23+1

It occurs to me that, in spite of all the various web apps on the list of 23 things, there's one simple one that has been overlooked: e-reading. It seems like reading e-texts have become as common as reading print. But with old and new texts continually becoming digitzed, it bears asking how much we want to read electronically.

There are already a number of sites, including online libraries, where you can read whole books entirely in electronic format. One interesting such site that I've discovered is from a publisher called Forgotten Books (www.forgottenbooks.com). It's a compilation or old, classical volumes, from many different subjects, that have been digitized for a new millenium. (Personally, I think it's ironic that classic tomes, which have been in print for so long, should become electronic.) They are also available in print from the publisher, but the e-texts themselves are free.

For an activity, browse this collection and select a title, on any topic, that you think sounds interesting and start reading it online. After a week or so, see how reading a book-length work online appeals to you and blog about your feelings.

Blog #23

Yes, I know I haven't done 23 blogs, but I have reached the end of the 23 things project, so the title is symbolic of that.

I must say that this project has opened my eyes to the possibilties of the World Wide Web. There were many online apps that I had never even heard of before, like Rollyo and LibraryThing. And other I had heard of, but didn't really understand, like Flickr and RSS feeds. My favorites are the feeds and the generator programs (especially the ones at Seventh Sanctum). The number ways to utilize these apps may truly be endless and I will continue to explore them as time allows.

There is, however, at least one website that I plan never to use: Twitter. This just strikes me as the dumbest idea ever. Why would I want to know, or even care about, what a complete stranger is doing at any given time? For that matter, why would I want to let others what I am doing? I want to keep my private life private. That's partly why I've been resistant to the online world for a while, the more we let in the online community into our lives, the more of ourselves we give back.

I also feel that the sheer amount of information on the Internet is itself overwhelming. Being inundated by so much information can make it hard to know what to think about things or to determine which sources are the most reliable. I guess I just don't want to become one of those people that are plugged in 24/7 and don't take the time to do anything else.

But, as I've said before, if this is the direction our world is going in, there's no sense in crying about it. We can embrace the cyber age if we learn to use these tools wisely, and not let them use us!

Podcasts and Netlibrary

These are the two online apps that I've looked at today. I'm already familiar with podcasts, though I've never really taken the time to listen to one. I guess I've always though they were too time-consuming to bother with. But I subscribed to a podcast from Gateworld (www.gateworld.net), a website dedicated to one of my favorite TV shows, Stargate SG-1. It was a lively broadcast, and the speakers had many interesting things to say. I may listen to more of this podcast, and maybe others, though I don't know what other kinds to look for.

I also took the time to browse Netlibrary. This could be one of the largest online libraries in the world, with 200,000 items in its collection. It functions very much like a regular library catalog, but the difference is you can download items directly from it. It has a very comprehensive collection, from classics like Sherlock Holmes and Tom Sawyer to works of philosophy to modern fiction titles. An online library like this could very much compete with a physical library, which may be what ends up happening if these continue to catch on.

Youtube

I discovered Youtube a long time ago and I use it all the time to watch videos. You can find pretty much anything on Youtube, even entire television episodes, even though this is copyright infringement and Youtube tries to delete such videos whenever they pop up. My favorite show to watch on here is Whose Line is it Anyway? I keep a dozen episodes of it in a playlist, as well as other funny clips from there.

In addition, I have favorited a number of other clips that I thought were just plain cool. The latest one is titled "the Evolution of Dance", which you can see here:

Zoho and Lulu

I was surprised to find Zoho, a free online word processor. I had thought that such programs were only available as software. Just goes to show how much I don't yet know about the online world! But Zoho works just as well as Microsoft Word and other such programs. I tried it out by writing out a blurb from my favorite author.

I also discovered Lulu, an online self-publishing service. I had known about such sites before, but this was the first one I really looked at. It has a large of books that the authors published themselves as paperback using Lulu. It's an intrguing idea for an aspiring author like myself.

Wikis

I have used Wikipedia many times before, so I was familiar with wikis when I started this activity. It's because of the fact that anyone can edit the information in a wiki that the information in such sites is often called into question. Nonetheless, wiki have become a ubiquitous tool in the online community as a means of sharing information.

Libraries especially have embraced the conpcet of wikis, whether by creating one for their own library, using them to contribute useful information about librarianship, or creating a book review wiki for users. Wikis indeed have many potential uses, provided the information they hold comes from the right people.

Technorati and Library 2.0

Technorati (clever name, that) seems to work along the same lines as Del.ici.ous, in that it provides a directory of tags, only here they're for blogs specifically, instead of entire websites. My blog is not on there, as far as I can tell, and I don't really feel a need to add it.

Library 2.0 is largely becoming an institution unto itself. Given the continual march of technology in our society, this is hardly surprising. Online tools are continuously helping libraries enhance their services for users, even to the point of creating an entire virtual environment for the exchange of information and ideas.

While this may sound like a tempting prospect, I can't help but wonder if, as we become absorbed in the virtual world, that we end up losing touch with the actual world around us. I still find simple pleasure in the act opening a book. Digital archives offer an abundance of storage space and classification functions, but it still seems cold and impersonal compared to printed materials. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I will miss physical books if we end up going completely digital.

Del.ici.ous?

I hope I spelled that right. Yes, this is the newest web app I've sampled of late. It seems like a simple enough function, from what I've seen of. It's a little like a search engines, were the tags act as search terms. I haven't tried it yet myself, so I'm not sure how the actual tagging part works, but it shouldn't be that difficult, if the rest of the site is any indication.

Generators, Library Thing and Rollyo

The generators I have looked at seem designed for no purpose other than to spit out random responses when prompted. but that doesn't make them any less fun! The one I liked the most is called Seventh Sanctum (www.seventhsanctum.com), which gives out random items for science fiction and fantasy, under a variety of categories, like races, characters, magic, technology and many other things. Since I've been wanting to write science fiction and fantasy myself, this could be an invaluable tool.

Library Thing is an intriguing idea, to be able to connect with people through books. It's also a good source for keeping track of the books you've read or haven't read, for future reference.

Rollyo is also an interesting concept. To be able to put your favorite online resources together into one saves you the trouble of keeping them in your favorites. The searchroll that I put together is for science fiction and fantasy books, including Amazon.com and a couple of databases on the subject that I have come across. Not much, I know but it's the best I could do on short notice!

RSS feeds

My latest foray into the cyberworld is with RSS feeds. I registered with Bloglines.com and had it automatically subscribe me to various feeds based on my preferences. I now have about 25 different feeds about world news, movies, literature, libraries, even a few comic blogs. (This may be too many feeds to manage, perhaps I should par it down a bit.)

The more I explore this communication module, the more online features I find myself using that I never have used before. By the end of this class, I'll be as connected as everyone else in my generation!