#5 - Pink and Picture Perfect

Pink,
originally uploaded by 囧-WQ-囧.

I'm already a member of Flickr, but I haven't really explored all it has to offer. I was recently surprised to see that you can search by camera type to find photos taken by a particular model. Select any search option and the camera search will appear by the search box. I'm in the market for a new camera, so maybe that's why the feature jumped out at me this time. The beautiful photo attached to this post, entitled "Pink", was taken with a Canon point-and-shoot, rated highly by Consumer Reports. Pretty cool, huh? I wonder what other interesting features staff are discovering???

IM-mediacy Rocks!

As does the new Blogger enhancement, Google Gadgets. Blogger has integrated iGoogle Gadgets into all of their layouts to make it easy to add cool features that fit perfectly into your blog. Gadgets include everything from the standard image or photo to polls, slideshows, and even YouTube videos. I created an IM widget using the IM aggregator, Meebo, and used the new gadgets feature in Blogger to add it to this blog. (You may need to scroll a bit to see it.) The steps are simple: set up a Meebo account, click on the Meebo me widgets link, name your widget, and copy and paste the resulting code into your blog layout.

It really is that simple. Now, the question is, which gadget will you choose to trick out your blog? Let me know, as a comment for all to see, or IM me and we'll chat about it!

#3 - 7 1/2 Habits

I mentioned in my last post the easiest habit for me: #3 - View problems as challenges. It's that ol' positive attitude thing, which I'm pretty good at most of the time. Now, it's on to the hard stuff: #1 - Begin with the end in mind. I have a habit of diving into the process without thinking of what I ultimately want to accomplish. When I do that, I find it's easy to get derailed, sometimes to the point where I don't accomplish my goal. That's exactly what happened with me and blogging the first time I tried it. Having a goal from the outset is definitely key for me.

The Power of Second Chances

The last couple of days, as Learn & Play has kicked off, I’ve been hearing over and over that it’s “never too late" to be a lifelong learner. The interesting thing is that I decided on that name for my blog last week! Because of the tie-in, I just had to pick “viewing problems as challenges” as my easiest lifelong learning habit. It’s easy to find an excuse not to learn a new skill, but when we embrace “it’s never too late” or “it’s okay not to be perfect” or whatever, it’s just as easy to defuse the excuse.

I started to blog nearly a year ago, but just didn’t stick with it. Learn & Play is like a second chance for me to try again. If it’s not too late for me, it’s not too late or too [fill in the blank here] for you too.

So, I’m challenging all my manager colleagues and others who may feel like they just don’t have time to be curious… to explore… yes, I’ll say it, to play… to make that time. For the librarians among you, tap into your innate curiosity and discover what these new tools are all about. We’ll learn… and play… together. I’d love to hear about your experiences here, and I know I’ll need your help as well.

Check back often to find a tip, ask a question or answer one. Let’s get the discussion started!