CPL 2.0: Twitter

I remember when I first heard about Twitter. The idea that people posted updates about themselves, their lives and their thoughts in less than 140 characters seemed completely and totally ridiculous to me.

That was then.

Now, although I have three (3!) Twitter accounts of my own that lay unused, I have a few friends and others that I follow regularly on Twitter.

If I can't find very current information on websites or news pages, I search Twitter. It's often the first place that information is posted (and easily found) online. And although I haven't hopped on the "update my Twitter profile regularly" bandwagon, I love reading the updates of some of my good pals...especially those who can make me laugh (or cry) and think...all in 140 characters or less.

CPL 2.0: LibraryThing

I've had a LibraryThing account for a few years. I use it, forget about it, have had to have my password resent to me a few times, use it again.

When I first got the account, I loved the whole idea of having a place to keep track of the books I have read, the books I want to read, the books I want to re-read. I have endless lists...in books, on scraps of paper, in Word documents at home and at work...of books I come across and want to read. Like anything, it needs to be used (and used regularly) to be truly useful. I love checking out the LibraryThing profiles of friends...it's a favourite way to find new books to read.

More recently I've used GoodReads. I haven't yet figured out the major difference between the two, but I'm quite liking it. Perhaps I'll make more of an effort to make good use of it!

CPL 2.0: Online Productivity Tools

Google Calendar!

Okay I've had a google account for a long time. I've seen that calendar tab but have never really been interested enough to see how useful it could be. A colleague recently did a brief session on Google Calendar and I'm definitely going to look into whether or not I could use it to help keep track of my life.

The same colleague also covered Google Docs, which I've used frequently but only for Word type files. Spreadsheets and presentations? Interesting. I'll see if I can use those in the future.

I think that many people will turn to using "free" online productivity tools as opposed to purchased programs like Microsoft Office. This should mean that the software makers will improve their products so that they have more options and are more user-friendly than the online programs.

CPL 2.0: Flickr and YouTube

YouTube! I love YouTube. I discovered it soon after it had launched (I didn't realize it was so new at the time) because it was the place where people posted clips from a television show I obsessed over at the time. I soon checked it out as a place to find clips that range from acceptance speeches from awards ceremonies (Hugh Laurie pulling out names from his pocket on the Golden Globes) to portions of old (and previously impossible to find) television shows, commercials and music videos. I'm irritated and sad to see how often brief clips are taken down by copyright owners (large media corporations). I've come across many of my favourite ted.com clips through youtube links from friends.

I know many children who post videos to their own YouTube accounts...showing how user-friendly it is.

Several years ago I was an active poster and, in some cases, moderator, on several online forums. Posting photos on those forums meant finding a photo hosting website, such as Photobucket and Flickr. My first account was with Photobucket, I think. Since digital photography has taken over, most people I know use photo hosting sites or are at least comfortable using them. I have amateur photographer friends who have found a very supportive online photography community (as well as fans of their work) through this sorts of sites.

I can't imagine not having access to YouTube or photo hosting sites like Flickr. I guess that shows how useful I find them?