The Last Post

Well readers, this is it, time to say goodbye. Yes, the odyssey draws to a close, the 23 things are completed. Thank-you all, it has been a blast. I have had a great time exploring various web 2.0 technologies, some of which I was previously aware of but never used and some I'd never heard of. And of course as much as I have enjoyed exploring the 23 things I have loved inflicting my opinions, some serious and heartfelt and some considerably less so on an unsuspecting world. So thank-you Fiona for doing a superb job running the program (and Felicity for filling in) and for putting up with my ramblings and my excessive (and frequently inapppropriate) use of brackets. I am now looking forward to looking Beyond 2.0, although I hear it is on twitter, not blogger and looking back at the size of some of my posts I fear I may have difficulty keeping my prolixity (long-windedness) to a mere 160 characters. So once again thank-you and (sob) goodbye. AJ25 out.

#22 Ebooks & #23 Audiobooks

I have always been something of a traditionalist when it comes to books (or just overly sentimental). I have never before sampled an Ebook, I prefer to have a books weight in my hands (so I have always said), its smell and yellowing pages. Besides who wants to read off a screen anyway? I consider it a very impersonal way to read.
Audiobooks, on the other hand I have been more open to. Although not really a consumer of them I have long recognised their value for the visually impaired, the elderly and for listening to when your hands are unavailable - say, when driving. The only real drawback of them is if you do not like the voice or style of the narrator.
After exploring Ebooks in this activity, I somewhat to my surprise have been forced to acknowledge some advantages over traditional books. If downloaded to a mobile phone they are certainly lighter and easier to read on the train. Most of the books offered for free on-line are copyright expired and therefore old and difficult to find in printed form. For books consisting entirely of words they are fine, but far less suited to illustrated works such as childrens books or art (Monet on your mobile? I think not). Ebooks certainly take up less room on your shelves, but then again they don't look as good either. So, Ebooks aren't as bad as my prejudices would suggest. If I couldn't find a book in printed form, I would be grateful for the opportunity to read it in Ebook form. But I won't be rushing out to buy a kindle anytime soon.

#21 YouTube

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_ZUJiI1YU

The clip above made the news in Melbourne on at least one channel, and according to the comments posted on YouTube, also in Adelaide. Is it a sign of the popularity of YouTube? A sign of the trivialisation of the news and dumbing down of mainstream media? Further evidence of the bond between humanity and goatkind? Content with vision on a slow newsday? I would consider these questions and many more, if only I wasn't too busy looking up cricket highlights, card tricks and cycling crashes (and of course the incomparable Conan the Librarian).
Ah, YouTube, never was so much time wasted by so many, for the most part looking at so little. Even when visiting for legitimate work purposes it is almost impossible not to be sucked in by this terrifyingly powerful WMD (Website of Mass Distraction). And not just the videos are entertaining, the bizarre, out of context, ignorant and downright offensive comments posted about each video are a hoot too. The chaos of YouTube is one of its foremost charms. Aside from promoting inefficient work practises and popularity contests (videos can be rated and the number of viewings is prominently displayed) YouTube, believe it or not, can perform an educational function (it's true, I swear!). Similar to a podcast by posting videos of an eductional or tutorial nature on a dedicated channel YouTube can be used to act as a teaching aid world wide. But can that really compete with a waving goat? One more question to ponder I suppose . . .

#20 Podcasts

Ever really enjoyed a radio show but were never able to listen in because you were always working/out/sleeping in? Well fear no longer, as most radio stations from frivolous fm stations to serious ABC, now podcast segments of most programmes. They are a very useful tool for busy people, who may not always be available to listen to their favourite segments on the radio. And, when combined with RSS feeder technology, you don't even have to seek them out yourself, they come to you. Not that all podcasts have to originate from radio, many are entirely web-based and some include film as well as audio. The variety is endless, something for everyone and happily using a free (I love that word) podcast directory such as odeo.com, this variety is broken down by subject. Splendid.

#19 Rollyo

Rollyo is a site where users can create their own search engines from sites they know and trust. The purpose of this is I assume to cut out the time wasting which occurs on google and similiar search engines when thousands of results come up and one is left to wade through many irrelevent results before getting to what you are really after. Sounds good in theory. As it happens I have been looking to purchase some electrical goods lately - a new camera and maybe a DVD player as well, so I took the opportunity to create my own search engine "Buying Electrical?" using the sites of five of the local big retailers.
I invite you to peruse at the link below:
http://rollyo.com/aj25/buying_electrical/
The results, I have to say were mixed at best. The site is very slow and I encountered frequent error messages and had to retry many times. There is also no scope for refining search results, I typed in "lg DVD players" and somehow got over 1900 results! Perhaps Rollyo isn't ideal for this particular use, as by the time I created it I could have visited the sites individually and using the inbuilt search functions of each one got what I wanted more quickly. After all you have to know the sites already to put them in the search.

#18 Wikis

Happy new year to you all readers! After a hiatus over Christmas and New Year I am back to work again to bring you the thrilling conclusion to 23 things. Today's topic: Wikis, and more specifically Wikinorthia. Let me explain Wikinorthia. Wikinorthia is a co-operative project between Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries, Moreland City Libraries and Darebin Libraries to collect and record online a cultural and historical encyclopedia of the local region - Melbourne's northern suburbs, as told by the local people themselves. A great idea, the first of its kind in Australia. It contains all sorts of interesting vignettes of life in the area. I particularly enjoyed looking at the street names section, seeing the origins of some of the names and nostalgic recollections of some of my suburbs more rural past (before my time). I wished to add something about the origins of my street's name, but alas its origins and meaning remain lost in the murky mists of time, so I had to content myself with correcting some typos in another article. Wikinorthia is a great idea, to bring something local to the vastness of the world wide web, but I can't help but feel it could be marketed better. Wikinorthia is after all a somewhat opaque title which doesn't tell the casual observer much about its aims or content or even catch the eye, which is a pity. This project is a great way for local people and community groups to tell their stories and make them heard and this is the direction in which the promotion should move. Wikis are, after all perfectly suited to this purpose - a voice of the people. Local historical societies could also be tapped for information, content and photographs. I will follow progress of the project and await further devolpments with interest.

#17 Organise yourself with Delicious

Delicious, a social bookmarking sight is like many great things both simple and complex. At the simple level it is like Googledocs for "Favourites". This in itself is not to be underestimated as a feature. If you do not have access to your own PC, say if you are on holiday, Delicious can allow you to keep up with your favourite sites (if you are not RSS feeding them) without having to remember, write down or google the URLs. A time saver we can all agree.
As you dig deeper however, you find more. By tagging your favourites, you can see who else on delicious has also tagged that site and also what else they have tagged it as and what other sites they have tagged with the same words. This can lead to wonderful discoveries of similiar sites you may not have previously encountered but you wish you had, or if you are simply cruising the web to play six degrees of separation and see where the other tags take you.
Mmm, delicious.