Twitter is for Twits

When Twitter first became popular I thought it was ridiculous and refused to participate. I mean, a whole site devoted to glorified Facebook status updates? Who really cares what I'm doing every second of the day other than obsessive creeps? I've always had the feeling that Twitter is almost like stalking and I find the whole process completely narcissitic and creepy. I will never get a Twitter account.

LibraryThing: It's no big thing.

I found LibraryThing extremely user-friendly, but a little boring. This site would be incredibly useful for people who are stuck on what to read next, but that is not a problem I suffer from. My problem is that there are too many books I want to read, so I don't think I'll be using this site very much for my own personal book choosing. However, many customers are looking for recommendations and I think this would be a good site to direct them too as it's much more user-friendly than NovelList. Overall, I think LibraryThing is useful, but it's definately not for me.

Google Calendar

I tried out Google Calendar and found it super-easy to use. I really liked the layout of the site, but I think it would be helpful to have the option of colour-coding events in terms of work, school, or fun so it would be easy to tell at a glance what something was for. It's a handy tool, but I think I'll stick to my paper day planner.

YouTube and Flickr

I absolutely love YouTube. I use it for listening to songs I don't have on my computer. I use it for catching up on some TV shows. I use it for learning new knitting stitches. I use it for pretty much everything.

This was my first time really exploring Flickr. It was super-easy to navigate and the interface was great; not too busy and well-organized. However, I probably won't use it in the future.

RSS: Really Simple or Simply Stupid?

I understand the convenience of RSS, but there is something much more enjoyable about seeing your favourite websites in their intended layout. I have a long established routine of checking my list of websites each Sunday morning and spending the early part of my day catching up with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. I think using RSS would disrupt this relaxing Sunday morning activity. Plus, the layout of Bloglines, though easy on the eyes, is kind of boring. Some people who are obsessed with efficiency would probably swear by RSS feeds, but I like to be thorough, which requires spending that little extra time.

Google Earth/Google Street

I absolutely love both Google Earth and Google Street. I have used Google Earth both as a time-waster and a tool for a geology course. As a course-tool, Google Earth was able to show me real-word examples of the theories and structures we were studying. The overlays and other tools which Google Earth has available make exploring the Earth easy to do. Upon revisting Google Earth, I discovered that they have integrated Google Street into Google Earth, which is supercool and handy; it's like having peanut-butter AND jam - they're good by themselves, but even better together. I also looked at the Sky, Moon, and Mars images. I was, however, kind of disappointed by the quality of the moon and Mars images, especially at the poles. This is probably due to the fewer number of satellites or something to that effect. Overall, Google gets an A in my books.

Facebook: waste of time or handy tool?

When Facebook first came out I was in high school. Since it was better than Nexopia, of course everyone had to get an account. Up until the last year or so, I wasted A LOT of time on Facebook doing pretty much nothing. Now, I really only use Facebook for keeping in touch with people who are living outside the city and planning events with my friends. The most useful feature Facebook offers is the event-planning tool. Due to everyone's busy schedule, it's handy to have a single place where everyone can go to learn about the latest excursion and RSVP. However, Facebook is mostly just a way to pass the time.