Final Thing(s), equations and horse-racing ...

Image by pepe50 (Paolo)
(from Flickr, under Creative Commons)

So I've reached Thing 23 at 23:25 - not quite one minute to midnight, but coming down to the end of August deadline. It has been an interesting experience, though I've felt that I haven't done some of the Things properly, and I can't pretend that it hasn't sometimes taken me quite a lot to motivate myself to get through to this point. Looking at so many things for which I don't have a natural affinity or particular need in my everyday life in a relatively short time has been more than a bit of a struggle at times, and some of them - perhaps most of them - have taken much more than the hour that was initially suggested. Perhaps this is because a lot of them were new, perhaps because I have tried to blog fully, perhaps because I have spent too much time on Flickr, looking for images ... ;o)

Image by fraumrau
(from Flickr, under Creative Commons)

Other 23 Thingers have said it, but perhaps what I have found most interesting has been reading other people's posts. I can't pretend that I have read even nearly all of them, but I've tried to read a selection. I have wondered at various points whether I should read other people's posts before I've blogged about the Thing myself, or whether I should come to it without preconceptions from other blogs. I guess that I have generally preferred to come to them without having read others' views, but where I have struggled particularly with a Thing, I've sometimes found insight in them which has helped me to get through them. I have appreciated the bits and pieces of technical help that I've received from others doing the programme, via comments on my blog. Since 3 August, when I finally managed to get around to installing Google Analytics, I've have 101 visits by 28 different people, which surprised me. It's hard to believe that many would find this blog of much interest. There does seem to have been an increase in traffic as others have finished the programme, but perhaps that is unrelated ... In retrospect, it might have been good to do the programme with others, but having missed the launch party, begun late, and slipped behind quite rapidly, I didn't link up with anyone.

Image by Leo Reynolds
(from Flickr, under Creative Commons)

So what do I think about Web 2.0? I've been fascinated by some of the language of the tools/Things, and cringed at times. Twitter has particularly awful terms - tweeple (or twerson?) anyone? - and followers make it sound as though you are/belong to a cult, to me anyway. And who came up with the name Zotero? But this is perhaps not the place for discussions about that ... I guess that I remain unconvinced that any of the Things are essential, and I definitely don't think that using as many of the tools as possible, and opening every channel of communication on offer will necessarily improve a library's services. Bombarding people with information via lots of different routes, however attractively packaged with Flickr images, can be counter-productive. Indeed bombarding people with too many messages via even one route can lead to them simply filtering them all out. This is where the horse-racing comes in, or rather the old "horses for courses" adage (not a failsafe tip for the 2.30 at Ascot, I'm afraid). Not all tools will suit all institutions, or all customers/clients/users - whatever the politically correct term is. Discernment is very necessary, and I think that there are situations (mine being close to being one of them) where perhaps none of the tools are particularly appropriate. You can't force people to sign away their souls to Google, or sign up for Facebook or Twitter, or even possess a computer/mobile phone (though those strange creatures - freaks, I sometimes feel, myself being one of them - who don't have a computer and mobile phone may be edging ever closer to extinction, in the first world at least). Maybe one day we will be issued with these things at birth, but for the moment I can't see myself stopping sending emails any time soon. That is still perhaps the most guaranteed way of reaching the majority of my users. The equations also come in here, too. In a large organisation, with one or more dedicated marketing and/or technical people, and a large customer base, the efforts involved in creating Facebook accounts, or blogs, or Slideshare presentations, or eye-catching posters and leaflets with Flickr images, or whatever will perhaps pay off with proportionate results. The more events and news items your organisation has, which people need to be made aware of quickly, the more useful some of the Web 2.0 tools will become. But there are core services which to me come first - getting the books into the library and onto the shelves, and circulating effectively, and being around to actually talk to users - guide them around the information world - are priorities. In libraries with few staff, time spent blogging may not be time best spent. I am still not sure that libraries and social networking go well together.

Image by Leo Reynolds
(from Flickr, under Creative Commons)

So, will I continue to use any of the Things? I like blogging - I've always enjoyed writing - but I'm not sure that I will continue once I finish this. I suppose that if I wanted to keep a diary (which I have at times), I wouldn't want it to be public. Maybe I could use this blog as a kind of portfolio for professional development ruminations, but without the impetus of the programme, I'm not sure that I will. I still feel odd about putting up my "homework" for the world to see each time I complete a Thing. I like decorating my posts with images, so Flickr has a fair chance of being used again, whether for personal things or my library, time will tell. The other tools ... well, time will tell there too. Personnel and situations change, and times and technologies move on, and I can easily imagine using some of the Things (or their successors) in the future if not now, even if I've more or less forgotten that I have an iGoogle page already (even with Audubon birds on it). Thanks to the 23 Things programme I now at least know what is out there, which is more than I did before. Yes, I'd heard of some of the tools, and sort of used one or two, but now I have a much better idea of their possibilities.

Image by bitzi (ion-bogdan dumitrescu)
(from Flickr, under Creative Commons)

Don't worry, there aren't 23 images of the number 23 (though I did consider it - there are plenty to choose from on Flickr).

Thanks to all who have been involved, in creating the programme, and in participating, and sharing your journeys! And for those of you who haven't quite finished yet - Bon courage! If I can do it, anyone can!