Thing 35

I was happy to learn about lib.rario.us (although it has one of those annoying names).  I like LibraryThing, but found it didn't work well for me in the non-book arena.  I got a Blackberry for Christmas, so the BooksinMyPhone site is one I will visit again.  I have visual bookshelf on my Facebook page, although I keep forgetting to post what I'm reading.  There are so many book group/book info/book idea sites out there.  I don't use them much unless I'm after something specific.  I was amused by the Book Stumpers site that charges $2 to post a vague memory of a book to see if somebody can identify it.  The librarians in my library system have a stellar record of identifying books from vague memories and they do it for free.  I also got a kick out of the BookCrossing site - I like the idea of releasing books into the wild.  I looked at "Books in the wild" info for Minnesota and I just have one question - what's up with Little Canada?

Thing 34

I think answer sites can be helpful if you have a simple,  straightforward, common question.  As soon as variables start to enter the question it gets harder to get a satisfactory answer from an answer site.  I thought the interviews about the future of the library were interesting.  I agree that convenience and participation are two of the most important concepts to incorporate into library services as we move forward.  I see a role for both online and in-person answer options.

Thing 33

Aside from suggesting these as potential online travel tools for patrons, I can't really see how I would use them in the library.  On the other hand, I enjoyed them for myself!  I have used tripadvisor in the past to find hotel reviews.  I like the travel blogs, especially the ones that incorporate lots of pictures since I'm traveling vicariously these days.  Interesting article about cell phone use on planes, and great map of wifi spots around the country.

Thing 32

I should start by saying that I love maps!  I use google maps all the time.  My daughter sometimes calls me when she's traveling without her computer to have me find shops and restaurants near her hotel or on her walking path.   I thought the mashup options were fun and interesting - I'd like to revisit them when I have more time.  I had never tried the my maps option.  I made a map of a part of Rockport Massachusetts than I'm particularly fond of.  I tried to get it to link to my blog but couldn't get the copied code to paste in.  I suspect there's a simple fix, but it will have to wait for another time.  I'm not sure how I'd use that function in real life anyway.  

Thing 31

Hmm. More Twitter. In spite of all the ways to tap into it, I can't quite work up a liking for Twitter. My guess is that I won't log in very often - maybe one of the options in this Thing will work for me. If I were still using Firefox I would add the extension. My phone is charging, but when it's done I think I'll try adding the app. I don't want to be hounded by updates though - it's a fine line.

Thing 30

I have used rss feeds on iGoogle through Google Reader for quite awhile. I have them organized into folders so news, humor, library stuff, 23 Things blogs, etc are all separated out. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't use feeds if they were all lumped together. I have a delicious account (thank god they got rid of those crazy periods) but I find I haven't used it much. I actually got sidetracked on this Thing setting up more widgets and feeds on Pageflakes. It was fun browsing the options - they reminded me of Firefox extensions, which I miss since I've been using Chrome. In any case, I added delicious to Pageflakes, so maybe I'll use it more.

Thing 29

I use iGoogle on a regular basis. I often use Google search (who doesn't?), including image search and book search. I used to use Google calendar and sync it with my Outlook calendar when I remembered, but often ended up with duplicate entries. Now that I have a Blackberry I keep my combined calendar on it instead of trying to remember to sync. I have used Google docs while working with a puzzle hunt team - it worked pretty well. I use Google maps when I want to find out how to get someplace. I have it loaded on my phone, which is handy. I love Google Earth and have used it for work projects as well as just for fun. I have Google news in my rss feeds. One of my favorite Google products is their new browser, Google Chrome. I used to use Firefox and was pretty pleased with it, but Chrome is definitely faster and doesn't seem to crash as much. It has some very handy features too. As I look over this post I realize I am something of a Google junkie...