Celebration Dinner

Last night, those of us based at the Lynnwood Library who have completed the Web 2.0 course met at the Maddox Grill to celebrate our new Badge of Honor. I think we would all agree that the most satisfying result of our joint effort has been the camaraderie. In addition, perhaps we all feel a little braver and a little less hesitant to step out of our comfort zones.

Final Day of Web 2.0

Chatting today with 2.0 pals - Linda L, Erin and I while at LYN; Suzanne and Linda HG from their homes. We attempted to do it on Meebo, which is great for one-on-one online instant messaging, but kind of difficult to do the group chat. At least, our Gang of 5 couldn't seem to do it. So HG lined us up through our gmail accts and, just at the end of our allotted hour, we were able to communicate a little. However, I had really wanted to stay on Meebo, because I'm nuts about their cute little emoticons, especially the ones that move. Also, I was hoping to start chatting with Erin sooner, so that we could all hear about her recent trip to New Orleans. Hopefully, we'll hear more at our scheduled 2.0 dinner! Thanks again to Rozella and Judy Sasges for giving us this great training opportunity. It's been a barrel of fun!!

Here is my beautiful son, Peter, in the Chuckanuts near Bellingham.

Yesterday, I played with Google Earth and, thanks to Joanne, Google Maps, which has the "street view" feature that I had been looking for. Still haven't figured out "geotagging". Apparently, one needs to create a Flickr acct to use this feature, something I haven't yet done.
I realize now that both the Google Earth and Google Maps sites are not in real time, which is a good thing unless one values "Big Brother". I tried to follow, in Google Earth, my daily walking path, but the current terrain is a little different than the one photographed. When I visited my house in Google Maps, my lawn looked very dead - must have been photographed in August! Then, I tried to visit my parents' last home in Napa on Google Earth, but because it was in a gated community, the photographer could only drive by the entrance. Wouldn't Thomas Edison be amazed at photography today, though?

In Our Mind's Eye?

I am trying to "collect" all these wonderful avatars in one place! Can't seem to get them labeled. So far, I have Linda L, Maria W, myself, Suzanne, Erin, and Linda HG.

Lesson 20 - Relax and Reflect

My favorite discovery through the Web 2.0 process has been all the entries and photos of friends and family on the Facebook site. I've also enjoyed accessing music on my computer through Pandora. The social book marking tool, Delicious, has been invaluable for accessing my most oft-used sites from other locations. It's been fun creating and adding to my very own blog, after many years of following that of my son's; also been fun commenting on co-workers' blogs and reading their comments in turn. I probably will not continue "blogging" after completing the Web 2.0 course, but who knows? The Online Applications and Tools lesson really opened my eyes to the whole "cloud" idea. I didn't realize it was possible to not have to rely on Microsoft office or other purchased software.



I have spent several hours at home on the Web 2.0 program, being fortunate to have my own up-to-date computer available. It has definitely been worthwhile; however, I do appreciate Sno-Isle offering us part-timers sub hours for the time we spend on the lessons on site after our regular shifts.



Participating in this course has definitely improved my confidence level in use of computers and given me some understanding of this new technological world, and a much greater appreciation for its advantages. A whole new vocabulary has been created by many of these "20 things" and if the program were revised today, I'm sure "tweeting and twittering" would be included!



If another discovery program is offered in the future, I would definitely consider participating.

Lesson 17 - Second Life

I gave Second Life a quick look, not wishing to create an account. It could be interesting for people who wish to try creating their own displays, whether it involve fashion, architecture, landscaping, gaming, etc. There have been instances in the news where adults got a little too absorbed in their "Second Life" and abandoned their homes for the virtual partner. That might be a danger for people who are easily influenced by external factors.