Tuesday 27 February 2007

January 21st, 2007 Best of the Web 2006

I spent a good portion of 2006 re-examining the Internet. Reference staff revised our roster and content for public internet classes and a number of curious resources came to my attention - enough to rejuvenate my interest in the online world. Here, in a completely unscientific manner, is my personal best of the web list. Though not necessarily new, these are the services that got me thinking and playing in 2006.

Best website in a musical genre.

My favourite site of the year is Pandora, the music genome project (www.pandora.com). Pandora is not a download site, nor does it infringe copyright for musicians included in the service, but if you love music and want to find more music that you like, register for an account. Once registered, create your own radio station by entering a favourite artist or song. Taking the musical blueprints of your selected music, Pandora reviews data for other works and plays new songs for you to review. Instantly, you become a music critic, refining the station by giving songs a thumbs up or thumbs down. While not suited for examining classical forms, Pandora is as interactive as you want it to be and can be full of surprises. Easily the most regularly accessed site on my PC. Thumbs up!

The Golden Globe award.

When the U.S. government hosted the terra server years ago, satellite photographs of geological and man made features were among my favourite finds. Today, Google Earth enables users to download and explore the planet in all its blue and green glory. Anyone with an itch to fly over the Eiffel tower, Central Park, or the Great Wall of China can do so from their own PC. Alternatively, you can mark your own point of interest. Google Earth is available for download from http://earth.google.com/ but don’t pay. Get the free version.

Best web service in a Library role.

Book discussion groups, take note. The best web service in a traditional Library role is Library Thing! (www.librarything.org). Registered users post their favourite books and define them with terms that explain the content like; romance, Spain, murder etc. Using the collective reading experience of all library thing users, the main use of an account would be to find more to read based on your interests. The collective titles and tags that accumulate in the library thing database make for a fairly deep pool of information from which you can use to choose your next read. It does take some time to truly learn library thing but avid readers will use it regularly.

Best employment resource.

In June our department created an internet class on employment resources. While investigating job sites I developed an appreciation for Monster.ca. While best suited for those willing to relocate for work, Monster enables the job searcher to mange several resumes, create job search profiles, get e-mails when a relevant posting comes available and it also offers excellent privacy options. The biggest drawback to a monster account is that resumes posted to the database are only available to employers registered with the service.

Self publishing and social sites.

Web services for posting and hosting your own exploits are springing up all over. This year, I investigated blogger (www.blogger.com) and Flickr (www.flickr.com). In the manner of an online journal, Blogger allows the user to easily post updates to a website. Flickr is a site that allows virtual shutterbugs to archive, view and make slide-shows of personal photographs. Both sites make it relatively easy to publish and share information. Do you have something to write about? Post your regular musings to Blogger. Is your picture worth a thousand words? Register for a Flickr account using an existing yahoo e-mail address. Flickr also scores big for its ease of use, privacy options and for the collection of interesting photographs posted by its users. Browsing Flickr images is both humbling and inspirational for the amateur photographer.

Feeling lost? Don’t be! TBPL’s reference department continues to offer internet classes at the Waverley Resource Library where you can learn basic mousing and internet skills. Those who are already experienced, explore a web service that offers a change from passive point and click surfdom to a more customized, interactive experience. All of these services are free but require user accounts. If you decide to check them out, your real measure of success will be your ability to memorize a multitude of personas and passwords. Happy clicking!

Tracey Zurich
Reference Librarian.

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