Arriving and Reflecting - the Last Post

Well, it looks as though I'm just in time with finishing the 23 Things programme and have caught the last post:

  by  EEPaul 

In my first blog entry, I referred to the programme as a pilgrimage and that's what it has been like, in some ways - a shared journey, where the participants became a micro community within the vast Web 2.0 community.  We've worked together, learned from each other and there's always been someone to ask for guidance if I didn't interpret the instructions correctly.   Social networking tools, by their nature, have to be shared.

So, looking back:

Which thing/s have I found most useful?
Firefox, iGoogle, Doodle, Flickr and Twitter

Which thing/s have I  most enjoyed doing?
Exploring Flickr, YouTube - that part has been particularly entertaining but also good to see how they might be used in work situations.  I also like my iGoogle pages and the features of Firefox, and will continue to use them.

Which thing/s will I persist with?
Firefox, iGoogle, Doodle, Flickr and Twitter.  I haven't made much use yet of RSS feeds but plan to go back to those. Diigo and SlideShare are also worth a second look.

Do I think web 2.0 in general has a role in the future of libraries?
I don't know about the future - we may already be starting to move towards Web 3.0 - but Web 2.0 is certainly here now and we can't ignore it.

Final reflections
I've enjoyed exploring the various Web2.0 tools, even though I haven't had as much time to spend on the programme as I would have liked. It has been a very useful taster and I've learned a lot.  I'm not a natural blogger, as I'm somewhat reticent, and happier with keeping a private reflective journal than something in the public domain, and I've sometimes wondered whether anyone actually would want to read it.  However, I've enjoyed reading other people's blogs and am beginning to see the possibilities.  Towards the end of the programme I ran out of time and my blog postings have become shorter.  However, even I have become a bit more confident about blogging and have found satisfaction in choosing a template, uploading a few photos and personalising a tool which might at first seem somewhat impersonal.

So, lots to think about and reflect on, and a big thank you to the 23 Things Team.

  by  Shandchem 

SlideSharing

Well, Thing 22 certainly looks useful.  Some of the presentations seem slightly old but when I searched for Web 2.0, this produced a large number on Web 3.0 as well - something for the next 23 Things perhaps?!

Anyway I've looked I've looked at some of them and discovered how to embed one into my blog.  These step by step instructions for RSS feeds should form a useful revision course for me and could  also perhaps be adapted for a training session.

What is RSS and How to Read RSS Feeds

View more presentations from JeremyGislason

 

Google Docs

I had never thought aabout using Google docs before but can definitely see the potential of being able to access a document from wherever one happens to be.  I once tried to use Warwick's My Files, spent ages editing a Word document, thought I'd saved it but managed to lose the complete document and only discovered the fact the next day, when it was too late.  Anything which can help me to avoid such angst again in the future would be very welcome.

I've tried sharing a meeting agenda and will wait to see if colleagues put in any changes before voting finally on the value of Googledocs but I think this is definitely a tool I'll use again

Wiki editing

Didn't feel confident about editing a Wikipedia entry so added my blog to the UK Library blogs.  This Thing is a bit more challenging and I don't think I have enough time to explore it at this stage of the programme but I could well return to it later.

Sharing videos

YouTube is amazing.  I''ve already looked at it before but how to make use of it has been a bit of a mystery, so have enjoyed having some instructions to follow.  Again, I copied the HTML code into this blog entry, which seems to have worked.

There are so many creative people out there and it's so useful to be able to learn from others, even though I don't feel that I have much to contribute to the pool myself.  I've seen various library videos before and it's been difficult to choose one to import but this is a sample of the many available - the Undergraduate Library Rap at the University of Illinois (no comments along the lines of "It's a wrap", please....)




I'm also including my current favourite non-work one, which is a performance of a piece by an American composer called Eric Whitacre, "Sleep", which the University Chorus sang in a concert last week.  It's beautiful to listen to but actually taking part in it was an incredible experience, so this is something I'm very happy to share.

Creative Commons

There's so much to choose from on Flickr but I came across this variation on the "We can do it" poster, a longstanding favourite and a present to me from the former Science Team. It's a very appropriate message and I'm sure it's going to be very popular with members of the 23 Things Programme and a good image to share. Thanks to Richard Perkins for pointing me to a site called imagecodr - which I've now added to my list of sites on Diigo!

  by  Phil Bradley

Flickring

This Thing has been entertaining and given me a chance to look at last year's holiday snaps again

but also provided me with a reason to explore Flickr and see how it might be used in a work situation.  The instructions for setting up the account were easy to follow but tagging wasn't too successfiul at first, and I still think that needs a bit more thought. However,  I 've added some photos to the 23 Pool - enjoy!!

Zotero and EndNoteWeb

I've registered with Zotero and it's interesting to see a service which seems more geared up to the needs of researchers in the Arts and Social Sciences.  It works with JSTOR but I haven't yet found how to import references from Web of Science into Zotero.  However, that may just be me. I'm still finding my way round what it has to offer but it certainly seems to have potential for sharing information.

After various bitter experiences with EndNoteWeb, my fervent plea is "Bring back Refworks - please!", but I fear that this is unlikely.  ENW should work, and often it does for what most users want, but training sessions are stressful if one can't rely on a service working when you want people to use it.

Diigo

Never having used Diigo before, I registered successfully for a Diigo account. I'd heard that other people on the programme hadn't received the email from Diigo with instructions for activating their account and it seemed there was a problem with the Warwick email address so my guru helped me find a way round that and everything worked OK.  Katharine and the Science Team  looked at using Delicious for bookmarking publishers' websites a few years ago and that seemed to have potential so I was already aware of the possibilities of sharing bookmarks.  I enjoyed adding a few sites, such as the Classics Department and the British Library, and created a sticky note to remind me to follow something up.  All in all, Diigo definitely deserves some more of my time.

Reflection

Well, I'm even more behind than I feared and I still haven't found enough time to explore all these new tools sas much as I'd hoped.  However, so far the programme has worked for me in that it's given me a chance to try some of them out.  I'd never got round to having an iGoogle page and I do like that.  I'm also using Firefox and definitely think it's quicker than IE, although I can't prove that.

Doodle has certainly  been useful already and I  was able to set up a meeting - and the meeting actually happened, so it does work.  (I've heard of people setting up a  meeting and then not checking back to see participants' replies - I'm sure it's very easy to do that!)

I'm still a little wary of blogging and Twittering because I've always been happy reflecting on something and discussing it , or even keeping a diary for my own reflection, but  not with writing long screeds for people to see and comment on in public.  Perhaps I'll become bolder as the programme goes on.  However, as time goes on and the programme is due to finish next week, my blog postings will probably need to become shorter not longer!

Facebook

I already use Facebook, although not very much, and have already looked at the way some other Libraries use it, but it's useful to spend a bit more time exploring other Library sites and how they use it.  At Warwick SSLCs and project groups use it but I haven't made time in the past to see how.  Some academic staff are unwilling to register and there are privacy issues for individuals but there is a lot of potential there for sharing information. 

I like the British Library page but the Warwick Library one is good too.

Retweeting and following

Tweeters are a friendly lot and already I feel welcome in the community, though discovering one has "followers" is initially a slightly weird experience.  I'm now following 9 Tweeters, including the Chemistry Department (haven't investigated other departments yet), and I've encouraged people to see the BL's Evolving English exhibition, by retweeting someone else's tweet (it really is an excellent exhibition, by the way). I've also replied to some tweets by 23 Things participants by reminding the tweeters that they're not nearly as far behind in the programme as I am.  It's all about supporting colleagues and sharing information, and fits in with the name of my blog.  Yes, I can see that Twitter might have potential for me in a work situation.

Twittering and Tweeting

With help from Emma I have finally set up my Twitter account,  Tweeted and found a few people to follow.  The hardest part was finding a username that hadn't already been taken by someone else.  I look forward to some more birdsong later.  It all fits in with my ideas about music being an excellent way to improve communication and networking.  In fact I did some twittering in a different sense last Saturday by taking part in a "Come and sing the Verdi Requiem" with the Armonico Consort, where a group of individuals shared their enjoyment of learning and performing  - a very empowering experience.