Task #5: Photo Sharing

What tags were assigned to the picture I selected?
There were no tags assigned to the picture. In fact most of the pictures I looked at did not have any tags. This led me to think that I must be looking in the wrong place for the tags. (I kept clicking on 'Tags' on the right side of the screen.) I eventually did an entirely different search and sure enough found other pictures that had numerous tags.

What did I think of Picasa?
This seems like it might be a useful tool for someone wanting to create a "digital photo album" that can be shared. I especially imagine that the editing tools could be very useful.

Will I continue to use this application?
This does not seem like something that I will spend much time on - in the immediate future anyways. I don't currently feel a need to share photo albums on-line, and, must confess to still having some reservations about what I really want to be accessible to anyone using the Internet.

I know it is stated that you can "choose to make your pictures public or private", but have a hard time believing there's not someone out there with the ability to access whatever they are determined to access. It's not that I feel I have anything to hide, rather that I don't like the idea of possibly not having full control over what my pictures (or anything else) might be used for.

Other Comments
1. I was rather surprised when I first signed up for my Picasa account that there were already pictures in my 'Album' . Upon inspection I discovered that these were all pictures that I had looked at (from my own computer) while I was choosing something to put on my blog. Even pictures that I had never added to my blog - ones I had merely enlarged to get a better look at while I was strolling through my pics - these were also in my Picasa Album!? I think this realization has added to my concerns about what I might inadvertantly make public domain.

2. I did not find the Search function in Picasa to be all that helpful. There are so many pictures that can come up with any basic search that 'flipping through them' is very time consuming. I tried using multiple search terms, quotations, etc. but still didn't find it as helpful as it might be with an advanced search function that would allow me to rule out things that I don't want. For example, I was looking for a picture of some bluejays - but wanted the birds not the baseball team.

3. I found it frustrating that once I clicked away from a picture I liked (or did another search) there was no easy way to re-visit the previous picture. Using the Help feature I learned that I could add a tag to a picture by "clicking on the 'add tag' icon on the right side of the page", but that option doesn't seem to be there. Help also referred to the ability to "star" photos and then call up your list of starred photos, as well as the use of a "Photo Tray located in the lower-left corner of Picasa" - I couldn't find either of these tools either. Obviously I am missing a step somewhere - but, these challenges have certainly affected my opinion about the usefullness of this website for me.

Task #4: Social Networks

What do I think of Facebook?
I think Facebook is a really neat tool/toy! The idea of being able to make easy contact with people we might not otherwise have much opportunity to connect with is obviously very popular. And I can see how even people who are in fairly regular contact (in the real world) can also appreciate the immediate opportunity to share such things as photos, updates and causes. Something that seems kind of strange/wierd/unneccessary is what looks to me like a perceived need to update your status about every little thing. (I'm referring to the frequent appearance of statements like 'is bored', 'has a wicked headache', etc.)

Do I have concerns about social networking?
I do have some concerns; especially as a mom. I know that kids especially can be rather free with their personal information, and I have reservations about who might find easy access to this info and what they might choose to do with it.

I guess my other big concern has to do with the incredibly social nature of Facebook. My concern is basically two-fold. One: That I may end up spending way too much time (and end up begrudging that time). Two: That I may never spend time on it and ultimately look like a snob.

Will I continue to use facebook after the Betty Blogger program?
That is a big question. (To snob or not to snob?)
The real answer is that now that I have been spotted on Facebook, my extended family will probably provide sufficient peer pressure for me to have to visit at least periodically.

More Tagging

I created the cartoons of Bill and I by using this free website:

Portrait Illustration Maker

It is a little limiting, but was rather fun just the same.

(I think I've just wasted an entire afternoon off playing with this blog)

Thanks to My Favourite Helper

Well, my Boyfriend/Best Friend/Husband/very patient tutor/fabulously intuitive computer guy helped me to see where I went wrong on my previous attempts to create links in my last posting.

Apparently, it helps if you have something to 'insert' your link into. See, my links actually were there - we just couldn't see them. What I did wrong was, after typing a title for each bookmark and bolding it to make it look pretty - I put my cursor on the next line in the text box (without pasting the url there or typing a title for it ) then copied the url into the 'link' box. So, when I went to view the post there was nothing for the program to display as the link. What I needed to do was choose how I wanted the link to appear, type or paste that info into the bog, highlight that text and then use the 'Create Link' option.

NOW I know!!

Thanks Billy!

Okay, I'm a little disappointed right now.

When I did the post about Tagging I had originally copied and pasted the urls right into the body of my message. Then I decided to get more daring, and, checking out the little icons at the top of the New Post box, discovered that I could (I guess that is "should have been able to") replace the typed urls by using the "Insert Link" option. So, I did that and trusted that the inserted links would be available in my post, BUT, they are clearly not there. I wonder, wonder why?

Task #3: Tagging

What websites did I bookmark?
Using Delicious.com I bookmarked three sites (so far?!):

Perpetual Preschool
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/topics.html

Preschool Rainbow
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org

Everything Preschool
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/index.htm

What tags did I add to these bookmarks?
I added the same three tags to each of these - Preschool, Storytime and Themes.


Will I continue to use Delicious?
This looks like something I might very well continue using.
I quite like the idea of being able to access the same list of bookmarks regardless of which computer I am using. I also like that I would have the option of making use of the "Popular Tags" search feature or simply pasting in the url of a site I have found separately.

Did I enjoy my YouTube experience?
Actually, while I think the whole thing is quite neat, I found it a little frustrating. I guess I am not a naturally patient person so I found the streaming frustrating as the clips would start and then stop - and therefore not hold my attention long enough for me to decide if they were useful. I admit I probably did way too much clicking while I should have been waiting. I also had a lot of problems with clips that had very low volume. (This complaint is not just my complaint but was cited in many of the comments posted about the clips I was looking at.)

Why do I think streaming has become so popular?
I think this is in part because the search feature is easy to use and similar clips are only a click away. These features make it a 'quick' resource (provided you are patient enough to wait for your chosen clip to load before you start checking the other options).

Will I continue to use YouTube?
I do - now - see this as something I will probably use. But, I will definitely plan to use it when I feel I have a large window of time to spare.

While sitting here trying to decide what I wanted to search for this task, I was distracted by a familiar throbbing ache in my ankle. I started doing a stretching exercise and suddenly remembered something a friend had told me. I had been whining that my doctor said I should go to physio for the Achilles Tendonitis in my ankle and my friend said that she had had good luck looking up specific exercises on the Internet.

So today, on what I thought was a longshot, I decided to see if YouTube might have anything that could help me to avoid having to report to a physio gym. Imagine my surprise when I discovered - not one or two but many - different video clips demonstrating exercises and massage techniques for Achilles Tendonitis!\

You can check out this simple exercise if you find yourself suffering from pain in the back of your ankle and up into your calf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_CO0pt5GIQ

Prior to today my knowledge of YouTube was limited to the fact that I know my kids like to look up clips from old tv shows, favourite songs and comedy acts. But I really had no idea just what a variety of things is available this way.

I am participating in the Betty Blogger Summer School because it's about time for me to learn about how I could be using the Internet more to my advantage.