FaceBook (12 of 23 Things)

Okay, I created a Facebook account for my puppet and alter ego, Molly Kathleen. MK is forever four years old so I had to lie about her age in order to get an account. I friended only members of my family and those familiar with my other self. The process was relatively painless and I had fun coming up with MK's profile, but I am uncomfortable with the amount of personal information and images that people put into this and similar sites. I understand the friending process and the privacy controls and options are impressive; however the skeptic in me warns me that once it's online, it's online and retrievable.

I also found the site to be visually busy. Too busy. I realize the ads are their bread and butter, but it's like you have to weed through the different ads, all the thumbnail pictures and links to get to the real content. I'm sure with repeated use my eye would know where to look and it wouldn't feel so cumbersome.

This Thing fills the bill for keeping up with friends and family and could do away with "long lost" relationships, if you want to keep the multitudes up-to-date with your life. I've always thought the yearly Christmas letter fits the bill as well as being less intrusive. I think the younger set are more into the daily and hourly updates.

I enjoyed the article detailing the site's history. I feel much more enlightened about Facebook and wonder if it has proven itself as a money-making business, i.e. are the ads generating enough revenue. I, for one, never read the ads and find them a total distraction, but others might not.

Linked In - Professional Social Networking (11 of 23 Things)

I really don't want to establish a Linked In account or profile. Too much information, abet professional, is required for this type of social networking and I'm not quite there yet. I'd rather keep my person off the Internet as much as possible.

I did research upcoming library conferences and can see the powerful potential of this type of site for those in business for themselves or those seeking positions in a particular industry. I know numerous people who use Linked In and find benefit in building and maintaining their contacts through this website.

Here Today by Ann M. Martin (2004)

In 1963, as her restless/irresponsible mother gradually abandons the family, eleven-year-old Ellie takes charge of her younger siblings, while also trying to deal with acts of prejudice toward the "misfits" that live on her street. The dissolution of her family is gradual and Martin does an impressive job of portraying the pre-adolescent daughter's awakening and realization of her mother's weaknesses. Loving and hating in equal and understandable portions. Hard in many ways to read - yet promising in the knowledge that those who care, care deeply and will rise to the occasion and get you through. Ages: 11+

Lost and Found by Andrew Clements (2008)

Twelve-year-old identical twins Jay and Ray have long resented that everyone treats them as a unit, an odd unit; so when the opportunity arises, they hatch a plot to take advantage of a clerical error at their new school and pretend they are just indeed one person. Clements is typically funny and irreverent; having twin boys himself the author orchestrates the plot so the parents are logically clueless and the boys are named Jay Ray and Ray Jay - easily confused auditorily as well as visually. The boys see an opportunity and run with the freedom of singleness. Chaos ensues as lies and misunderstandings mount giving the boys more trouble than their careful planning took into account. The situations are as true-to-life as they are funny! Ages: 8-9+

LibraryThing - Social Networking with Books (10 of 23 Things)

I am ahead of the game for a change! I investigated LibraryThing when we were discussing tags a few weeks ago. I didn't realize then however, that LibraryThing also provided the similar titles and other editions information in our catalog. Of course these recommendations must come from the tags and other bibliographic information obtained through authoritative sources and the social network that inputs data into LibraryThing.

This time around I added 4-5 books to my "Library". It was cool to read reviews written by other's. I will definitely use this as a resource for booktalking as well as a resource for book covers. All the stats from the users was fascinating! I can't imagine I'll catalog my personal books - but LibraryThing provides lots of interesting and, at times, useful information.

Since my last post, I have experienced significant difficulty with my old bookmarking site. I have persevered with Delicious and am slowly making the switch. I'm still finding the tags to be cantankerous but I'm hoping I'll find using the site more user friendly and without operational problems.

It has been three years since I first heard the term Web 2.0. To be honest, even after the workshop I was attending, I really wasn't sure what they were talking about. Blogs and Instant Messaging blah, blah, blah. This exercise of 23 Things has been a real eye opener - it has forced me to try, investigate and gauge for myself the pros and cons of online networking - although I doubt it will make me an avid user of the majority, I feel I'll find my niche and be able to intelligently converse about the rest.