License 2 Test Drive Part B #1 Online applications and tools

I tried accessing Google Docs initially through Internet Explorer but it just wouldn't work. However, once I tried through Firefox it went really smoothly. I found it quite intuitive and easy to use.

I uploaded a Word document to share with selected family members and then worked collaboratively with a colleague editing a genealogy template she was creating. I then created a Word document entitled 'Aspects of Jackie Howe's family history' and shared it with L2TD@slq.qld.gov.au and a library colleague.

I had a quick look at Zoho which looks equally easy to use but I didn't actually upload or create any documents.

I recently created a Powerpoint presentation on Jackie Howe's family history and was asked to provide an electronic copy of it to Howe family descendants. Google Docs provides me with a perfect vehicle for doing so without the hassle of worrying about how to successfully email a file of this size. I also successfully uploaded the presentation to Slideshare but overall the easy navigation of the Google Docs site won out.

Best points:

• Having a document or presentation stored in a single location accessible from any Internet connected computer - no more having to save to a USB to take a document home to work on, then having to do the same to bring to the library because the file is too large to email. Fabulous!


• Different colours to distinguish between each contributor's work on a document


• Being able to collaborate on editing a document in real time without having to be in the same location as one's co-editor/s

Test Drive 2.0 #6 Folksonomies

I followed the links on the NLA's cloud on Del.ici.us for family history and found it quite useful at a very basic level. However, there were an awful lot of links to follow to get to the basic 'building blocks' of genealogy such as indexes to births, deaths and marriages.

Tags are interesting. However, to adequately categorize a multitude of websites they are quite crude. With no common thesaurus of terms to use in tagging it is easy to see how you can miss many items that might be in your area of interest. The alternative is that it is easy to be overwhelmed by too many 'hits' because of the generalized terms used for tags.

LibraryThing is great fun and obviously has great application for book clubs or any group with shared reading interests. However, it is not particularly intuitive to use and I totally failed to be able to add My LibraryThing to my blog (it didn't help that my 'add a gadget' option disappeared from my blog settings and I couldn't work out how to get it back.)
Shelfari was a much easier option both to navigate around and to add to my blog.

Test Drive 2.0 #5 RSS feeds

I added RSS feeds for ABC and CNN news, the National Archives (U.K.) and National Archives of Australia very easily but I was disappointed not to find an RSS symbol anywhere on the websites for the Metropolitan Opera in Australia (personal interest) or for many of the sites that I would like to be kept updated on professionally such as PRO Victoria.
Despite this there are so many interesting websites with RSS feeds that the problem is knowing where to stop! Selectively applied RSS feeds can be great for keeping up to date with the latest developments in libraries and any special fields of interest - a significant substitute for the word-of mouth communication on updates to electronic resources that we have often had to rely on in the past.

Test Drive 2.0 #4 Social networking

I have a facebook account and have added photos with tags. It seems a great way to keep in touch with or resume contact with family and friends from across the globe (and through the mists of time..)
I also signed up for Twitter which looks interesting but needs further investigation and exploration.
I wasn't too impressed with the library facebook accounts I viewed - perhaps I was looking at the wrong ones but it is clear that if a library does have a facebook account it needs someone to take responsibility for keeping it fresh and up to date.
National Archives of Australia have a facebook account and seem to use it to deal with reference enquiries providing another useful access point for enquirers

Test Drive #3 Wikis

Wikis are a logical extension of email services and their potential is enormous for any shared activity. I created my own wiki using Paint and successfully added links to it but I am unsure how much, if at all, I shall use it after these Web 2.0exercises. I also edited one wiki.
I was distinctly underwhelmed by most of the wikis that I checked out:
The currency of posts left a lot to be desired on the New South Wales Marketing wiki. It's an eye-catchingly set up wiki but the posts are so old they aren't going to be of interest to most people
The Mint Museum was impressive but I couldn't see any options to edit the content so - understandably- it must be restricted to staff at the Museum.I could see no advantage in its being a wiki - it looks just like a website
The Likwiki is set out like Wikipedia. It is uninspiring to look at and its content is fairly pedestrian too.
A successful wiki needs to be attractively set up and generate enough interest in its content to inspire people to contribute regularly and keep the posts up to date and relevant.

Test Drive 2 #2 Photosharing

Holstentor at night (Lubeck). Original photo by Flavouz http://www.flickr.com/photos/flavouz/

I uploaded 3 personal photos to Flickr - my dog, my daughter's horse and an old painting I happen to be proud of - but I restricted access to family and friends because they aren't great photos.
It was quite easy to upload the photos but seemed to take forever.
Things I noted during the exercise:

the option of saving old family photos online is a real asset for family historians. How often have I heard people bemoan the fact that old family photos have been accidentally thrown out when someone died. No dust, no boxes, no fading or yellowing and freely available to all the family or the world as you choose.

Flickr and similar sites are just amazing resources for finding some truly superb images to brighten up emails, blog postings, etc.

thanks to the generosity of the image owners Creative Commons goes a long way to overcoming some of the problems associated with Copyright for those of us who don't want to use the images for commercial purposes

Flickr makes provision for people to restrict the use of images of them for commercial or unapproved purposes However, I still think that there is huge potential for invasion of privacy. If you don't actually own the image/s you could be featured on the Internet without even being aware of the fact.

Lifelong learning

The concept of lifelong learning isn't anything new. My grandfather - a wise and quite amazing man - told me "knowledge is no load to carry" and I have always loved learning new things. In the Web 2.0 environment it takes on a new meaning. Technology is changing so rapidly that what we learn one month is almost out of date by the next, The changes we have seen in the last five years alone have been staggering and I am not sure anyone I know could predict what technology will allow us to do five years from now. If we are not going to be left behind we do need to make a commitment to ongoing learning and experimentation. However, I do have concerns about the amount of time it all takes. Registering for a gmail account is a good example. It took me forever to read through all the terms of service, etc. (am I just a very slow reader or does no-one really read these?) and while there is some great content on the Internet there's also a lot of superficial trivia. I am hoping that Test Drive #2 will give me enough exposure to the different 'tools' the Internet provides so I can make informed choices about those that may be most useful to me both professionally and personally.