Some many options... so many I already know!

For this lesson, we are supposed to look at a site that made it on the Web 2.0 Award List. I looked at several of the categories and was suprised to see how many of the sites I already knew.



Under music, I have both Last.FM and Pandora, but I have never used MOG. I was a little unnerved when they said they allow a free 1-hour trial, but when I looked at the site, I couldn't find anything about cost after the trial.



Under Maps, I had worked with Google Maps and Google Earth pretty extensively, so I tried Live Search Maps (bing.com/maps). The "bird's eye view" is better quality than Google Map's satellite, but otherwise they are pretty equal.



The Social Networking Mainstays included Twitter and Facebook, which I am very comfortable with, but added which utilizes AOL account log-ins and which they state is more popular in Britian and the Australasian markets.



I looked at books, thinking it would be reviews and might include GoodReads and other similiar sites, but instead it included Lulu, which is more attuned to aspiring authors, Biblio.com where you can purchase out-of-print titles, and VuFind for libraries. While I'm sure these are great sites for people looking for those specific focus, none of them interested me as much as my GoodReads account, which connects me to my friends and reviews of what they are reading.



Finally, I ended up at Fun Stuff. It included Cocktail Builder, which several people have blogged about already. The site that I enjoyed the most was hairmixer, which allows you to take other people's hair styles and edit them on to your picture. Beware though, if the faces are not tilted the same way or if one picture is closer than the other, the effect is very disconcerting. I was able, after putting Marcia Cross' hair on Reese Witherspoon that it is a good thing Reese is blonde! This is a fun site and the option where you can upload a picture of yourself and try different hair colors was lots of fun!

There are so many new options out there and new way are spawned every day, so it is nice to have someone evaluating all the options that are out there. I may not always agree with their choices, but I would probably never see some of these sites if it weren't for the Web 2.0 Awards!

I like this... from Wine wOOt

http://woottwitterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wootcellars-teaser.png

Favorite books?

I had someone ask me the other day what my favorite book is. I thought for a while and then told them that the only way I can answer that, without going into an exhaustive list, is to tell you what my favorite book is at this moment. This is currently "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman. I finished it in less than a day and started recommending it to friends that I thought would enjoy it also. It may only remain my favorite for a week or a month, not because it will have lost any of its impact, but because I will continue reading and may find other books that stir me equally. That is why I finally put down an album. "Bat Out of Hell" by Meatloaf on the list of staff favorites. It has been my favorite through two records, two casette tapes, and into a CD, which has been played near to death. It is this kind of long-term approval that I don't often find with books. I can say that the "Dragonriders of Pern" series is among my favorite, but I did not like every one of the books equally. I can say that I enjoy what I have read of Jodi Picoult, except that I didn't enjoy the ending of her last book. I know that "Water for Elephants" continues to be one of my favorites and one that I recommend, but I hate to limit myself to stating it is "my favorite" as long as I continue to read and enjoy new titles and authors. What a conundrum. As long as I read, I will add to the long list of favorites and I wouldn't have it any other way!