Thing 7: Web 2.0 Communication Tools

This "Thing" seems like that "remedial math" class I ended up taking in 7th grade. It's a lot of stuff you should know by now but if you didn't learn it when you should have, then you're gonna learn it now, mister (or Miss, as your particular case may be).

Email? I don't even know if I COULD do my job without it. Here at The Library we have MS Outlook for work related stuff but I also maintain a Hotmail account for my more covert maneuvers.

Instant Messaging is a great idea and would be really useful here but there is currently a "ban" on it (imposed by our corporate parent company for "security" reasons). A rep from our Tech Department told me that this could change in the next fiscal year. If it does, I'm gonna be all over this IM thing.

Text Messaging? No way. I'm not even a little bit, kinda, remotely, sorta curious about this option. Besides, I have a friend who once told me a totally made up story about a 13 year old girl who would "tex mex" so much that her thumbs became super huge and muscular. It got so bad, she had to have a friend of hers come over to her house once a week to wash her thumbs with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge tied to a hockey stick. That'll never be me.

Web Conferencing? I end up doing this type of thing three or four times a year for continuing education kinda stuff. Usually through "corporate" but sometimes through MINITEX. It's not my favorite venue for getting information. A disembodied voice describing something while a cursor moves magically around the screen? Given the choice, I'd just as soon get the same info face-to-face. I stare slack-jawed at a computer monitor at least 5 hours a day. Break up that monotony with an actual human being already. On the positive side, a one hour demonstration boils down to about 38 minutes (or less) of actual content. You get 11 minutes of "I-know-this-computer-is-really-slow-today" to fill up the space between the bookends of uncomfortable silence from the instructor, 7 minutes of other attendee comments like the "I'm-having-trouble-logging-on-with-the-username-and-password-you-sent-me-last-week" one, or the "Now-my computer-is-freezing-up-on-me-I-think-I-need-to-reboot-do-I-have-to-login-again-with-a new-user-name-or-can-I..." You get the idea.

Now I know what you're thinking, 38 minutes+11 minutes+7 minutes doesn't equal 1 hour. I know that. You're not the only one around here with an abacus. It equals something else. Something much less, I'm sure. Thanks for reminding me I'm still no good at math. Thanks a lot for that.

Thing 6: Online Image Generator

The above image was done on Image Chef.

As far as I know, it is a photograph of the drumset, that once belonged to the original drummer for the fictitious rock band The Victorines. The stuff you come across on the internet, when you apply yourself, is just amazing. A big thanks to the staff at "History Detectives" for helping verify the authenticity of this print. You guys are the best.

Thing 5: Fun with Flickr

The above is another of my daily affirmations. Hopefully this "type" (huh? huh?...so subtle it's chilling) of thing will give me the inner strength to persevere to that most enigmatic of all numbers, 23.

I'm thinking when you read that last paragraph, read it out loud...and in the voice of James Mason. Go ahead and do it right now.

Huh? See what I mean? I think we're beginning to undestand one another a little better now, don't you? Well alright, this is starting to get fun again.

Thing 4: Flickr

Set up the Flickr account sans problems. Grabbed a digital camera and took this photo.

I only have two windows in my Library and this is what they look out to. All you urban dwellers and back alley creepers, will of course recognize the delivery entrance to the Chamber's Hotel.

Look who I'm telling. Like you didn't know that already.

I really liked the "Online Photosharing in Plain English" film. I can see where Flickr would be pretty great as a place to stockpile your images. Depending what you're putting in there, I can also see where security might be an issue. Immediately after I set up my free account I was directed to a link, posted two days prior, detailing a "phishing" scam perpetrated on Flickr members. But seriously, that has become the nature of the beast (the beast being the internet and not specifically Flickr).

Thing 3.2: RSS Feed (Epilogue)

All the worry and anxiety of not knowing if I did the RSS feed correctly has been for naught. It seems I have completed Thing 3 successfully.

Hey Thing 4!!! You wanna a piece of this?

Ahhhh HELL no! You did NOT just say that to me.

Thing 3: RSS Feeds, Part 1

This RSS business went so fast I wasn't even sure I did it. I'm still not sure. The only evidence that I did it correctly is the faint smell of Google Reader on my clothes after I logged off (if that's any indication). Weird. I guess now I wait it out and just watch the feeds come rolling in.

This would be a huge thing to me if I was a real blogger and all hardcore about it an everything. My wife is gonna go nuts about this (if she doesn't know about it already). I'll post later to let all of you who are feeding off of this blog know if it did work.

I'm curious about one thing. Now, I'm not a physicist or an astronomer or anything like that but, if you're being fed my blog while I'm being fed your blog at the same time would this create a small tear in the time space continuum thereby granting us (you and I) the possibility of seeing KISS during the 1978 Destroyer Tour right now? In real time?

Is that the most amazing idea you've ever considered or did I just totally blow your mind?

I know, same here.

Once again, I feel I should stess my previous disclaimer that I have no science background (well, yeah, Library Science, duh) and this is all speculation. Nevertheless, if one of you "hard science" types have any insight in to this, gimme a hollar. The opportunity the see "the hottest band in the world" at the very zenith of their apex could be in it for you. How awesome is that?

Yeah, I know.

Thing 2: Getting 2 Know L2

This "23 Things" challenge is really amazing. I only wish I had more time to devote to it. I plan on completeing all 23 Things within the alloted time but not necessarily at me leisure; more like when I can. (I know that is an improper use of a semicolon. I was once told by a freshman English teacher that you can only use a semicolon twice a year, so make sure you really want to use one before you stick one in there. Working in the "for-profit" sector, I'm on a July to June fiscal year and have yet to use even one semicolon. Fearing the ever-present spectre of "use it or lose it" I thought I'd take this opportunity to use one. Besides, it's a blog right? How important IS punctuation? Or spelling for that matter. Seriously.)

Making time to work through these "things" could be tricky. I'll probably do many of these between bites during my lunch break or during conference calls.

I think the big draw for me in completeing this is to find out how to actually do these things. I know what an RSS feed is and I know what flickr offers but I've never really done anything with them. I hope by getting introduced to these types of resources I'll get a better understanding of their functions and be able to incorporate them into the services my Library provides our students and faculty.

Prior to staring this projest I knew what Web 2.0 was, but only in the most general terms. Since beginning "23-ToaSt" (I totally just made that acronym up), I've started reading up on it and Library 2.0.

As I work through these "Things" I'm looking forward to reading the other folks blogs and seeing what issues they ran into, how they handled problems, how they will apply these resources to their libraries, etc. In the past week I've just kinda been poking around the blogs seeing who is out there. I always amazed at the range of personalities, philosophies, and ideas I come across.

Good luck to all my fellow "ToaSt-ers" (made that one up too) on completeing this and I look forward to following your progress.

Ad astra per aspera!!!

Thing 1

A shout out to my fellow "23 Thingers".
My first thing is now in the books with zero difficulty to report. Due to chairing an accreditation committee I will be completeing all subsequent "Things" in fits and starts (I think that's an actual phrase people still use, but who knows really). I look forward to reading up other folks posts as I work through to number 23.