Web 2.0

From the Web 2.0 Award nominees I chose care2 to explore.  I was very impressed with this site and the extensive amount of information I could get on a variety of topics.  I liked that it had different causes to learn about and that it provided links to other sites that led me to in-depth articles on the headlines addressed.  I expected that though from a site categorized under philanthropy.  What I was really impressed by and what drew me into the site were the other topics I could explore such as health, spirituality, food, nature, and so on.  I can learn more about causes affecting the world, get a recipe for dinner, and learn how to cure insomnia all in one politically correct site.  They even have a daily deal that you can subscribe too.  What is also noteworthy about this site is that they provides so much information in an organized, nonthreatening manner.  Due to the variety of topics, I did wonder at times if had wandered off of the  care2 site, but the layout was always the same and I would be reminded of the philanthropic core mission of the site when I would see headlines such as “Food Justice and the Occupy Movement” within the food section of the site.

Many of the Google tools I have been using, such as the chrome, blogger, Gmail, reader, and books.  I never took the time to investigate the other tools Google had to offer and was pleasantly surprised by how complex some of them seemed, for instance Code and SketchUp.  I did not download this but I did enjoy looking at the SketchUp gallery pictures.  Most of the tools that would be useful for me I have already been using, but I did find some new ones of interest.  Knol kept me occupied for awhile and it reminded me of Wikipedia with its extensive range of subjects and its ability to have members of the community modify pieces.  I liked that you could read multiple submissions by the same author and that if you searched for one category, subcategories were then easily identified.  Knol could be implemented in a library setting to create a sense of community and discussion on books, authors, and library events.  I find that I usually don’t know what’s going on in terms of pop culture, so I was happy to find Google trends.  This will allow me to stay abreast of current issues in an easy, painless manner.  Being continuously mindful of trends, similar to Google trends, would only benefit a librarian in choosing appropriate materials, especially ones such as music and DVD’s.