del.icio.us picks

I decided to name the post for Week 2 after the widget I have on the library blog that displays the contents of our del.icio.us account. I used to be a bit shy of del.icio.us, I think, because of its tagging feature. I had anxious visions of my first LOC cataloging class while my library colleagues chatted about del.icio.us tags. As I began working with del.icio.us and tagging, I just listed the most common tags I could think of. Now, I want to go back and add tags that truly reflect how I use the content and how I want to content to be used. In other words, I want tags that are well thought out. So, it is back to the drawing board to discern how I can best identify the increasing list of links and resources in our Librarians' Suggest Sites del.icio.us account.

I eagerly anticipated the RSS information for Week 2, and was not disappointed. Michelle M's presentation was excellent and explained some things I couldn't formerly grasp, such as the existence of a few ways to aggregate feeds. I am an affectionato (sp?) of client-based software for specific reasons so hang on as I describe my encounters with web-based software.  I will never forget the time, very recently, that I was in the process of filling out a web application for a scholarship. No "SAVE" option was evident, so if one's computer had difficulties and the browser froze (or whatever), one would have to restart one's computer and lose all the information entered. That is essentially what happened to me. The browser quit working and I had to restart, after ruminating over and writing responses to questions only to have them disappear with the restart. Of course, like all good propeller heads, I decided to create a backup of my answers by first writing them out in WordPad, saving them, and cutting and pasting them into the form quickly (I realize that that is not a new thought to many of you--just new to me). I would love web applications to somehow autosave the work one does on the web and to always have a way to print the work completely formatted as seen on the screen, with all the information, instructions, questions and answers, guidelines for response, etc intact. Web apps are the future and client-based and stand-alone software's sun is setting. Subscription-based software and web apps are on the rise. Web apps need some level of permanency that kicks in even as one is working within the browser, the kind of permanency found in the autosave features in client-based and stand-alone applications. FAFSA forms have a regular "save" feature, though one has to initate it. Perhaps an autosave feature can be cookie-based?

Now that I have digressed to the point where my readers have lost the thread, I was moving toward discussing client vs. web-based RSS aggregators. Based on my thoughts above, no one will be surprised to know that my RSS aggregator is client-based and named "RSSFeed." I like it alot, though I have to change the notification sound, which is a doorbell. I keep jumping up from my computer intending on answering the door! Anyway, RSSFeed is versatile and simple, gathering in those library issues and TOC feeds to which I have subscribed. The software hangs out in the tray of my computer screen and notifies me about updates approximately 7 times a day. I have recently installed Vista Ultimate on my home computer and have set the feed aggregator widget to pick up on the Five Weeks Class. I enjoy watching the scrolling feed with everyone's comments as they come in! Client-based aggregators rule! Uh, well, maybe not completely. Michelle M. pointed out the Library 2.0 aspect to web-based aggregators: one can see what others are sharing. Really, sharing is where its "at", and this may cause me to ditch client-based aggregators for Bloglines. I will try it and report back my findings (ie., do I like it? do I not...?). I know everyone will be waiting for my report "with baited breath"! Seriously, if you have read through this rambling blog entry, I hope you have picked out two themes: client-based apps vs. web apps AND sharing. Really, "sharing" rules and it is the future.

Karen