The blogging learning curve

I am working on the lay out and content of this blog and I think it's looking better. As I have been doing this there has been much learning happening for me. For instance, I never knew what an "add-on" was before I started doing this. These are little functionalities like counters, tag boards, and content analysis software that make web sites more interactive and useful for visitors. To be honest a small part of me just likes the "chicklets" that these add-ons provided in the form of HTML code.

There has also been a speedy evolution in what I would like this blog to be. I have added some links in a java drop down menu to different web content that I think many involved in the library field could use. I have also started linking to some of my academic work. More of this will be coming as soon as I figure out the logistics of FTP.

Speaking of which...File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a subject I knew nothing about until today. Wikipedia (as always) provides a good introduction on the subject-if you are as naive is me on the subject. My problem came about as I was trying to figure the best way to link to files on this blog. I knew I needed to make the files accessible on the web, but I didn't know how.

First I tried to simply upload the file to a new blog post as the help menu instructed. This did not work because the file I wanted to use is a PDF and only JPEG, TIFF, and GIF (non-proprietary files) are allowed. After consulting a librarian here UC I discovered that I could use my AOL account to store files (finally, I had a good reason to keep my AOL account. Here are the steps to upload a file in AOL My FTP Space:

1. You must have AOL software installed on your computer. You cannot access the FTP area by using an IE of Mozilla browser.



2. Log on and go to keyword search



3. Type in "My FTP Space"



4. This links you to the AOL Hometown page



5. Click on My FTP Space



6. To upload, click on upload (duh)



7. The url for linking is "members.aol.com/[directory name]/[file name]"

Now that I know this I will be uploading more of my own work here. Pisceslibrariana is now not merely a blog, it is an experiment in the digital representation of one librarians professional development. Let me know if the experiment works or somehow goes terribly awry