Thing 4: RSS and Newsreaders

Thing 4 is fantastic! I love being on the receiving end of all my favorite sources! I use Yahoo and My Yahoo is my homepage (at home of course), and I now have everything feeding into my homepage - fantastic!!!!! I can see at a glance what the top news stories are for the day from MSNBC, CNN, and ESPN. Local movie listings at the theatres nearest me are displayed, as well as some bizarre sites that I find interesting. The great thing about My Yahoo is the ease of adding the feeds. There is actually a tab that opens folders filled with automatic feeds, you just click on the desired icon and it is automatically added. And for those you want and don't see listed, you just copy and past the URL. I think this may be the most useful "THING" for me, both at home and at work.

Thing 3: Blog Search Tools

No warm fuzzies here. My primary use of the internet as a search tool is locating information, not opinions. I know that many blogs do address topics of interest and do lead to valuable sources of information, but I'm not interested in wading through multiple blogs for that one snippet of information that I might find useful. I'm more inclined to solicit opinions from experienced co-workers when it pertains to my profession - those who know more on the subject than I, and whose opinions I value. If I just want to kill time surfing the net, I'm more apt to visit sites like Etsy.com and do a little shoppin'. BUT, I will say this, I have been entertained and educated by some of the blogs I have read that are associated with the "23 Things", but then these are blogs by people in my profession who have something of value to contribute.

Thing 2 - Web 2.0

So that's what this madness is called! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around social networking, blogging, etc. and I'm not sure it is something that I'm going to fully embrace. I am interested enough to keep abreast of new information and technology so that I can better serve the library patron, but as to my personal life - I will probably keep it just that, personal. I have ventured into the world of Facebook, but find that keeping up with my email is about as much time as I want to spend on the web. Maintaining Facebook, My Space, a blog, etc. is an interruption to my life - my personal life. As odd as it may seen, once my day is done with the computer, Internet, etc. at work, I like to curl up with a good book and escape the madness.

I did find the article about Library 2.0 and ensuing blogs entertaining, but nothing I would want to follow.

Thing 1 - Set up a blog

I have completed "Thing 1". My children will think this a very scarry thing - they haven't fully recovered from my creating a Facebook account. I do, however, promise to keep this strictly professional.

I must confess I do enjoy having a forum for Olivia as my doppelganger. She may speak for the both of us in the future, as she is more politcally correct than Ms. Karen.