Number 23: Final Thoughts

23 Things asks:

• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I was honestly surprised at my "curmudgeonly" attitude towards most of the Things! It appears I am already somewhat set in my information-digesting ways. I like to do things a certain way. I like to get my information a certain way. In the past when I've added new "tools" to do so, it's been born out of a genuine need for it. I feel like adding some of these Things to my "daily routine" would result in information-overload. I am a casual user of youtube and flickr, in that I turn to them for content, rather than posting my own content. All of the social media stuff rubbed me the wrong way... Digg, etc. It just seems like too much, and like there's not enough filtering to present worthwhile content.

So, knowing that I am apparently such a curmudgeon, I need to stay on top of things and have an open mind. I think that's the lesson here.

Number 22: What Did I Learn?

How do I plan to keep up with web and library 2.0? That's a good question. For starters, there's what I already do: I follow ALATechSource and LibraryJournal on Twitter. I work in a public library that is a constantly evolving environment, especially on the technology side of things. Lastly, I'm a student. I'm a student in a constantly evolving environment, where I have to take classes that force me to engage with technology. Turning a blind eye isn't really an option for me, like it is for some of my more established coworkers. If I want to be a competitive job candidate in the near future, I especially need to stay on top of changing technological trends.

Looking back on the 23 Things experience, I am not sure if it left me with a way to "keep up" with library 2.0. Web 2.0 is only just now starting to make its presence felt in the libraries I work at. I definitely have a better understanding of more web 2.0 than I did before I started 23 Things. Being honest here- it seems like most of the tools are things I simply don't have time to regularly use in my life. I am already active on facebook and youtube, and looking back on my entries, it seems like most of the time I felt overwhelmed by the possibilities of things I might have to keep up with. That seems to be an emerging point in a discussion we're currently having in 5433.

So, in order to not feel like I'm drowning in a sea of information, I think the best thing for me to do now is to just keep doing what I'm doing. I'm immersed daily in these things; they aren't so much a separate part of my life. The 23 Things were geared towards people who view these types of activities as "separate" from their daily life.

Number 21: Social Networking Part 2

23 Things asks:

• Are you a member of any online communities?
• Are any of these social networks appealing to you?
• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later?

As far as the communities that this Thing mentioned, I am a member of last.fm. I don't use it very often, though. I do tweet, but have very few friends signed up to see my tweets. I am a political news junkie, so in the past I have been a member of and contributor to specialized political blogs. Netflix has a social networking component now, where you can have "friends" who can see your queue and share movie recommendations, so I have a few friends on there.

I looked at the list of social networking sites on wikipedia, and wow! I had no idea there were that many. I really liked the food ones, I had never even heard of those before. I am always looking for new recipes so I might use those in the future.

As with all these other web 2.0 things, I think they're only good in moderation. I just don't have the time to go signing up for every niche social networking site that might interest me.

Number 20: Social Networking

This Thing is a bit redundant for me. I created my Myspace account back in 2004 and I started my Facebook account in 2005. I rarely log in to my Myspace account anymore, as most of my friends have stopped using it in favor of Facebook. I am on Facebook nearly 24/7. I'm probably a Facebook addict. (The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one, haha!) Facebook is my primary mode of interaction with most of my friends, especially the ones I do not talk to/see on a regular basis. It has been a very helpful way of keeping up with my friends who are scattered all over the country and the globe. On the other side of that coin, though, is the fact that because of Facebook, I already know what most of my friends from high school are up to these days.... So the fun of my 10 year reunion next year has been a little deflated.

I am an advocate of libraries having a presence on these social networks, especially presences that are controlled by the libraries themselves. In this day and age, if your "brand" isn't out there setting the image for itself on the internet, your users (who will include both fans and critics) will be out there setting your image for you. The library system I work for is very reluctant to have an official presence on Facebook. This really rubs me the wrong way. We have a digital librarian. Why can't it be part of her job to create and maintain a Facebook account for us? Other library systems in the state have pages. This whole insistence that "social networking = child pornographers = bad" is just outdated and silly. You are probably much more likely to run into a real child pornograper actually IN the library rather than on the internet. And if he wants information about kiddie events, it's just as easy for him to get that information from the newspaper or flyers than it is on the internet.

Number 19: Podcasts

23 Things asks:

• Which podcast(s) did you listen to?
• Which of the directories did you find easiest to use?
• Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to it regularly?

I used the podcast.com directory to find the University of Oklahoma Libraries' podcast! I searched the podcast website for "libraries" and somehow that was the first item in the search results?? Maybe podcast.com somehow knows my IP address and where I'm searching from. They must. Because I highly doubt that the OU Libraries' podcast is THE most relevant search item for "libraries" on the podcast.com website. But, it was neat to see it on there. I was previously familiar with what podcasts are, and had subscribed to one or two through my iTunes account. But I'd never searched a directory for any and every kind of podcast. I thought it was neat. I also liked the way podcast.com returned my results, and the way it described the various podcasts.

I had never considered using podcasts as a way to stay on top of library news, but this might be a good thing to do.

Number 18: Online Video

I'm well-versed in all that is Youtube. I even have my own account and have uploaded a few videos. The public library where I work even has its own Youtube account and has uploaded videos from our various festivals and celebrations. Here's a video from our 2007 Native American Festival:



I think this is a terrific use of web 2.0 for libraries. Putting videos like this online exposes more people to what a library has to offer- especially to people who might not normally attend events such as the Native American Festival. Too often libraries are written off as dusty repositories of books. Public libraries especially are so much more than that- community centers full of life, and video is a wonderful way to show that!

Number 17: I'm not sure what this thing is

So Thing 17 appears to be about something called the Electronic Library for Minnesota. I'm not in Minnesota. I'm in Oklahoma. But, reading the Thing, the ELM appears to just be a collection of databases that is purchased by the state for the public's use. Okay. We have that in Oklahoma too, although slightly different. I am familiar with the databases that Oklahoma state provides, as I have to instruct customers on how to use them at the public library. However, all the "save to my page" tools and whatnot as described in this Thing were new to me. I'm not even sure if that would work on our public computers at the reference desk at the public library. I'll give it a go tonight.