Thing # 27 - Twitter

I think it took me 3 hours to read through all the links that were listed for this Thing! I've bookmarked some of the sites, and printed off some of the articles. After watching Perry Belcher's youtube video (which was very helpful) I couldn't resist watching "How Twitter Ruined My Life" - I laughed so hard I cried! It's a good example of how not to use Twitter.


I set up an account, played around with design (not very successfully, I might add), invited some friends to sign up for Twitter accounts, did some Tweeting. So far, I have a hard time picturing myself using this, especially since I don't enjoy texting on my phone. If I add a tool that lets me Tweet directly from my browser, maybe... I don't know. I will try to remember to be social, show some personality, add value/content, ask questions, etc. I didn't see much use for Facebook when I first started with that last winter, and now I go to it several times a week. Maybe Twitter will grow on me, too. BTW, if you're looking for me on Twitter, my username is sillyp. :-)

Thing #26 - Join the Ning

Thing #26 - Join the Ning

I joined Ning the first time around. I have to say I was surprised to see that our NLLN group hasn't made use of it since last April, so I started a new discussion. I think there has to be a current discussion going to get people to come to the site. I added a couple of friends, commented on Alice's picture, sent a message to Glenn, and created a Ning badge to include in my blog. I definitely think LARL employees could use a Ning group to discuss various topics - we always appreciate the chance to get together at All Staff Day to talk with one another - this is one way we could continue the conversations.

Thing #25 - Bloggers Toolkit

There were so many tools to explore - this Thing took a really long time! I chose several widgets to add to my blog, as you can see. I added a picture of an old Coast Guard station - taken from my Flickr account. I considered doing a PictureTrail, but decided not to spend any more time (since I'd already done one in an earlier post). I added a search box. I also added ClustrMaps so I can keep track of visitors to my blog from all over the world (ha ha ha). But the coolest thing I added was the automatic podcast generation, using Odiogo - this is awesome! I learned not to type in caps, because the reader reads the letters instead of the word. He/it? is a very good reader, but doesn't know how to pronounce Agassiz. Click on "listen now" and check it out for yourself!

Thing #24 - Refresh Your Blog

Here we go again! As you can see, I have not made a single entry in this blog since I completed the first 23 Things last year. I had good intentions of re-purposing my blog and adding it to my school library home page, but things have not gone the way I'd planned. My position at school was cut to .3 FTE and I've had no time to play with blogging - it's all I can do to accomplish the bare minimum. For this Thing I added a photo and a new avatar, changed some colors, but did not change the template - guess I liked what I already had. What do I like about blogging? Well, it's kind of like keeping a journal, and I have enjoyed re-reading last year's entries. I also enjoyed reading the other participants' blogs as I worked on completing those first 23 things. I commented a few times, but not very often. Does that make me a voyeur???