Technorati

I just finished exploring Technorati's website. I do not know if I was reading the instructions incorrectly or not, but I was only able to type in a key word at the top of the site search for the keyword "kinesiology". However when I did type the keyword into the search box, Technorati brought forth numerous blogs that had to do with kinesiology. When I tried the blog directory and tags tabs they did not give me the option to search for keywords. Nonetheless, I thought the reason behind this site can be very useful for people who enjoy reading blogs about their desired topic. By typing in the keyword in the search box, you can find plenty of blogs and tags for your desired topic. I see how this can be useful for many people. For coaches, I think if more coaches blogged about their days or ideas than I would be all over those blogs or posts. Finding blogs that you are interested in can spark conversation with complete strangers from all over the world. That is one of the key elements I find fascinating about blogs. You can have discussion with people across the world who share your same interest.

Del.icio.us

I just finished taking some time with exploring this social bookmarking site known as Delicious, created by Yahoo. At first when I thought about the usefulness of this program, I thought it was rather unhelpful. However my thoughts quickly changed when I noticed I could have the ability to access my bookmarks from any computer, and share my bookmarks with others throughout the internet. What is so special about these two aspects? Before social bookmarks like Delicious, users of bookmarks were only allowed to bookmark their favorite sites from their personal computer's web browser; which means their favorite sites could not be easily accessed from anywhere else. In addition, these bookmarks can be viewed by others on the web who are interested in the similar topics. Having social bookmarks enables others to share the knowledge that is found in the internet for all. Plus, it makes organizing the hundreds of possible links to sites much easier to reach than attempting to copy and paste URLs for others to reach.

With social bookmarking websites like Delicious, I can see how these sites can be extraordinary helpful for research and teaching. Since these bookmarks can be seen by the public, anyone who is researching any topic may find specific tags or previous marks set by others that may enable them to find what they need much quicker than browsing the web. Moreover, once specific information on the web is found, it can be easily distributed to others efficiently. As for bookmarks aiding teachers, sites similar to Delicious allows teachers to find helpful sites for their students to use and bookmark it for their students to find easily.  Social bookmarking sites seem to make finding significant information much quicker and efficient for everyone.

New Technologies for Week 3

As I just finished completing module three, I started to think about the new technologies that I have experienced over this past week. All of the exercises that needed to be completed individually had their own benefits; however I found that the creation of a fan page might be the most helpful in my career in the future as a college coach. Whether I'm coaching at a junior college or four year university, creating a fan page can promote the program and aid in recruiting. As a college coach, at any level, we must recruit players each year. As many college coaches are aware of, there are only certain times throughout the year athletic programs may be able to contact their perspective prospects. But with the creation of a fan page, coaches could put updates on their Facebook Fan Page to show what is going on daily, weekly or monthly to their fans and prospects. Moreover, you can post exciting pictures, audio, video get players and fans of the program excited about your program. Oh did I mention that tons of young athletes are on Facebook nearly every day! By creating a Facebook Fan Page we are just trying to reach young athletes in their own way as they grow with progressive technology.

RSS Feeds Assignment

I just finished creating a bloglines account for myself. Similar to most of these assignments, this one took a little bit longer than expected. Nonetheless, I was able to finish the assignment efficiently. One of the fascinating tools of the blogsline account is that it does literally save you tons of time when trying to catch up with the news. Instead of going from site to site, you can bring your chosen interests to you! Pretty cool stuff, the RSS feeds allow you to browse through all of the information in each topic rather quickly. If you are able to find a site with tons of useful information it is easy to add it to your bloglines account.  Moreover, if you are interested in following someone's personal blog, you can also follow their posts as well. These bloglines accounts make staying up to date with current news, events and interests that more accessible.

Web 2.0 Assign. Week 3

So I just took look at  SEOmoz'.org Web 2.0  awards and noticed an application I use almost every time I am looking to eat a new restaurant. Yelp, listed under the guides and reviews category, recieved first place. I have used yelp numerous times and it has been a great tool to use. What I enjoy most about Yelp is not only can you get reviews of restaurants but one can also find almost all the information there is about the location (phone number, menu, directions, etc.) The other Web 2.0 applications are very similar in which one can find a ton of information about whatever one may be looking for. They are fantastic softwares, I porbably would have never tried as many places I have without this fun application. By the way, the reason I am able to use this application constantly is because I have it for free on my iphone. So I can see whats around me quickly and make my choices accordingly on the go. Plus, on my phone it will actually give you directions instantly to your desired location so you are able to find it efficiently. Web 2.0 applications of these kind are pretty sweet.  

Google Docs

I just vistied the Google docs web site, and was impressed to see what you could do with this application. One of the most interesting aspects about Google Docs is that the information you wish to share with other can be viewed and edited by others; as long as they have access to the interent of course. This may not seem very extraordianary to some, however I can recall numerous times where I wanted to view something but could not do so without down loading or purchasing a new application. I could definitely see great ways to implment this software to my coaching career in the future. For instance, when completing a scouting report agianist an upcoming opponent; all the coaches on the staff could view the original report and make proper adjustments themselves. This allows the entire staff to put their two sense in before the report is even printed. Moreover, the scouting report does not just fall under one coach. Most of the time when there is a project to be done, it is up to a single person to make the adjustments thoughout the project. This will involve the entire team and may be adjusted accordingly. Pretty cool stuff.

Flickr

So I just finished with the Flickr assignment for week 2. Above is the photo I posted publicly. I am a big Laker fan, I have been since I was born. Setting up Flickr and uploading the pictures took me a longer than I thought it would to finish but it was overall a nice experience. I can see how social network sites like Flickr can keep people up to date visually with family and friends. If I ever travel from home, Flickr would be great to use because I could show pictures of my daily adventures to loved ones back home. Pretty sweet.