[OPLIN 4cast] 4Cast #100: The top social networking applications, learning sources, online tools & tech gadgets

[Bobbi Galvin]

*4Cast #100:
The top social networking applications, learning sources, online tools & 
tech gadgets
*April 30, 2008

This milestone edition will be packed full of numbers. Wait! We promise 
it won't be boring. The intent is to show that social networking isn't 
going away. (Read as, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.) It will also 
show you some useful learning sites, cool online tools, and some top 
tech gadgets that you simply must have.

1. While we hate to keep going on and on about the social networks...

    * Did you know that according to Wikipedia, MySpace gains 230,000
      new registrations per day? Time to give it a try? Go to MySpace
      <http://www.myspace.com>.
    * Five Best Instant Messengers
      <http://lifehacker.com/375391/five-best-instant-messengers>
      (Lifehacker)
    * Youth-Oriented Virtual Worlds now 100+ live online or developing
      <http://www.smartmobs.com/2008/04/22/youth-oriented-virtual-worlds-now-100-live-online-or-developing/>
      (Smart Mobs)
    * Total Twitter Messages = 3 million per day. How many of your users
      contribute to that number? End Of Speculation: The Real Twitter
      Usage Numbers
      <http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/29/end-of-speculation-the-real-twitter-usage-numbers/>(Tech
      Crunch)

2. You want answers?

    * Try ResourseShelf <http://www.resourceshelf.com/>, where many
      dedicated librarians and researchers share the results of their
      web searches. Type anything into their search box to retrieve
      FREE, reliable information.
    * A new unit of measure: "The wikipedia" = 100 million hours of
      thought
      <http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2037&blogId=6>
      (Granite Geek)
    * There are now more than 100 million active Websites. How can our
      users even begin to find usable, reliable content? Is Keyword
      Search About To Hit Its Breaking Point?
      <http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/25/is-keyword-search-about-to-hit-its-breaking-point/>
      (Tech Crunch)
    * FixYa <http://www.fixya.com/>, a user-generated Web site for
      product care support, is set to announce an effort that brings
      Best Buy customers and the Geek Squad together to swap real-world
      solutions to common technical problems. It's social networking
      meets tech support. It already has 30,000 contributors. Best Buy
      buys into tech support 2.0
      <http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9930776-2.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Webware>
      (Webware)

3. Online tools - are there ever enough?

    * 200+ Free Must-See WordPress Themes
      <http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2008/200-free-must-see-wordpress-themes/>
      (iLibrarian)
    * Membership is free for a library of up to 200 books on
      LibraryThing <http://www.librarything.com/>.
    * Browse and share your digital photos in 3D Stacks with PicMe
      <http://lifehacker.com/361006/browse-your-digital-photos-in-3d-stacks-with-picme>.
      The first 200 are free. (LifeHacker)
    * Of the 300 finalists, only the best could be named "The 100 Top
      Web Apps for 2008"
      <http://www.webware.com/html/ww/100/2008/winners.html>. (Webware)

4. And now, the cool tech gadgets.

    * 25 low-cost ultraportables
      <http://www.liliputing.com/2008/04/over-past-six-months-or-so-asus-everex_24.html>
      (Liliputing)
    * The Top 10 weirdest keyboards ever
      <http://gadgets.fosfor.se/the-top-10-weirdest-keyboards-ever/>
      (Fosfor Gadgets)
    * Top 9 Tech Gadgets For Increasing Productivity
      <http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/smallofficehomeoffice/tp/topgadgets.htm>
      (About.com)
    * Why your car is cooler than your PC - Top 10 Hi-Tech Devices in
      your car to expect <http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=3418>
      (World Auto News)

The /*OPLIN 4cast*/ is a weekly compilation of recent headlines, topics, 
and trends that could impact public libraries. You can subscribe to it 
in a variety of ways, such as:

    * *RSS feed*. You can receive the /OPLIN 4cast/ via RSS feed by
      subscribing to the following URL:
      http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2.
    * *Live Bookmark*. If you're using the Firefox
      <http://www.mozilla.com/> web browser, you can go to the /4cast/
      website (http://www.oplin.org/4cast/) and click on the orange
      "radio wave" icon on the right side of the address bar. In
      Internet Explorer 7 <http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/>, click
      on the same icon to view or subscribe to the /4cast/ RSS feed.
    * *E-mail*. You can have the /OPLIN 4cast/ delivered via e-mail
      (a'la OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to the /4cast/
      mailing list at http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast.

-- 
Bobbi Galvin
OPLIN Customer Service & Support
galvinbo at oplin.org
P: 614.728.5252 | F: 614.728.5256
2323 W. 5th Avenue | Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio 43204

www.oplin.org
_______________________________________________
OPLIN4cast mailing list
OPLIN4cast at oplin.org <mailto:OPLIN4cast at oplin.org>
http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplin4cast

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20080430/40944f34/attachment.html