Thing 10 Sharing Photos

I decided to try Instagram, after my daughters laughed at me for considering Snapchat. Actually, they were torned between laughter and horror.  Obviously, there were connotations that I was not aware of.

Even after read about Instagram and downloading the app, I did not get the purpose of the app. It seemed no easier or  faster than emailing a picture.  Part of the problem was that so few people that I knew used the app. Only after a kind friend agreed to join and follow me, did I finally "get" the app. It is a picture tweet to anyone who follows you.  I am not sure that I will often use it personally, but I can see how a library could use it. 

If the library could get teens to follow it on Instagram then the teens would get library info instantly. A picture of a event, or  a picture of a flyer of a coming event  could spark interest and attendance.

I thought our library's teen poem program was a great idea, but few teens participated. A Instagram of a flyer might have intrigued them.

Thing 9 Taking and Editing Photos

I tried out the app Line Camera. At first I was a bit confused but after watching the video and reading instructions, I realized that it is quite simple to use. I am not a photo editing expert. For me, editing photos is like going to the eye doctor for glasses. I can't really tell the differences between the choices. I played around added frames and captions to photos. My efforts in the beauty selection were less successful. Most of my pictures turned out worst. 

I do plan to experiment with the app more and I can see how labels and frames can be useful.

Thing 8. Social Media Management Tools

Confession- I am a flurker. I rarely post on Facebook and I rarely comment or "like". I do scroll through news a few times a week. I joined Facebook many years ago for Twenty Three Things on a Stick but I never really got into it. I also joined Twitter but I have never had anything to tweet about.

I have an iPad that I dearly love, but no smart phone. So it is pretty easy to manage my devices and apps. I downloaded Friendcaster. The look is somewhat cleaner and I think if I ever was to post it might be easier. But I really don' t see the need for it. I am going to give it more time. Maybe I might even post something.

Thing 7. Content Saving and Sharing

I have been using Pinterest for a year. I starting using it as a way to save pictures of gardens and flowers.  Instead of  saving hundreds of magazine pictures to inspire me, I  found I could save pictures online with Pinterest.  Last summer,  the pictures inspired me to create new container or garden features. Of course, my use has expanded to creating new boards and following many other boards. 

It is simple to start and use. When the winter seemed endless, I would  scroll through pictures of flowers, gardens and landscapes to ease the pain.

Thing 6 Creating and Editing Docs

Cloud On surprised me. I have not created many documents on my iPad. If I needed to write a letter or create some other document I would use my laptop. When my laptop could no longer be used with my new printer I would create the document and email it to myself and print off the iPad. A bit cumbersome I admit, but it would work. So I was pleased with Cloud On and was shocked to find old Google Docs from my past. 

 It is a major concern that one needs to be online to create a document. When I visit family in AZ there is not an internet connection. I imagine I could find a different app to use in those occasions. While Cloud On is basic, I liked that it was familiar and easy to use. 

**Further note on Zite

It has been over three weeks on Zite and it becomes better and better. There are many more articles that are of interest to me. In fact, I learned to my great joy that Jane Austen brewed beer.

Thing 5 Notetaking

This is my test of Dragon Dictation. It looks easy and it is easy, but I find that it's hard to think and speak at the same time it's much easier for me to think by writing. It was fun and I can think of  times when it would be very useful. I am not used to dictating so I had many pauses and deletions.  I also dictated my list of things to do this week and pasted into my notes.

It was easy to copy and paste. I would think as I used it more I would remember to add punctuation and be more fluent. Dragon Dictation transcribed my dictation perfectly. Since I am a paper and pen person, I don't think I will use this app often.

I tried out Bamboo Paper. I found it very basic and easy to use. In the past, if I wanted to keep notes or save a document  I would copy it and paste it into the Notes app on my iPad. I could print from there or just keep a record. Bamboo Paper is like paper and pen. I could not find a way to copy or paste. Pages on Bamboo can be sent to email, print or some other app. In my quest to find ways to make Bamboo more useful to me I was seduced into the world of Ever Note. That dark and mysterious world led me to waste much time and still not be able to achieve a simple document.  I have retreated back to Bamboo Paper and Notes.

Thing 4 Keeping Up

I choose Zite because it seemed pretty straight forward, easy to start and easy to follow. At first, I was disappointed with the results. I choose four categories and I found very little of interest in any of the four.  I loved Google Reader, so that may have affected my expectations. It is true, that after a week of following Zite and "liking" some articles there are more items of interest to me now. I wondered, if after reading and liking an article if it would disappear or remain on Zite for a period of time. It seems that articles whether liked or not stay at least for a week. 

I plan to follow Zite for another week and see if  there are more articles that interest me. After that unless  it improves, I doubt that I will continue. I do miss Google Reader.