Book Trailer!

I really enjoyed making this. If I hadn't fallen asleep on accident, I would have had more time to spend on it! It's not to the caliber that I wanted it to be, but it'll do, I suppose. It really is an excellent book; I highly recommend it!

And I PROMISE that I posted this before midnight. Just in case it says differently. :)

Podcasting

I don't usually listen to podcasts, only because I'm pretty ignorant on the subject. I know iTunes has free ones on thousands of topics, but I haven't explored them much. I have listened to a podcast discussing the novel Mockingjay, though, and I found it to be very interesting. I'm a big fan of audiobooks, so podcasts seem to me like a great resource.

WebJunction

I had previously not heard about WJ. I'd like to explore the courses about Office 2010; I know a lot about most of the programs on the list, but not about SharePoint and Project, so I could learn a lot from it.
I'd also love to learn about Photoshop; I've used it in the past, but I'm far from proficient with it, and to be honest, I'd love to be able to just play around with it. I could use it for professional projects, as well, but my main motivation would just be to be able to play with it. :)
The third course I'd like to explore would be Reference and Information Services. Since I'm a shelver and am in close proximity to the goings-on of the circ desk, I know how all that works, but I'm still pretty ignorant about the whole reference side. I like to learn everything I can, so I think it'd be pretty cool.

Screencasting

I think screencasting is fantastic. We used it all the time in my first-year engineering courses for tutorials and things. A great advantage is that it shows exactly what the graphical interface of the program looks like, which is great for showing how to find pesky, hidden features.
Some screencasts, however, need to be improved by updating them when the software version of the program updates. A lot of screencasts using older Internet Explorer versions (why anyone would use IE over Chrome is beyond me, but let's not go into that) are no longer valid because the interface has changed so much.

Skype

I've had Skype for a while and use it basically daily. It's got the option of instant messaging as well as video calling, so I use it to talk to my contacts and/or leave them a "message" to find later.
I think it's a great way to communicate, but it, again, has its place. I prefer to use it when I have something important to discuss with someone and can't meet in person. Other than that, I don't really have a use for it over, say, texting or instant messaging. I'm not really fond of speaking aloud (yes, I know, I'm weird), so I prefer texting unless I have something to say that may be understood or misconstrued.

Instant Messaging

I've used IM for years; it's how I learned to type so fast. It was my prime form of communication before my mom splurged and got me texting (haha).
I think it can be really useful in the workplace, especially for communication within and between departments. For example, if a patron comes to the reference desk and asks for help finding children's books, they obviously send the patron to the youth room. In this case, a short message can be shot to the youth room desk, giving them a heads up to catch the patron as they walk in the door and help them with what they're looking for.
The only concern I have about IMing is the same concern that I have with any textual form of communication: that tone and insinuations cannot be accurately portrayed, which could cause misunderstandings. Other than that, though, I think it's a perfect way to communicate with people that one knows well.

Wikis

I think that wikis can be useful, but they definitely have their place. The shelf-reading wiki, for example, is extremely nice to have and use.
I especially like the feature that shows what pages have been edited recently, so if it was a community page among many people, they could all track the progress of the editing process.
However, the fact that anyone is able to edit any information is potentially problematic. For example, if someone in the 4-H Horse and Pony club created an informational wiki about caring for horses while at the county fair, anyone could edit any of the information. This could be dangerous, since particular care needs to be taken when it comes to a horse's health and safety; any small error could result in catastrophe.

Google Calendars

I can see how Calendars could prove useful in the workplace, since separate calendars can be created for each department, but I personally don't see myself using it. I have calendars on both my phone and my iPod, so I mainly use those and set reminders there. If I didn't have an iPod or smart phone, though, I would definitely use it.