Things about Things 5 & 3: Tying Up Loose Ends

Need to spend a few minutes updating and bring closure to some thoughts so I can move on and (hopefully) complete all my other tasks!

I finally got the issue with Twitter straightened out that allows others to sign up to follow me without me having to know about them first. Not that I feel important, but it was causing others distress because they thought they were doing things wrong!

As to what was the issue, I don't really know. I signed up and my account acted like I had reached the follower plateau that causes new ones not to be added. It took several sessions with another member to compare our settings. Could not resolve anything before I had to put it on the shelf. When I received notice that another player had added me, that's when I knew the unknown problem was resolved!

I am still firm on what I will be using it for...I want to follow folks who are basically only going to report about professionally related things. Included on my current list are David Warlick (2 Cents), Joyce Valenza (Neverending Search), Vicki Davis (CoolCat), Michael Stephens (Tame the Web), Scott McLeod (Dangerously Irrelevant), Barry Bishop (Librarian Philospher), Lynette Breedlove (To Be GT), my school district and eSchool News. I have chosen to add one local personality who tweets about Houston traffic. JUST today I found out that one of my favorite bloggers who I have been reading for almost 5 years is thinking she will be doing more tweeting than blogging and I will be adding her...she is worthy of my time because her motherhood and dog stories make me laugh out loud ...and I will treat myself to those when needed!

I still am not sure about the phone part of this. I made some modifications for doing/receiving by phone but really have not pursued it. A personal event (aka my daughter's wedding) has been first priority this summer and some of my learning curve has taken a dive and I just need some time to get back on track. And I will because tweetering by phone seems to make more sense.

So if you want to follow me and see what is on my mind professionally look for VWBrarian.

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Facebook update:

Regarding Facebook, I did fall into the social part of it a little deeper than I thought, but am not sure all the fun and games will continue after school starts back and the work schedule becomes more normal. I did enjoy sharing things about the wedding with everyone as it unfolded, especially the week it was all happening. I do like having a place to put pictures that can be shared. I have enjoyed some of the little tests and writing about the results...it has been fun to see others reactions as well.

One of the nicest things to come out of the experience is the rekindling of a friendship that because of life interruptions had somewhat become dormant. But we have gotten back together, mostly over sharing our common theme of raising girls!! And that has been a lot of fun. I said it before in my original post about FB...it is the virtual watercooler. I get to interact informally with people whom I do not see regularly, be they local or long-distance. And I like that very much. The nature of my work currently does not allow me much daily contact with a group of people since I am no longer on a campus. Ilike sharing tidbits of news and passing thoughts.

For those who have written about being too tied to the computer and they would rather enjoy "real" life, I agree with you and I do what I can to keep in touch with people in the real world. I plan encounters regularly, I see people regularly, but it is so nice to have a way to interact with family and friends daily...if I want to! And that is a nice feature...FB is structured so that I can interact when I want...I am not "tied" to it unless I want to be!

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A Skype Adventure

A good friend and colleague, Grendel from GOI-BOK and I found ourselves in different cities a few weeks ago and wanting to catch up, we decided we would have a Skype session. It turned into more of an adventure and a late night full of laughs, but it ended successfully. It did take two cells and three computers to accomplish, but we both learned lots and had fun at the same time.

I am totally convinced I will be using Skype in the future once other family members get set up and we have a chance to work together on making it happen. I am not sure I will be thrilled using a camera, but I will work hard in overcoming that feeling.

Thing #5 Microblogging: Face(book)ing the Truth

I joined Facebook about 8-9 months ago when the district opened it to track graduates and our department was asked to offer some introductory classes on it. It wasn't an easy thing for me to do ... no, it's not hard to get signed up and start...it's just hard for me because I am an anti-social social networker! I ABSOLUTELY see the value in all of these 2.0 tools for educational production, learning and interacting...I am not good at the social side of it.

I have been reading blogs seriously since about 2004 (and teenage angst since 2001), found the edubloggers very soon, and decided to throw my hat into the ring 3 years ago...NOT because I thought I had important things to say, but as a way of storing information I needed and wanted to share with my circle of influence. I would always know where links and directions to things would be if I put them in a blog...and I could share them with anyone who needed the info. Yes, EVERY once and a while I throw a little something into it that is more social/personal than normal. And yes, I have 3 blogs that I read regularly simply because they write the best little short stories I have read in a long time!

I didn't use my cell phone much until I learned to text...now I use it even less as a phone than before. I love being able to leave the info/message and let the other person get it when they want. There are about 5 people I will have a social phone call with...and 3 are family members so they don't count! You have to talk to family anytime!

So along comes Facebook...all these people wanting to be my friends. I added a few to have something to practice. I have ignored a lot. Not an easy thing to do...I would love to acknowledge all of them as friends, but I really don't want to know what they are doing every day...sometimes all day long...and as to what friends of friends are doing...well, you get the picture.

As I learned more, I was able to tighten things up and got it down to the basics...still not sure I have all the settings set correctly and every time I see a new article or posting about how to tighten it down, I look at it carefully for more help.

But you know what happened...I'd check in every once and awhile and a friend would have a thought up that deserved a comment...and then one weekend a fellow dinosaur and I happened to get on together and played around with those goofy little survey tests. Absolutely no redeeming qualities, but harmless fun. Remember, I was doing this in the name of research...how to help others with it.

A longtime friend that I don't get to see very often and I started mixing busniess and folksy news thru the message board instead of going to email...yes I know it is essentially the same thing, but it's all combined here.

And then I had a lightbulb moment...something I knew intrinsically, but an idea that bubbled up and explained why we must do what we do as we play with the 2.0 tools...why I must play around in Facebook and not feel silly about it.

I heard the statement

"These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring." ( June 09, Clay Shirky)

Until we get comfortable using them, we can't see their true value. I thought about it a long time. I remember how years ago, when computers came on board, supervisors often gave time to play the games included so that everyone would gain keyboard and mouse skills...and then we could take up the business at hand.

I know that is why I have loved all the interactions that revolve around the L2P sessions. Non-threatening opportunities to learn how things work so, that in turn, I can make them work for me.

So I surrender...I'm still not the most consistent visitor, I still have not befriended everyone (PLEASE don't take it personally), I will one of these days, I play a few games, I have uploaded a few personal pictures.

And I definitely have been watching and listening to everyone's educational plans for Facebook ...and there are some great ideas and plans out there. Congratulations to all of you who made it work for you in the teaching/learning world. I am your biggest cheerleader and I will do my best to spread the word, I promise!

Points:

1. You can FB (a thing that has morphed into a verb into an acronym) from your phone. I still don't have all my settings correct there...I get the messages but can't respond from the phone. Need another trip to the AT&T store...AW now.

2. Have you discovered the Chat feature...lower right corner...watch for green circles. Discovered it about 2 weeks ago. Works just like IM (which I haven't done in about 4 years)

3. Have you joined the group that one of the L2P2 beachcombers created? Might be a way to keep the community of sharing going after the beach party ends?

4. Does anyone know how to fix the badge that you can add to your blog? It did not change my status. I tried throwing it away and starting over (3 times!) Shows the change on the badge in FB, but when I add to Blogger, the old status pops up...

See you around the virtual water cooler for some catch-up!

Image from Microsoft Clipart

A Funny "Thing:" Social Networking in Another World

No avatar, no password, no computer, heck, no electricity needed for this form of social networking!

This company is using 2.0 terms to make a new brand for themselves. I laughed out loud when I saw the first one on TV this week.

Coleman - The Original Social Networking Site

Shared via AddThis

They have a Facebook presence...you can become a fan, not a friend.

They even have Itouch apps!

If you still doubt why 2.0 tools MUST be taught and used in school, let this company's branding program be "real-world" evidence.

It's not the future, it's not fluff, it's now, and like it or not, the 2.0 world is here to stay.