Thing 23--Time to Celebrate!

As I looked at the blog prompts for thing 23, I decided I needed to look back at my earlier blog entries. I'd forgotten just how frustrated I was at the beginning of the process. I was anxious to learn some new things, but I was a bit afraid I'd never get to "Thing 23" before April 15. As a result, I introduced myself to several of the tools, but gave up on getting them to work. The countdown for example has never worked. I was encouraged to read other blogs and find out that things didn't always work for others either. And then we discovered that one of our computers does have issues...this is the technology we know and "love".
"23 Things" has defined Library 2.0 for me. I was unaware of some of the tools it contains and I'm very aware that we haven't looked at all of them. The Internet is overwhelming and the challenge is to be aware of what kinds of things to look for and then select things that are appropriate tools and concentrate on them. However as a media person, we need to be familiar with what comes along that would be helpful for our patrons as well.
Favorite things? iGoogle and the RSS reader have been useful, but as I look back through the list of things, I see several other things that I'd like to go back and explore. (Now I won't have to worry about making a deadline.)
I did connect with a couple media people-- but honestly, I made more connections with family at this point. It was a good thing.
This was a wonderful program for me. The links were very informative and sometimes entertaining. I wasn't real sure who to contact or how to contact someone with questions I had. But given the number of people signed on for "23 things" I thought the comments left for me & the emails were good.
I would be very interested in participating in another program like this if it is offered. Trying to learn these things without the links and suggestions would be very frustrating & time consuming.
So--A Big Thank You to those who sponsored and set up "23 Things". It was and is a valuable experience that I look forward to sharing with my fellow staff members.