Thing 23: The Final Thing!

One of the main things I'll take away from 23 Things, as well as the new sites I've gotten to explore, is the consideration of how I am actually using each technology. A lot of social media seems to become so everyday after it has been around for a while - it was interesting to stop and think about what I was updating, and when, as well as to pay more attention to the many ways I consumed what others had written.
From a personal point of view, my three favourite Things were: Twitter, Google Reader, and Delicious. The first two were sites I had previously used - however, this has only increased since starting 23 Things (the number of feeds I am now subscribed to verges on the ridiculous!), especially as it was brilliant to have colleagues involved. The trainees especially seem to have become quite attached to Twitter - and I hope it continues! Delicious, on the other hand, was a site I had used previously and then forgotten about. Revisiting it has been very useful - through actually putting a bit more thought and care into my tag choices, I'm now finding it to be an invaluable resource. I can "save things for later" in a way which would always be unsuccessful previously - that invaluable link might have been bookmarked, but I was never going to find it!
Considering Web 2.0 from a library point of view, 23 Things has really hammered home the sheer variety of ways social technology can be used - both behind the scenes, and in communicating with readers more effectively. Duplication of information, though seen as a negative, can also provide users with choice regarding the format and frequency of information they receive. Social media allows readers to interact in more ways - a lot of them less threatening and more informal than the traditional issue desk. Though the potential for use of Web 2.0 technologies seems vast, 23 Things has also shown us many of the drawbacks. A lot of these technologies are still emerging - it is tricky to tell which will stick around, even for the next year or so, and some can still be rather buggy. In order for such technologies to be truly effective, they need to actually be used - updated regularly and engaged with.
All in all however, I have found 23 Things to be a positive experience - and I will miss being introduced to a new technology every week!