Thing 32 - Google Maps

I enjoyed this thing, but had some trouble with it too. I did a map of Downtown Minneapolis where I work. I enjoyed doing it. The links to the tutorial videos were no longer working. I found some other tutorial videos from Help on Google, but they were not very complete. They showed what you can do, but not where to find all the cool pointers, and "stuff" that was shown on the video. It was pretty hit and miss to figure out how to add things for me.
I am planning a couple of trips this year, and may play with the map to plan these. Maybe that will be part of the Travel Thing coming up next.
I'm not sure I "mashed" very much. I added some pictures of buildings from the web, and a link to the website of the theater I added to my map. I hope that counts.
I read one other 23 Thing blogger, a school media specialist, who will use it for a class trip with some of the students. And that makes sense. I'm not sure how I would use it in my private law library, unless I map out directions to get to other Law Libraries at the nearby colleges, or county libraries. Our Real Estate section could use it for the developments etc. but I'm not sure they would want to hear about it from me.
Anyway, this is a nice tool to have, and know about.

Thing 31 More Twitter, Oh Goodie.
The above is said with tongue firmly planted in cheek. I don't get twitter. I can't even get a picture to display for my profile. I am following a few people, but have nothing to add to their discussions.
I looked at the Librarian directory, and added my name. I also choose a couple of librarians to follow, but how do you get into a discussion? Maybe I am boring. Or, maybe I am just bored with doing these things for the sake of doing them and not seeing any application to my life or work.
I still believe it is good to know about these things; twitter, blogging, webpages, rss feeds, etc, etc. And I do know more about them all than I did a month ago. But it is just too soon to apply any of it, and really get a feel of how it all works in my life and work.
What I did do: I have added a twitter gadget to my iGoogle page to watch my twitter page for those I am following. I like this because I can watch it and add without logging on separately.
Added my name to directory, and chose a few people to follow.
Found a hobby group to follow too.
Added a search term to watch for on Twitterrel, to try and find fellow fans of an author.
Maybe this will help me get connected. I have no interest in using it on my mobile phone. My desktop and laptop at home is enough.
Maybe I am just blah today. Still cold and snowy in MN and I'm sick of it.

Thing 29 Google Tools

I went back and added Google tools. No big deal really.
I added Google news, and will track a couple of subjects, or celebrities that I like to track. That's private.
I also added the Google calendar. I've been thinking of this for a while. It would be nice if I can get my husband to use it too. He travels for work, and keeping track of my son's schedule of sports practices, hubbies travels, and my stuff, it gets complicated. Having it on a family iGoogle page may be helpful. I may make this webpage open to my family so they can add things as needed, and they we will all be updated.
I added my husband's work email, and our home email to have access to the calendar. I'll see how this works. I think it is a good idea, but we all have to get used to using it.
I'll show the kid first, get him hooked then work on the hubby.
It is tough to blog on these things. It really is just setting them up, then trying to see if you really use them comes later.
I'm enjoying my facebook page, and my own web page. I have sent my delicious page to a few people to review and have not had any feedback yet. Will see.

My Delicious Page

Thing 30. Skipped #29, I may come back to it later.
Have really enjoyed my own website. Thought it may be frivolous, but I do like all my stuff in one place.
I did not complete the first round of 23 Things and missed setting up a delicious page. As previously posted, I am making a page hopefully to be used by the attorneys at our firm to use as a starting point for free legal research. I think I have a pretty good group of websites now.
In #30 we are asked to bunch them together, but the tags already do that for me, and I don't have that many that they are too hard to handle. I will keep this as a possibility for later. I really want to look into the networks and start cruising for more bookmarks. But since this is for work, I don't want to fill it with personal stuff either. I will have to see how this develops.
I did add a gadget on my blog for a link to my delicious page. I also intend to add a comment on the Ning on what I have added. I also want to cruise that for more bookmark page access.
On another Web 2.0 note: I now have a page on facebook. I have been holding out because I don't like a "real presence" on the Internet, and again thought it frivolous. But many of my family have joined. I have gotten in touch with some friends from High School, and our local Law Library Association has a page there now too. So, I surrendered to the pressure and have a page. I am anxious to start viewing our Assoc. page and see if there is more relevant Web 2.0 things on there. The Ning is fun to look at, but the majority of members are school or public libraries. While that is interesting, I really want to talk about Law firm applications.

Creating a website, the experience!

I just finished my website on iGoogle and it was fun. I added quotes for the day, history for the day, news, sports scores. In the sports gadget there was a place to * star teams, but I did not see where to look at a list of teams to choose from. Can anyone help? How do I star a team to follow?
Otherwise it all went pretty smoothly.
At first I thought it would be a web page others could look at, which is what I need for work. Along with the 23 THINGS, I am actually trying to use some to the technology I learn about at work. One "thing" is to find useful Legal Research for free on the Internet. There are some GREAT sites, and ones that are not so helpful. I am working with an attorney who wants me to make a page with links on it that other attorneys can go to and begin their research.
This is a Delicious page, I know that now. Since I did not work on the first 23 THINGS I missed this step. I will go back and work on it though. I thought that making a web page here for THING 28 would be the "page" the attorneys could go to for all my links. I misunderstood and was a little disappointed. But the Delicious page will work fine anyway. Anyone have anymore suggestions?
A personal web page is kinda fun. At this point I just added personal stuff but can see where it will be helpful to add blogs I am reading, and have them all in one place on MY page. There will be more things to add I am sure.

Wasting time I don't have on my blog

I wanted to add an RSS feed, and finally found one I like. This Day in Legal History. I'm a history buff, and a law librarian, so I thought it would fit.
I also added a title caption: Biblio Solo. It loosely translates from French as: Solo Library, and I am a Solo Librarian, so that fits too.
I am still working on Thing 28, a Website. It comes at a great time for my work. I will hopefully have time this week to start it, and will post on it later.

Do I need to Tweet? Really?

Thing 27, Twitter.
I read the thing, and a couple of articles, and saw the video, and still ask myself do I really need to Tweet? The guy on the video said he is on Twitter about 4 hours a day! I think this is what is wrong with technology today. Four hours on the computer could be spent with some face to face contact. He has 5000 friends online, but when was the last time he went out for coffee with a friend, his brother, or on a date? Really?
I had one follower, and I read her messages, and none of them were of interest to me. NASCAR and American Idol/Idiot is what she was commenting about. Big deal, I don't care. Maybe if I found some pages with things that interest me...but I don't want to spend the time, checking messages, responding.
I read one of my favorite blog pages, and she felt the same way. She didn't see the point and didn't want to spend the time.
She had already done the first 23 Things, and liked them. But this second set seemed less helpful for work applications. So far I agree, though I did not work on the first 23 things. Maybe I should go back to that list and work on it on my own.
Two things I want to explore since I have work applications for them already are: a) A delicious page and B) Googledocs. I will work on these on my own, and blog about them later.

Sorry about the rant. It is good to know what Twitter is, since people are talking about it. And if you get a group going on a project, or have similar interests, it would be helpful, so I guess I will keep my account for now. But I'm not sure how to use it at work yet. It kind of feels like junior high school all over again, trying to get in with the "it" crowd. Oh goody, to be awkward and 13 again!