Final reflections

Here we are at the final Thing! It's quite a relief to get to this point, so here are a few fireworks by way of celebration. I've enjoyed the programme very much, but began to run out of steam a bit towards the end.

  by  sean dreilinger

The thing I've ended up using most regularly, and will continue to use, is Twitter, probably because it offers most opportunities for distraction - it is very tempting to just spend hours clicking on links and searching out interesting people to follow. Despite these distractions however, it's also a good way to keep up to date with library issues and the world in general - most news seems to appear first on Twitter these days! Having a proper look at Flickr finally gave me the push I needed to update the pictures on our library's Global warming resources pages and to resolve to change them more frequently in future. I will certainly keep using LightShot as a wonderfully simple way to capture screenshots of images and text from the web, and will give serious consideration to creating some screencasts for our library webpages using Screencast-O-Matic.  I enjoyed exploring the world of podcasts, but the idea of creating one myself is a bit more daunting, and is probably unlikely to happen any time soon. Speaking of podcasts, the Cookie Monster one made me smile, and can probably never be shared around enough, so here it is again:


 

 I haven't managed to get into the habit of checking Google Reader regularly for blog updates; it always seems easier to get to blogs via bookmarks or links on the Cam23 2.0. page. Things that I explored and later rejected include Diigo which I considered as an alternative social bookmarking tool to Delicious, but ended up deciding to stick with the latter. I have also deleted the Read It Later account I created, as I just don't think it is something I will ever really make proper use of. The strongest negative reaction I had was to Pushnote, which I think is an annoying and pointless creation. There was no need to establish yet another forum for people to express banal opinions about websites!

Time for another picture I think, so here is the wordle I created from this blog:

I wish I had found time to do more of the extra things, but if the programme runs again next year, I'll probably have a go at doing them then.

I don't think libraries can afford to ignore social media and other web 2.0 applications; the communication and sharing of information is a huge part of our reason for being, and if we don't keep up with developments online then we risk becoming seen as irrelevant or antiquated. There are also so many free tools out there that can make our jobs easier, so it would be mad not to make full use of them. Doing this programme has made me aware of how many web developments I had let pass me by, and I am now determined not to return to my bubble of complacency. In case I don't get a chance at the party tomorrow, I would like to thank the Cam23 2.0. organisers for all their effort in running this programme. It's been a very positive experience!
  

More reflections

Well, it's Week 10, and I'm still just about managing to keep up, so things can't be going too badly. I haven't been very good at replying to comments left on my blog though, so I need to resolve to be more responsive in future. Thanks to those who have made comments so far.

  by  Consciousness 

I think the Things I've most enjoyed exploring since the last reflection week are LibraryThing, Flickr and podcasts. It was very nice to have a good excuse to browse lots of interesting images and videos, and signing up to LibraryThing made me appreciate that there was a lot more to it than an opportunity to catalogue the books on my shelves. Looking forwards, the Things coming up are mostly unfamiliar to me, although I have used Wordle,  and did at one stage use a wiki to edit our library webpages. QR codes meant nothing to me at first, but when I googled the term, I realised that I was vaguely aware of them, but just hadn't registered what they were called. I'm now looking forward to finding out more about them in Week 13.
I can't deny that it is nice to have the end of the programme in sight, but I do recognise that things won't stop there - the world of social media is constantly changing and knowledge can quickly become outdated. Keeping track of this online world will have to be an ongoing commitment.

Reflections

A flock of sneaky water drops, by Steve took it

Since I had very little to say for myself at the Cam23 2.0 reflection week meetup on Monday, I thought I had better use my blog to express my thoughts about the programme so far.
Most of what we have explored to date has been entirely new to me - I've been a bit slow to explore social media in general, although I did briefly have a sadly neglected LiveJournal account at one stage. I've enjoyed getting to grips with lots of new stuff, and also reading the blogs of other people following the programme, although I haven't got into the habit of commenting much yet. Highlights include discovering LightShot and Screencast-O-Matic, which will definitely be useful in a work context and which I have already recommended to friends and family. I'm still feeling my way with Twitter, but will keep exploring it. I've used my iGoogle page more than I expected, and am trying to keep up with the blogs I've added to Google Reader, but finding the time isn't easy.
Google docs and Evernote have already been useful as places to save thoughts and images to use in this blog, and I will continue to use them. I don't really need to use Doodle at present, but will remember it for possible future use. So far, my paper diary and Outlook email are winning the battle against Google Calendar.

The only thing I don't like and definitely won't be using again is Pushnote, for the reasons given in my previous post.

Roll on the next 12 things!