#16 Geotagging

Flickr's geotagging was easy to use. I did tag my images, but really feel that only one of them needed to be tagged as to the location the picture was taken from. If I was into photography, then geotagging would be a huge help with categorizing collections. Geotagging has it's plus' and minus' so it's a 50/50 kinda thing for me.

#15 Podcasts

Since I like Garrison Keillor I chose MN Public Radio. I found a few songs that I listened to as well. I don't have an iPod so I can't really say anything about the uses or features of podcasts for them. I also don't use my cell phone for anything other than calls since it is a business phone paid for by my employer.

#14 Research Project Calculator

I personally like the U of M's assignment calculator and think it would be very useful to keep me on track for major projects and assignments that are due. Since I am a new student, I haven't had any real experience with "project deadlines" yet. But I'm sure that will change. This is a tool that can keep me focused and on track when it does.

#13 Online Productivity Tools

Since I already have a customized homepage at MSN I used that one. I have a different one for my office too. The calendars are great and I use them all the time for my group projects, business deadlines, meetings and financial deadlines. Ta-Da lists looks like it could have some benefits for me since I am always forgetting "things" on my shopping lists. Sure could save some time running back to the store again. Another thumbs up on this one.

#12 Tagging and Del.icio.us

I absolutely loved Del.icio.us As I mentioned before I belong to several online groups. We all share our "favorite" places, images, creations, etc. Emailing all these "favorites back and forth can get to be overwhelming at times and who has tons of time to weed through all these emails if you are not sure it is of any interest to you. This is something I am going to incorporate into my groups for sure. This will make working on academic projects so easy. I can easily save any sites I find while doing research that I can access anywhere. Big thumbs up on this thing.

#11 Online Creations

I used the Zoho slideshow creator. I created a slideshow of some of my recent digital desktop creations which can be considered both personal and professional, depending on how you look at it. Since I sell my screensaver creations I guess that's professional but it's a personal hobby for me that I love to do. Zoho was extremely easy to use. I was done is a matter of a few minutes.

I also have a slideshow on Flickr using the same images and one on MySpace that has personal pictures of my family and friends.

Zoho and Flickr are the most user friendly ones.

#10 - More Flickering Around

This was way too easy since I already create jigsaw puzzles from my computer graphics. They do have some pretty cool stuff at Big Huge Labs. I'm going to have to play around more on this site for sure.

Copyrights are always an issue when publishing on line. The majority of on line users will say, "if it's on-line, it's fair game." I always either watermark my images or add my signature to the image and I include a "terms of usage" agreement in the zip file when publishing my work on the internet.

#8 - Wiki's

Still waiting for permission from the administrator on this one, so will get back to you on this one later..

OK, I'm back. This took longer than I really anticipated it would, then I got busy too. I like to concept of The Wiki very much. I can see it having some many possibilities in my work place. I mostly work from home so communicating and collaborating with the office and our 16 retail locations can be time consuming and confusing when working on a project ideas or marketing strategies.

I personally don't see why sharing information by format or media should be an issue. The more options available, the better. Unless of course the source is unsafe to use. Many websites these days want the user to download toolbars, installation files, etc. that IMHO only bog my system down. I also have visited site that immediately without warning install damaging trojans, adware and spyware.

I chose to edit the Ultimate Dream Supply Kit , which was the only one available.

# 7 - Online Collaboration Tools

I checked out ZOHO Writer and was not comfortable installing anymore software on my computer like their toolbar and I'm certain my employer would not like to either. I tried to access Dropbox 2 times and both times I got a blank page, so I settled for good Ol' GoogleDocs. It worked, yeah!!!

I can think of several uses for this in my current position since I work from home and the transfer of data/reports is always a problem. I usually have to go into the office and upload them to the system there. Kind of defeats the work at home thing.

#6 - Digg, Reddit...et all

Ok, this is something I will definitely use. I publish a monthly online newsletter already and this MIXX is another avenue I can utilize for my content.

#5 - Beyond MyFaceSpace Booking

OK, I just don't get this one. I signed up for the Twitter account, but I really don't see any benefit for me, either personal or professional.

#4 - Social Media

I already had a MySpace account so I decided to try FaceBook since many of my web friends have asked me to.

I really do not care for FaceBook, just my opinion. I do have personal pictures on my MySpace page and use it more for personal than professional. I rarely have time to update my MySpace page and I have never thought about about using this avenue for a professional network so I will think more about it and I will definitely have to change the content to reflect a much more professional feel.

#3 - Online Communication

This was easy.. I already had my AI email set up as well as forwarded to another email client I have. The forwarding feature was a definite plus for me.

#2 - RSS Feeds

I've known about RSS Feeds but never thought of setting one up or utilizing the feature. I subscribed to a RSS Feed from a favorite place on the web I frequent called Giveaway Of The Day. They have Free software they giveaway every day. They are full versions and the only catch is you have to download and install before the time ends.

#9 - Photosharing with Flickr

I use my personal web site and MySpace for sharing photos, but I did create a Flickr account and uploaded a cool old family photo of a calf that belonged to my grandparents. The back of the photo in my grandmothers handwriting reads:
CALF WITH 7 ON FOREHEAD
1947
Born 7th day
7th month
7th calf born in the barn

So check out the link & photo

My 16 Things Journey Begins

Well I managed to get the first of 16 things completed. I have to say that I do belong to many on-line communities and/or groups already as well as I have my own website and I have never had a desire to blog. So this is all new to me but I will give this a shot, a shot in the dark is more like it .

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