The Google World!

I think Google is a very successful product. There seems to always be something new that Google can do - in our "quick and dirty" world it is a great fit. Calculator, postal code locator, conversions, spelling, in addition to narrowing down a good search through Scholar - it is working on becoming indispensable! I have a gmail account (the one that I use for the suspect sites and potential spam sources) and I use Google Maps, and Google Earth especially to check out places for holidays. We found we could see the hotel we were planning on staying at in Paris a few years ago. The street view feature is interesting for finding a potential address as well.

I like Google because it is a fast, easy way to navigate in this very big internet world. I recommend it to people for this exact reason. It is also a way to access all the products Google offers (kind of like a virtual big box store).

Facebook

I've had a Facebook account for about a year now. I started it as a way to keep in touch with my nieces and nephews who post holiday pictures and talk about what's happening in their lives here. The 18-30 yr olds use it a lot; I'd not be up on their lives at all without this. It reminds me of when e-mail started to become more common and it became an easy way I kept in touch with one of my brothers who travelled a lot with his work.

My page is not under my current surname because everyone with the name wants to be your friend and it gets annoying!

On the positive, I am finding it's a way for grassroots groups to get organized and distribute information quickly, though there is a lot of sifting one has to do to get to real information sometimes.

On the negative, it can be an incredible time waster!

Wikipedia

I've used Wikipedia to help customers when the topic they are asking about is too current to have information available in other sources. Pop singers is one that comes to mind. There is the necessary disclaimer about not knowing the source or accuracy, but often it gives a starting point for information that can be verified and references that are sources that can be cited.

I have been disappointed at times and surprised at other times. Recently I looked at CCSVI, a newly named diagnosis that is linked to MS. There is little in print (2 academic research papers). The internet is buzzing, news media are going nuts, patients and their families are clamoring for treatment, and the medical profession is saying, whoa! Misinformation abounds. But the article on Wikipedia is balanced, accurate as far as I know, and very well referenced.

I found one article with a spelling mistake that I fixed but I had to look hard for it!

Wow, I got a picture in here! Now the black makes sense. I have been away for a week and have gotten behind on my posts. Not for lack of trying though, I accessed my blog in Victoria but got carried away with Delicious and didn't get the post written.

I have not used Delicious very much, in part because trying to figure out tags, bundles and how it was sorting, with a customer waiting for me, was not very practical. Moving from folders to tags has been a mind leap for me but tags are popping up everywhere and I'm getting my head around this method of organization now.

I agree that the CPL tags and tag bundles have been well chosen as I think a potential problem with tags is overdoing it and getting bogged down with too many tags.

Under Maps, I found a Fodor's site where I got some ideas for the holiday we are planning this summer. I had not seen this site before. Under Magazines, there is a First Nations Periodicals Index, limited full text but might have been helpful to a customer I was helping a few weeks ago.

This practice has definitely helped me get more comfortable with CPL's best websites on Delicious.

Victoria fisherman's wharf