Too Transparent? Not enough? Overthinking? Hmmm...

I get a lot of comments from folks that my blog, (and pretty much all the information I put out for public consumption) is very open, deep, revealing, and sometimes - too revealing, too open, too deep - Man Jim why do you put all that out in the open like that?

My reply is pretty simple:

Why not?

As I've talked about before, my aim in using social media, in being part of the community is to make sure people know the real me, to know the things I value. I've talked about how I had let myself, and the way folks perceived me to become someone, something I was not, or at the very least somebody I didn't like to be. I want to be sure I don't go there again, and I want to be held accountable.

Now, I don't put "everything" out there, and there have been times when I wonder if I've been putting too much... I don't want to risk holding back to a point where it feels like I'm being dishonest. I would hope you would let me know if things weren't comfortable.

We all share the same concerns. We all have similar experiences. I think it's okay to talk about them, to be open, to share, to help each other.

Not everybody does and I get that. That's okay.

Recently, I was quizzed by one of my co-workers about some of my social media use. My co-worker, let's call them, CW uses Facebook, and is starting to blog a bit, but isn't sure just yet about "putting oneself" out there as it were. (Yes, I kept all references to CW very non-gender specific and I understand that the grammar police might come after me. I'm okay with that.)

Today, I thought I might share our exchange and get your take. What do you think?

CW's first question: If you have a certain "online persona" how does that overlap/interact with your real life persona?

My reply: I try really hard not to have an online persona, but instead to just be me as much as possible. I censor myself a little bit, but that's also a part of my process of trying to lose the "curmudgeon in the corner" image. My life had become about everything negative and I
was miserable, and miserable to be around I would imagine. In the spring of 2008 I ran into an online chat room watching hockey games. It was easy to just be myself, open up, and try as much as possible to keep it positive. As the summer progressed and we, (CML) moved into "Learn and Play," it was easy for me to transition that positive using the new (to me) tools, and let people know that the curmudgeon wasn't really me, but just someone I had allowed myself to become over time, and that I wasn't happy with it. I wrote a blog post about it if you want to check it out.

CW's second question: How do you relate the "curmudgeon in the corner" with the "600 followers, (on Twitter)" guy?

My reply: "The 600 followers guy was unintentional, but who doesn't like to be popular right? :-) Just kidding. (Point of fact, I'm not concerned about numbers. That really was a joke.) Twitter is the tool I use to keep in touch with people I don't see everyday, and to meet new people who share similar interests. Think of it this way, Even with your best friend you probably didn't dive in as soon as you met them and start having heart to heart conversations. You took some time to get to know each other, sharing small parts of your life,
until a trust was built, molded, hardened and such and you felt you could open up. Twitter is pretty much the same thing, but it takes it a step further, or could because with these new tools people are collaborating, doing business, and still in some cases just making new friends. But - it is a small incremental process just like real life.

Most people who dive onto Twitter and bombard folks with way too much detail, and try to pitch their business deals or advertise their blogs right away are shunned almost immediately. (Just like we run away from the salespeople who attack as soon as we walk into the store.)
Those who get into Twitter for the reasons I mentioned above are far more likely to be valued so that when they do post a new blog or have something to share, or even have a business proposition people will listen. (Just like the sales person we know was watching and paying attention to what we are looking at, approaching us with answers when we have questions, but waiting for us to ask.)"

CW's final, and probably most important question: Who is more important, your twitter audience, or the people you interact with face to face every day? :)

This one was easy if I used my wife and my kids as my only example, but the answer didn't come out quite like I had intended. Tell me what you think?

"As far as my audience - I don't generally separate the two, but if I need to I always choose face to face first. The Social Media tools are just that, tools. While I hope to build valued relationships that will be face to face eventually - Ultimately the existing, (face to face) relationships are what is most important to me, and the people in front of me bring a more valued relationship. Just like customers in the building come before customers on the phone."

I was trying to emphasize the value of face to face, but I feel like I left a part of this unanswered, or something is missing in my reply. In many cases, my online relationships are also face to face relationships. Perhaps that means I'm using the tools effectively, the right way?

But not all of these relationships are face to face, at least not yet. Does that mean I'm not placing enough value, investing enough time? I know that not "all" of them will reach the next level, but what about 1/2? 1/3?

Perhaps I'm guilty (again) of over thinking. (You saw the smoke right?)

Above all else I want to be sure that I am doing things right, that my positive remains positive, and that my emphasis remains on building honest, open, relationships whether that be in the cyber community or the face to face world.

What's your take on this? What do you think?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This time honored question keeps popping into my head today. Yes another thing stuck in my head. Only this time it's not a fun lyric or word. It's not even a movie line which seems to be this week's newest thing. (Good thing there's plenty of room in my head I guess.)

No, this thing, this question is different. We've all heard this question. We've all asked this question.

I am wondering how many of us have answered this question.

I know that we are all something. We have occupations, families, activities, etc... So, in taking the question a step further - I guess I'm wondering if we all are "what we want to be?"

I know there are a few fortunate souls in this world who knew from the jump what they wanted to be, what they wanted to do, and they are blazin' down the trail of success.

Others may not have known when they were younger but discovered something in themselves as they grew older and seized the very first opportunity to make life happen as it were.

Still others were guided along, shown all the things they "should" be doing as they grew up, and maybe are now what they want to be. Perhaps this is some version of happenstance, (Blog word of the week?) or just plain dumb luck.

They say that luck isn't everything, that some skill is required and I believe that, but still I wonder...

As you may have guessed, I'm not one of those mentioned above - I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I always had an answer to the question of course. I was going to be a professional hockey player, or play pro ball, maybe even spend some time on the PBA Tour, all the while running some fantastically successful business like a hotel or maybe a chain of hotels.

When I got older I wanted to be an actor, then a comedian, maybe a writer - you know much more realistic goals like that. Sigh!

Before I go further - I want to address all you head shakers. You know who you are. You're the ones thinking, or maybe even saying out loud: "But Jim you've accomplished so much. You have blah, blah, blah..."

Shhh... That's not what I'm talking about today

Yes, I've spent the last 18 years being a husband, the last 15 being a Daddy, the last 8 or more being a coach, and the last 12 being a hockey player, but not a professional hockey player - that's cruel.

Still it's very true that these are all things I want to be. I've had great success, and been fortunate in these areas and I hope to continue to enjoy these very important areas of my life.

These aren't the things I'm talking about today. To clarify further, I'm talking about jobs and careers.

I started working for the library when I was 17 years old. It was a clean building. I loved reading. The work albeit a bit tedious was not really that difficult. It was not Jolly Pirate Donuts where I had been a porter for 1 1/2 years prior. I figured the library was a great starting point for a kid in high school. Perhaps most importantly I found and got the job all by myself. It was the first truly independent thing I had ever done.

I love the library and all that it is, all that it stands for. I love the people I work with and I feel especially fortunate we have had the opportunity recently to reach out and really get to know each other more and more.

As I've written before, I consider that connection to be a huge success for the CML community.

Going forward however - I'm trying to figure out what that success means for me.

I wrote to my Dad some years ago that with no degree or formal training I had somehow managed to make a career for myself at a place where I was mostly happy and decidedly, perhaps even too content.

I still didn't figure the library might be the only place I would ever work.

The truth is I wasn't what I wanted to be then.

From a career perspective - without knowing it really I had no goals, no dreams, no visions beyond the day to day. I had no plan. (You see K and D why I talk about having a plan?)

Some of that came from being happy being a husband, Daddy, coach, hockey player, but not a professional hockey player - that's cruel. Some of it came from not really knowing how - being afraid as it were to venture away from the safety and security of the library.

Now?

Now I don't want to leave, but not because I'm afraid.

I want to stay because I have found something that is telling me who I am, who - no what I want to be.

I started work on a program this week to create a Job Help Class for the library to offer customers in these rough economic times.

I cannot tell you how ironic this is as I have already been hard at work on my own resume, online job profiles, and career prospects.

If you follow this blog with any regularity you know that I love to train, to teach, and to coach. You know how much I have come to admire the rock stars of the Web 2.0 world, and even how I might want their jobs one day.

I have been busy thinking of ways to stay at the library, but increase my involvement in social media and marketing, to reach out, help people, and share my experience for others to learn from. I have been searching for a focus for my life, my career, heck even for my blog.

I think being fortunate enough to help in the creation and delivery of this Job Help Class provides me with that focus, a starting point for helping me be what I want to be when I grow up.

In taking inventory I find that I have almost 11 years experience teaching folks to build their resumes. For better or worse I also have 8 years experience poking around the job markets, learning all the sites, the ins, and the outs.

Pretty much every other week for the last year I have been teaching a resume class, and as my boss will tell you, I've been looking for a way to make my class so much more effective.

I have at least 8 years of experience as a coach, and let's not forget 15 years as a parent.

In this year of reflection I have come to find that what I enjoy most is sharing what I have learned with anyone who will listen.

I suggested to a friend today that maybe throwing all of this together might make me a good "life coach."

He said that "would be a good fit." I trust his opinion. He knows me well. What that's called formally, or how it will look in the future is open to interpretation. That's okay with Jim in Perpetual Beta.

I'm sure my daughters, and my players will tell you that my favorite saying in all the land goes like this.

"This ain't my first rodeo dog."

So now, I have a plan, and at least starting out I am lucky enough to stay at the library, as I begin.

Do you think somewhere there is someone, someone who knows me really well, or a mentor, or maybe even someone who has had a great influence on my life smiling and thinking to themselves.

"Hey Jimmer. This ain't my first rodeo dog."

WOTD

Stuff sticks in my head. I can't help it, and I can't stop it. If I hear a song lyric, maybe not even a good song lyric that has some kind of unique refrain, or elicits some kind of emotional response, or brings back a memory - Boom I'm stuck with it all day.

I also often find myself using the same word repeatedly in any given day. Not the usual suspects like - well "like," and - well "and" or "um:" No, I'm talking about words out of the ordinary, words like retrospect, words that carry a jolt because you don't know where they are coming from.

For a long time all I could do is say harrumph and go with the flow instead of being hell-bent on finding some magical way to clear my head, I just tried to make progress each day toward finding a way to deal with the things that were stuck in my head.

Through some kind of happenstance I seemed to have stumbled upon a solution.

Ladies and Gentlemen, especially those of you in my Twitter and Facebook communities I give you WOTD, the big Wahtahdah, (correct pronunciation), or more simply Word Of The Day, and what I call, well I don't have a name for my "song lyric thing." Maybe by the end of this post... Or I'll take suggestions via comments.

*Note those words in bold above were the first few words of the day.

One day, not long after I started using Twitter the word retrospect was stuck in my head. Every other sentence it seemed I was using the word. So, I tweeted that retrospect was apparently the word of the day. In retrospect, I had no idea WOTD would take off like it has. Later that same day, someone asked me if I had a word for the next day. The day after that someone tweeted, "Hey Jim word up. What's the word of the day?" Finally, someone shortened the terminology to WOTD, and it has become a regular thing.

Throughout the day, folks try to use WOTD at least once in a sentence, and then everybody gives them a shout out.

The song lyrics get thrown up as tweets as well, although not as often. Sometimes there are fun results. The day I put up "But not a real green dress that's cruel," almost the whole song was "sung" through comments by the end of the day. Unfortunately, we still don't have a million dollars.

Today, I had a Facebook conversation about the movie The Blues Brothers spurred by the line - Folks here's a story 'bout Minnie the Moocher.

But the regular head clearer if you will, the thing I seem to have become known for is WOTD.

Now, I get that I'm not the only one out there with WOTD. I would venture to guess however that I may be the only one out there with WOTD produced purely through happenstance, and not generated by an automated WOTD generator.

Of course, I don't always use a word from my head. (It doesn't happen every day.) Sometimes I ask for help from my Twitter and Facebook community, and sometimes they change the word on me if they don't like the one I got stuck on originally. No matter - it's all still fun.

Sometimes we don't even use real words. We use creative words like harrumph, wonky, or crap-nasty.

Occasionally we have a word for the weekend. A few times someone has spotted me using a word repeatedly or in a slightly different context and called WOTD for me.

One time we did use a generated word, but I didn't know it until after the fact.

Finally, we have on at least one occasion put WOTD to a vote. It was a monumental day.

We don't force a word every day. Sometimes we're all just too busy to worry about WOTD. Sometimes we're just plain focused on something else. For example there weren't too many WOTD's during the last week or so of Learn and Play @ CML.

I have added a WOTD roll to the blog. I retraced my tweets and found them all, (47) I think. I made notes about the stories behind each word so we can talk more about WOTD in the future.

Tell me what words you remember, what stories about WOTD stick with you - and then

Suggest a word if you'd like. It's bound to get stuck in my head sooner or later.

A B C, Its easy as 1 2 3

10 Random Things About Me - Learn & Play @ CML Bonus

1. I obtained our family's first iPod for the grand total of $1.00 + the cost of gas to go pick it up. I won it in a church raffle with a ticket I only bought because all of the parents around me at the basketball game were buying tickets. My daughter Delaney still uses theiPod, except when it "white screens" which we haven't been able to fix permanently for some reason.

2. Though I have played almost 12 years of organized hockey as an adult, I only played one year as a kid. When I was 8 I skated for "Warner-CantrellPadmos" or the Blackhawks as we called ourselves, in Redford Township, Michigan. I was very green, and also very good. But, I had a heart condition. Nothing major, but enough of a concern that my ice-time needed to be monitored. As do many youth coaches, mine wanted to put his best players on the ice as much as possible. As the season progressed each time I was due to come off the ice my coach would ask more and more if I was alright to stay out. Of course I always answered yes. I was a kid, I didn't understand the consequences of overexerting myself and I wanted to play. The last straw came when my coach left me out for so long I was finally met at the door to the bench by my Dad who physically removed me from the ice. When the season was over so was my youth hockey career. I wanted to play goalie, but I think my Dad knew that was a ruse just to get myself onto the ice by hook or by crook. I was disappointed and decided to hang out at all the summer camps my friends were attending. I don't know why - just to watch and make myself more miserable I guess. I was pleasantly surprised when the scouts and coaches running those camps told me how disappointed they were I wasn't on the ice for more development. They had seen me play and wanted to work with me. I don't believe I ever told my parents this, and I don't talk about it much, but it's fun now to think about what might have been. I did talk myself into one of the post-camp games and scored a goal laying on my back. I hung onto that memory for a long time until I was fortunate enough to finally play again thanks to Joe at Hilltop who pulled me back to the game with late night pick-up at OSU. Thanks Joe.

3. My first major at OSU was Theatre. I was going to be an actor, (Plus I didn't want to take math.) The pic I used for my read poster was actually a resume photo. After my first year at OSU, I went to New York and auditioned at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I was accepted, but didn't get the scholarship I needed. I knew I didn't want to go back to school atOSU, at least not then so I went full-time at CML and the rest is history.

4. During my time at OSU as a Theatre major I returned to my high school, Bishop Ready and directed both the fall play and spring musical. I got a little thank you of $100 each time. I guess I could say I've worked "professionally in the theatre." Wonder if I should add that to my resume? ;-)

5. As a child I would spend many late nights listening to my mother clean to the music of Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Helen Reddy, Neil Diamond, and Abba. Consequently I know many lyrics to a lot of songs I wasn't sure at first I was happy to know. Growing up however I've become more and more comfortable with my "Inner Gay" as my friend Shoebrarian calls it, and I'm happy to know and love the work of these amazing performers.

6. My favorite movie is "Prince of Tides," but that's not the only "chick flick" I like. A close second on the list is "50 First Dates." What can I say? I'm a sucker for love stories.

7. I have a talent for remembering numbers. I can tell you my first credit card number, my original library card number, the first phone number I had to remember, and every jersey number I've ever worn. I can associate almost any number with an athlete pretty much immediately.

8. When getting dressed I always put on the left first, i.e. left sock, left shoe, left glove, left skate. I once got dressed for a baseball game, jumped on my bike to go play and realized I had put my right sock on first. So, I made my buddy wait while I went in - undressed and redressed. I went 2-3 and raised my average to .571. I've never chanced it again. I actually think I'm naturally left handed as I can do just about anything with my left hand without much trouble. Playing hockey - I still shoot left handed.

9. I've been a part of two branch moves in my time at CML. I worked to move Morse Road to Karl Road and to combine Hilltop and Hilltonia into the new Hilltop. (This was my second tour of duty at Hilltop, and I still consider it my CML home if you will.) Branch moves can be great team builders, and a lot of fun for everybody involved. I don't think I've ever worked harder though. :-0

10. Here's my favorite library story - I met my wife Annette at Morse Road Library. When she walked into the staff room on her first day I said to my boss, "that newLTA is hot." He just rolled his eyes at me. Little did we know. A few weeks later Annette and I went to lunch together at Mother's, (we still have a matchbook) and a few months after that - after we both got engaged to and broke up with other people - we moved in together having never gone out on a date. We both just knew we were meant to be together. More than 18 years later, I still wonder how I ever got so lucky.

Whole New Rodeo Dog - Thing #23.

Alright Gang - I'm going to try to do this one with a little structure, but include some story too.

I'll try to use the suggested questions as a framework.

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

There are two answers here: Obviously my favorite and still continued exercise is Twitter.

My favorite discovery has actually been rediscovering my love of writing through my blog. I am so grateful for this. In short it has been therapeutic and life-changing. In the last few months I can even tell when I haven't been blogging as much as I need to as I felt my anxiety level rising.

The blog allows me to remind myself to be Jimmer, i.e. the real me. I've tried to be sure not to make Jimmer a character, to not talk about myself in the third person, except for maybe when it was appropriate for a piece. This is not a character by any stretch. This is Jim Brochowski about as exposed and open as I've ever been, reaching out, reflecting, trying to give myself another chance by simply being myself.

Two recent examples make me think I'm on the right track.

The first is a situation wherein I was pretty much asked to prove that this wasn't all just lip-service. I believe the reviewer is convinced.

The second is a comment from a friend at CML. She told me I could quote her.

Jim-
I have loved following you on Twitter. Like I said in a recent tweet, your willingness to self reflect and share that process has been heartwarming. As we all reveal a part of ourselves through social networking, new relationships are being created and others are being rekindled. It is so cool to watch it and experience it. Of course my follow-up tweet said this, “Now you have become more than just the guy who drinks coffee all day.” I’m sure you understood why I said this. The only time you and I had ever had any interaction is when you passed by the Greeter Desk on the way to the Java Master, coffee cup in hand. We are communicating on a whole different level now, and I think it is great. Looking forward to the continuing conversation…..

That means a lot more than I think I can verbalize. Thank you Type A Librarian.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

My lifelong learning goals all relate back to 3 things. Three discoveries I've made about myself in the last few months / years. These are my base.

Because the 23 Things for me has been so much more than just Learn & Play, I think it is obvious that this program has been more than just those things. It has provided an avenue to learning, a way to reconnect and show people who the real Jimmer is.

So, what are the three things you ask?

The first thing - a customer came into the library to print something out. He had no idea whatsoever what he was doing so what he ended up doing was taking it out on our staff. Cussing up a storm, swinging his arms, banging the equipment and not getting what he needed in the process.

I don't know how or why, but something struck me. I was never more calm as I said to him - "It's okay. What do you need?" Looking puzzled he stared at me and said "Huh?" I repeated what I had said and he told me what he wanted. Together, we accomplished his task in a little less than five minutes. That was weird I thought, but I didn't really understand the magnitude of the situation until I received a copy of a note / "say it" the customer had left commending me for being helpful while he was "irate."

Reflecting on this I realized that what I had done was recognize that this man's true intent was not to create a disturbance. He simply needed to accomplish something he had no idea how to accomplish. Huh?

True intent.

I began to think long and hard about how I was interacting with people. Was I recognizing what their true intent was when they came to me with a question for example? Was my Mother's true intent really to frustrate me every time she visited?

Wait - My Mother - Oh the poor woman. I really needed to work on this when interacting with her.

So, I set two goals for myself, and made them my New Year's resolution and Lenten promise until the end of time. 1. Be nice to my mother and do everything in my power to make her feel welcome in my home. 2. Always try to consider peoples' true intent when interacting with them and respond accordingly and without bias.

Note: As far as I can tell - True Intent in this context is my own thing. I don't think there's any great concept out there. Hmmm... Maybe I should write a book or something. "True Intent" copyright 2008 Jim Brochowski ;-)

The second thing - When I tell the story of Meghan Joy I always include the following quote:

"From Meghan and because of Meghan we learned to attack each day with enthusiasm. We learned to reach out and make things happen for us instead of waiting for them to happen to us. We learned to face each new challenge head on, with our entire being. We now know the value of living and giving a total effort. Many years ago I lost my daughter. As I look back on her story and what effect it has had on our lives I see that I’ve tried to live my life from that point exactly as I’d promised Meghan I would. I guess it sounds like a cliché, but life is short."

It's almost like a prepared text pulled from the pages of her story, but when I saw it in print at our golf tournament this year it was abundantly clear that I was not keeping my promise. I began to do some deep soul-searching, looking at the man in the mirror as they say and trying to find better ways to change.

The third and final thing. This one I owe to Randy Pausch. In his final lecture he talked about, among other things being a Tigger or being an Eeyore, i.e. an optimist or a pessimist. He also talked about how he had lived his life, doing things for his kids, and his wife. It is an incredible lecture. If you haven't watched it I assure you it is an investment of your time you will not regret. He also wrote a book titled "The Last Lecture" which I highly recommend.

I really admired Randy's viewpoint, but I didn't know how valuable it would be to me personally until my daughter Delaney started school this year. Delaney was a worrier, the "what if" person if you will and I was having a hard time convincing her that it would be good to go into school with a positive attitude, charging ahead, being a leader and so on. But she wasn't getting it. Finally, I looked at Delaney and remembering Randy's lecture I said; "Are you Eeyore? Or are you Tigger?" Instantly her eyes lit up. She got it. She really got it, and she now tries to be a Tigger in every way.

Having had this talk with my daughter I knew I needed to ask myself the same question. Jim, are you a Tigger or are you an Eeyore? Yes, I needed to change my answer too.

These three things are my base. I try to check myself regularly on these, and I encourage you to check me as well. Go on. I'll listen. ;-)

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I have been pleasantly surprised by the sense of community that has been created at CML. This exists throughout the Web 2.0 community. I have been able to reconnect with my colleagues at the library in several locations, and I have made new connections via Facebook, and by following the "rock stars" blogs.

I think my new career goal might be to be one of those rock stars. Look out Michael Stephens. Kidding ;-)

Seriously, this program has provided me a way to reflect by moving forward. For that I will always be grateful.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

My old self would have said something really badass, like: "Don't you dare change a thing about this program." But that's not me anymore.

I think what I would say now is don't ever forget the term "Perpetual Beta." Please always be willing to consider the next idea, the next thing and embrace them. Try them even if they don't initially seem to be so great, even if they require radical trust, even if the benefits aren't immediately obvious.

I believe there are so many organizations, companies, and even industries that are being held up by their reluctance to change and adapt, to try new things even.

I think my biggest pet peeve right now is people who say; "I don't have time for all that Web 2.0 stuff, that new fangled techno stuff and so on. I've got real work to do." I wonder if they have ever considered how much more work they could get done if they would get on board and let that new fangled techno stuff work for them.

I'm trying to bring Web 2.0 technologies to my foundation with a new board later this month. I am very hopeful they will agree with me on this. I think The MJB Foundation can accomplish so much. Please wish us luck.

Oh and consider this your formal invitation to follow The MJB Foundation on Twitter. (Updates should become more frequent soon.)

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again choose to participate?

This one is simple and requires only a few words - in a heartbeat.

One more you didn't ask:

What has been the coolest thing about this program?

As a teacher, trainer, and a coach the coolest thing for me are the "Aha moments," when you can see folks really get it, When they are really connecting and helping themselves succeed. When they are engaged. I've been fortunate enough to see more than my fair share of these over the years and Learn & Play provided that many more. My favorite saying in these instances is "this ain't my first rodeo dog."

Of course this rodeo has been quite a bit different.

Learn & Play @ CML Thing #22 MOLDI

Yes, that says MOLDI - as the Learn & Play blog says "yeah, I know, horrible acronym, but great service."

It is a great service, but I have to admit to having at least some reservations.

Finding material is easy enough - search features are very simple with several ways to search for different types of material.

Checking out, as it were is also very easy. Simply following instructions and looking for some intuitive cue words like "add to cart" I found it to be very much like online shopping.

The rest of the process is also easy enough - You "checkout" your ematerial. It's downloaded to your computer or portable media player, as is the “reader software,” if needed, and cha - ching you are on your way.

Cool, I thought - now how does it get returned? Or more accurately, if I'm an author and I want to keep my copyrighted material mine - how can I do that?

I know it's the digital age and everything is available to everybody, but as a creative type I wonder about such things.

I did some quick digging on MOLDI and then took this question to my Twitter community. "After 14 days, do items delete themselves or is it " a trust thing?" I can't find an answer." I know, I probably would have found an answer eventually, but I find the layout of most FAQ pages to be cludgy. I also think FAQ's with perspective are much more fun.

The answer seems to be as follows "They delete themselves from your computer, but if you burned them to disc nothing happens," as in they can be played "...forever and ever."

So, I asked my friend CychoLibrarian who knows about such things if that bothered anybody?

His reply - Well, it was perfect.

"It doesn't bother me, but only because the publishing industry is clueless about how to handle the digital age."

See - call me old fashioned, but when I create something I want to keep it. I like to share it, but it is still ultimately "mine." Take my writing for example - If you follow this blog with any regularity you know that this is very personal for me. I would like to think that if I had something worth distributing to the masses I would feel the same. It's very personal.

Still I can't find fault with my friend's viewpoint. The publishing industry really is clueless in this instance - so what do we do?

Well, the only thing left really is a term I learned about not long ago - radical trust - I may be bending it a little to fit my purposes here, but to me putting creative work out in this medium requires quite a bit of "letting go of control..."

So, for our purposes today - what do I think of MOLDI? I think it's a great way to take the library to the community and provide a virtual presence. I found many titles I would check out - AND return.

Let's hope more folks do the same.

*edit - I want to also give credit to my friend KKBookmom for pointing me to the actual MOLDI FAQ's.

Learn & Play @CML Thing #21 Podcast Ur doin' it - kinda right akshually

I can't help it. I've tried podcasts, whether running across them on newspaper websites, or on television websites where I once listened to a 1/2 hour on Greys Anatomy, they always, and I mean always put me to sleep.

I'm reminded of old episodes of The Walton's where the family would be gathered around the radio, excited to listen together and slowly Grandma and then each child would drift off into slumber - as if the radio was the perfect soothe sayer. I believe the podcast is the 21st century replacement.

Still, I figured I must be missing something with podcasts so I jumped into this exercise with an open mind, eager to learn about this web 2.0 technology that I must be doing wrong.

At least from my perspective - I was not.

I do have a new iPod and I have been rockin' around the clock, so it could just be - not the right time for non audio and video broadcast(s) for me.

I'm considering all possibilities. So please don't let this reviewer sway your opinion. YMMV.

A podcast does provide a means to disseminate information to a wide and varied audience. The library could certainly use all the tools we can find to tell our story.

Allowing that I can often be found scratching my head, saying things like - "Huh, I was wrong again..." I looked at the instructions for creating one's own podcast and have stored the info in my list of ideas for The MJB Foundation to consider in the coming year.

All that said I will share these final 3 thoughts

1. I'd like to see more consistent search engines for podcasts. Kinda like I'd like to see RSS feeds be more prominent - so maybe that's just a matter of time.

2. I've been listening to talk radio for the better part of the last 15-20 years so I'm kinda tired of just listening to people talk "at" me.

3. When you start to inventory your life as I have been doing for the past few months - if you see the need for change - you get pretty busy, pretty quickly and sleep becomes a luxury you don't want to afford.

Good night Mary Ellen, Good night John Boy...

Learn & Play @ CML YouTube - Holy Home Movies Batman!

There are millions of videos on YouTube, but for me there is one series of videos that make it one of the best of the Web 2.0 tools available.

For this exercise - I'll just use the summary - Warning, this is not for the faint of heart, nor does it accurately depict the game of hockey as it were. It does show what being a teammate, being committed to your team is all about.



If you watched even the first 50 seconds, you saw a vicious cheap shot that broke Kris Draper's jaw requiring surgery and months of rehab followed by the retribution that was dutifully doled out to the cheap shot artist, (whose name does not even deserve to be spoken) by one Darren McCarty.

(A little extra info - DMac is one of my all time favs, and also without me thinking about it at the time - an inspiration for a lot of what I've done in the past year. In short, he's a flawed individual who is trying to put himself back on the right track.)

Lest you think I am the only person who holds this strange team viewpoint - I will share that a very mild mannered CML librarian who also plays for Brian's Bail Bonds once told a player who challenged us to a fight - "I didn't do it. But I'll step up."

So, in that I am a Red Wings fan, and a hockey player, and committed to my team I can get lost pretty easily in highlight reels like this one.

Regardless of the subject though - YouTube is a place I would venture to guess many could get lost. There is so much out there, and each video clip provides links to another video, and another, and another, and another, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on...

Think you might be posting something unique? Think again - I've had a YouTube account since February for various and asundry, (is that how you spell that?) reasons, so just for fun I thought I would try uploading my own video. I didn't want to put up anything too big, and I'm not ready yet to put up something that might draw a crowd that could maybe make me uncomfortable.

Uh, good luck with that Jimmer.

I thought posting my birthday thank you video would be a cool idea, a Jimmer starting point.
In case you didn't see it - here it is - Thank you all again!



If you scroll down in the related videos at the YouTube site there are 194. Really - 194 related videos, and many with "Jimmer" in their title.

Incredible stuff!

I don't see YouTube as a time waster though - It can be used to send a message - like my birthday thank you. It can be used to share information with an organization - as Gerald 2.0 and Library Joy have done with the Learn & Play videos.

It's effective, and it's also fun.

Heck - you're going to the movies over and over and over and over again...

Learn & Play Thing #19 Tooling around the Library

Isn't it amazing how many things are right in front of our face that we sometimes miss?

I mean, sometimes people have to make us look at something before we even notice it is there.

Sometimes we hear about things because a little birdie told us with his twitter. Other times we find things because they create a distraction - much like a ball going boing-boing around a room.

Some think there is a bit of a tech-crunch going on, but I guess that would depend on how one defined crunch.

The technorati would tell us that we need to look around and see what we can digg up. Of course if you're a Worldly Cat or crazy like a Firefox you know you already know how you might burrow to find some pretty delicious - Library Things. Heck you never know what you might just stumble upon without even trying.

Use your G-mail and send me an email so I can tell you about this great place called the Columbus Metropolitan Library. There you will be able to find so many cool things including some incredible power tools that can make working on the web a whole bunch of fun.

Learn & Play @CML Thing #18: Discovering Web 2.0 tools

Okay, so I thought I'd take a break from turning 40 for a minute to do some Learnin' & Playin'.

Woooooooooosh!

Can you believe we are already on Thing #18 of Learn & Play? Me neither.

But here we are. Working on this particular thing, I discovered that I've actually used more Web 2.0 tools than was previously suspected. (I just like the word suspected)

For example I signed up for LinkedIn quite some time ago, but I've never considered it a Web 2.0 tool. Then again - why not? If it's all about communicating and connecting, LinkedIn certainly fits the criteria.

The number of tools / sites available just on the short list of Web 2.0 award winners is a little overwhelming, but also very impressive.

Still - I wanted to overwhelm myself some more so I checked out a site I had heard quite a bit about from many folks, (yes I like the word folks) and gave StumbleUpon a try. What I discovered was that it would be impossible to ever allocate enough time to spend stumblin' as it were.

As I stumbled along I found, posters, and games and ponies. Okay, maybe not ponies, but it wouldn't have surprised me. I also found this site that I think can only be referred to as a bit of a throwback - old school if you will. Still as someone who loves to write, I think it is pretty cool. It's also kind of random.

Hmmm... I sound like my teenager. She would probably love StumbleUpon.

I have to say that as a tool, something useful - I didn't get all that much out of StumbleUpon.

That said - It was an awful lot of fun.

Web 2.0 (Re?) Creating a Community

Not long after I started using Twitter I logged on for a Friday afternoon update and found a friend logged on as well. Though Twitter isn't really a "chat" tool, we did indeed start chatting about what we were doing that weekend. Going back and forth - by Saturday morning we made plans for our families to spend the day together watching football, and hanging out.

I commented to my wife that it seemed odd that we had planned an entire day without having spoken to our friends at all. "I'm not so sure how I feel about that," I said. We have used evites, and email to make plans before, but on such short notice we always, it seemed used the telephone.

Immediately, Netter told me how much she liked it. "Think about it," she said. "We both hate talking on the phone. This was perfect." (Note* we're not fond of talking on the phone no matter who we are talking to. It has everything to do with the phone, and nothing to do with the person we are talking to.)

What Annette said next completely blew me away. "I like all of this technology, this Web 2.0 stuff because it gives me a voice. With my blog, and my Facebook I feel like I am finally able to talk to people and people are able to get to know me - the real me."

I had never thought about this before. Surely people know my wife, and who she is and then again...

Netter is very much an introvert. I, of course am quite the opposite. I have no problem putting myself out there. When we go to a party, I'm usually running my mouth about something, high-fiving, hugging, being rowdy and loud. Netter - not so much.

While Annette comes along to the party, she is usually on the periphery. If not directly involved in the activities of the party, she can easily be found behind the crowds quietly observing everyone and everything. Unfortunately, sometimes - that gets misread. Netter is often asked - "What's wrong? or Are you having fun? or Is everything okay?" - and yes, it's usually me who is asking. Well it was until the aforementioned conversation. Now, I think I get it.

With Web 2.0 Netter feels connected. She's included in the conversation and she is able to be there on her own terms. Understanding this, I can leave her alone to be herself and be comfortable "just being there."

I've seen this article used a number of times in blogs recently with emphasis on different pieces.

On the whole though I think the article is about building a community. Or maybe it's about rebuilding our community.

This quote from the article says it best.

“The current generation is never unconnected. They’re never losing touch with their friends. So we’re going back to a more normal place, historically. If you look at human history, the idea that you would drift through life, going from new relation to new relation, that’s very new. It’s just the 20th century.”

I remember that time - do you?

As a final note - I want to thank all of my co-workers at CML who have happily included Annette as she comes along for the ride with the Learn & Play program. Whether via Twitter, Facebook, or through her blog please know that we both appreciate all of you and your friendship and we are very happy to be so connected.

This Ain't Your Grandma's Library

The first visit to the public library that I remember was somewhere around 1977. I'll never forget finding a book that I liked and jumping up to run and tell my Mom about my discovery. She shushed me so fast it wasn't even funny. Excited about reading? Great! Noisy? Not at the library Buddy.

Some 30 years later I laugh at that story, because as we all know that isn't the way it is anymore. Although curiously, some are still under the impression that it is or at least that it should be.

I've got one thing to say to those folks -

"This ain't your Grandma's library."

Not exactly like me, but in a similar vein libraries are also working to change their image.

No longer can we be the place where Marian the Librarian wields a mighty sword of silence over all who cross through our doors. Instead, we need to find a way to engage our customers, to make them want to continue to visit.

With the tremendous growth of the Internet, and the rise in the number of homes with personal computers folks are venturing out to libraries less and less. Google and Amazon eat at our business, providing access to information and material previously available only at the library or at a more than modest price point. Throw in the Kindle and other similar reading devices and folks would seem to have very little if any need for a library.So, it's our responsibility to find a way to remain relevant to people's needs. There are some great ideas out there for how to make that happen.

Most recently I found this idea for seeing things from a library customer's point of view. I especially like this quote -

"Experiencing the library in this way will make sure the library isn’t just the place we work, but it’s where our patrons work. And play."

Who doesn't want to come to a place where you can play? I also like the reconsideration of so many library policies & procedures, and the discussions that are a necessary part of that process.

We need to make things easy for our customers very much like this, and be careful to avoid situations that paint us in a less than stellar light.

It's an entirely different world for libraries today. (Full disclosure - the grapevine quote in the article is / was me via Twitter.) How we present ourselves matters now more than ever.

The library has always been an important part of the community. By embracing Library 2.0 there's no doubt we can keep it that way.

Next up - A final Web 2.0 installment about that community.

- Perpetual Beta - Not just for Learn&Play @ CML Thing #14 - part 1 -

About a year ago I was walking into Main Library after doing some Vocera training at one of our branches when I ran into one of our managers. We chatted for a moment and she said something like "You're a very good trainer." I said, "Thanks I really love doing this stuff." She was shocked. "Really?!" she said. "I had no idea." I didn't think much about it at the time, except that I thought it was odd that after all my years with the library somebody could not know that about me. I love to train. I love to teach. I love to coach.

As the year progressed and I encountered a number of similar incidents it became clear to me that there were a lot of library employees, my co-workers who didn't know "the real me." In retrospect, it really wasn't their fault.

Outside of work I have always been Jimmer, Jimbro, Jimmy, Coach B. - a fun guy, a talker, an occasional jokester - maybe not the life of the party but definitely a good friend.

At work well - Sitting back in my little corner of the world called the Media Center I had become somewhat of a codger - set in my ways, determined to make it all work my way, portraying an arrogance that said; "This is who I am. Deal with it."

Then in 2004 the Media Center was no more and my job changed significantly. Though I accepted the change and went along, I don't think it was any secret that I wasn't very happy about it.

I drew into myself more and more, focusing on the things I did have control over; primarily my family and my coaching. I didn't completely shut myself off from work. I do have some pride. Still I made it known that I was looking elsewhere. While I got along with my co-workers, I didn't really know them, and they didn't really know me. I had turned off the library and I was under the impression that the library had turned me off as well.

Now for those of you who are saying "Jimmer what are you doing? Library folk are reading this. You're committing career suicide. Etc... and so on," I want you to pay very close attention to the next sentence.

I was wrong.

Unequivocally, undeniably, no boutadoubtit, on all counts - 100% wrong.

And I lost myself in the process. To find myself. To let people know who I really am I was going to need some help. After all, how do you undo what had essentially taken 10 years to create.

I got lucky - I got Web 2.0, well I got Learn & Play- (This began before L&P, but the program has helped the most.)

So I'm trying to let people get to know a whole lot more about me than some might ordinarily be comfortable with. I'm hoping to take advantage of what Michael Stephens termed The Unintended Consequences of Social Software (or Putting Yourself Out There), and make those things work for me. I have a chance to let people get to know me through my online presence. I need to be transparent. I need to go outside my comfort zone. While not so much needing to reinvent myself, I am working to repair my image, all the while promising myself that I will never, ever let myself get stuck again. I will be adaptable, willing to change, willing to learn, willing to step outside of the box. I will in essence be Jimmer in Perpetual Beta, (*note I "borrowed" this term from Michael Stephens as well.)

As it happens this has all occurred during the year that I will be turning 40. As I am terming this my year of inventory anyway - I feel very fortunate to have this particular opportunity to make a transition to the next stage of my life.

A wise person said to me once: "You know Jim, you only get to do this once." Now, I'm trying to do it right.

Next up - Jimmer what does this have to do with the library?

A Hockey Freak and a Techno Geek

It's official - I'm a hockey freak and a techno geek.

I've always known I was a hockey freak as I share this story all the time:

My Dad took me to my first Red Wings game at Olympia in 1976. We attended many games during the teasing playoff chances of the late 70's followed by a move to God-forsaken Lima, Ohio where they think hockey is what you do down at the local park on the off-chance the pond freezes (Sorry, Lima folk - I still love you.) - followed by the dead Wings era. Anyway - fast-forward to 1997. Wings win the cup and I'm on the phone with my Dad - I'm in Ohio, he's in Memphis, Tennessee. We're not saying a word - just breathing into the phone watching the Wings with the cup. Mrs. Jimmer says, "Hey, that's long distance." I said simply - "I'm watching the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup with my Dad," and he says "that's right," and we both cried like babies.

sigh* Still one of my favorite stories of all time. Miss ya' Dad.

The last time I told this story was to the Red Wing's Live Game Blog during the Stanley Cup finals last Spring. This is the great group of friends I get to watch Red Wings' games with and during the playoffs we were as tight as thieves. I'll talk more about this in my Web 2.0 piece later this week.

Since I read my friend Juice's story last May I've been certain I was strange. When Juice wrote this piece at the end of the playoffs and it made me cry like a baby, I knew I had a problem.

Still, I told myself. I can handle this. After all, hockey is just a game. Right?

I was wrong - (What? No surprised guffaws?)

Last Thursday was opening night for my beloved Red Wings and I was completely useless all day long. Oh, I got some work done and did what I had to, but my focus was on getting to my computer in my office watching my television by 7:00 p.m. SHARP! The Stanley Cup Championship banner was being raised to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and I was not going to miss it for anything.

I also realized there was something else I was missing - my online friends. We had all touched base a couple times during the summer, some had even made it to the D for a celebratory beer. -Sorry we missed it Gang. Still we had not really talked since June.

But there they all were when I logged on and we watched the opener together. I was so excited.

(JuiceinLAla, k bennett, winfran, Coldest, Fed0r0v, judyzerman, DtownDinah, westsidefan, HawaiinWingNut, JohnnyG83, scottlacy, WingNut1967, hockeytown101, jleWings, RWfaninSD, OctopiAlley, and LunaticNumber100 I am looking forward to watching with you. JLinkTX, shutemdown, and Hockeylvr I look forward to the discussions. I hope I didn't forget anybody.)

Then the Red Wings lost that opening game and I found myself completely drained. What had been a euphoric high had become a dismal low. I stayed online with my friends for awhile discussing the game and then I just moped around for the rest of the evening.

The next morning I had a talk with myself. To quote my Twitter feed and Facebook exactly I said, "Ah look it's the next day and the world did not end. The Wings will fight another day. Back to some normalcy today." I told myself I was going to miss Saturday night's game anyway because I'd be watching college football at a party with friends. I'll just take a break I thought.

But when I got home around midnight I couldn't get to the transcript from the live game discussion fast enough. How had the Wings done? What were my friends talking about? Holy smokes Jim - cool down. You won't be able to watch Monday anyway. The game is not on t.v.

But the game was on t.v. Justin t.v. And so I found myself not only watching the game, but also the live game blog. Don't worry - my new addiction did not lose out. Twitterfox was up and running. As much fun as I've been having with the Learn & Play program at CML I couldn't possibly turn off my Twitter friends.

Twitter feed, Facebook? Live Game Blog?

Must be some kind of technology freak - no make that technology geek as well.

Maybe - but I'm having fun!

Learn & Play @CML Thing #17 Google Docs

Before we go any further I think it is time to acknowledge that Google is going to take over the world. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing really.

I mean if anybody else can come up with the wide array of tools that Google provides for free, they should step right up... Bueller, Bueller - anyone...

For this exercise I took a look at Google Docs.

I'm actually typing this blog entry as a Google Document and I've already started my blog post about Web 2.0's effect (or is it affect - I always mix those two up) on Libraries and people, including Jimmer using Google Docs as well.

Google documents are pretty straight forward with maybe a few less bells and whistles than Microsoft Word. Wait, that might not be a bad thing. Then again, what would I do with these gems from my repertoire? "No, I do not want that to be autoformatted - fricken, fracken styles. Autocorrect this Bill Gates!"

I imported a PowerPoint presentation to test a Google Presentation. It seemed to run just fine, but I lost some of the animation I had built in. Curious, I created a new presentation to see if any animation effects would be available. They are not. Again, a few less bells and whistles - this time not so good as I consider animation to be a key ingredient to slide show presentations.

Finally, I tested Google spreadsheets. This one tested me a bit. I started by importing a spreadsheet I use on a weekly basis. If you follow me on Twitter, you know exactly what I am talking about. No losses this week - well I didn't play.

One of the reasons I didn't play is because I had some hangups manipulating the spreadsheet. For starters, there's no autoformat for column size. Folks this is a season long spreadsheet with several columns factoring in - I need those columns to be sized perfectly so I can see everything, and I don't want to have to take the time to do it manually.

Second, my formulas, or zeros or even "REF!" were not visible. Oh they were there, I just didn't realize it until I went back to the original spreadsheet to see what numbers might be missing or if I might have copied something incorrectly. This is when I realized there is no formula bar. What the heck - how do you edit a cell and see what you're typing? Well, as it turns out you edit a cell by double clicking the cell. You can also do this in Excel, that's just not my normal workflow. Ah well.

One other thing I would like to mention from testing is the wide array of templates Google Docs offers. Everything from letterhead, to invoices, to scrapbook presentations - pretty cool stuff.

On the whole - Google Docs are very usable products, and I know I'll find myself returning to them at some point.

Of course I'm thinking MJB Foundation collaborative work. Kind of exciting actually.

The coolest thing about Google Docs is they are available online to be shared or edited by multiple users. As usual the Commoncraft folks explain this best.

Collaboration is the word that keeps running through my head when I think about Google Docs. Because the documents are available online to anyone you give access to there are not 50 kajillion copies floating around of each document. Instead, there is one consistent copy available to anyone in a group who might need it.

Imagine how this might work for your library task force or committee. I know right?!

And remember it's all FREE!

Google will one day rule the world MUHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

(Editor's note - I posted this to my blog directly from Google Docs. Now that's cool.)

Wikis Learn and Play @CML Things #15 & 16

Alright so I am a little behind with the Learn & Play program as I got caught up in telling the story of Mulligan in my last few posts.

Getting back on track - you'll note I've skipped Thing #14. This is odd to me as I've actually been working on my post for thing #14 since early September. I've been doing a lot of research and digging through emails, blog posts and news articles. Hopefully it will all lead to an interesting, or at least an enlightening read about Web 2.0. But it won't be today.

Today, we are talking about Wikis.

Wikis aren't something I had used so while I was not hesitant, I also can't say I was overly confident going into this exercise. It also didn't help that I was also having a very "clicky," (with the mouse) day and all 400 + people taking part in Learn & Play @CML seemed to be editing the group wiki at the same time. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. - Maybe.

In any case, - Wow! What a cool tool, especially for collaborative efforts.

I can see libraries using these for all kinds of working groups, book discussions, procedural items, and especially as a means to get info from the public. Why not a public wiki where people can login and tell us about their tastes, list books, movies and music that they like? Sure, they could just email, or send a message, but with a wiki they could add to the list and see what other users want as well.

Okay for the naysayers - You know that guy who thinks we just have to have every copy of every book by Bert Niffendorfer - (I made that up)-? With the wiki we could point him to the list of customer requests so he could see that he really is the only person who wants those books, so No we're not going to buy them.

For the glass half-full folks, think of how this would help us respond to what our customers want and need in their library experience.

Personally, I'm thinking of using a wiki for the work of The MJB Foundation. With so many family activities pulling everybody in different directions it might be nice to have all of our pertinent information, and a list of "what's going on" all in one place.

Food for thought at least...

Video test - Help a brother out.

Hi there - I'm working on a Web 2.0 post for CML's Learn & Play program.

I have this webcam sitting on top of my monitor that I've never used for anything practical. Obviously, I'd like to put it to use.

Please vote in the poll to the left and let me know what you think of the video.

Thanks!

Learn & Play @CML Thing #13 Delicious

This is a story about a journey that ends and continues at Delicious.

Getting there was, well it is kind of ironic.

Finishing the Mac to PC migration I decided I wanted to have a "perfect set of Favorites" to have on all the computers I use.

My incredibly organized wife helped me pare down and organize the Favorites from each of our computers. We created folders for Finance, News, Sports, and so on with subcategories as well. We saved the file to each of our computers. Voila! Right?

Not so much... The very next week, I was searching for something at work and found a site I wanted to add to my favorites. Immediately it occurred to me that I was only adding it to my work profile and not the computers at home. Well darn it!

Of course with Delicious I wouldn't have had this problem. But wait, there's more.

Recently, my friend LibraryJoy suggested I give Firefox a try. Okay - why not?

I imported my favorites into Firefox and started digging around. Some of the features in Firefox allowed me to organize my Favorites, now Bookmarks even more.

But hmmm... how was I going to get this all back to work where changes to my Firefox browser wiped out everyday, (forcing the continued use of IE 7) and to Netter's computer where she still uses IE 7.

The answer is Delicious!

I signed up for an account and imported my bookmarks. Delicious is so intuitive that it saw all my "categories" as tags and BAM! (as Emeril would say) - I was done.

Well not done completely - I'm going to reorganize a few things, decide what to share and not share, you know in general poke around.

But in this Delicious bit of irony - I don't mind at all.

Everything should be so easy...

Learn & Play @ CML Thing #12 Twitter

Let me begin with full disclosure - I <3 Twitter.

Twitter is an ongoing conversation within a community. It's a way to follow along with what your friends and colleagues are doing, and sometimes how they are doing. For example, during the past few days many of my friends were without power. When they could find access to a computer they would post an update on their status. For example – Day 3 no power, no hot water, might have to take the neighbor up on that offer to borrow theirs. Coffee a must!

CML used Twitter during the last few days to post updates about branch closings and emergency phone numbers. In fact, the information was on Twitter before it was on CMLsi.

The Learn & Play program also uses Twitter.

Who knew 140 characters could be so useful? By answering one simple question “what are you doing?” a whole community can connect.

There are a whole slew of add-ons for Twitter. At home I use Twitterfox.

I found many more here.

I also have Twitter connected to my cell phone. I wasn’t sure how this would work at first. I contacted Verizon to be sure Twitter texts would not add costs beyond my unlimited texting plan. They do not, but y.m.m.v so check with your carrier and be sure you get documentation. It caught me by surprise when the Verizon rep. asked: “What’s Twitter?” so I asked her to please look it up and send me the information so I would have it in writing.

Actually connecting Twitter to my cell phone was very easy. The step by step instructions were spot on.

There was one thing I didn’t count on. Initially I set up my cell phone to receive all updates from everyone I follow on Twitter. The next time I turned my phone on I was just a tad alarmed when it vibrated for 10 minutes downloading many messages.

My phone survived and I was a little more careful in revising my settings.

I do still get many updates. I just like to be part of the conversation.

Follow me on Twitter.

Learn & Play @ CML Thing #11 Library Thing

Library Thing could become one of those things, that finds its way onto my list of things to do. The thing is I really like to organize my things, and keep things in order. Some might say I have an O.C.D. thing. Alright that's enough with the things.

To be a little more serious, - when I first heard about Library Thing, I was skeptical about its application for my purposes. While there was a time when I read quite a bit, I just don't much anymore. In fact, I just told a colleague today that the book I read during the power outage on Sunday was maybe my third of the year.

Still, everyone talks about Library Thing quite a bit so I thought I should at least check it out and get a feel for it so I could provide a hands-on recommendation and / or review where necessary. I do work in a library after all and "library things" sometimes tend to come up.

Day 1 - I signed up for an account, added a book, poked around a bit and came away confused for some reason. Is this supposed to be books that I've read or books that I want to read or what?

Day 2 - My wife informed me that she had tried Library Thing as a possible replacement or supplement to the database she already keeps of all the books that she has read. Netter said Library Thing is a great tool, but it cut her off at 200 titles, (the free account allotment) although she was only in the "C's" on her list. Since Netter already has her own database she didn't want to spend the money to go beyond 200.

Netter also took the time to explain Library Thing clearly for Jimmer's addled mind and off I went to check it out again. So...

Day 3 - I began by adding my favorite books, and the books I read most recently. Then I started tagging them noting that there was a theme of sorts in my reading. Okay - this might be useful after all I thought. In fact this could become pretty addicting, one of those all encompassing Jimmer projects. Uh-Oh!

So, I sent Netter an email asking if maybe she wanted to pay for an account for both of us to use. (See then it’s not just Jimmer’s project.) She said she was happy with her database adding "Plus the Library Thing doesn't let you put in the date of when you read it - which helps me remember details if I can sort by date and see what else I read around that same time." There’s probably a work-around for this like the comments field, (unless you’re using it for comments) but if you already have a database built I understand your standards becoming a little higher.

I don't know where I'll go from here with Library Thing. I know it would be a great tool for organizing my books on coaching for example, or the many books I seem to read about life lessons. Well maybe not that many – at 3 per year, it will take a long time to get to 200.

If you want to check it out - this is Jimmer's Library Thing.

Library Thing has found its way onto my project list. Whether it is the short list of things or the long list of things has yet to be determined.