I suppose I am also, however, cautious of being wowed by the flash new Web 2.0 applications without taking into consideration any potential down-sides. For example, breaches of privacy, lack of focus on reader needs, security issues, and too much concentration on the whistles and bells. Someone's suggestion in their blog about readers being put off by libraries trying to be 'down with the kids' also struck a chord (see the fabulous Libetiquette Blog on this point).
Working through the 23 Things program has been instructive and, given the time, will prove really useful for my library work. I'm now more confident about approaching the new applications, and don't feel too daunted to have a go myself. The language takes a while to get used to, which can make one feel isolated, but I think it's sinking in slowly.
One thing I'm going to do as a follow-up is to have another dig in Delicious. I have noted some other bloggers saying that it has grown on them, so I will give it the benefit of the doubt and have another go. I'm not even going to consider giving LinkedIn another chance, as I wasn't keen on the idea at all and felt that uploading my C.V. was one step too far. I really enjoyed looking at the uses different libraries make of Facebook, and am keen to get my library site up and running. Twitter is fun from a personal perspective, but I think my readers would be better served by Facebook for library information.
I was struck throughout the process by the odd connections that different applications made by looking at linked profiles and customisations. For example, when I first logged in to iGoogle, up popped a suggestion for a blog in which I might be interested, about the city I grew up in. This spooked me a little until I worked out that the ghost in the machine was looking at a gadget I had already added which shows the temperature in that particular place.
Another odd coincidence: when I was digging about in Twitter I found that one of the other Oxford 23 Thingers was following 5 out of the 8 unrelated people I was following! You know who you are.
Another thing that stuck me was the necessity of having a disciplined approach to Web 2.0. It's no good following twenty blogs if you're only going to check for updates once a fortnight, unless you want to log in to find thousands of unread entries. Somewhat daunting. Similarly, there's little point creating an all-singing all-dancing Facebook presence, only to realise six weeks later that all the information is now out of date and therefore useless to your readers. Dedicating time for both picking up new posts and for updating information is hugely important.
One of the most interesting things I've found about the 23 Things has been reading some of the other blogs. I've been enormously impressed about how people are thinking about Web 2.0 constructively and really trying to link the new applications to the needs of their readers. The different themes people have chosen and the styles of writing they adopted are also fascinating on a more mundane level. I was also struck by the number of 23 Thingers who started their blogs full of enthusiasm and didn't get further than the first post. I wonder if this is due to a lack of time or a lack of interest, or a little of both.
So my challenge now, at the end of 23 Things, is to integrate Web 2.0 into my working life, so that my readers can get the most out of these emerging technologies. On a slightly grandiose note, using Web 2.0 in libraries seems an ideal way for librarians to maintain their relevance amid talk of bookless libraries and the death-throes of librarianship as a profession.
Thank you to the Oxford 23 Things organisers for the many hours of work which made this journey worthwhile.
