Thing 25 Bloggers Toolkit

I read through all of the material on thing 25, bloggers toolkit. The only thing I added to my Blog was a weather gadget. This gadget is something that I will actually use and I wanted to try adding another gadget since I had forgotten how to add them. I am only doing a blog so I can help patrons set up a blog. Since I am not trying to increase traffic to my blog and most of the widgets and tools had to deal with social networking features, sitemeters, quizzes, etc, I chose not to add any of these features. If I didn't have a Mac at home I probably would have added and edited more photos on my blog. All of my photos are on my Mac at home and I am currently working on editing the photos so I can create more digital and traditional scrapbooks.

Thing 36. Comic Relief-Generate Some Fun

I had a horrible time with this Thing. I did go to ToonDoo and found a couple of library-related comics. You are right, they aren't that funny! I tried to share the comic on my blog, but not all of the frames appeared. I tried it a couple of times with the same results. I did look at a couple of the other generators but I didn't find anything that I like. Since I have never, ever liked comics I am done with comics and will not post anymore.

Thing 43. Online TV & video.

I checked out Hulu. I watched an episode of Bones that I had missed on network TV. Although I prefer a regular television it was a good way of keeping up with the series. I also created a login and selected a couple episodes of Monk to view at a later date. Since this could be addicting and I am very busy at work and at home, I am going to watch these episodes at a much later date! I also recommended a video to a Friend.

Thing 34. Is it competition? Online Answer sites.

I read all of the articles. Librarian 2.0--Interviews of the future of librarians was my favorite article. Jenna Freedmans interview spoke to my heart and head. I agree with her that librarians and libraries need to prioritize service to patrons and learn to value public service as much as shiny new tech toys! I also agree with the conclusion reached by Stephen Abram, the author of "Evolution to Revolution in Chaos". We(librarians) should start working today on a new world balance of personal service-virtual, in-person, and computer mediated. I also looked at the Mahalo and AskMetafilter answer sites. I can now understand why the public likes these sites. The answers to the questions I looked at were spot on. I also checked out the Slam the Boards wiki. I think that it is a good idea. Hopefully, the slam the Boards wiki will make the general public more aware of the tradition of public service provided by librarians.

Thing 27. Twitter

I visited Twitter and signed up for a free account. I chose to keep my tweets private. I did try a few tweets to see what it was like to send them. I did look at the Youtube videos for How to Use Twitter and How to Use Twitter for Business. If I was interested in marketing and had 4-5 hours to spend on Twitter I could see where Twitter could be useful. I did enjoy looking at the Hibbing and Luria Library Twitter sites. Current library programs, info on tax help, new library hours and recommended books all on 1 page. For people living in these areas I could see where these sites would be helpful. I am following two sites, an Obama site and a co-worker site. I doubt that I will look at these much since I prefer to IM work colleagues and I like sites with a lot more information but I will probably check out the Obama site every couple of weeks. Basically, I don't really want to know what celebrities or friends are doing every minute of the day and I have other ways of finding out important information but at least I know how to Twitter. I also don't have hours to check out these sites or keep mine updated!

Thing 26. Join the 23 things on a stick Ning

I joined the 23 things on a stick Ning. I also joined the Ramsey county Librarians working on Things on a stick and added a comment to the comment wall. I also added two friends. I posted a Ning badge to my Facebook Page. Ning isn't something that I will use in the future since I prefer to imail my Ramsey county colelagues and I don't have time to check other NING groups or to chat and leave comments.

Thing 24. Refresh your blog

After a hectic few months I finally found some time to refresh my blog and by blog so I can work on more things. I rearranged and updated some of my my blog postings. After a few attempts I added a new gadget and added new information to my profile. I also deleted my old avatar and created a new avatar complete with a spring/summer background. I am not at all into avatars, gadgets and blogging but I am trying to learn more about blogging and everything that you can add to your blog.