I’ve long been an admirer of TED talks. I mean, honestly, who can’t find a handful of talks that pertain to their interests and are fascinating through TED? The thought of downloading the application to watch them on my phone, though, hadn’t even crossed my mind. I think this was mostly due to the fact that I tend to be linked to various talks via my friends, and often open them on my computer after being routed there through fb.
For Thing 15, I made the transition and downloaded TED so I can browse it on my mobile device!
The TED app is polished, professional and easy to use. Which makes sense considering the scope of TED’s influence and resources. I like that the main page shows you a conglomeration of talks, but that you can also browse for discussions by topic. If you’re feeling like you want something to inspire a specific mood, you can go to the ‘surprise me’ tab and have TED generate a random talk based off of your emotional interests at that point in time.
It’s also nice that you can download and save talks that are of particular interest to you in your ‘my talks’ tab. This is a great way to bookmark something you may want to watch multiple times, break apart further, or share with someone at a later date.
All around, this is a solid app, a good addition to a mobile device and does exactly what you’d want it to do without confusing you with a ton of other tabs, workarounds or unrelated content. I’m looking forward to exploring a variety of topics and being able to listen to them while driving to work or on roadtrips.
For Thing 14, I downloaded Audiobooks and used the Downers Grove Library Genie to look up suggestions. I also used Google Play Books, which I didn't even realize was already downloaded to my phone. Convenient!
The Downers Grove Library Genie is a smart idea for a library to make as a public resource. It's a spin-off of the popular internet character Akinator Genie, who can famously guess any character you might be able to fathom from very basic questions. I enjoyed clicking through the questions and found the results to be fairly in-line with material I would have an interest in reading. My ultimate result was "The Dinosaur Lords" by Victor Milan, and as I love "Dinotopia" or pretty much anything Dinosaur related, I found the outcome to be pleasantly (and amusingly) intriguing.
I was excited to then carry over this recommendation to the Audiobooks app. Unfortunately, the Audiobooks app is sort of a letdown. The interface is horrible, pretty much basic web programming without any polish. Whenever I tried to search a title or author, I would simply be redirected to a blank page with the word 'search' at the top. After a few results of this variety, I realized that the database must not have those authors or titles, but since there was no 'search returned no results' message, I couldn't figure out initially if the app was simply broken, incredibly slow, or if there were (as I eventually deduced) no results.
After trying several different authors to no avail, I eventually simply clicked on the 'authors' menu and the application directed me to the authors in their database. Most of the books available are all classic titles or pretty old publications. For example, they have Karl Marx and Jane Austin, but not George R.R. Martin. All-in-all this application seems like a good, free resource if you want some limited options for audiobooks, but for anything current there isn't really a point. Ultimately, I ended up deleting the app and perusing Google Play Books, which also had free options available for download, but a much better interface and wider variety of available materials.
After experimenting with all of the applications, I wrote up some thoughts on each one. All around, I think I prefer Hoopla, but I’ll have to keep using them to see if my preference holds up over time.
Overdrive
Overdrive seems to have a great deal of redundant steps. For example, when I identified that I wanted to register, they had me look up and select my library. Then, after I’d clicked on the right one, I was redirected to a page where I was prompted to enter my library number and PIN. When I tried to enter the information, I got an error message saying my ‘Batavia’ login was incorrect. Confused, I went back to the last page and sure enough, even though I’d selected GPLD from the menu on the first page, the second login page had for some reason defaulted to Batavia as my library. So, I then had to search through another long list of libraries, re-select GPLD from a dropdown menu, and was then able to sign up. After this, I confirmed I was over 13 years old and entered my e-mail address.
This took me to a page with books I could check out, but then I got a message saying ‘to see more selections I would need to be logged in’. I thought I was logged in because I’d just registered and entered all of my login information. Annoyed, I went to the login page, re-identified that I was at GPLD and logged in. Then, in order to browse libraries open to me I had to (once again) look up GPLD to add it to ‘my libraries’, even though at this point I’d identified I was a Geneva patron at least 3 or 4 times. (Why the Overdrive app programmers didn’t program the app to identify the library you’ve logged in using and automatically add it to your list when you register is beyond me).
I browsed the selections and when I finally found one I was interested in, I hovered over it. I assumed that books on the first page would be available to check out, but apparently I had to place a hold on it. I clicked on the preview tab to get a feel for what reading through the application would be like and then went to place the hold...where I once again had to enter my e-mail information 2 times, even though Overdrive already has my e-mail saved in my account. It’s poor website design to not have a ‘send to my default e-mail address’ option, or to require you to re-identify information SO MANY times. However, I assume that once my book comes in, it will be fairly straightforward to read it. I put the Welcome to Night Vale book on hold. =)
Axis 360/E-read Illinois
The Axis 360 app is much more visually appealing than Overdrive. Ease of access is also noticeably better. All around the app seems very polished and browsing is enjoyable while you look for something to check out.
You still have the same restrictions concerning the library only having so many copies, though, which is kind of irritating. The Digital format is not the same as hard copy format, but it’s strange to have e-reading applications that treat them as if they are. When you know all the information for the book is just sitting, waiting to be accessed, it can be a bit obnoxious to have to wait through endless holds just to be granted permission to partake of the file. This is extra trying when you already have a limit of 5 books, but then also have a limit on copies that are available. Having both seems kind of unnecessarily restrictive. While it’s nice that they give you an estimated wait time, this can kind of feel like salt in the wound when you already know that a book is unavailable that you wanted and then you see it could take upwards of 77 days to get it. I do like that you can add books to your ‘wish list’ and view them later though.
Hoopla
Hoopla is easy to register for. The application automatically searches for libraries near your device’s location, which was convenient, since I was sitting right in ours! It also explains very nicely what parameters your library has for check-outs, ie: what materials are available to you and how many (10 items a month for us) before sending you to the main browsing area. Like Axis 360, the appearance of the application is polished and fairly user-friendly. I do like that Hoopla has so many types of media, all showcased on the front page. It’s also extremely straightforward to search for items, and I love that they have movies and graphic novels. I also like that Hoopla has a built in ‘back’ button at the top corner of the screen. Axis 360 relies on me using my phone’s back button, but it’s not as smooth as using one that’s a part of the application.
Thankfully, you don’t have any ‘limited copies’ problems on Hoopla, but you are only allowed 10 items for the entire month. Still, I almost prefer this limit to the ones where you have to wait ages to get a hold of a copy. I checked out “Rat Queens Vol. 1” because I’ve been wanting to read it for ages!
Zinio for Libraries
Zinio is kind of confusing. I think they wanted the service to sync with library websites so that patrons wouldn’t have to jump from site to site to get materials, but when all the other applications involve you downloading or going to another place to check out, it’s a bit jarring to be redirect by zinio to go to your library website, check out (?), and register your e-mail. Then you’re able to access the Zinio for Libraries app? I won’t lie. I’m not a big magazine reader, so I didn’t pursue this one very thoroughly when I realized I had to check something out in order to login to the app.
6 or 7 months ago, I purchased an AUX cable for my car and began using my phone to listen to music while I drove. Most of my friends had been doing so for ages and the switch was long overdue. At that time, I browsed most of these apps and ended up downloading Youtube, Spotify, and 8tracks.
Youtube and Spotify are great in that they allow you to compile playlists of nearly any song you’d like from a wide database. Spotify has a comprehensive list of popular music and you can look up playlists as well as create your own to share on your account. Youtube functions fairly similarly except that it’s primarily a video platform, so music almost always has a video accompanying it. This means that Youtube can sometimes take longer for songs to load and will cut in and out, freezing mid-song if you’re on the road or have a weak signal more frequently.
The downside for both applications is that they have regular ads. If you pay to upgrade to Spotify Premium, you can avoid ads however. Not all Youtube videos have ads, but many do at this point as video sponsors can pay to ‘monetize’ their videos, which essentially means that they put an ad or ads at the beginning of their video and if they get enough views, they’re paid for each person that watches beyond that point. Youtube will allow you to play whichever song or video you’d like in any order though, whereas basic Spotify won’t allow you to choose which song on a playlist you’d like to listen to.
8tracks is a website/application that allows you to listen to user-made playlists. These playlists are searchable by theme or topic, ie: ‘top 40, summer jams, roadtrip mix, a day in the museum’. Users can upload songs from their private library to a playlist, or search 8track’s public music database for songs other users have uploaded. 8track used to be my favorite music service, because it’s free and doesn’t have ads. I found a ton of new songs that I loved and some really great playlists.
Recently, though, the public database that you could use to put together playlists has been severely restricted, so you essentially have to purchase any songs you might not already own through iTunes and then upload them onto a playlist of your own making on 8tracks. This sort of destroys the purpose of 8tracks to some degree, because up until then I’d been using the site to put together lists of music I might not have access to otherwise so I and others could listen to them. At that point, I’d rather buy my iTunes tracks and put them on a playlist through iTunes, rather than have to go through the trouble of uploading them to 8tracks and publishing them (unless I specifically want the public to be able to access them for some reason).
Regardless, I still listen to a ton of my favorite playlists on 8tracks, but you can’t search for an individual songs or artists, so you have to find a playlist that may or may not have specific songs already on it. Like Spotify, you also can’t choose what track to listen to on a playlist. Unlike Spotify, you can only have 2 songs by the same artist on any given playlist. So, I find it more useful at this point to find other peoples’ playlists, rather than making my own on the site. Still, you can’t beat being ad-free!
I posted my edited photo to my blog and hopefully everyone can see and enjoy it. =) I took a quick pic of the library cats because they were looking very adorable.
I had completely forgotten that I’d already downloaded Instagram to my phone ages ago. It was very straightforward to snap a picture, edit it, and upload it via the app. The process is pretty similar to the app my phone came with for photo editing, but the benefit is that Instagram is made to be as quick, efficient, and shareable as possible. Within a few hours of making my account, a ton of my friends had all started friending me on Instagram, which is great for keeping in touch, but not great for how beholden I feel now to keep posting pictures of interest. *_* No pressure, right?
I had slightly more difficulty posting the image to Tumblr, but eventually I was able to get it to work. On the computer, Firefox kept putting the pop-up window under the paper airplane icon and any time I would navigate away from the page to look up a piece of information, or use Workflows, it would completely discard the post. Eventually I got annoyed and just posted the image so I could at least have that appear on the blog.
Anyway, this was a fun little way to enjoy and share our little Circ corner of the library! Gotta love the library cats. =)
And as Carla asked, I did get their permission to photograph them beforehand. Haha.
Like Thing 9, I already use Chat applications on my mobile device rather frequently. I have Hangouts, Fb Messenger, and Playstation Messages. I also use Skype, though mostly on my laptop. Chat applications are the applications I’ve found the most useful to stay in touch with everyone in my life. As a result, I didn’t send any questions to anyone, but I did use my chat applications to talk to several people around the time of this post!
I downloaded Hangouts to replace my phone’s default texting program at the same time I installed my Google user interface. Hangouts is clean in appearance and user-friendly, like most Google applications. The friends/contact list syncs with your phone contacts and you can edit contact info from the Hangouts chats as you have them. You can also easily do group texts and send any kind of photo or media along with them. Hangouts is great as well because all of your chat history is saved unless you choose to delete them. I prefer having a log of conversations I can easily access to reference something a friend and I discussed days or even months previously.
The one confusing thing about Hangouts for me was the constant notification when I would message a new contact that didn’t have hangouts. Initially, I thought that the ‘Steve doesn’t have Hangouts, invite him to join?” message meant that I couldn’t hold conversations with users who didn’t have Google Hangouts, and then was very perplexed when their chat would open regardless. I worried I had been sending them obnoxious ‘Megan has invited you to Hangouts’ messages every time I texted them. Thankfully, this was not the case, and you are easily able to message anyone and still receive the response regardless of whether or not they have Hangouts as their messenger service.
Fb messenger is the same in principle as the function was on the original Fb site. Unlike most messaging services, though, Fb messenger doesn’t simply notify the activity log of your phone to tell you about new messages, and instead creates a temporary, moveable icon that appears on your screen and stays there until you either drag it to the trash can or open the chat. This can be incredibly annoying. There may be a way to disable this feature, and I keep meaning to look into it. I’m not a huge fan of messages disrupting my mobile screen once I’ve acknowledged that they exist.
I use Playstation Messages because I am a huge nerd and love video games. The application goes hand in hand with the Playstation app, which syncs my PS Network account to my phone. I get messages from the people I play games with and can access my PS account to check out new sales, deals, or to even order a game to start downloading on my Playstation 4 while I’m out of the house. This is great, because the application allows me to keep the chatter from my friends on PSN separate from my personal messages.
Skype is a tool I use often as many of my friends ended up all over the US, or were from different locations around the US when we met (overseas-study). Skype can be a bit fussy about connectivity at times, and needs fairly strong internet connection from both parties to work well. You can also do straight phone conversations between users, but calls to a phone number, not a logged-in user account, costs money as do group video calls.
So, I suppose I enjoy my Chat applications all around then! I wouldn’t want to take on any more, though, because, as it is, sometimes I already feel hounded enough by the ones I have!
Social media is a mobile thing I know and use all the time! (It’s exciting to be able to type that after all of the new applications the recent tasks have involved).
Regardless, reflecting on the applications I use after exploring so many mobile things is an interesting experience. I liked GPLD on Facebook and Twitter for my assignment.
In my personal life, I use Facebook and Twitter the most, though I’ve also meddled in Linked In, Google+ and Goodreads.
Facebook is a tool I used much more frequently in Highschool and College as the possibilities for creating groups and sharing information makes coordinating friends or peers a much more efficient affair. Now that I’m out of college, Facebook is still a great way to provide connections to people be they family, friends, co-workers, or important people I’ve worked with/interacted with throughout my life. Though I don’t check the status of my account with the fervor I used to, it’s always good to be able to check in with people I may not speak to over the phone on a weekly basis. Overall, Facebook’s mobile application works smoothly, though to do in-depth editing of my account or a few other tasks, I sometimes I have to open FB in a browser to efficiently accomplish a task.
Twitter is a good way to keep up with people (or celebrities) in short bursts, or to get a quick laugh from that one friend who is always coming up with witty one liners. I know a few people who use Twitter a TON, and though I’ve never really been one of them, I’ve always kept the application on my phone and will sporadically pull up their feed to check out what they’re been seeing and doing lately. Since Twitter is such a straightforward and relatively simple idea, using the mobile application is much the same in practice.
Linked In is, in theory, a Facebook-esque social media platform for professionals that unites you with prospective employers. The idea of Linked In is to allow you to put up your resume and professional profile as well as keep track of professional connections. In practice, though, employers don’t seem to use this as much as a hiring tool as the website touts. I constructed a profile a couple years back and keep it active just to provide prospective employers another resource to look through if they search me via the web.
Goodreads is something I’m currently getting more involved in. A librarian friend of mine uses Goodreads like a religion, and signed me up for an account so she could share reads with me. I love the idea, because I always have a list of books a mile long and never seem to remember them when I want to, but Goodreads allows you to create a ‘to read’ list as well as recommending new books or allowing you/others to share recommendations. Awesome!
