Thing 30 More Ways to Use RSS & Delicious

One thing I will say about RSS feeds is that it has helped keep my email a little more under control because I have unsubscribed to some of the email updates and use RSS feeds to get the same information.
To prepare for More Things, I downloaded the Flock browser. I have it remembering my passwords and it has direct links into my accounts like Facebook, Flickr, Blogger, etc. See my screen print that shows the links:



The only thing is that it only works on the computer I have Flock installed on.

It is extremely interesting and useful to see the feeds and bookmarks for people in similar positions or with similar interests, but it is just so overwhelming that the best one can do is pick something and stick with it. I guess I should set aside some time to explore each week, but other responsibilities get in the way.

Thing 29 Google Tools

I was experimenting with SearchWiki and was about to add a comment when I was warned that it would be a public comment linked to my Gmail username and I did not want to do that. I had thought that the comments would just be for my own use, so I probably won't do that. I would be interested in reading other people's comments, in moving the results around, and removing results that I didn't find relevant. The person who wrote the article against SearchWiki wonders why Google made it and thinks they just want to see what they can find out from it. His example shows an entry with many comments which end up taking a lot of room and many have limited usefulness. I guess it would depend on what kind of thing I was searching. I read a bunch of the comments about SearchWiki and agree with the ones who say there should be the option of keeping your comments private.

I looked at Goog-411 and think that would be pretty useful, especially since it seems everyone has a cell phone these days and use it them for everything. I read over the information on creating a Google website and it would be extremely simple and Google hosts it free. I feel like I have enough of a web presence, so I did not make one. I have used the Google toolbar for sometime and have used but uninstalled the Google desktop because I have Microsoft's desktop search. I would be reluctant to put my health information on the web, so I would not use the Google Health function. The web knows enough about us the way it is!

Thing 28 Customized Home Pages

I looked at pageflakes and netvibes but have been using IGoogle for sometime now and will probably continue to do so since Google has so many related functions. I like that I have one username and password for all the things that I have done with Google--my blog, Google Analytics, Gmail, and Google Docs so far. Having to register for yet another account is a big turn off for me and I can't say how many times I have had to have usernames and passwords emailed to me so I can get back into accounts like FaceBook and Twitter. I have Google email, calendar, RSS feeds, and bookmarks for things I need to check frequently and I like that no one else can see the information on my page. It is very easy to setup, can be viewed from anywhere and also can be viewed on portable devices so I can use it as my Itouch homepage. I tried making my own gadget and it was really easy. I added a to do list which will be useful and will help do away with all the little slips of paper I keep in my pockets. I have added another gadget that I think will be useful below.

Thing 27 Twitter

I have a Twitter account and I have actually used it. The last conference I went to used tweets extensively and it was kind of funny to sit in a conference session and see the tweet that someone sent about the very thing I was seeing and hearing. That said, I still need to pay attention to speakers and if I am distracted by tweets or emails or anything else, I might as well stay home. I can see the use for tweets—for example if both my husband and I used them at the mall, I wouldn’t spend so much time looking for him, but at this point in my life, I will probably just wander around. If this becomes really big in the future, forget I said this.

Thing 26 Join the 23 Things Ning

I joined Ning in the 1st round and posted the emblem on my page. That is pretty much where I left it. This time I went back in, updated my information, posted my picture, and responded to someone’s posting. While I can see how useful it would be to use with some ongoing group, I probably won’t use it much for this group. In the past I was part of a Yahoo study group for Milwaukee’s library school comprehensive exam. We were a cohesive group brought together by the fear of failing our final exam and wasting all the time and money put into our MLIS classes. These groups and the means of communication have very definite value in the context of the need. Otherwise, it is just another place among many to look at every day.