Apps!

I guess you could say I was somewhat late in getting a Smartphone. My reasons pretty much consisted of: I don’t need one, they’re a ripoff, etc. I did the same thing with cell phones back in 2002. Of course, I’m now addicted to my Smartphone. Apps are a big reason for that (not to mention Reddit). I don’t use eBooks apps often because of how small my particular device is, but being familiar with OverDrive Media Console, this week’s things were fun to go through. I did, however, get into some trouble getting my device authorized with the Adobe ID. This might be due more to my not-so-new device than anything else.

I love that “Scan an ISBN” function in BiblioNB. I browse book stores a lot and this helps me avoid ridiculous and unnecessary purchases.

Scooping It

It’s done: I've joined Scoop.it! It was a fun process, although I found the interface a little more confusing than it needs to be. That being said, it at least got me to share some things that I find really neat. I get the feeling that I will eventually have to decide between Scoop.it and Pinterest for my own personal use, as I will not have time to sustain both accounts to a worthwhile level. As idea incubators and organizers, they are both solid tools. I guess it will simply come down to which one is more fun.

I am not sure which one I will go for just yet, but for now you can find me here: http://www.scoop.it/u/mathieulanteigne

Fiiiiinaly some juggling. Also: Librarianship.

When I started this blog, I really did have the intention of talking (at least a little bit) about juggling. Of course, I did not really follow through on this over the last few weeks. Thing #16, however, is providing me with an opportunity to at least feature some juggling on my blog! So here's a weird but pretty famous juggling video:

Now on to more serious things. While browsing for a professionnal development video, I came across this:




At first, I was a little worried. There are hundreds of "Libraries of the Future" videos out there, and they vary in terms of quality and of how realistic they are. Too often, they feature expensive equipment and installations that are only feasible in specific library systems like those found in Toronto, New York, Montreal, etc. What I like about this talk is that it shows that adapting to new technologies means different things in different contexts.   

Oh, Hello Pinterest.

So joining Pinterest turned out to be a lot of fun. I’ve been a long time lurker of the site, but had never really played with it. All in all a good experience, especially considering how user friendly it is. I even managed to whip up a board with vintage posters of movies I like: http://www.pinterest.com/mathieulanteign/

It’s not very long yet, but I’ll keep adding on to it as I find more. I also ended up finding a great Pinner by following links: http://www.pinterest.com/mediatheque54/ .This French audiovisual library has interesting lists and does a great job curating websites.  

I Love Memes.

Yeah, that title pretty much sums it up. I’ve been spending a lot of my free time on Reddit over the past few months and now my sense of humor is pretty much irreparably broken. Unless it’s picture with an appropriate, informally regulated caption, I’m not interested.

I’ve never made a meme before, however, so this week’s exercise was a fun experience. I had a hard time finding inspiration at first, so I decided to make one that is representative of how a few of my colleagues and I choose to live:

Talking about memes, I wonder if I could get a juggling themed one of some sort going. Maybe using the following public domain image? I'm opened to suggestions.

Also: I wrote something last week about being into specific periods/genres of literature, and that the internet might provide a good way to share and interact about these topics with other like-minded people. Keeping that in mind, here is a Word Cloud made with the first two paragraphs of À rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans:  

Reading as a social activity?!?

I may be a little young to start with the "Back in my day" speeches, but back in my day we read alone in well-lit corners and that was good enough. Now things are better, though. This is especially true if, like me, you are the only person your immediate social circle whose world centers around books. Finding other avid readers is not always easy, let alone some who are into the same weird period/genre/obscure authors as you. I do participate in a few book clubs at the Moncton Public Library, which is fun for discovering new authors and talking about them, but it would just be mean to force others to only read and talk about the kind of books I like.

Social reading might be a good solution for me, and I enjoyed the simplicity in commenting and following people on Vision. My discovery for the week, however, was Babelio. After playing around the site for a while, I found it very user friendly and the critiques are serious enough. I will probably be using it from now on.

You can find me on Vision and on Babelio under the user name MathieuLanteigne.

Overcoming Social Media Laziness

I really need to start thinking of Twitter as a professional tool. Don’t get me wrong, I do use the Moncton Public Library’s accounts (@MonctonLibrary and @BiblioMoncton) to promote some of our events, but my personal account is really focused on entertainment. The reason for this is probably laziness on my part. By that I mean that it is very easy to become a twitter follower; there is only a minimal, one-time effort required after which messages and funny observations will automatically find their way to you.

My account has been "active" since April 2012, but I don't feel I have much to show for it. This has nothing to do with Twitter itself, but more so with the way I have been using it.

Seeing everyone use Twitter this week (especially the #NB23 hashtag), for example, has made me realize how many of my own colleagues I do not interact with on this social network. The same goes for professional associations and former colleagues, as well as awesome libraries from the NBPLS and the rest of the country/world. A first step towards a more effective account would obviously be to replace Conan O'Brian with the CLA. Well, maybe not replace....but you get my drift.

Has anyone out there faced a similar problem with Twitter or social media in general? Tips are always appreciated.

 

You can find me on Twitter @MatLanteigne