Thing 22: Staying Current

I just went back and reviewed old blog posts to remember what I’ve learned during the course of this project.  While I thought some things were pretty useless, there were plenty more that I thought were great.  Some of them I’ll even use again.  I love Google Reader and Facebook!  Both are things that I use daily now and will continue to do so.  I also think I’ll use some of the photo sharing tools again.  I would like to use Library Thing more, but I just can’t find the time.  Maybe when I’m retired I can.

Keeping up...RSS feeds and Google Reader will certainly help with the ability to keep up.  I also liked Lifehacker, and I’ll make an effort to take a look at it every now and then to see what’s new.  I read library literature on a regular basis, so that will help keep up with new trends relating specifically to libraries.  It’s hard to find the time, but I’ll make an effort.  And I’ll continue to post to my blog when I learn new and interesting things.

Thanks to NEFLIN for the experience.  I certainly know more now than when I started, and that’s a good thing.  And now that I’m starting to sound like Martha Stewart, I’ll take this opportunity to end!

Thing 19: Other Social Networks

I am not a member of any online communities that have not been featured in 23 Things.  I have looked at WebJunction and Shelfari before, and there are some Flickster applications on Facebook that allow you to take some sort of quiz and compare your movie taste with your friends.  For this thing, I also tried looking at a genealogy social networking site called Geni.com, but I didn’t really like it.  I’m not convinced that I want to share all of my genealogical information with the world.  Perhaps if I was a more impassioned hobbyist, I would find a social networking site that appealed to me, but I’m really more of a dabbler when it comes to my personal interests...a Jill-of-all-trades (and master of none).  For that reason, the more general social networking site Facebook appeals to me as a one-stop shopping site where I can dabble in multiple applications.

Thing 18: Facebook and MySpace

I joined Facebook a couple of months ago because I have a class reunion coming up, and the organizers were trying to get people on Facebook so that they could easily get information out to everyone.  In an effort to be agreeable, I joined somewhat reluctantly.  Not only am I a convert, I also talked my husband and my sister into joining. 

I have friends (more than 3, less than 300), I’ve joined a group (You may be from Lake Placid if...), I’ve written on someone’s wall, I’ve sent Flair, I’ve received 80s Memory Gifts, I’ve posted photos and commented on others’ photos.  Most of all, though, I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with a few friends who I now interact with every week instead of once a year or once every few years.  I’ve enjoyed seeing what the people I went to high school with are up to and seeing at pictures of them and their families.  I can interact with relatives that I don’t get to see often, and some in-laws that I’ve never managed to meet, even after 12 years of marriage.  I can even play Scrabble with my sister and my other friends (my husband won’t play Scrabble with me except once in a great while and under extreme duress).

We’ve also created a Facebook profile for the Library.  I see it as a marketing tool.  Once we build up a group of friends (over 100, now, and growing), it will be an easy way to get word out to a large group of people about Library programs and events.

As far as Facebook being the fastest growing social network, I can’t really say.  There are certainly a lot of people that I’ve come across who have joined very recently.  When you listen to the news, though, it seems like Twitter is the new thing.  Maybe Facebook is out, and Twitter is in...I don’t know, I’m not tweeting yet.