Made it at last!

I have finally finished the 23 Things programme! After progress that reminded me of the tortoise and the hare, I haven't actually beaten anyone to the finish line, but I have actually beaten the deadline (just!) Looking back on the project, I started it fairly optimistically and hoped to learn a lot about the various Web 2.0 technologies, even if I wasn't so sure about enjoying some of the 'Things' selected. One of my main problems was pace. I was able to keep up with the one/two Things a week quite well at first, but then as we got busier, it became unrealistic, and to be honest, I almost gave up several times. How I have managed to finish I don't know. I think that the timing of the project could have been better, perhaps if it had been done over the summer then people would not have dropped out/felt compelled to do the project in their own time at home.
Anyway, after that small criticism I would like to say that I did find it an interesting and enjoyable project, and yes, I learnt a lot. Being quite technologically lazy, I have only really investigated a lot of things as and when I need them, and more especially for personal rather than professional use. Having to go through this checklist with the inevitable carrot (in the shape of an Amazon voucher!) as a reward made me really think about things that I had heard of but not really 'played around' with, and while I think that I will not be using some things again (like Flickr) I have enjoyed exploring them and seeing them from a work-related perspective. It has been brilliant to see how libraries are using Facebook, Twitter etc to enhance their reader relationships and I can see the promise in harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to promote the services that we have to offer.
I am definitely a convert to several 'Things', such as Delicious,iGoogle, GoogleDoc, and Google reader, as well as being confirmed in my love of Facebook. I had used quite a few of the technologies before, but whenever I was a little stumped, the instructions that were given to us by the 23 Things team were fantastic and very clear, so thank you all for that! It has opened my mind to new/untried things and I have found the project really enjoyable.
From another perspective, it has been fascinating seeing how people have handled the programme. Some people have been hilarious to read and have taken to the project in ways that quite surprised me, and I hope that some of them will keep blogging!
Well, that is my summary. Thank you to all who organised and implemented this; I have had a lot of fun and learned a lot, so now I just need to work out what to spend my voucher on...

Gadgets galore

Things 21 and 22 were very easy! In fact, they were alarmingly easy and I spent a little time panicking that I had done something wrong! I have managed (thanks to the ever-comprehensive instructions given by the lovely 23 Things people) to use my blogger gadget to display my flickr photostream. (I only used flickr because of the programme and I don't intedn to use it again, so don't be too disappointed, should you choose to view!) I also rearranged my layout to make more sense, although I haven't added anything else to it. Again, adding my delicious bookmarks to my i-Google account was very fast and easy to do. These Things were a nice and gentle way to approach the end of the programme, so just one to go...

ThinkFree

My first impressions of ThinkFree is that it is incredibly slow. Honestly, I could have made and drank several cups of tea while I was waiting for this. While I can see that this does have more functionality than Google Documents, it is not very practical in terms of speed and until this improves, I think that the Google option is by far the best. However, it does look nice and slick.

Google Documents

I haven't used Google Documents before, but several people that I have been talking to recently who are not doing the 23 Things programme have been extolling its virtues, so here we go. I found this really simple and easy to use, and was interested in the other options, such as spreadsheets etc. As we are busy here and I am pushed for time, I didn't do the additional extras on most of the Things, although someone showed me last month how easy the quizzes were to create, and this is another facility which I think is excellent. The fact that it is easy to access is great, especially if you don't have access to Word or something is great too. My only issue with this is the storage and I know that I have raised privacy/security issues before, but I am a little concerned about it being stored on a server in this way. Still, I can see myself using Google Documents a lot in the future.

Wikipedia

I have used Wikiedia before many times, although not for academic research, just idle pondering about people, things, events and places. I would certainly say that it should not be presented as an entirely accurate or reliable source, it certainly brings people and their knowledge together. In some ways, I think it is quite sweet as it lets people who are really knowledgeable (or obsessed!) with their topic have a contribution on such a widely used resource. I think that the references would make a good starting point for someone doing academic research who wanted to see what resources are out there. I found the pages about Wikipedia really interesting, especially the details about editing etc. It is something that I enjoy using, although it can get addictive, what with related things being only a click away!

Wiki

I was completely ignorant about wikis until Thing 17, so this was a steep learning curve. When I first checked out the recommended link, the first thing I noticed was the flashing message congratulating me on being the nth visitor to the site (I am so lucky; I am always 'selected' to win those prizes!) Anyway, I signed up using my Twitter account and have been looking around the site. I was really interested in the case studies section, where I was reading about lots of different types of library and the web 2.0 technology that they are utilising. I was unsure about editing, so I did some OULS spotting instead. I have to say that I haven't found anything to change yet, probably as I am lagging so far behind on this project! I can see that this is an excellent way to share information and experience, and it could obviously be used as a tool for group based projects. Aside from the annoying adverts, it was great; very simple to use and I didn't need to create another password.

Twittering on Twitter

I have successfully tweeted, but am so far behind that everyone else seems to have been and gone, so I replied to a recent post and am hoping that counts, as I did start a conversation! It didn't say that the person has to reply... Twitter was ok, although again I am not sure that it is something that I would regularly check on. When selecting things that I want to follow, it took me ages to trawl through American sites/links and I gave up quite quickly, having selected a couple of things to follow. Once I actually got started, it was great and I used the #ox23 tag as a way of finding fellow library people to tweet to as well as following their converstions about the 23 Things programme. I can see that this would be good for updating readers about revised closing times etc but the limited character space means that one message could become long and tiresome. (This said, the tweets by the History Faculty Library are clear and to the point). I remain to be convinced, but it is fun at least!

Unlink to LinkedIn

I have previously encountered this 'Thing' on Facebook when looking for people, as some links to the profiles of similarly named people appear at the bottom of the screen. I have to say that while I was quite happy to browse this facility, I didn't like the fact that I would actually have to join myself. The main thing that I hate about the internet is the amount of information that people can find out about each other, which those being searched can have little control over, despite setting every privacy setting as high as it will allow(which I have done subsequent to setting up my LinkedIn account). I can see that this would be a good way of checking people and their professional experience, despite the fact that is seems rather cold and uninviting to look at. It was, however, simple to use and I was able to find lots of people from Oxford (mostly students!) so it is useful for further networking as well. My lovely Easter weekend hostess is on there and is a fan, as we established when discussing the merits of the LinkedIn. This is much more for professional development and discussion than Facebook, and as such, probably works well as there is not a lot to distract the user. All in all, this is probably a good 'Thing' for some, but not one that I will be using.