Thing #23 (Final Thoughts)

I have experienced both joys and frustrations completing this program but managed to learn something from all of the "things". Before starting 23 Things on a Stick, I wasn't aware that many of the Web 2.0 tools even existed. My favorite lessons were setting up my RSS feeds, the social media sites and LibraryThing. These are features that I continue to use.

Thing #22 (Staying Current)

To blog or not to blog... I might not actually maintain my blog, but I do plan to keep learning. I Iooked at a few of the Web 2.0 blogs. The list was quite impressive. I added Information Wants to be Free to my RSS aggregator. My RSS aggregator is one the the "things" that I really liked, and will keep using. Another is LibraryThing. Both of these are tools that I have since recommended to other people.

Thing #21 (Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks)

I spent quite a bit of time looking at the various social networks. Although I did not join any, there were several that I thought were interesting, and will probably look at them again later. I really liked the two Minnesota Public Radio Groups: Minnesota Readers and Minnesota Life--perhaps because my husband and I are MPR members. I also looked at the two networks dealing with food, and the three dealing with books. Of those three I liked GoodReads best. WhatsOnMyBooksShelf was interesting in that it's a book trading site, but I really don't want to mail my books to other people. GoodReads seems like a good way to keep track of what I've read, as well as, see what people whose interests are similar to mine are reading.

Thing #20 (Libraries and Social Networks)

I registered for a facebook account and joined one of the library groups. I entered very limited information, and have a very high privacy setting, so I could be hard to find. Both of my kids use facebook to keep in touch with their friends. The first time my son told me that he wrote on someones wall, I said "YOU DID WHAT?!" I do see the value of social networking sights as a means of keeping in touch especially when it's not convenient to call, but this is another one of those things that I'm not particulary comfortable with.

Thing #19 (Podcasts)

I listened to both the St. Cloud State University Memoirs for School Library Media Episode 10 - interview with Wanda Erickson and the MPR Electionwise podcast, What Would the Presidential Candidates do for the Environment. I thought all of the podcast directories were fairly easy to use, although I didn't find anything in Yahoo that really appealed to me. I don't think I'll be creating my own podcast, but I will most likely listen to them in the future.

Thing #18 (YouTube & Other Online Video)