Final Reflections

I had great expectations when I enrolled for the 23 Things programme. I felt it was an excellent and timely opportunity for me to expand my knowledge of Web2.0 tools and somehow determine the extent to which they could be effectively used in a University library setting.

In order to better address my personal objectives, I explored each Thing introduced extensively and I felt that both the main and the additional tasks recommended helped me to use the newly acquired knowledge in a very effective manner. I also found the writing of each post on the blog to be a useful exercise since it permitted further opportunities for reflection on the benefits of each tool.

I arranged my favourite Web2.0 technologies into three groups:

• Google Reader, Delicious and Podcasts
• Flickr, Facebook and YouTube
• Google Docs and ThinkFree Office
  

The first group not only provided me with excellent new electronic resources but also allowed me to find them all in the same place. It has indeed been very convenient to log on to Google Reader and to find the latest posts from fellow 23 Things participants, from other Information Professionals’ blogs I am now following and also to listen to my favourite podcasts before downloading them to my iPod via iTunes. As an added advantage, it’s reassuring to know I am not missing any important information that has been made available. The second group of tools allowed me to learn more about some of the hot topics in Library and Information Science today such as the benefits and concerns associated with the implementation of Facebook Fan Pages or Groups in libraries, copyright issues and how the Law appears to be typically one step behind Technology. The third group simply consists of awesome Web2.0 tools!

Twitter, on the other hand, was my least favourite Thing. I am well aware of its popularity and I don’t dispute its entitlement to be included in the programme due to its potential as an effective communication tool by any means. However, I still feel that due to the high amount of useless information being tweeted every split second, it may not be the most reputable and reliable platform available to promote existing library services as well as to advertise new ones.

I am delighted I had the opportunity to accomplish the 23 Things programme and I feel that my original objectives have been mostly met. This was due to fact that Laura, Penny, Jane, Emma and Angela made this initiative possible in the first place, delivered clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions every week and have also encouraged an active learning environment throughout the programme. I must take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and for making this whole experience highly enjoyable. I have now been asked to produce a report on the use of the Web2.0 tools that could be beneficial to the College Library in which I work to be read by the Fellow Librarian and the Librarian so we might be the next Oxford Library to join the Web2.0 directory. Watch this space!

Blogger Gadget and iGoogle Widget

The article "25 Great Blogger Widgets" introduced me to some of the gadgets available to add to the Blogger platform with the aim of enhancing communication between the blogger and his or her visitors. Although I thoroughly welcomed this opportunity, I guess it's fair to say that I didn't feel tempted to include more widgets than the ones recommended to accomplish Things 21 and 22 (as well as the additional tasks) to my Blooger nor to my iGoogle pages.

I can clearly see their appeal in general; it's very convenient to have standalone "programmes" that perform useful functions in the same place and at the same time. This is not only likely to save users' precious time but it also helps them to better manage and easily assimilate the information provided. However, I have to admit that personally I cannot see much point in adding some of them such as this one for example other than perhaps for entertainment purposes; which is also important, I guess...

This week, I have somewhat contributed to the 23 Things Oxford blog as well by adding a comment to the latest entry which I hope fellow participants will find it useful.

ThinkFree Office

Not only is ThinkFree Office compatible with Microsoft Office, it also reminds you of a Word document due to the familiar menus it provides. As suggested, I created a Note with the use of one of the available templates on offer and was also able to download it to my USB Flash drive.

Google Docs

This is a document I created using Google Docs and, as you can see, I formatted the text by using different font types, sizes, colours and also by making some of it bold. I finally shared the profound quote with a couple of fellow 23 Things participants.

I produced a form with three different types of questions (paragraph text, choose from a list and scale) and, after having chosen an appropriate theme, I e-mailed it to be completed to a few 23 Things participants.

Although I am aware of a lack of more sophisticated features to create text as well as of issues of dependency and privacy, this is simply awesome technology! The ability to produce and edit documents online, to access them anywhere (providing you have an internet connection, that is!) and the advantage of easy collaboration in real-time the service provides should never be underestimated.

Wikipedia

When I started my career in the field of Library and Information Science, I was introduced to the idea that Wikipedia was the Library Professional's worst enemy and I still occasionally notice this antipathy towards it. Although I acknowledge that some degree of animosity towards Wikipedia is justified due to questionable issues of reliability and accuracy, and also due to the fact that concensus appears to prevail over reputable credentials as a result of the nature of the site, I still use it on a fairly regular basis.

I am not ashamed of this type of information seeking behaviour of mine as I trust my ability to use the information I retrieve wisely and I often look at the list of references associated with the article. However, I have to admit that when I seek authoritative information on a particular subject, I don't even contemplate the possibility of having a very quick peek at Wikipedia...

Oxford Web 2.0 Wiki

The Oxford Web 2.0 Wiki is a fine example of how wikis can be effectively used to disseminate useful information amongst Information Professionals. It offered me the opportunity to learn more about specific features of some Web 2.0 tools and I found the advice given on how to implement some of them particularly useful. I enjoyed reading the impressions felt by the Librarians whose libraries have embraced some of the Web 2.0 tools which can be found under the Oxford Case Studies menu.

I have also contributed to the expansion of the Oxford Web 2.0 Wiki site by editing the page “Bibliography & useful links” and by adding a link to the article I wrote about Facebook on my 23 Things blog.

Twitter

As you can see, I am now in the “real-time information network” sphere. I have tweeted, retweeted, deleted and replied to tweets, used hashtags, and finally learned a whole new language in the process!

It’s kind of interesting to read what people are saying about particular topics; this can easily be done from the homepage without having to sign in. I decided to follow a couple of Oxford libraries on Twitter and, thanks to the services provide by TweepML and wefollow, I am also following a few librarians whose interests in particular areas of Librarianship appear to be very similar to mine. Unfortunately no one is following me yet which has prevented me from sending a direct message as you can only do that to one of your followers.

There is no doubt that Twitter has become very popular and I can understand how it has been regarded as a powerful tool for libraries to use in order to promote their services and strengthen relationships with their readers. However, since it appears that such a great amount of worthless information is tweeted, I wonder whether Twitter's reputation as an effective library tool is being damaged and the situation is aggravated by the fact that there are more reliable online means to address the same purposes available.