Thing 11

I agree with the posts I've read about this one - it's hard to use unless you happen to catch someone online. I signed up with webmessenger, and my user name is rspelvin0309@live.com. I'm a participant in the North Texas 23 Things program, and I'd love to hear from other participants! I did find one especially useful tidbit from this Thing. I put the list of IM abbreviations on my Favorites list so I can impress my friends and younger relatives.

Thing 12

Twitter is fascinating. I have heard about it, most notably when our congresspeople are on the floor of the House or Senate tweeting when they should be listening, but until today I've never read any actual Tweets. Just for variety, I'm following Time, Joel Stein, singer Blake Shelton, Sarah Palin, NPR, and the official White House Tweet. That's a diverse enough group, I think, to get a feel for this activity. I will also follow other NT23 users just to see what they're up to, especially those who work in my district (time to gear up for school already). I tried #TLA2010 to find out any info that someone may already be aware of, but came up with no results. This is great stuff for a political animal like me. Thanks!

Thing 10

I enjoyed exploring Ning without having to add my own page, although several of the library-related pages required that I have a login. I found a good group that shares ideas for Promethean boards. I also learned, rather belatedly, that Governor Schwarzenegger has recommended free digital math and science textbooks for secondary California students. I then followed a group that was posting during the Obama candidacy, and was reminded of how alive and well racism is today - some of the postings were absolutely vile (and also anonymous). I finished up with a storytelling group to which I will return. I must admit that I am feeling a little technologically overwhelmed. It's like discovering that there is a universe full of populated planets, and they have all sent messages to Earth at the same time.

Thing 9

My Facebook page has taken on a life of its own, as I'm sure most people's do. I've received about 15 requests for friends, and even looked up a picture of my old college boyfriend (who I wouldn't have recognized). I have made only a few comments, but I guess I'll start adding to that once I get more comfortable with the concept.

These are my three groups (this was fun!):

1. Altered Books I attended a workshop on altered books at TLA and I was really interested in the entire process. The entries I read gave tips, examples, etc. and I've been looking for this info.

2. The Storytelling Center, Inc. of New York My story times at my school always include a flannel board story - believe it or not, these high-tech children ask every week if we're doing a "board story" - and I'm always looking for new stories and ideas. This group is great.

3. Border Collies My Border collie is smarter than I am, and I want to compare notes with other owners around the world to see if we share any of the same experiences.

So far, groups are my favorite aspect of Facebook. Thanks for the introduction!

Thing 8

Well, I'm now in the world of Facebook. I decided on opaque rather than transparent - my photo (taken this afternoon) is there, as are my years of high school and college graduations. I added about ten friends. Thanks for the warning about the email password, because I almost did that. I also opted not to list my birthday, since anyone who needs to know it already does. Now I guess I'll just wait for postings.

Thing 7

Thing seven was really just a continuation of six, so I found a few sites with "RSS" and added the Star-Telegram and Weather.com to my Google Reader. This will save lots of time for me, because I've checked the weather at least twice a day since it's been so hot.

Thing 6

I added the required subscriptions, then added Renzulli and Promethean Planet, two of my favorites. My school is getting Promethean boards this year, and I will be interested to see any new library-related flip charts that will save a little time and effort, or ones that I can build from. I also like the CNN updates, since I check this or MSN often. Now it will be fun to find sites with feeds, and Google makes it easy.