Flickr exercise

Have just had a good look at Flickr, Can't believe there are so many photos of so many different things! Had a look at some Canadian shots and comments and also some of Milford Beach which didn't have as many comments attached. Got a bit confused when I searched Takapuna Library and quite a few photos of someone on a bunjee jump appeared but it must have been part of a set. I decided to use the site on Staffordshire terriers as my link. Beautiful shots of staffies - my favourites were the white staffies, which is what my late Poppy was. This is the link: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=staffordshire+terriers&m=text#page=0

Had never heard of Flickr or mashups before so it's a whole new world but really enjoyed the Flickr color pickr. Looked up flowers under different colours on the colour wheel and was amazed at the variety. I probably wouldn't use the comic strip on Bubblr but can see that some people would find it useful.

Really valued our digital camera when we went overseas last year. Took beautifully clear pictures, especially of the Rocky Mountains and great closeups of wildlife in the far distance (unfortunately no bears or cougers, just mountain sheep and goats). Also used the video option which really brought the atmosphere of the trip back when we played it on our 42" TV when we got home. Downloaded the photos on to our laptop as well so we can take this with us to show friends and family.

RSS fees

Have just added 6 feeds and found easiest way to do this was to search for the website on Google and follow the RSS feed instructions from there. Found it interesting that some well known publications, such as NZ Women's Weekly, did not have an RSS feed, but other established sites such as Newstalk ZB and NZ Herald easy to link. Love the Unshelved cartoons!

With a lot of help from Sarah I finally understand what an RSS feed is - a shortcut link to selected topics on favourite sites. The instruction videos unfortunately went right over my head and I usually have to do a new task over and over to master it (just like 5th form maths!) but I finally got there. Will find it a great time saver when searching for favourite topics and think it is a great way for libraries to keep uptodate with new developments.

Vancouver Island blog

Found a great blog on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, which we visited last year(islandrambles.blogspot.com). Lots of photos of places we really loved, like Cowichan Bay - gorgeous photos of this fishing village on the home page. Also photos and comments on Butchart Gardens. We went there in fall and it was beautiful but lovely to see photos of it in the spring, with descriptions of the bulbs and other spring flowers. Also seemed to be lots of advice on photos going back and forth.

Have finally discovered the mystery of blogging! Belonging to the over 40 generation means you can sometimes feel a bit left out of all the blogging and twittering that's constantly going on around you but the time must come to join the rest of the world's population in participating in the 'new technology'. Here's hoping the rest of the journey of discovery is as easy as these first few steps have been!