This program has been a real eye-opener. Some of my friends had been talking about how wonderful sites like FaceBook and Blogs are. I had been trying to avoid it, as I know what I'm like when I find something new like this - I get obsessed and can't stop! As a librarian though, it really is my duty to familiarise myself with such sites. This task has allowed me to do that. It doesn't mean I have to use it all the time - but I have enjoyed finding updates on people I went to school with on FaceBook, for example. If I was overseas, these sites would be a godsend, as I'd be able to keep up with family at the click of a button. What really worries me though is people reducing their face-to-face contact with people in favour of cyber contact. I don't think I will be one of those people. And I often wondered where people find the time to continually update their blogs, MySpace pages, FaceBook pages, Bloglines? I can think of nothing worse than going online at home for a few hours after looking at the computer screen at work all day! And I HATE all that cyber-speak. You know all the abbreviations people use like LOL etc. Grrr! All in all though, the program gave me a wonderful experience. YouTube was a real favourite - you now have the opportunity to see footage that you never thought you'd see again.
It took quite a long time to complete this program. Fortunately I was able to find time at work, as my computer at home is a dinosaur and going online is a nightmare. One thing I found really frustrating was not being able to access and sign up to a lot of the services - this was because of firewalls here in the library. I am looking to update my home PC in the next few months, so I will be able to continue the learning!
Okay, I didn't realise I'd missed #7 so I thought I had better do it now. What I would have blogged about at the time is how frustrating technology can be. I know it's wonderful - we wouldn't be able to provide half of our library service if it wasn't for the computer system and some of the amazing digital technology we have recently acquired. However, I still like to write things down - I'm not fully trusting of the the technology we use daily yet. Last year, our computer system crashed, and we lost 3 days worth of work. Fortunately, I had written notes on all of the calls I had taken from borrowers, so although it was a pain to have to re-do my work, I at least knew what I had done. Perhaps I am being too critical - there are so many things that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for advances in technology. Even day-to-day things we take for granted, like the co-ordination of traffic lights, getting through the checkout quickly (okay, that's not always the case!) and email. What did we do at work before the Internet and email? Oh yeah, we would walk to a colleague's desk to tell them something. I kinda miss that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment