Moving On from "23 Things on a Stick"

Well, I finished the "23 Things" twenty-four hours before deadline (phew!!) and had a great time doing it. Now, I want to continue the blog, going onward and forward to try to stay current and "invigorated."

I'm making some layout changes to the blog, so I'm moving the list of "23 Things" to this blog post, for posterity's sake (so I can remember how slowly the process went, at times).

What Are the "23 Things"?

01 Set up blog, post an entry, add an avatar - DONE!
02 Read/watch, then discuss Web 2.0 - Fini!
03 Learn about RSS - Done!
04 Explore Flickr - fait accompli
05 More fun with Flickr - Done!
06 Play with online image generator - Done.
07 Try communication tools - Done!
08 Share slide decks, photos, or presentation slides - Done.
09 Learn about collaboration tools - Completed; but would like to try editing with Zoho.
10 Learn about wikis. Add an entry to the "23 Things" wiki - Done!
11 Learn about tagging and del.icio.us - Done; but would like to have del.icio.us working correctly under IE 7.0.
12 Explore social media sites -- Dugg!
13 Try out an online productivity tool - Done!
14 Play with LibraryThing -- Done.
15 Explore some online games -- Done.
16 Learn about Assignment Calculator and the Research Project Calculator -- Done.
17 Use ELM productivity tools -- Done; would like to get NetLibrary to work better.
18 Explore YouTube and other video sites -- Done.
19 Learn about podcasts -- Done.
20 Explore Facebook and MySpace -- Done!
21 Learn about other social networks -- Done with the Ning Thing.
22 How can I keep learning about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0.? - Done.
23 Online evaluation and blog entry about the "23 Things" experience! DONE!

Thing 23 - Final Thoughts

I am mentally and physically tired at the end of a long day of finishing up my 23 Things on a Stick (yup, I let the later Things languish a little too long). (Ooh, nice alliteration! Now I know I'm tired!) But I am also invigorated by considering what I have learned, and the infrastructure I have established. I set up a blog, and have kept it fresh and vital (I hope I will continue to keep it active). I gained familiarity with Flickr and Facebook, encountered old friends and met new ones. I expanded on my use of RSS and Library Thing. I had a little fun break at YouTube, and envisioned what could be done in my library. I wondered at podcasts and Webinars, IM, and SMS. I visited other 23 Thing-ers' blogs, and learned from their creativity. I've become very "sociable" in social networks and on wikis.

I think I learned a little bit about maintaining a careful critiquing view of the "latest and greatest" tools. My time is valuable, and so I need to determine which tools will be most helpful to me in my personal life and as I strive to be the best librarian that I can be.

If I could choose one word to sum up the experience, it would "invigoration." I see so many possibilities in Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. I am very thankful for this experience, and I would definitely participate in "23 More Things on a Stick"!

Thing 22 - Ways to Keep Learning

Well, now I'm getting sad that the 23 Things is almost over! The thing is, it isn't. I plan to just turn right around and review and refresh my take on the 23 Things. I'll tidy up loose ends (like my del.ici.ous not working correctly with my IE 7.0). I'll look at the "Challenge" activities, and maybe try some of them out.

My RSS reader will be a great help. I've conscientiously added feeds throughout the project, and I think that this will be very helpful to me in the long run.

I will attempt to spend at least 15 minutes a day to maintain my blog, use the tools that I have learned, keep up with new tools, and apply those tools to my work in the library whenever I have the opportunity. These months working on the Things have reinforced my curiosity and ability to use new tools. I'll continue the process, and use my blog to tell myself (and the world), "This is what I learned today!"

Thing 21 - Other Social Networks

I had joined the 23 Things group at Ning a while ago, so my work for this Thing was made a little easier.

1. I read the articles ("Can Gather.com Get Book Lovers Online?" and "Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library"). I found the second article especially appropriate for this project. The author provided three steps to establish a social network in a library: (1) education of staff; (2) the stimulating of imagination of the staff; and (3) integrate the new network into the existing library structures. Sounds simple, but that's a lot to accomplish.

2. As I said, I had joined Ning already, and I had responded to a message from another "23 Thinger," Minnemom. To reinforce this part of Thing 21, I sent Minnemom another message. I also joined another Ning group, Ramsey County Library, which I found at Ning. I knew that there were other RCL people doing the Things, but it was great to get "sociable" with them. I posted to the wall of that group. I tried to find a "Ning badge" to put on my blog, but I have no idea what that is or how to add it. So, instead, I published some photos of the Textile Center Library to the "23 Things" group.

3. My final activity was to find another social network that might interest me. I find myself drawn to Library Thing, and I plan to explore the social aspect of that site.

I was very excited to find another Ning group to join! (the Ramsey County group). I can see how joining a social network helps to create a feeling of community.

Thing 20 - Social Networking and Libraries

For this thing, I set up an account on Facebook. Despite long (!) wait times to accomplish the updates, I completed my profile, sent a bunch of invitations to my family and friends to "friend" me (nobody has, yet, boohoo), and joined a bunch of groups. I found a "23 Things on a Stick" group, the ALA Members, the MLA group, the Library 2.0 Interest Group, and one whose name just cracks me up - "Don't Mess With Me, I Worked in a Public Library." The intent of the group is to commiserate about the joys and sorrows of working in the public library environment; well, I can certainly relate to that.

I posted to the wall of 23 Things on a Stick.

Personally, I found family and friends that I did expect to be on Facebook, and quite a few that I was surprised to see. I guess one should never judge about technical inclination! I'm hoping to reconnect with some that I haven't talked to in a while.

I chose Facebook, rather than MySpace for this Thing, because it seemed a little more secure, a little more private. I know that the intent of online social networks is to be. . .sociable, but I like the fact that Facebook won't show your profile to an unregistered user.

The tool was easy enough to figure out, but as I mentioned, it seemed a little slow. I guess one wouldn't update their profile every day, but time crawled when I would wait for a simple change to be saved.

So, I will wait for my friends to befriend me, check my Facebook account regularly, and see where it leads. I can see a lot of advantage to using Facebook, both personally and for libraries.

Thing 19 - Podcasting

Podcasts are a wonderful way to broadcast information and opinion. I had some exposure to podcasts from library school, but with this Thing, I feel just overwhelmed by how many podcasts are out there!

I played around in a few podcast directories--the MPR podcast site (in fact, I added the site to my "23 Things" bookmarks, because the site seems to have quite a few podcasts for news and music). I listened, just for the heck of it, to a podcast about Jimi Hendrix on the "Facemelter" set at the MPR site. The hosts were very funny and the music sounded great, even on my little laptop speakers.

Then, I moved to Podcast.com, and even established an account there. I don't know if I'll use my Podcast account much, but I did add a few podcasts to my Bloglines account - "Book Lust" with Nancy Pearl, and "The Marketplace of Ideas," which I found by searching for "literature." I found "Book Lust" by simply specifying the title; I've always enjoyed reading Nancy Pearl's essays, and now I can listen to them! I have no idea what to expect with "The Marketplace of Ideas," but it looked promising.

Here is a link to the "Book Lust" podcast that I listened to, and which I would highly recommend. I'm looking forward to listening to more Nancy Pearl podcasts.

http://video.seattle.gov:8080/podcasts/BookLust/JustinaChenHeadley.mp3

I think it would be so much fun to make podcasts and put them out there; even more fun if people would listen to them. I did find myself trying to multi-task while I was listening, like I wasn't doing enough! I found it a little disconcerting to not have printed words in front of me, to be just listening, but I think I could adjust.

Libraries could really utilize podcasting! For book reviews and author interviews (like "Book Lust"), or for training purposes (how to use the library, even in its "1.0" format). The possibilities are endless!

Thing 18 - Explore YouTube and other video sites

I just love YouTube! It's such a great forum to get messages (and entertainment) to people, to share in a social environment. Video-sharing is definitely a Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 thing to do.

Here's the video that I selected for my blog: it's one of the videos that the ALA made in honor of National Library Week. I think it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.




I looked for other videos with the tag of "library card" and found a cute one from the television show "Arthur" ("Having fun isn't hard...When you've got a library card!").

I really enjoyed all of the videos in this Thing. I'd seen most of them before, but some were new to me, like the hilarious "Library Musical." Part of the beauty of the musical video was seeing the reactions of the library patrons to the "prank," both during and after--very sweet.

The "Web 2.0 Directory: Econsultant" site ( http://web2.econsultant.com/ ) is terrific - I added it to my "Interesting Links" on this blog, and I also grabbed the RSS feed for my Bloglines account.

I really think video is important to a library website, and can convey so much of the values, mission, intelligence, and sense of humor of a library and its personnel. Video is a real common denominator in our society; it's a medium that most individuals can utilize (even the visually-impaired can enjoy the audio component). Services like YouTube make it seem fairly easy to incorporate video, and I think that the opportunity should be taken.