Linked out

Maybe I was a little harsh about LinkedIn. Having snooped around the blogs of some fellow 23 Thingsers, such as James whose wife "made many good connections and got work through Linked In", I concede that it could be a Good Thing; a useful career tool. Sorry about the paranoid moment.

Thing 14 - Linked?

My big brother asked me to LinkIn months ago, so that I could admire his profile. And I did. Why did I LinkIn so readily, but have a Thing about Facebook? Is it because of that reassuring sentence on the LinkedIn About Us page: "All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent"? What is a 'qualified professional' anyway? And how are they more trustworthy than Ordinary Folk? So many questions.
Here are some less demanding early spring crocuses.

Thing 13 - The F.. word

Nnnng. I just can't bring myself to join and use Facebook. Yes it would be a tool for communicating with friends and family. But I fear Facebook, because of perceived (actual?) disadvantages: making myself available to those I'm not that keen to meet or 'meet' again, having my pokes rejected by others who feel the same way about me, having pitifully few 'friends', etc. Perhaps I'll get over it in time.

So I'm not qualified to offer anything other than a biased and ignorant opinion about libraries on Facebook. So here it is. If I try to imagine reliving my student days during the Internet Age, I think I'd feel irritated or even patronised by a library asserting its presence on my social network. The library isn't my friend or even my 'friend'. But maybe that's just me.

Despite my luddite reservations I don't see the harm in setting up and maintaining a Facebook Group or Fan Page to raise the profile of library services to those who are already on the network and who Get It, so I'd delegate this task to someone who is and who does. But only if they can convince me that they have the resources (i.e. enough time) to keep it fresh. A stale Group would be worse than no Group for the library's image.

Thing 12 - Do YouTube?

YouTube is great. I've already discovered some cartoon masterpieces, and have benefitted from video demonstrations of some tricky IT manoevres. Having enjoyed and - more importantly - remembered what I have learned via video demonstrations and discussions for a distance learning course, I can understand how YouTube clips could be used to bring information and ideas alive for learners.. and for anyone who is just curious about something. Their visual content makes them more immediately appealing than podcasts, and easier to dip into when using a visual medium in the first place. In my opinion.

For example, How to read a Gothic cathedral Facade. Help. How would you get this clip to show up here in an appealingly clickable rectangle?

Update: I've got it, thanks to Laura. Enjoy.

Thing 11 - Too many pods

I'm not sure how I feel about podcasts. They could be useful for work, as means of conveying news and updates to people who are already familiar with this territory. And I can see their mileage for teaching, and for catching a missed radio show. But I have been (and still am) overwhelmed by the choice. I went to the BBC Podcasts page, as instructed, and felt bamboozled. Then I went to Podcast.com and felt the same. But I'm not one to give up, oh no. I browsed for a couple podcasts via iTunes Store and slipped them into the 'Podcasts' bit of my iTunes library, in the hope that I might remember to have a go with them on the way home one day. They will have to be truly breathtaking to prise me away from what is already on the radio, though.

Thing 10 - Social bookmarks

In the true spirit (I'm guessing) of Web 2.0 I spent some time wafting around Delicious Tagland, looking for the bookmarks of people I have never met. Sarah Washford, you have also bookmarked the SWIMS catalogue and I like your technology bookmarks so I have become one of your 'fans'. I've also selected a couple of your other fans for my network. I could spend a lo-o-ong time doing this, lest I miss the secret of the Universe. Yes I purchased a 1-year licence for the cartoon. Fun, huh?