Randomness

So, I was going through my RSS feeds, and on a knitting blog someone mentions that they went to a random generator to pick their next color to add to an afghan they were working on.

Random generator? Ooooh, something new to look at! So I went to http://www.random.org/ . While not for the faint-hearted, it is definitely interesting! Coin-flipping without the bother of a coin, dice thrower, fractal generator - it's all there for the taking!

Take a look - add some randomness to your life!

Social Networking and Libraries

I am giving a presentation on social networking for libraries next week (right before my last e-rate workshop, actually). I am to focus on the positives, and make social networking a less-scary, more friendly atmosphere. This is a 2-3 hour presentation for folks on every level of technology knowledge - from the accomplished techno-librarian to the not-so-confident.

I know I will cover basics, like MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube (since I have accounts on all - and they seem to be the most scary to folks), along with just the basics, like "what is social networking" and "how can I make this useful for the library."

I want to keep this light, and not bog them down with a lot of jargon, so anyone have any suggestions on other sites (I am thinking about SecondLife - but I have a vertigo issue with 3-D renditions moving around)? I am considering wikis, rss feeds and blogs, but I am not sure that would not push them over the edge. I will probably also review TSLA Learning 2.0 and CMCPL learning 2.0 and 2.1 for ideas.

Looking forward to hearing comments and suggestions!

Pictures, Pictures everywhere!

Well, in my continual quest for new web gadgets in the 2.0 world, I have found picnik. Oh my. Available at http://www.picnik.com , it is a free photo tool that allows you to do all kinds of fun things with your digital photos. Crop, straighten, make them less dark, add text, there's a lot you can to do a simple photo.

Love it! Now let's see what they look like when they're developed.