Thing 23. Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed learning about all of the things. I had already used several of them but had never looked at them close enough to see what they could really do. Now I can see so many new possibilities for both private and professional uses. My favorite discoveries were the Flickr tools because there are so many options for marketing library events or creating displays. I am looking forward to putting Flickr to use. I would defiantly participate in another 23 Things program. This program has opened my eyes to how much is really out there. Thank You!

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

I plan to continue exploring a few of the tools we went through in 23 Things so that I will have had enough practice when a practical use for them comes up. I have so many ideas already and I am excited to put them to work. I will keep an eye out for new tools that pop up and make the effort to try them and work my way through them and not just have somebody show me how.

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

I joined the 23 Things Group on Ning and it seems to be a good way to communicate with others but I do not think that it would be my first choice for a social networking site. I do not think I will use Ning in the future. I do have a Flixster account from awhile ago that I have not looked at for a long time. I never did much with the account so maybe it is time to go back in and take a second look. That is the type of information that I would be interested in receiving anyway. I like to look at what other movies or books other people have recommended. I can usually get a good idea about whether or not I will like something based on other people’s recommendations.

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

I do not completely understand why Facebook is so popular. I agree that that it is fun to see what your friends are doing and that it is a great way to share photos, send out event information etc. I especially like the event notification because I end up being notified of events that I otherwise might not know about. I think that this feature would be a great tool for library events. However, I just don’t get spending so much time on it. It seems like time might be better spent actually talking to or doing something with friends. I have had a Facebook account for awhile and I look at it every now and then but not everyday. Maybe part of it is that the friends that I would enjoy communicating in this manner with do not have a Facebook profile yet. We’ll see what happens as more and more people join.

Thing 19. Podcasts

I listened to a podcast from a Swedish radio station. It is pretty cool that one can connect with current events in other countries so easily. I found this podcast through Podcast.com which seemed very easy to use. At this point I do not think that I will subscribe to a podcast to listen to regularly. However, I wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

I selected this video because it is from my hometown of Jerome, Idaho. Both the public and the high school libraries were willed a fairly large sum of money by a member of the community to make improvements. They have come a long way since I left. While I was in high school the public library was more like a facility to hold meetings or a place for small ensembles to perform at. This video was produced by YAC, which I believe stands for Youth Advisory Committee. It is great to see that teens are working to promote the public library. Judging by the high school's website YAC is a deceit sized group. It looks like about 10 - 15 people belong, which is pretty good for Jerome.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

I do not usually have the need to look at databases in my particular job so all of these database tools were new to me. These tools are very cool and working on this thing was exciting. All of these tools would be useful to our faculty and students. The RSS feeds would be a great way to keep up to date on a specific topic. Saving information in a webpage would and easy way to keep information all in one spot. I think that if faculty were shown some of these tools, most of them would be very excited. Next time I do have a need to use these databases for work I will defiantly be using these tools. I may even look up a few things I’m interested in just for fun.