Thing 23. Final Thoughts

Ah, the end is here...well, I am so glad I made it to the conclusion...I had no idea when I began just how much information I had to examine to understand these 23 Things, and I was starting to doubt if I would ever finish...many of the web sites were so involved and deeply featured that I could have spent an entire week going through just one site and still not feel very competent.

So one of my main feedback issues is what everyone is saying, I'm sure...that there wasn't enough time to do justice to these 23 Things; the time limit could have been doubled...okay, blah, blah about all that...but after saying the obvious, let me also say another issue that I had, as I look again at my comments on the blog, was just how negative I felt at times dealing with all this new Web 2.0 information overload.

This is something I want to explain further...I might have felt overwhelmed at times, and disappointed at how much was promised but not delivered at different web sites, but overall, I am really forced to admit, here at the end, that maybe I might have been a little too much stuck in my old-fashioned ways approaching this material...change is hard for me, and as I look back on it, I think I can admit that some of this stuff out there was truly amazing...and if used judiciously and with careful forethought, might actually be extremely useful to library customers, and other type citizens.

Some preliminary conclusions I can make about these web sites: I liked sites better that were purposely simple and specialized...the sites that tried to do everything for everybody just made me feel alienated from the whole deal, so, for example, places like LibraryThing seemed more interesting than Gather or Ning.

My favorite sites, and something I hadn't realized existed at this high level, until of course I went through 23 Things, are those sites that specialize only in gathering library people together to exchange ideas, and teach, and suggest...places like WebJunction, Librarything, and even the odd-ball library blogs on the net, were gold mines of information that can be used in real life circumstances...I know I kind of trashed these sites at the time I examined them, but after reflection, I was thinking that they are still a pretty good way to seek out aid and comfort in library matters...For me, I think I would try to form my oun group or network on these sites, or on my own, to filter out all the things that don't interest me and try to hang out with ideas and people who do...

So overall, 23 Thing on a Stick was a great learning experience which I'm glad I went through...and I feel I worked hard enough at it to deserve the completion prize, as promised, of a small, useful portable flash drive....now if only I knew how those things worked??

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

The question of continuing the blogging experience is an interesting question...this can be an addicting habit and a way to blow off steam (at least that was my attitude sometimes)...I don't expect to continue however in this venue...that is not to say I did not enjoy the experience...it was quite the fun ride and the amount of material to go through was overwhelming if you started with little knowledge of what was out there which was my situation when I began...

However, I never felt I was able in this blog to find the time to explore so many sites in depth and use them in a way that could effectively express a more comprehesive, insightful, and meaningful picture of what I really wanted to share with the world...

But that is not to say, I won't try in the future...this exercise showed me it is very possible to have fun and communicate on the net with these incredible tools that are so available to anyone (and at such little cost!). What I was thinking, instead, was to get out of the blog business, and go straight to something more interesting for me in order to express myself...and that might be building a library-themed complete web site itself...

Building a web site sounds tough, but I understand after going through all these "Things" that what can work for a blog can also work on a web site...and I like that idea better since I can create a more complete experience for visitors, show more of a vision, than in the blog world where I felt limited to just making people read my rantings and ravings, but nothing much more...

Also, hard for me in this exercise was this standing right in front of everyone and being the star in my own little world...I think I am more comfortable behind the scenes, where no one can see me, more of a back stage figure than that actor standing exposed and ego-driven; this would be too much for shy Shocker boy to handle in real life...so I am thinking a web site instead would allow me to move behind the curtain, wheareas staying with this blog would force me right up front, a place I don't like being for too long...so I will give this a lot of consideration, moving to building a web site, the tools that 23 Things showed me are certainly our there...I just have to figure out how to use them for myself...

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Now that's a nice looking Ning badge up there...shows I'm right on top of things for this particular assignment, doesn't it??

But don't go snooping at my personal Ning page because in truth it really stinks! Don't want to put much effort into building one and don't want to hang out there longer than necessary...Honesty being my only policy, I have to admit straight away I don't like these social network sites very much...either Ning or Gather, or any of the others...they all kind of annoy me...and I am still trying to understand why???

The best I can come up with right now is that all these sites while supposedly being social and such, seem kind of alienating to me...again, a feeling of virtual disconnects, bunches of people I've never met, living in places I know nothing about, and listing random sets of descriptive interests, most of which are not that interesting...so why would this make me feel closer or particularly social to them??? Don't get mad...nothing personal...but that's it!! Nothing personal...just an overwhelming hodge-podge of cyber people trying to impress...with faky pictures or selected real ones in poses.

Here's one funny thing I did notice...the most passionate and involved comments made by outsiders, the ones most realistic and interesting, came from people who spotted a real friend or colleague they already knew in real life...and they showed their excitement seeing them on the net!! Sort of like seeing your friend on TV...

I guess there is an underlying sadness in these social villages that can't be made up by video clips and listing of favorite books...at least that's how I saw it..ALL people putting on happy faces and their best foot forward,(reminds me of work), but you know there has to be more to these icons and bare-bone representations that computer web sites still haven't figured out how to communicate...

Okay, I might want to pop in here once in awhile to ask a particular question, or get a book suggestion,for example... but living here seems like the most unsocial existence of all...these places have a limited repotoire for socialbility in any meaningful way that I can detect, admittingly during a short examination...maybe if I stayed for awhile and tried to get a back and forth conversation going with an interesting icon thing...my icon and their icon might hit it off..but I'd rather be over at an establishmet like "Cheers" where everyone knows your name (and can really buy you a beer...).

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

Yeah, yeah, sometimes I even shock myself, even for Shocker boy...I just don't like anything?? What is my problem??? In the case of Facebook and MySpace I think I know the answer...and it hurts to say but I'M TOO OLD!! (I should be called Shocker Old Man...). I get what seems like fun on these sites but just can't relate to them in any meaningful way because I don't know anyone in my circle of adults who would want to spend their time hanging out here. These places become tiring too fast and seem awfully superficial considering they are trying to describe real people...sort of like viewing an endless supply of personal ads...and truthfully, do I really want to know so many people's personal interests???

Yes, I'm old and needing something deeper and more meaningful than this...so I am a little alienated from this scene...now for the kids out there--Yeeeessss,I get it!! See how cool you can make yourself and see the coolness of all your friends even if they are mostly poseurs (another word for fake...).

Now of the two sites, from my examination I would definitely say that MySpace is the better of the two...at least every profile is a little surprising in the way it portrays some sort of creativity, particular the music and backgrounds which can be very intense for the good ones out there...

Now Facebook, by comparison is a drag...I joined some library groups as instructed by the 23 Things authorities but soon tried to figure out why I would want to??? What I found was the complete opposite of the library ideal which is organizing information in a systematic way that can be efficiently discovered and have an enlightening purpose, but all I found in these groups were random entries, each one talking about themselves, with no continuity, no connection to the previous comments...a random mess I would call it...good for browsing until you hit upon something that causes you to pause, but is this what library people should be doing?---only to appear like they are with the times?? (see meaning of word poseur...)

Okay, it can be interesting at the library to browse the shelves, but do you want to do that on a web site by scrolling through endless amounts of postings, each placed there chronologically by entry date?? Sort of like putting your books in your library on the shelf by publisher date. We overthrew that kind of thinking by the Library of Alexandria times...if you don't think so, try a seance with the librarian masters of the past for their views...in this regard, I put this bumper sticker on my car: "What would Ranganathan do?" (look him up...if you want to get the joke).

All right, if you did happen to hit upon an interesting post, you are able to thread some follow-up, but I didn't see too many doing this since how many adult types would have the patience to go one-by-one trying to find a titillating entry...man, I'm getting old...when I'm looking to kill time browsing for kicks, I get off Facebook and head for a really great browising spot...the Drudge Report!!---maybe he's going to be the model librarian of the future???

Thing 19. Podcasts

As an great lover of the concept of radio in the old-fashion meaning of the word, whereby it is merely a handy device to bring forth a simple audio stream, easily accessible and listenable, and so simple to use that it is virtually trouble-free, I have been finding that these podcasts, as a modern version of the radio, ended up being so much more trouble to get right than I ever imagined...YouTube, and the other video services, which I thought would be more difficult with the higher bandwidth requirements, and video complications, and such, for me were much more friendly and successful to use...

Of course, I am very new at these podcasts, never having used them before, and certainly I never went out of my way to find one to attach to a web site or to a blog...and maybe my lack of experience was the problem here, but also some of these sites I examined via the 23 Things links each had problems to make it harder in my opinion to use effectively...for example, at Educational Podcast Directory which I went to first since it interestingly was put out by educators, ridiculously, had no search function to winnow the selections down to something you actually might want to listen to...and maybe because this was a new thing for educators to do or whatever, there seemed way too many dead links disguised as real podcasts...

Now on the Yahoo Podcast link, on the other hand...everything worked so fast and smooth, and professionally...except their selections were only music clip samples to download for a price!?? Just like Itunes...maybe there was free stuff or talking heads somewhere there, but I couldn't find them...

Podcastalley.com looked promising but you couldn't play anthing without a download program...and not their own special software program; instead they wanted you to go to another screen which listed dozens of choices of different podcast software that required a shot-in-the-dark choice to be made...Which to download? Which was the best? And why? Well, I was too scared to put something unknown on my computer that could mess things up (happened too many times before)..so decided to move on to the next link on the 23 Things list...).

Podcast.com and Podcast.net seemed perfect--great selections and interesting stuff, but I had a very difficult time getting them into my blog reader...when I hit the RSS links, on both programs, they only offered to put links into my Internet Explorer browser RSS reader, nothing to copy for Bloglines,..so I just made a copy of whatever was the address in the browser, did a paste into Bloglines, which accepted it okay, and looked fine, but still didn't seem to read out on Bloglines like the other programs...I get negative messages when I click on the links in Bloglines so I think things are not right...I guess I'll try again later this week to work out the bugs, but right now I'm a little frustrated...

Compare this to YouTube...that was so easy...no download software to choose, no problems linking to my blog, or finding particular type of programs you want, no dead links or blank videos ruining your day...but these podcasts, for some reason, seem more crude, and more amaterish, particualarly at these directories...and not really fully figured out in terms of ease and accessibility for the new user...

Of course, I'm still a rookie here..and I did notice that MPR podcasts worked great...just like the radio...I only wished these other sites were as easy....

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

Cube Dreaming...my life in a library cube.



Amazing...no, this is not a Minnesota snowman, but instead an example from YouTube where someone has decided to do a video of my library life...and with catchy music too!!! The reason why I picked this video is sort of obvious from the name of my blog...Yes, it's really true...there is a large, underground cube farm doing secret library work at a place I can't reveal due to national library security pledges all of us workers there have signed--but it does exist, and believe me, just like the video song above says, there's a whole lot of cube dreamin' going on by those library workers living in these shadowy office cubicles...and the funny thing, despite the security, this video producer has discovered my likeness even down to the stupid, empty grin on my face as I sit and imagine a world far away from where I cube dwell...

YouTube is such a great place, and is so well known, that there is not much more to say about it except you sure are able to fill up hours watching the incredible stuff on this site...and I like the fact that this 23 Things assignment forced me to put a video clip on my blog since now I learned just how incredibly easy it is to do...no wonder these YouTube clips are found all over the net...And most are at least watchable, if not totally enjoyable, and some are so professional that it makes you wonder just how all these people learned how to make these clips in the first place?

The only problem I had with the site is concentrating on finding the correct video example, there are so many to choose from...and the site runs almost like hypertext since it kept giving me other examples to watch, all sort of related to my search, but just enough of a difference to send me off in an entirely other direction, and the next thing I noticed, I would be watching stuff so off my original search that I felt I was on the regular web, following hypertext links all over the Internet... but here, on this site, you just stay in the same site, but can travel everywhere ...YouTube fools you into feeling its like the Internet itself...you never have to leave it, and you think you can see anything in the world...a very powerful experience...

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

This picture shows Spartacus, gladiator and leader of the slave revolt against the ruling authorities of the Roman Empire...Oh dear Co-Blogger slaves!! Revolt!! but first give me your attention and support...for I am your Spartacus!! I am stepping forth to lead you in overthrowing the rulers of Thing 17. Don't let them crush your Web 2.0 spirit!! Fight back against their library-induced oppression...step out from the reference desk, step out of your cube (where I live), and raise your downward eyes and your voice, and shout out as loudly as you can--NO MORE OF THIS, EVIL RULERS!!!---for NONE of this stuff works...no, you are not the problem, the evil rulers and their reliance on this blasted computer machine are at fault...

This has been the only Thing so far where I truly had to seek out the 23 Things Blog comments shown at the bottom of Thing 17 to regain my sanity (and there wasn't much to start with)...to begin, none of the explanitory videos work for each item on the list...that is unless you try a download of however long your meager patience holds out...very frustrating...then there's the example that requires all the potential Spartacus followers to build a little web site on EBSCO using their ridiculously clunky and extremely out of date, web site building tools...and here, when you want to place a simple graphic on the site, they unkindly leave out a "Browse" option to find the picture. So, after frantic searching and copying and pasting of the location of the picture, and as you contemplate Spartacus' ability to balance his sword even while riding a galloping horse, you're left in the end with a little blank graphic with a red X through it...

So I picked up my sword, and thought revolution...especially when my ego was hurt by EBSCO having a link to a sample nicely designed web site made by elementary students and their teacher...oh, you push me too far, EBSCO... nations are overthrown for less than that?!! To suggest that I am already behind the 3rd graders!!?? Come here, horsey...lets get a Biblio-mob together...we've got some issues to address...

Anyhow...since I can't follow the suggestions for completing this assignment..I went old-fashion, maybe back to Web 1.025...and tried actually just reading on these sites instead of doing all the graphic stuff and using the web site creation tools...I point out to everyone that there's a lot of interesting stuff in these data bases that might be quite good to know...You might want to study up on the search tip pages of each of these sites...did you know, for instance, that ProQuest has 15 pages of explanitory notes on how to search their data base (I know because that's how many pages came out of the printer), and Gale is no small slouch either...they had another 15 to 20 pages of interesting reading on searching tips to go through....so if your EBSCO web sites don't pan out, and you can't get those darn videos to work...there's an ancient Roman trick called reading you can still do...even Mr. Spartacus would like that...