And the award goes to…

Thing #18 is to explore the Web 2.0 Awards and select a tool to explore. I found quite a few that interested me, at least at first, (and, suprisingly, a fair amount I am already familiar with). A few of the professionally-geared web tools I like are:

• VuFind – an online catalog designed specifically for libraries; like Aquabrowser; clients appear to be mostly university libraries.
• confabb – info on best conferences all over U.S.; search by category or speaker; share and discuss. This seems to have the potential to assist professionals with career development and networking within your desired field.
• upcoming – get info on upcoming events in your area or in a city you plan to visit; search; narrow by date; narrow by category; create an account (with your yahoo login) so that you can keep track of events you are interested in; add friends so you can share events; add events. This site could definitely be useful to CML as an external way of promoting our events and activities. (Westerville Public library is using it to advertise their storytimes.) A site like this could help to get the word out about library programs to people who do not regularly visit the library or our web site.

And, for fun, I like these:

• threadless – combo social/sharing site and online t-shirt shop; browse the hundreds of t-shirts that are for sale, or if you’ve got a great t-shirt design or slogan, submit it; templates are provided for idea submissions; over a 7-day period ideas are rated and commented on; if your design is chosen to be produced, you win cash, a threadless gift certificate, and a little bit of fame!
• yourminis - cool customizable widgets for blog, web site and desktop.
• yelp – guides and reviews to shopping, restaurants, and entertainment in cities around the U.S.; narrow search results by those with the highest rating, most reviewed, category, $$, and more.