Thursday, August 23, 2007

Quest 4...RSS feeds

This is what I've been looking forward to; learning about RSS & newsreaders. I started by viewing the discovery resources: Feed Me: A gentle introduction to Internet feeds and Using Bloglines Tutorial (how to keep up with dozens of blogs everyday) , and I found both very helpful. Then I created my bloglines account http://www.bloglines.com/public/librarygirlsckaty.

All I have to say is Wow! This thing is neat! It's kinda like a personal e-mail /favorites list all rolled into one. The best thing is you can access it from any computer easily. Another feature that I like is that it gives you a title and a blurb so you know whether or not your interested in that one or not and can move on through the others. I checked out the other feed search tools just so I could see their format differences and I think I'm more fond of the Feedster site. I think it's great you can do a search on a subject and it will keep track of ALL of them for you!

This is definitely something I will use. Once I started adding feeds it was hard to stop. By time I got to 22 is when I started playing with the Folders feature to organize them. Since I had so many feeds I would find things that I wanted to come back to later and that's when I started playing with the clipping feature. I've found Bloglines to be extremely user friendly. The hardest thing was getting my public bloglines URL!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Quest 3...Ongoing

Well, the article I chose has shed some light on the subject, and I have IMed a few times now. But I still don't think traditional IMing is practical for me, but ...

The article Instant Messaging Planet: FAQ's covered the general subjects of what IMing is as well as the difference between chat room and IMing. And that it is not only PC's to which people are flocking to so as to communicate with others but Cell Phones, PDA's, and other Internet application devices. When I was reading that section It finally clicked that it's all about communication and how you get the words out. Just because I don't sit at a computer sending messages through Yahoo! or MSN doesn't mean that I am out of the loop. I use my cell phone to text constantly through out the day. It's all in what is convenient for you.

As far as my opinion of the article itself, I did find the first few sections very helpful. As for the list of abrieviations, I found it fascinating. It's the beginning of another emerging language. Some abrieviations have been used for awhile when kids pass notes in school and others are relatively new. Either way it's all about communication.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

From Quest 2 on to Quest 3

Well I must admit Quest 2 to is going good. Now if only I were enjoying Quest 3 as much. I get the concept of IMing but I am too busy to be on the computer talking in real time. I'm on the go to much.

I'm beginning to see the differences in the different IM providers and the layouts. It seems Yahoo limits you to your own contacts list and from within those you can make your own chat rooms yet Meebo has various chat rooms you can join in if you don't have any of your friends online or if you just want to make new ones. And Myspace gives you a generic Myspace chat room.

Anyway, I have chosen to view the article Internet Planet Messaging FAQ: and hope that it will shed some light on the subject. Wish me luck!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Quest 1.....Maybe.

I think I've figured out the first quest, but I'm not sure. I have signed up for a yahoo e-mail beta account, and I viewed the "7 1/2 habits of highly effective learners", and am assuming that now I am to choose something to learn about over the next few weeks.

I've never been a very good Goal setter which is why I never make new years resolutions. I gave up my favorite soda for lent one year but that is the only time in current memory that I have kept a specific goal. And since setting a Goal is the first habit I must admit I am least looking forward to that. Habit 7 1/2 will be my favorite. Play! I'm sure that will be everyone's. In my opinion that is the best way to learn...when your not trying too!

Update (8/17/07): Ok, maybe I'm a moron but it just popped into my head that maybe...just maybe, this whole thing is the "new thing" I am to learn about. Tech Trek itself. And as far as goals, I think setting small ones would be best such as say....maybe...each Quest! Thank the lord it's Fri and the weekend is looming ever closer. I hope to come back Monday refreshed to start the RSS Feeds.

The Beginning

It's here! I'm still trying to disypher the whole thing but since it's self paced I'm sure I'll be ok. Well Quest 2 seems to be what I'm doing right now. Blogging....or rambling if I will. I'm not sure what Quest 1 is but I'll reread and find out. I must admit when I saw the list of participants I thought it would have been longer, 2 columns maybe. But there is still time for people to join this Odyssey.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Before there was the beginning...

Before my journey begins officially, I wanted to preview this whole blog thing. Don't get me wrong, I blog on myspace, but that is different. That is more of a brag spot where I post pictures of my son, talk about his sports and so forth. But isn't that the point of a blog anyway?

As stupid as this may sound, I am looking forward to this whole Tech Trek 2.0 thing. I enjoyed the speaker and would like to learn more. I guess we'll just have to wait and see where this whole thing leads us.

Too infinity and beyond!