Week 9 - Instant Messaging
This is something that I have done for many years. When my kids went away to college this was an inexpensive way to keep in touch. We use windows live with the webcam so that we can see the grandbaby. We also got my 80+ year old father to IM his grandchildren. This was also a great way to check up on him while he was living alone. We could tell if he turned his computer on for the day.
IM is a great way to pass notes and memos within in the work area. Questions can be answered in less time than it would take to track down the person you want to talk to. It is also a great way to get many co-workers together on a project. Our library is small enough that we don’t use messaging between workers. I used it at my last job though. I worked in two different buildings and chatting between the buildings saved lots of time. I think this is a tool that would be very useful in a large library setting.
Meebo was a great tool to learn about in the library. Many patrons have multiple accounts and this site let them go to one place and log-in to them. I have used this site for several months now.
I have gotten on the IRC channel to see what it was like. It was confusing at the start but once I knew where to type, it was like any other chat room. Thank you Liz for chatting with me.
Like all of the lessons so far, even if I have used the tools in the past, I have learned something new. I will try to use the chat tool more often when we have webinars and other group on-line chats. I usually just sit back and read.
