Final Thoughts

Hmmm...

Through the 23 Things program I definitely discovered some sites, fun stuff, etc that I probably would not have found on my own. im cooked, the make your own cooking video site, was one of them. Actually, the whole web 2.0 awards page was a great find. I will definitely be referring to that in the future.

Wikis were my surprise discovery for the project. I have always liked Wikipedia and even before going to library school used it for what it was, a starting point to get familiar with a topic, but not the end all and be all source of information. The many, diverse and library related uses of wikis I found interesting and, surprisingly, very useful. I recently read an article on how the CIA is using wikis in very much the same way as the ALA. OK, so the CIA is using it to find out the latest chemicals used in roadside bombs while one ALA use is orienting people to the latest conference, but the point is the same-tapping into diverse knowledge and spreading it, quick! To have a question or want to share knowledge on a topic, create a wiki for it, then have others add to it to create a relevant, timely, practical solution, is probably an incredibly under appreciated feature of the web. At least I didn't know much about it.

Some of the 23 things I may never really get into. For instance, RSS feeds. I tend to like to bookmark pages I'm interested in and check on them when the urge strikes me. Other than the news headlines, that is, which come to me through my Yahoo email home page. I have to sift through so much stuff every day in my 3 email accounts (which to some probably isn't that many!) that I don't really want too much more coming at me.

I think one of the most important "things" to take away from this whole exercise is the first thing-the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners. I just went back and looked at them again and it's good stuff to keep in mind as we continue forward with our education and then our careers. I still think the 7 1/2th (pronunciation?) habit, play, shouldn't be a 1/2 habit though; being willing to play and explore has the potential to open minds and keep all those other "things" interesting. Besides, a librarian who is willing to play is a much cooler librarian!

I'm Cooked

So for this week's activity I looked at the video recipe sharing site, im cooked (yes, that's really how it's spelled). Seemed kind of interesting. I liked the ability to keyword search the recipes. I really liked the "Channels" tab at the top which broke down the videos into categories like Breads and Appetizers. Being a vegetarian and always curious for new and interesting recipes, I clicked on Veggies & Vegetarian. Unfortunately, there were quite a few there which featured seafood or other meat including *gasp* one for a burger made with actual ground burger! OK. So maybe some of you omnivores out there are groaning and saying, "Oh great, another hippie complaining about meat contamination." But for those of you with dietary restrictions, either self-imposed or not, you know that you really don't want to sift through a bunch of hits that don't apply. I think the site should separate the Veggies & Vegetarian channel into two different ones. Maybe it would only satisfy a few celery-munching vegetarians out there, but I think other users may appreciate it too.

As for the social aspects of the site, how much more personal can you get than filming yourself working away in your kitchen as you narrate? Well, other people could comment on and discuss it. im cooked has a few tabs for this, "Most Viewed", "Most Discussed" and "Top Favorites". Users can also tag recipes. I have to admit, the "Most Discussed" tab did have some gems like "Watch actor Christopher Walken roast a chicken". I never would have found that on my own!

This site was kind of entertaining to browse around in and I found some good recipes I'd like to try out, but as for library applications (hey, I had to fit it in there somewhere ;)) I can't really see it. There's the sound issue. This site is all about making you, the average cook in most cases, the star of your own cooking show. You want to be heard! Most of the videos were narrated or had music going on in the background or both so unless the patron had earphones or watched without the sound on it could be pretty disruptive to other patrons. It might be a fun link to add onto the library homepage or subject guide though.