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...