THING 23. FINAL THOUGHTS

I started my blog on Feb. 21, 2008. I missed the deadlines for both rounds 1 and 2. It's now Nov. 21. I thought this day would never come. I have such a feeling of accomplishment!

I had trouble with many of the Things. I found them frustrating, tedious and timeconsuming. People actually sit in front of a computer for hours doing this stuff? I needed help, lots of help. I talked to coworkers (and commiserated with them) about the 23 Things. It was useful to read others' blogs. Somewhere along the line, I became more comfortable trying the Things. I kept telling myself this was a golden opportunity to learn Web 2.0 tools on the job.

I am glad I stuck with it. I feel bolder about trying web tools I wouldn't have tried before or wouldn't even have known about. I edited the code on one of my Ning badges. I didn't know the code was there or you could edit it until one of my coworkers showed me. Now that I am done, I am more willing to try new web tools. I'll get that chance in January 2009 when More Things on a Stick debuts.

What would I change? I know I'm in the minority here, but there was too much Flickr. Thing #7 with email and instant messaging could have been earlier. They were easy to write about, and more people have experience with them. Facebook and Ning could have come sooner.

What are my favorite Things? I like YouTube. I was excited when I got it to post to my blog on the first try. I also like Delicious, Google Reader, and podcasts. Facebook is a regular part of my day now.

Thank you to the creators of the 23 Things on a Stick website. I appreciate all the time and effort that went into it. I am ready for More Things!

THING 22. WHAT DID I LEARN TODAY?

Here's something I learned recently. A friend of mine is using Skype to make free computer-to-computer calls to her sister in Australia and her dad in California. I had read about Skype before (through the 23 Things), but somehow the value of it didn't sink in until she explained how her family is using it. She bought a webcam for $30 to use on her computer with Skype.

I now have 9 friends on Facebook. This is in contrast to the 3,129,606 (as of this writing) supporters Obama has on his Facebook page.

I will continue talking to coworkers and friends about web 2.0 tools. I will probably attend webinars in the future.

I looked through the list of possible websites to add to my aggregator. So far I have added LibraryBytes and Library Stuff to my Google Reader.

How many accounts do I have as a result of the 23 Things? I made a list on Ta Da of all the accounts I have opened. The total is 16, but I think there are more. I am going back through my notes to see if there are others.

Ann Walker Smalley gave a presentation at our Inservice Day on Nov. 11 that included a preview of More Things on a Stick. That's coming in January of 2009. There will be new tools as well as more on some of the original 23. I can keep up with web 2.0 tools by working through More Things. Uh oh, more accounts...