And another Thing

Thing 2 involves exploring RSS feeds, which of course is just another excuse for me to play with iGoogle. In this instance, it allows me to separate my feeds out into different tabs, which means I get a snapshot overview of what’s going on in a particular sphere of interest. Plus I get to have a different image and colourway for each tab, which is the fun bit.

Lottie over at Adventures of a Blogging Trainee Librarian comments that the tab function is “the perfect solution for people who like to compartmentalise their lives” – and I suspect I am that person. (Only now that I’m about to expose them to the indifferent gaze of the world do I realise how much time it’s possible to spend agonising over which photo theme best reflects each facet of my life.)

As well as the stuff on my home tab, I have three further tabs devoted to different kinds of RSS feed. Here’s the start of the ‘Libraries’ tab:

And here’s the more techie stuff that I like to drop into conversation occasionally so it sounds as though I understand it:

But the jewel in the crown is of course …

Currently rather sparse, I’m expecting the Cam23 page to fill out rapidly next week when other Thingers start blogging. I’m already really enjoying reading what people make of Things 1 and 2, and can’t wait to add some more feeds to this tab : )

Oh, and everyone should check out The Passion and the Fury posting about 23 Things and her coffee machine …

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23 Things are Go!

Cam23 is officially underway, and in my excitement I’m jumping the gun by blogging about Thing 1: iGoogle. I confess that I adore iGoogle. It panders to my childish side with entertaining widgets, to my visual appetite with colour and images, and to my inner control freak by allowing me to reorder my page elements with click-and-drag ease.

Here’s my home tab, which has RSS feeds that keep me up to date with UL and Cambridge University news. It also reminds me what month it is and lets me know what I should be wearing (assuming I remember to look at the Weather tab). For pure enjoyment there’s an XKCD feed and a nod towards my secret life as a penguin, which happens in the dark outside working hours …

I also have to confess that I love my iGoogle as it is, and so I’ve already deviated from Cam23 instructions by not adding the COPAC widget. In a hasty bid to regain the moral high ground I explored the ‘optional extra’ suggestion of looking at other start pages, and this has really piqued my interest in their potential for libraries. The Unquiet Library at Creekwater High School, which boasts a seriously trendsetting librarian, has a really appealing homepage hosted on Netvibes. It’s colourful, dynamic, and user-friendly, with information presented in clearly delineated chunks.

Closer to home, thanks to Darren Bevin for letting me know about the Lewy Library’s Philosophy@Cambridge page, also on Netvibes. It’s fantastic to see a range of citation tools being made available, and the ‘Journals – latest issues’ tab is droolworthy. Looking at this page makes me feel libraries are truly moving forward into the 21st century.