Christchurch Arts Festival - Solid Energy Season of SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW

Christchurch Arts Festival - Solid Energy Season of SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW

Podcasts

Have had some fun today going back to my igoogle page and adding a link to business news. I can't see that I would actively follow podcasts (not really my system of information assimilation) other than for things like business news, but then I might surprise myself.

While there, I also added weather information for west eyreton - which incidentally I didn't think would have a weather reprot but it does. i got overly excited about that - for reasons I don't understand.

On the home front, Farmefella told me on the weekend that I must be on the mend from my bugs now - as I'm either coughing or talking. Mmmmmm.

Google Docs

Google Docs

Having set up a few new documents using Google docs, I'm a convert. I know that we have the benefit of shared drives to enable ease of collaboration on documents, but there is something nice about setting up collaborative documents on google docs. I liked the ease of doing this - and being able to work in a "free space"

If you haven't already experimented in google docs, then please go and play now.
http://docs.google.com/

NZ 2.0

Well, I've spent the last couple of days dipping in and out of a range of NZ resources. Here's some of my ruminations:

* With so many potential 2.0 features/tools you do need to be careful to choose the right medium for the message. I like the Poirirua idea of emrgency information blog - that idea of instantaneous updates - and isn't that what emergency information is all about?

* I've already commented on the "worthy' nature of much NZ government information on the web. Worthy is good. However, I guess the power of 2.0 in this information sphere is engagement and feedback. I think there are untapped opportunties here!

* For business sector (and indeed others as well) to thrive in this environment, I think the key is still "engaging content" first. 2.0 tools will not compensate or replace engaging content.

* On the theme of engaging content, the GLAM sector has an immediate advantage. We just need to keep tapping into the potential.

I need to steal two thoughts from Liz Lawley that summarize for me:
"the intial hook is not the value that you're providing the community - it's the value that you're providing to yourself"
"the value to the user grows as the community expands"
What does this mean for me in this context? If I have a need for the content and you deliver it in an engaging and accessible way then I will be there, and continue to be there. And as the dots are joined - more participation, more content, more engagement in building the content - I'll stay and bring others with me.

NZ Government Resources

Great to see some of the different NZ government websites, but have to say that it all feels very worthy and somewhat dull. After some of the very cool stuff I've looked at lately, I guess I'm looking for too much wow factor. And let's be reasonable, the quality fo the information is good and that is the critical factor.

Webquests

I think there are some useful applications for webquests - I can see me building some useful things - perhaps fun hunts involving database exploration... Lots of ideas.

Social networking tools

I've discovered as I've worked through this process that each social networking tool matches a particular audience, resource or situation - so it's just a case of blending the best of each one to suit your needs. I particularly liked Ning.

RSS feeds

There is plenty of scope when it comes to selecting content for feeds. For me, I think I found feeds most useful when I was trying to keep in touch for the latest developments and research - supporting engineering disciplines.

I like the ease with which you can add or discard feeds.

Needed to have another attempt at this today. All seems to be fine - creating wordle and publishing to my blog. Was completely stumped on one step - the most obvious but the most elusive. Anyway, all creativity is being used to manage the tasks - and none left for the blog writing this week!

igoogle page

Perhaps not the most creative of pages, but a lot of fun in the creation!

Ning

I like the Ning environment. More closely related to the blog environment which is a more natural fit for me. One of the things you notice when you experiment with different tools is that if you apply similar learning approaches to the new tool, you can make a good fist of the basics to get you going - without needing to worry too much . It's good to be reminded of this!

Using twitter

Having just gone back to twitter and tried with fresh eyes, I just can't seem to connect with this form of communication. I guess if I wanted to be in that space, texting is more immediate and gives me what I want. Mmmm - guess that means I like extended conversatiosn not brief ones! Thinking about how you might build that initial world of "twitterers" around you is an interesting journey - it feels very purposeful!

Wikis

I've had a lot of fun working through the wiki module - just a bit frustrated with some things that i couldn't quite get to work, hence my need to "experience" success by posting my wee slideshow onto the blog seeing as it won't cooperate within my wiki page :-(

Anyway, this Farmchick is now changing hats and heading back to the bush. Farmfella has gone domestic on me and cooked shortbread. Where did that come from I ask myself? Anyway, will eat plenty of it over the weekend I'm sure.