want to consider is Bloglines – www.bloglines.com To use this tool, you’ll need to create a free account at Bloglines, and that’s a simple and straightforward process.
Both of these tools function in much the same way, it’s a matter of style and which interface you prefer. For my part, I’ve been using Bloglines for a few years, and am simply more used to the interface. I’ve been working with Google Reader since beginning the 21 Things process, and am moving toward using that, though I am not fully migrated.
Take a look at these tools, and pick one. You’ll find that it’s easier to follow blogs this way, and both of them will offer many suggestions – Bloglines has a “Top 100” while Google Reader offers “Feed Bundles” that pull together recommended blogs in broad categories.
Once you’ve chosen your aggregator, you can add blogs to it easily, either by adding a blog URL manually, like: http://tcalodols.blogspot.com/ or by choosing to use a “subscribe to” link [look on this page, and you’ll find it near the top, on the right hand side].
You’ll also find that it is easy create folders in both tools, so that you can organize your blog feeds, making it easier to read them in a sequence that might make a bit more sense to you.
Also, I’ve been adding our blogs to the “My Blog List”, located at the bottom of the 21 Things blog itself. You can copy and paste those URLs into you own reader – you’ll find it a lot easier than looking at the bottom of the 21 Things blog, since it will only give you the updated posting.
This week, what we’re also going to learn a little bit about commenting on Blogs – a simple and straightforward process. Once you’ve chosen an aggregator to use, leave a comment under this posting, telling us which one you chose, and perhaps, why!
jjs

Week Three

Week 3 of 21 Things is coming soon!
You may have noticed that I've been trying out different templates - I think that I've settled on a new one. What do you think?

jjs