Diigo, go, go!

Moleskine Travel Kit by dmpop

I think I've been really fortunate, as I found Diigo really simple to sign up to (I guess that's because I used my Google email address rather than my Warwick one).

It was also really straightforward to export my old bookmarks in delicious to diigo. However, I worry whether I will use it in the same way as I did with delicious - intermittently. I've always been very bad at using delicious (useful though I know it can be), I think due to laziness on my part - yet another site for my tired old finger to click to!

This may be counteracted though, by installing the toolbar (and as I'm persevering with Chrome there is a nice little tool I can download for the browser) that should hopefully make me use it more consistently. After all, I had similar reservations about iGoogle and now I'm using it every day!

Reflection week

So far 23 things has been very interesting to me. Though I already felt familiar with a number of things before I started, it has surprised me how much my attitude to some of them has changed. For example, I had played with iGoogle before, but then abandoned it, but by having the time to focus on personalising it for me, I am finding that I regularly using it again - and finding it useful!

One thing I hadn't used before was Google reader, and now (after adding it to my iGoogle page) I am finding it invaluable to keep up with the posts of my other 23 things participants, as well as other blogs I follow, and by having them all in one place, it is saving me time. With the social networking week, I was happy to see other people getting used to Twitter, and in a way it gave me a chance to start with it again 'from scratch' to create a more work orientated account.

The biggest challenge I have found so far has been the actual blogging itself. Though I read blogs, I had never blogged myself. However it is strangely therapeutic organising your thoughts in this way, and a good tool for reflection, so I definitely think I will be looking at this further - in fact I'm already starting to look into tumblr and wordpress!

I'm looking forward to the next half of 23 things, well except for the writing of the Week 7 things! But don't worry, I'm working on the instructions as I type...

Image Credit: Reflections (A) by Camil Tulcan

Facebook

I have a Facebook account, a legacy from my student days, and unfortunately because I have friends who only use Facebook, I can't delete it! (Though I would, if I could)

There are a lot of reasons why I don't like Facebook; I dislike the constant stream of invitations to such entertainments as 'Farmville' or 'Zombies', I hate how clogged up my email account gets with messages etc. from Facebook and I cannot bear the constant privacy changes that Facebook continually initiate with little warning. However, so long as I make sure my privacy settings are fully up to date, I'm ok with keeping my Facebook account open to stay in touch with my Facebook-loving friends. My Facebook account is only for friends, and I have a strict rule that no work colleagues or strangers are added as a friend. I think that at least keeps the account manageable, and less open to abuse.

By contrast, Facebook is a good thing for institutions to use, as it is such a widely used network. I'm sure that most students use or are aware of Facebook, probably much more so than Twitter, as the latter does seem to reach an older demographic. Having a Facebook page allows an institution to show a (slightly) less corporate face, and the informality of the site might mean that users would feel more comfortable contacting the library. In the case of libraries using Facebook, I think it is a good way to advertise events or special notices, and also to connect to their users, giving them an informal way to comment and feel part of their library. If an institution does decide to use Facebook, I believe it really is important to keep posting on the account, to keep the information fresh and current. An unused Facebook page is really no better than a website.

So I can see the benefits in using Facebook - just don't expect me to enjoy using it!

Image credit: Facebook by Skander

Twittering on...

When I joined the group for 23 things, I was so pleased to see Twitter was included, because I love it! I've used it for (I think) a couple of years now, and much prefer it to other networking tools, like Facebook, simply because I can dip in and out of the stream of 'tweets' whenever I choose to. It's also not that prone to spam (unlike email unfortunately), and easy to block and report spammers, which is something I really appreciate.

I think Twitter is difficult to explain to someone but when you start using it, it does make sense. I am fortunate enough to have a smartphone, which enables Twitter to be something 'there' in the background of my daily life, and not something I have to log into - which I prefer. I also think it's really important to follow people and participate with 'tweets' yourself rather than just reading other people's, as that is when the idea of a 'network' starts to make sense - and I find it's great to use to send people links to things they would might find interesting - and if they don't, it's quickly lost in the Twitterstream anyway.

Twitter is also useful - for example I follow a number of art galleries, and tweets from them about the times/dates of their exhibitions often reminds me to visit far more effectively than an email would do. A lot of campaigns gather pace quickly using Twitter, such as the current #savelibraries , which is fighting against the proposed cuts to public libraries, and helps to spread the word about events and developments concerning this issue.

One thing I would suggest to anyone using Twitter for the first time is to use a client such as Tweetdeck, which shows at a glance the tweets in your Twitterstream, and enable you to reply and follow people easily - using this you can also set up an alert, so you get a pop up which appears on your computer when you receive a tweet (This is not annoying as it sounds, as it automatically disappears after a few seconds!). I've also found a TwitterGadget for iGoogle, which displays a small list of Tweets of your followers and also enable you to tweet whilst your on the iGoogle page.

Anyway, for the purpose of 23 things I have started a new Twitter id @suzanne_atkins and have started to follow other people doing 23 things. I look forward to tweeting with everyone in the near future!

Image credit: Twitter Logo Map 09 by thenextweb.com

Faffing with Firefox

I've used Firefox frequently before, as I've always had a huge resentment of WindowsExplorer, partly because of its domination of the internet, and the fact its really clunky. As Firefox has developed over the years I definitely think it's a great alternative.

At home, I've a Mac (which is probably why I don't have any loyalty to any Windows product!), so use Safari frequently too - it's really easy to use, but I do find some websites don't load properly in that browser, so have Firefox installed as a back up.

I've also started using GoogleChrome. I couldn't see why I'd need another browser, until a techie friend sent me a link to The Wilderness Downtown. This site was made for Google Chrome, and needs that browser installed to work, but if you like indie music (particularly the Arcade Fire) its definitely worth it! It particularly shows the feature in Chrome (and HTML 5) of active windows, opening and closing due to (I guess) the programming, rather than the user having to click it, also linking in other google features such as googlemaps. Also its a lovely piece of promotional work, and I think is showing where advertising and music videos will be heading in the very near future.


Image credit: Feuerfuchs5tr by Lordcolus

Time Management - Dabbling with Doodle

To start with, being an ex-art student, I will illustrate this post with what I really imagine when I see the word Doodle...

Anyway, back to Things 7 and 8 - I found Doodle simple to set up, and am now waiting for a reply. We regularly use Outlook to schedule meetings in our team, and I have used it in previous jobs, and tools like this can be really useful. I particularly like the fact that Doodle gives you a number of possible options for dates and times, rather than just one that can be accepted or declined.

I think the only problem with Doodle is that if it is not added as a widget it is another site to log into - though this is solved by having it added as a widget, and additionally gives me another reason to stick with iGoogle! I don't really have anything else to say about this, as it is so simple - so I won't!


Image credit: Sketchpad by Inha Leex Hale

RSS feeds - Things 5 and 6

RSS feeds are something (it turns out) I have been using for a while, without paying much attention to. And I think, in fact, that is the beauty of them - they are easy to link to and provide a ever-changing stream of information. If something takes my eye, I can look into it, if not I can ignore it! It may also be one of the things that will encourage me to use iGoogle (or something like it), as I can then have all the feeds in one central place.

A feature I haven't tried before is Google Reader, and initially it looks quite a nice way of avoiding the problem of cluttering up iGoogle with too many RSS feeds. However it could be something I'll never get round to checking on the computer, though I have just found that there is an app for Google Reader for my phone. So maybe this could be the solution for me, as I'm much more likely to check on things like this when I'm killing time (waiting for a bus etc.). It will be interesting to see how it works on my phone compared to the computer version.