THING TWENTY-THREE!!!

23. Complete a survey and comment on 23 Things.

Although the 23 Things have been completed, I am happy to continue a journey that gave me many opportunities to learn about Library 2.0. The most fun was the day I started my blog in May when I did an avatar and added links for Delicious and Shelfari before doing the required Things. I thought, "I can do this". Even though there were delays and frustrations along the way, the self-paced tutorial was a great format for me to follow. Although I am a person who usually likes to do things in order, I found that if I had challenges or spent too much time on any "Thing", it was best to move on and return later. After having problems posting a YouTube video, and asking two people for help, it worked fine when I tried using a different video. Now that I am completing the project, I have had fun going back to do more - like adding letters 358 from More Flickr Fun today.

I already had accounts for some of the Things, but I learned more when exploring each Thing. My favorites to continue working with are the photo ones like Flickr and PictureTrail. At work I also want to do more with the ZOHO site that we started using last spring.

Thank you for offering 23 Things again. Even though I am back at work now, I was glad to be working on it mostly in the summer when it did not matter if I was working at one or two AM. Having a dial-up computer connection at home takes more time than using the wireless that I use when I take my computer elsewhere.

Now I understand the Facebook culture better, and am happy to be a member. It has already been fun to "re-connect" with people, and I will probably use Facebook more than many of the other Things.

One of my favorite parts of 23 Things was to look at the blogs of others. After finishing a Thing, it was fun to read what others had done for it. At first I looked mostly at blogs from our SAMMIE region, but recently have looked at many others from throughout the state. I plan to continue reading them, and look forward to expanding my horizons. I would be interested in another similar experience if offered during the summer.

Thing Eighteen!

18. YouTube & Other Online Video.

I have enjoyed YouTube for awhile even though I do not spend too much time there. Yesterday I was interested to hear in the news that Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota and his opponent Al Franken were the first Senate candidates to participate in a YouTube challenge, and enjoyed viewing "Got a question for Al Franken and Norm Coleman?". I added the Coleman/Franken video to the Thing 18 post. We enjoyed hearing the first debate of the Senate candidates at Farmfest in August, and saw Al Franken at the Minnnesota State Fair on the weekend that Senator Coleman took his daughter to college.

Some of the first YouTube videos I watched were on libraries and librarians such as the popular Grand March of the Librarians mentioned for Thing 18. I did not recognize any Minnesota librarians. At a conference that I attended we saw examples of libraries successfully incorporating YouTube for contests and promotions. YouTube provides a useful avenue for teens to use libraries. A Vision of K-12 Students Today and the video response on YouTube were thought-provoking to watch.

For our annual "Faculty Duty Day" this year, we were addressed by MnSCU Chancellor James H. McCormick on YouTube in a presentation of 5 minutes and 57 seconds.

I found YouTube useful for sending a link to our book club members to see Jeanette Walls and her mother after reading The Glass Castle last spring.

My sister sent a message after she posted a video on YouTube of a Bill Clinton appearance in Minnesota.

In Thing 18 I learned that a Minnesota native is responsible for YouTube. Cheers to St. Paul Central High!