Instagram
I love Instragram, though I use it less now than I did before. It is great for uploading low quality photos and making them look slightly better than they would be normally. One thing to note is that for instagram the best way to take a photo is vertically, since the photos come out in a square shape the taking it horizontally usually cuts off important parts of the picture. Professionally, I think Instagram would be great for sharing clues for events, sharing pictures of a program while it's going on, etc. I believe it would be very useful for connecting with young adults and customers in their 20s since they seem to use instagram the most. Personally, Instagram is a great way for me to keep up with where my friends are eating, seeing the world through their eyes (albeit through a filter) but sometimes it does get a bit overwhelming as sometimes there are way too many photos to keep up with. I think it is a great way to connect with people and even celebrities since many stars have Instagram accounts that give their fans a snippet of their lives.
Snapchat
Snapchat was... interesting. Sometimes you'd see too much at a time, and sometimes too little. I like how it is a fleeting image that you can't bring up again unless you save it, but then the person who took the photo is notified you've saved it... so...
I found the quality of photos to be very low and the amount of editing options also slim. I don't really see any use of this photo sharing app professionally because the photos taken cannot be viewed multiple times. Personally, I would use this app sparingly because it also depends on how many friends use it as well -- and apparently not a lot of my friends use it. #sadface
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Thing 13: Skype and Google Hangouts
Skype
Skype is great for video or just normal conference calls. Personally I think it is great for calling friends while playing games, bookclub discussions, or writing group discussions. Professionally, I think it would be very useful to use both video or screen sharing capabilities to share documents immediately or share programs that another library might not have. Although creating a group video call on the mobile isn't possible, I found that being invited to one if the host of the call was on a PC would work. Unfortunately, I felt that Skype hogged a lot of resources on my phone and would run in the background even after I had exited it.
Hangouts
Very similar to Skype but I think much cleaner in layout and runs faster on the mobile app. I think the file sharing feature is awesome and it also supports video pretty well. I was able to join a group video call by clicking the link shared with me. The setup for this is easy since it doesn't require you to sign up for a new account if you already have a Google+ username. Professionally, I think an app such as Skype would be better since it does have screen sharing capabilities, but Hangouts has document sharing which is unique as well. Personally, I think Hangouts is a more efficient and less resource hogging method of communicating for virtual meetings and video calls.
Skype is great for video or just normal conference calls. Personally I think it is great for calling friends while playing games, bookclub discussions, or writing group discussions. Professionally, I think it would be very useful to use both video or screen sharing capabilities to share documents immediately or share programs that another library might not have. Although creating a group video call on the mobile isn't possible, I found that being invited to one if the host of the call was on a PC would work. Unfortunately, I felt that Skype hogged a lot of resources on my phone and would run in the background even after I had exited it.
Hangouts
Very similar to Skype but I think much cleaner in layout and runs faster on the mobile app. I think the file sharing feature is awesome and it also supports video pretty well. I was able to join a group video call by clicking the link shared with me. The setup for this is easy since it doesn't require you to sign up for a new account if you already have a Google+ username. Professionally, I think an app such as Skype would be better since it does have screen sharing capabilities, but Hangouts has document sharing which is unique as well. Personally, I think Hangouts is a more efficient and less resource hogging method of communicating for virtual meetings and video calls.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Thing 12: Books and eReading
*I am trying both of these apps on Android
Overdrive Media Console
The setup experience was fairly simple and easy to follow. Now that we don't need to do the Adobe Authorization step it is much smoother. To find content, loading the website to search for the materials felt a bit slow, but that might have just been connectivity issues. When the book is loaded, everything looked great. I didn't need to change the font size, etc. but navigating through the books and finding the settings to change options in the book weren't very hard to locate or use.
I think library customers would find this app useful, but might need guidance from information staff to get it started - especially for seniors who might not be as tech savvy.
Zinio
Zinio, oh Zinio. It's a beautiful app but way better for viewing magazines on a tablet than a phone screen (I have a Samsung Galaxy S4). Getting the magazines onto it was difficult - especially signing up for an account through RBDigital and then also having to sign up with Zinio and get them somehow linked. After going through the process I'm still not absolutely confident I could get it set up again smoothly. Downloading it was not difficult though. I think library customers would like this app once they have it all set up and ready to go with the magazines already loaded on there for them, but setting it up and learning how to use Zinio along with the gateway requires too many steps and can be quite confusing on the way. I think if there was a simpler way to set up and download magazines, I would probably enjoy Zinio more. As it stands, I don't think I would use the app again since my screen was too small and it was so hard to get it to work.
Overdrive Media Console
The setup experience was fairly simple and easy to follow. Now that we don't need to do the Adobe Authorization step it is much smoother. To find content, loading the website to search for the materials felt a bit slow, but that might have just been connectivity issues. When the book is loaded, everything looked great. I didn't need to change the font size, etc. but navigating through the books and finding the settings to change options in the book weren't very hard to locate or use.
I think library customers would find this app useful, but might need guidance from information staff to get it started - especially for seniors who might not be as tech savvy.
Zinio
Zinio, oh Zinio. It's a beautiful app but way better for viewing magazines on a tablet than a phone screen (I have a Samsung Galaxy S4). Getting the magazines onto it was difficult - especially signing up for an account through RBDigital and then also having to sign up with Zinio and get them somehow linked. After going through the process I'm still not absolutely confident I could get it set up again smoothly. Downloading it was not difficult though. I think library customers would like this app once they have it all set up and ready to go with the magazines already loaded on there for them, but setting it up and learning how to use Zinio along with the gateway requires too many steps and can be quite confusing on the way. I think if there was a simpler way to set up and download magazines, I would probably enjoy Zinio more. As it stands, I don't think I would use the app again since my screen was too small and it was so hard to get it to work.
Thing 22: Gamesssss!!!
I LOVE phone games. I am playing 2 daily right now - Puzzle and Dragons and Monster Strike. Both games are hugely successful in Japan and are also pretty successful in North America. They function similarly and are based on similar concepts but the playstyle is different. For this post, I will be focusing on Monster Strike. Both of these games fall under the RPG (Role Playing Games) category.
Monster Strike, which just came out in mid-October in North America, focuses around collecting strong creatures, levelling them up, and evolving them (kind of like Pokemon). The thing that struck me about this game is it's unique 4-player co-op system. Not a lot of games have real-time co-op gameplay. To invite your friends, you have to invite them via a messaging app such as Facebook, LINE, or WhatsApp. Then, you wait for all your friends to connect and then adventure through dungeons to get prizes/materials that will make your creatures stronger! It's like monster-pinball style where you aim your creature and hit things to destroy them.
Can you tell I really love this game? Plus it's free! There are micro-transactions... but they aren't really necessary to have fun and enjoy the game. The one thing that is awesome about games like Puzzle and Dragons and Monster Strike is the community. Since the games can be very deep and a lot of things you learn while playing, communities on Reddit and Facebook can help a lot and the information you learn from other players is super helpful!
One downside to the game is it's constant need to connect to their servers to update the information you have after every dungeon/accessing your monster box/etc. So if someone doesn't have data it can be difficult to play while away from home. Also it hogs a lot of battery so I think it takes quite a bit to run - I usually play while plugged in and charging.
Try it out... if you dare... addiction may happen - you have been forewarned :)
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.mixi.monsterstrikeUS
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-strike/id906287108?mt=8
Monster Strike, which just came out in mid-October in North America, focuses around collecting strong creatures, levelling them up, and evolving them (kind of like Pokemon). The thing that struck me about this game is it's unique 4-player co-op system. Not a lot of games have real-time co-op gameplay. To invite your friends, you have to invite them via a messaging app such as Facebook, LINE, or WhatsApp. Then, you wait for all your friends to connect and then adventure through dungeons to get prizes/materials that will make your creatures stronger! It's like monster-pinball style where you aim your creature and hit things to destroy them.
Can you tell I really love this game? Plus it's free! There are micro-transactions... but they aren't really necessary to have fun and enjoy the game. The one thing that is awesome about games like Puzzle and Dragons and Monster Strike is the community. Since the games can be very deep and a lot of things you learn while playing, communities on Reddit and Facebook can help a lot and the information you learn from other players is super helpful!
One downside to the game is it's constant need to connect to their servers to update the information you have after every dungeon/accessing your monster box/etc. So if someone doesn't have data it can be difficult to play while away from home. Also it hogs a lot of battery so I think it takes quite a bit to run - I usually play while plugged in and charging.
Try it out... if you dare... addiction may happen - you have been forewarned :)
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.mixi.monsterstrikeUS
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-strike/id906287108?mt=8
Thing 1: Blogging... or burogging?!
I made this blog and for some reason I just pictured the Japanese "YATTTTTA" guy from Heroes yelling MOBILE THINGS -- but like MOOOOOOBAIRU THIIINGS! So I guess it'll be a challenge to stay consistent with my blog name with each blog title...
The setup of this blog was pretty straight forward since I already had a Google account. Apparently I had a blog setup through Blogger years ago. I keep making blogs and then forgetting to update them and they slowly fall into the abyss of neglected blogs. I think my dog even has a tumblr for her derpy moments. So hopefully with the 23MT program I'll stick with a blog longer!
I think blogging might be useful for me in my professional life to keep myself motivated and up to times with what is happening in libraries. In my personal life.. maybe I might try again.. maybe!
The setup of this blog was pretty straight forward since I already had a Google account. Apparently I had a blog setup through Blogger years ago. I keep making blogs and then forgetting to update them and they slowly fall into the abyss of neglected blogs. I think my dog even has a tumblr for her derpy moments. So hopefully with the 23MT program I'll stick with a blog longer!
I think blogging might be useful for me in my professional life to keep myself motivated and up to times with what is happening in libraries. In my personal life.. maybe I might try again.. maybe!
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