Week 3: Play Week- Online Image Generators and LibraryThing

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Online Image generators

Generators? No, I’m not talking about those gas powered back-up things. The generators I’m talking about are websites that allow you to easily manipulate images.

For this discovery exercise, we want you to have even more fun than you're already having! Find a few fun image or text generators to play around with and write a post in your blog about one of your favorites and the display the result. Often adding the image you mocked up to your blog is as simple as copying and pasting code that the page provides. If not, you may just need to right click on the image and then save it to your hard drive before using Blogger’s image button to add it to your post. If you’re having difficulty getting your image added to a post in your blog, ask a colleague for help.

Discovery Exercise:
1. Play around with some image generators and find one that you like.
2. Post the result of your discovery process in your blog.
Note: Be sure to include a link to the image generator itself, so other participants can discover it too. Take some time and have fun with this exercise. And remember to be tasteful too!
* Images created with FD Toys, Comic Strip Generator, Image Chef.

Discovery Resources:
.The Generator Blog FD Flickr Toys
.Also try searching for online generators, text generators or image generators such as Comic Strip Generator, Image Chef.

Check out LibraryThing

• Are you a booklover or cataloger at heart?
  Do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read?
  Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title (it’s so easy that you don’t even need to know MARC format) or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget to display titles that are in your catalog (see sidebar for sample), or install a LT Search box on your blog.
  
  Not just for personal collections, libraries have started using LibraryThing as well. “Small libraries are using LibraryThing to catalog their collections. Libraries are using the LibraryThing widget on their web pages to recomend books and list new titles.” (via http://wlaweb.blogspot.com/). Being a non-commercial site makes LibraryThing a good option for libraries. According to their website, LibraryThing "is exploring relationships with libraries, to offer non-commercially motivated recommendations and other social data."
  
  So why not join the ranks and create your own library online. With over 95,000 registered users (LibraryThing also has group forum for librarians) and 6.7 million books cataloged, you’re bound to discover something new.
  
  Discovery Exercise:
  1. Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
  2. Add a least 5 books to your library.
  3. Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog. How popular were your books? Did you find any discussions about your favorites?
  
  Discovery Resources:
  · About LibraryThing
  · Library Thing tour
  · LibraryThing blog (updates & news)
  · Thingology blog (“LibraryThing's ideas blog, on the philosophy and methods of tags, libraries and suchnot.”)
  How libraries are using LibraryThing
  
  Some Libraries using LibraryThing:
  Yarra Plenty Regional Library
  (enter a search term, choose an item and click on the detail button on the left hand side and then check out the LibraryThing tag cloud at the bottom of the page)
  
  Washington State Library (RSS feed also on their blog; Note - They chose to use Wordpress as their preferred blogging software).