Facebook and LinkedIn are old friends, having joined up with them both some time ago. I'm still getting used to Twitter, I really can't think of short statements to write, so I'm still very much a follower rather than a tweeter. I'm sure eventually I'll get there, but...
CPD23 has certainly helped me contact other people I would never have been able to contact before. I've got contacts and colleagues around the world, which is brilliant because I can learn something about libraries in different countries. It's so nice to have comments too, to give you something to work towards and also to ponder over (I'm a great one for pondering, cogitating and ruminating!)
The problem I'm finding though is the number of blogs I'm following. Finding the time to read them is not always easy (it took over a week to get through all the posts which came in while I was away for two weeks!) I don't just follow cpd23 blogs, I've got a lot of blogs covering sewing, dressmaking, crafts and general library stuff which keep filling up that Google Reader page. I think this is the main disadvantage so far. Does anyone else find this? Can you suggest a way for me to prioritise my feeds??
My other slight negative thing is my lack of access to some sites at work and not being able to use them to their full advantage, simply because I can only use a web version or it's just completely blocked. I also use my gmail account for my blogs and personal emails are a complete no-no unless I can find a spare People's Network (public) PC to log into... This seems to be a constant gripe for me, possibly because I've mainly worked in academic libraries where there is much more access to web 2.0 stuff, etc. Debby Raven in the July 2011 edition of CILIP Update includes some comments from Sarah Hammond who researched blogging in public libraries for her MA...
As for a sense of community... This is definitely there. This is evident with links to blogs within blog posts, not to mention comments encouraging bloggers to look at different things and the virtual meet-ups. My dressmaking and sewing bloggers are a definite community, arranging online sew-ins, and occassionally meeting up.
I intend to continue to I hope others do. I think this blog will evenutally end up being my thoughts on what's happening in the library world, etc. Here's to the future community of librarians/information professionals worldwide!
References: Opportunities not to be missed by Debby Raven in CILIP Update, July 2011, pg. 43-45.
I'm doing cpd23 too, so I dropped by to say hello! I'm starting library school later this month!
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