Method 9

Method 9
I had never heard of Meebo before. I was so impressed with the description that I decided to download and use it. I had a couple of friends contact me about signing up for instant messaging with different groups. It was just too many usernames & passwords to remember and too many things running on my old, slow computer. I signed up for MSN messenger, and anyone who wanted to chat with me had to use that. Then, a couple of months ago, I discovered that I could chat with friends through Facebook.

The Renaissance Learning website has something like this. My campus recently switched to A.R. Enterprise. We did not receive the usual User's Manual binder that we get when we get new software. Their user manual is online. Earlier this year, I was trying to find the online help file when I noticed a live chat box. I don't know when it showed up. I had never noticed it before. I clicked on it, provided my account number, and a description of what I was trying to do, and whoever was on the other end had provided me the answer in a fraction of the time that it would have taken me to find it in the documentation.

I got the Meebo widget code and tried to place it on the library homepage that came with our library software. It did not work. I had to send it to myself since the district has blocked Meebo. That may or may not be the reason it doesn't work. I think that it is a great idea. I would like to see it set up. It would be really handy to converse with teachers also. I wouldn't have to email and wait for a reply to ask for students, check to see if they are finished with an item someone else needs, let them check on the status of repairs, request items, etc. Unfortunately, the district blocks all chat. Maybe if enough librarians request it, they might allow it.


Option 1: I chat with various friends and relatives on Facebook. I find it neat that you can open several chat boxes at a time and carry on several conversations almost simultaneously. The only problem I ran into here is when chatting with my friend, Carla, and my sister, Carla, at the same time. We all play FarmVille and have discovered how to send a link to prizes via chat before posting so that anyone can get it, or notify each other that we are about to post so that they can it first.

Option2: I had intended to finish up this program over Christmas vacation. I did chat with someone at tslacdl who was on the phone when I first came on. I had intended to post that same day, but misplaced my password information. I don't recall exactly when this was, but thinking back on it, reminded me of a nifty feature that Renaissance Place has with their chat. After the user finishes asking their questions and getting instructions, the helper can send you an email with the script from the chat. That way you can refer back to it, if you don't remember exactly what they said to do.

Over Christmas vacation, my husband set up Skype on our home computer. He is working in another city and this allows us to keep in touch. I prefer the video/audio to chatting when holding longer conversations with friends & family. Chat is fine for gaming, frivolous conversations, quick reference questions and strangers.