Thing 15: Digg

Digg is pretty cool. I think it's a fun way to see what other people are looking at online. I spent some time clicking on articles and such that I had never heard of. But I like the fact that it enables the casual web browser to be able to see what is going on online. You don't have to be out there checking out all these different sites. And if you're active enough online it's a way for you to share with tons of others different stories you've come across. Overall, I give this Thing a Digg. :)

Thing 14: Delicious

I like Delicious. My experience so far is that it's easy to use. I had no problem signing up and importing bookmarks. I just went through in about 5 minutes and edited all of my bookmarks by adding tags. I also really like that on this site, just like other social sites, you have the option to keep some of your data private and only publicize certain parts of your profile. I have opted to share some of my links for the purpose of this thing. They are not library related, but more fun in nature (these are different sites I visit when I'm not working, but not all the sites I visit when not working). Enjoy!

Thing 13: Tagging

I think tagging is a wonderful tool that can be used to help browsers find what they're seeking. I haven't been using it on these posts mainly due to my bad memory. I usually finish typing and then forget that I can add labels. I think tagging is possible in libraries, as stated on the 23 Things site it is similar to subject headings. I think they are very similar. I wonder if there would be any way to view/track patrons who would be trying to tag inappropriately. (C'mon, there's always someone!) I say encourage it if we can monitor it.

Thing 12: Twitter

I did it! I'm finally now on Twitter. A while back my husband joined and some members of his family, too. They all asked why I didn't have one and I told them I would only create an account when I finaly got to this particular Thing on 23 Things.

My initial thoughts on Twitter (upon first hearing about it a while back) were "What's the point? Will I be able to keep up with it?" But now that I've seen it in action at my house, I feel confident that it is low maintenence and can actually be a new fun way of keeping up with online interests and friends.

For those of you interested in following me (not Oliver) on Twitter, my user name is AggieLily. And just so you know it's the same person posting on Twitter as here, I've put Oliver up as my Twitter ID photo. :)

Thing 11: Instant Messaging

IMing is something my city already uses for staff. It's really a great tool to have when you need to tell someone something that is more urgent than an email, but not urgent enough for a phone call or a face-to-face meeting.

I also used AIM a lot when I was in college. IM was the best way to have a conversation with your friend in another dorm or room without having your roommate overhear everything. ;)

Now that I'm out of college, the only place I truly use IM frequently is at work. I'm hopeful that one day we can maybe explore IM Reference. It seems a lot more of our patrons would be comfortable chatting online instead of face-to-face. I'll just have to wait and see!

Thing 10: Ning

Overall, I am not too impressed with Ning. It seems like it'd be a really cool networking site...if you had enough people interested in joining your network. Problems I can see people running into on this site is not wanting to join it due to already having the more popular Facebook or MySpace, etc.

I have to admit, though, the one positive is that if you are a member of one of these networks, there is a wide variety of methods for you to share and gather information related to your network.

One interesting network I found was for the band Jet (one of Oliver's favorites). They had most of their music videos posted, tour information, band info, etc. So things like that could be pretty cool.

Over all, though, I think I'll stick to my Facebook (eventhough I don't use it very much).

Thing 9: More Facebook

Okay, I just realized as I was completing the tasks listed for this thing that I have not revealed my name, so those following along will not know for sure that I have updated my status as requested. So, if I need to remedy this, just let me know.

Another task listed was to join three groups and then list them for all to see....over the years I've joined many groups, but just for this occassion have joined a couple more. Here is a list of three that I'm a member of:

• Aggie Football
• UNT-SLIS Unite!
• Celebrate Your Freedom to Read! Banned Books Week

In response to the last part of the Thing posting, yes I have been surprised a lot lately by old high school friends contacting me (or "friending" me) out of the blue on Facebook. I have not actively looked for new people in a long long time and that is due to my lack of activity on Facebook recently.

Thing 8: Facebook

Ah yes....Facebook. I've had my Facebook account since college. Yup, back when the URL was thefacebook.com, only people in college could sign up for membership, and back when the most fancy thing on your profile page was your wall. As I've said before, I'm a simple creature.....Facebook has gone from really easy and plain to very detailed and slightly complicated (at least for me). I remember how easy life was before they added Applications. I am still bombarded with application requests from friends every day.

I do have to say, though, I really enjoy the way Facebook has provided me with a method of staying in contact with friends I haven't seen or heard from in a long time. In college it was the easiest way for me to keep up with what everyone was doing and to let them know what I was also doing.

My thoughts on privacy on Facebook are these: it's the Internet...you should always be careful what you put up there, Facebook allows you to restrict what certain friends, networks, and even the public can see on your page (for the casual Facebooker, you can see just the basic information on me), and as for all the information they need...well, I don't mind....I know who has my information and if any of it is abused I will pursue action through appropriate channels. :)

That's all I want to say for Facebook...for now. Can't wait to see what Thing 9 will hold in store for me next!

Thing 7: RSS feeds

I like the idea of RSS feeds. It is nice to know that there is another way to keep track of all the different things on the web that I find interesting.....and it's so convenient that I can look at all of them in my Google Reader. I do have to admit, though, the concept of how this particular Web 2.0 tool works still confuses the daylights out of me, but I'm fine not knowing all the details....for now.

I will have to give another Hurrah! to Google for how easy it is to use and modify my Reader. It is amazing to me how many web tools they have been able to develop for users of all skill levels to use.