I'm afraid I've fallen behind again. So much for keeping up with the Joneses of the library world. It's been really busy at work due to the start of the academic year, and we seem to have many more students using the library in comparison to previous years.
So I've been having a bit of a think about which of the many tools debated during cpd23 have been of use, which I will use again, and which of them I have used consistently since I wrote about them.
Blogging
I think the most important of the Things has been resurrecting my blog. I started it way back in April 2008 and wrote intermittently about library-related things, but without an obvious audience, it all felt a bit pointless. Since redesigning, refocusing and recommencing the blog, I have got used to putting my thoughts out there, although perhaps I should be more guarded in what I write. Some early posts were a bit too revelatory and have gone back in the drafts bin (I don't know know why I don't delete them - probably the librarian part of me whispering "keep it, you might need it").
Writing about new technologies and having deadlines to meet have made me try new things that I might not have discovered, or that I might have put off to a later date. I feel part of a wider community of bloggers, and am pleased to have had some comments on my posts (I'm impressed by the stats I'm getting as well, which proves there's somebody reading my ramblings!).
Google Reader/RSS Feeds
I am still following several blogs, though around half the people I was following haven't posted for ages. I think a fair few have given up. I think it's important to carry on blogging, partly for your own development, that all important reflective aspect, but also for your blog readers/followers/fans. Every day I look at Google Reader to see if there are any new posts. It makes me sad if I don't see any. It's becoming a bit of an addiction. However, I probably need to go through my subscribed feeds and reassess who I want to read. Anyone who hasn't posted in two months should probably go, as it's likely they've stopped blogging. And maybe I'll search the hundreds of cpd23 blogs for some more active librarian blogs to follow instead.
I love the time saving nature of RSS feeds. All my blogs, all in one place. On a slow connection, Google Reader and RSS have enabled me to access and view content which was constantly crashing my computer. Much as I love embedded images and videos, they're not very friendly to older machines on slow networks. Perhaps this is something bloggers need to bear in mind before they put so much media in their posts.
Twitter
Twitter is one of those services that I used loads and loads and loads, then forgot about for a bit, then used loads, then forgot about. I often find that I don't have anything very interesting to say, and if it is interesting I can't tweet it (a lot of the things that happen at work are student-related, and therefore confidential: can't really tweet about those) and I wonder whether any of my followers really care about what's happening in my life. I do like it as a service, I think it's great for keeping up to date with things like conferences, and I will use it more than LinkedIn (I have registered, but I'm not sure it's really my thing).
Prezi
Prezi is something I need to spend a lot more time with. I've not done that many presentations, but I think that Prezi will enable the creative part of me to be unleashed and it has the potential to make work presentations look interesting, even if the content has the potential to be a bit dull. I think I may continue exploring this one.
Screencasting
Screencast-o-matic, how I love thee! It's not only the jolly Heath Robinson/Wallace & Gromit-esque name, it's the simplicity! I will definitely use this. I really hope it stays free!
So I've been having a bit of a think about which of the many tools debated during cpd23 have been of use, which I will use again, and which of them I have used consistently since I wrote about them.
Blogging
I think the most important of the Things has been resurrecting my blog. I started it way back in April 2008 and wrote intermittently about library-related things, but without an obvious audience, it all felt a bit pointless. Since redesigning, refocusing and recommencing the blog, I have got used to putting my thoughts out there, although perhaps I should be more guarded in what I write. Some early posts were a bit too revelatory and have gone back in the drafts bin (I don't know know why I don't delete them - probably the librarian part of me whispering "keep it, you might need it").
Writing about new technologies and having deadlines to meet have made me try new things that I might not have discovered, or that I might have put off to a later date. I feel part of a wider community of bloggers, and am pleased to have had some comments on my posts (I'm impressed by the stats I'm getting as well, which proves there's somebody reading my ramblings!).
Google Reader/RSS Feeds
I am still following several blogs, though around half the people I was following haven't posted for ages. I think a fair few have given up. I think it's important to carry on blogging, partly for your own development, that all important reflective aspect, but also for your blog readers/followers/fans. Every day I look at Google Reader to see if there are any new posts. It makes me sad if I don't see any. It's becoming a bit of an addiction. However, I probably need to go through my subscribed feeds and reassess who I want to read. Anyone who hasn't posted in two months should probably go, as it's likely they've stopped blogging. And maybe I'll search the hundreds of cpd23 blogs for some more active librarian blogs to follow instead.
I love the time saving nature of RSS feeds. All my blogs, all in one place. On a slow connection, Google Reader and RSS have enabled me to access and view content which was constantly crashing my computer. Much as I love embedded images and videos, they're not very friendly to older machines on slow networks. Perhaps this is something bloggers need to bear in mind before they put so much media in their posts.
Twitter is one of those services that I used loads and loads and loads, then forgot about for a bit, then used loads, then forgot about. I often find that I don't have anything very interesting to say, and if it is interesting I can't tweet it (a lot of the things that happen at work are student-related, and therefore confidential: can't really tweet about those) and I wonder whether any of my followers really care about what's happening in my life. I do like it as a service, I think it's great for keeping up to date with things like conferences, and I will use it more than LinkedIn (I have registered, but I'm not sure it's really my thing).
Prezi
Prezi is something I need to spend a lot more time with. I've not done that many presentations, but I think that Prezi will enable the creative part of me to be unleashed and it has the potential to make work presentations look interesting, even if the content has the potential to be a bit dull. I think I may continue exploring this one.
Screencasting
Screencast-o-matic, how I love thee! It's not only the jolly Heath Robinson/Wallace & Gromit-esque name, it's the simplicity! I will definitely use this. I really hope it stays free!
Evernote
I have been pleasantly surprised by Evernote. It's become quite a useful tool in the search for pantomime costumes (Oh yes it has!). I find a representative image on the web, save it to a note, access it on my phone and voila! I can show it to people without the need for a computer. Liking it more and more.
The End is Nigh
So there you have it. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of tools I have enjoyed using. To be honest, I thought a lot of the Things would be good in principle, but not very useful in practice (OK, so some of them have fitted nicely into that box). I only hope I've learned something from using them.
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