Thing 21_Beyond MySpace, Other Social Networks

I got excited about this particular thing and dashed to 43 things, which I immediately joined, created 12 things to complete, cheered a fellow librarian, made a comment on her goal to become a librarian and today, I received cheers back from her. The 43 Things social network was such an amazing opportunity for me, because I am reconsidering the priorities of my life. This site inspired me to start thinking about this vast goal and break into individual points of light.

With all of this enthusiasm within me, I start thinking about how great it would be for librarians to use sites like 43 Things and the 23 Things Ning to get inspired and also to create portals that will connect library patrons to these opportunities. Web 2.0 gives librarians a whole new realm of information for which they can provide guidance and just like the right book, the right site may be life changing.

Of course, another great aspect to site like these is helping connect people with similar goals or ideas. While browsing the 23 Things Nings, I saw many posts asking for guidance on which Things might be applicable in their particular type of institution.

I've seen this happen within my job too. One of the web applications that I oversee for my company had a networking conference and there was a great demand for this amazing group of people to be able to connect all year round, so I suggested creating a Ning and even offered to get it started. The web app took my suggestion seriously and created a beautiful, extremely useful Ning within a month of the conference.

Similarily, I'm leading knowledge management efforts at my company and have helped create several sites on Sharepoint, which are providing a similar way of connection for projects that are managed by diverse members of our company (who are spread out nationally). Connecting is just so amazing! I just see so many possibilities in this area, going far beyond Facebook or MySpace.