Social Bookmarking

I like bookmarks as much as the next person, but I'm selective about what I actually add to my favorites. Although I see the theoretical value of social bookmarking, only actual experience with del.icio.us will confirm its actual usefulness for me. My biggest concern is that with so many people adding bookmarks, del.icio.us will become cluttered with junk. This seems to fate of every collection of bookmarks. I don't know what tags would be most useful to the library. Tags aren't always intuitive and can be junk just like bookmarks.

Social Networking for the Antisocial

I already have a Myspace account I use for lurking on other people's sites so I established a Facebook account. I used my real information on the off chance that one day some long lost friend will contact me. It is very easy to establish a boring page on Facebook. I think Facebook is a little too restrictive with their privacy controls. There's not much you can see on someone's profile unless you become their "friend," which is more than I want to do with people I may know only distantly. In this way the more free-wheeling Myspace system is better. I also am puzzled by the concept of "poking" on Facebook. I needed to do an experiment to see how it works and even then didn't see the point of poking.

I'M IMing

I had a few IM sessions with coworkers recently. I chatted with Pat Gaines and Julie Marks. The only problem we had was getting started. It seems to take a while before Google Talk recognizes when someone is online. Oddly, I was able to chat back and forth with Julie even though Google Talk still told me she was "Offline." This is all very strange. Also, my IM gadget didn't seem to pop up or make a sound when I had a new message from someone. This meant that I had to keep the gadget window open and watch for new messages. At the moment, Google Talk is a far from seamless way of communicating with coworkers. Meebo works better in my experience.

RSS Feeds: More to Ignore!

These days I hate to look at my groaning e-mail inbox because I have far too many e-mails automatically sent to me that I don't have time to look at but am reluctant to delete. With RSS feeds, I've now multiplied the professional content I get that I think might be useful but that I can't seem to find the time to look at. This is, as people say, a mixed blessing.

I like the blogs I've signed up for: a few from Library Journal and a couple Readers Advisory blogs. It was very easy to sign up for them using Firefox, a browser I appreciate the more the more I use it. Still, I think there are benefits to simply bookmarking the sites I like and visiting them from time to time. This way I don't see unread content piling up and making me feel guilty. I suppose RSS feed Readers would be most useful for sites and blogs that are infrequently updated. This way I wouldn't have to futilely check for new content again and again. My feeds, though, are from blogs that post plenty of new content, so this isn't so helpful.