Week 6 thing 12 You Tube and Google Reader

I searched for Michael Pollan using the search box in You Tube Edu. I found the broadcast I wanted but could not share it with the tools we have used so far on the Ox23 course but I could email the link if wanted.

I fed the Url into my Google reader and have now subscribed to videos related to Michael Pollan which I can sort newest to oldest or by magic ( which seems to be in order of popularity) as well as translate into my own language (American English into British English?).

I received various invitations to download Google Chrome.

For anyone who is interested in why it is a good thing Christ Church has cows on Magdalen Meadow, listen to Michael Pollan talking about the ecology of eating. He starts talking about grass 39 minutes into the talk.

I also added an article on the same subject to my Delicious account (Save the planet: Eat more beef, Time Jan 25 2010).

I've discovered I cannot copy and paste URLs directly into this blog but I can if I toggle the Compose and Edit Html tag http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFpjskn3_Pcif.


I can also embed the video by clicking on the link in you tube then pasting it in Edit Html and the box below appears.

Week 6 thing 11

Finding a podcast and adding a RSS feed to my Google account was straightforward. I chose the BBC podcast series "A history of the world in 100 objects" and from the University's faculty of English Language, a one off podcast , "Tolkin and Oxford".


I discovered the Microsoft feed tag which sits under My Favouites between favourites and history. Presumably it is to a specific computer so is a step backwards from cloud computing but it interested me as I hadn't previously take any notice of it so I must be learning something.

I also created a link from the BBC to Delicious which is where I would probably keep items for longer term reference.

week 5 thing 10 tags and the long tail

I like the idea of foksonomies and tags. I'm sure there are lots of new subjects that don't quite fit in with old taxonomies, and new ways of seeing the world that don't conform to the old hegemonies. Writers like Chris Anderson put this very well in his 2006 book "The Long Tail" where he describes online business phenomena like Amazon which show the effect of large numbers on small areas of interest.

Why not use the old (LOC, DCC) and new (Joe Blogs') along side each other for a while?

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Tagged: economics, information profession, library, long tail, marketing, skills

Week 5 thing 10 Delicious and bookmarks

I've just moved a bookmark from My Favourites to Delicious which means that I will begin to be able to keep a minimalist list of bookmarks on each computer where I work. Using the Share symbol was very easy, but there wasn't an option to share on every site I had bookmarked.

I'll also be able to access the sites from any computer I use, and, when I want to clear the information overload, I'll be able to sort and weed selectively rather than just chop whatever happens to be on a particular computer.

Week 5 thing 10 browsing other libraries' bookmarks

I enjoyed browsing through other library bookmarks and found interesting things to read, but not the time.

week 5 thing 10 Delicious v Google

This is a screenshot ofthe VHL Delicious site. A reader had phoned fo find out if we had a particular item but a quick search of the shelves showed that we had stopped subscribing the the physical copy in 1976. I was able to get an update on the current publications from the bookmark on ourDelicious site and to email the URL to the student.

The same search term in Google brought up the site in the first hit.

week 5 thing 9

Opening an account with Delicious was easy enough, as was adding a bookmark to the Oxford 23 things blogspot with the tag ox23.

I like the idea of all my bookmarks in one place and would find this tool useful as a student if a tutor was constantly recommending interesting sites outside the standard reading lists.

Being able to use my Yahoo login was conveniant. Delicious also used my personal details from my Yahoo account as the basis for my profile and so I restricted access to my site more than I would otherwise have done.

week 4 thing 8

The link from the 23 things blog brought me to a page which needed more elbow room to work and wanted permission to use temporary space on my desktop but the system refused. I wondered if it was because I was on a network computer. I opened another window in Firefox and this worked but left me little time for editing my image.

It was interesting to play withall the options in Piknik before saving and sharing. Next time I'll keep the original in Flickr and work from a copy.

thing 7

I've got a Yahoo ID, a Flickr account, and more names, passwords and favourite people to remember or forget. Uploading an image to an online sharing site seems straightforward enough so long as I remember if the original is on my desktop, in My Pictures or on a memory stick(if so, which one?). I uploaded a Screenshot from an earlier exercise for a trial run, and then, after a peek at the photos in the 23 things Oxford group where I was impressed by the skill and technical savvy,I was shamed into borrowing an image from the VHL blog archive (January 6 2010) to upload.

Thanks to Jane for her permission to use her image.

I am attracted to the concept of creative commons and attended the course at OUCS recently. I'm a natural magpie for beautiful things but am increasingly worrried about copyright (and self directed plagiarism on courses like Oxford 23 things).

My request to join Oxford 23 Things is still awaiting moderator attention - I'm hanging in there and grateful for the reassurance that Flickr knows I'm waiting.

Thing 6

I added 5 subscriptions. I was delighted to realise I could add my favouite blogs and so be updated from one place as well as complete the task.

I've also discovered the edit and draft tools in blogger which mean I don't have to live with my mistakes ad nauseum.

I'm really learning a lot from other people's comments on the tools we are using and am relieved when we share the same reservations.

Thing 5

I've added a subscription for 23 things to My Google reader and will choose some other feeds later.

I'm having to overcome all sorts of reticence about talking to strangers and don't want to get overwelmed by too many people talking to me at once.

Having said that I've really enjoyed the blogs I've read.