I tell you what: one of the best things about having set up 23 Things and then waiting close to two years to actually tackle the endeavor myself is the perspective on many of these tools that I've been granted. When I put this whole 23-part exercise together, I remember thinking, "Golly, some of these tools are pretty cool. I could use this for that, and that one for this, and this other one for this specific task". Now, in hindsight, I'm like, "You know what, I don't have the time to track umpteen different social networking tools. I think I'll pick a couple and stick with them".
And that's where I'm at with this Thing. Allow me to elucidate.
Back in the day, I actually set up a Ning to share news about my musical endeavors with friends. I gathered a handful of fans and posted updates about recording sessions, upcoming gigs, rehearsals, and the like. I had a lot of fun with it for a while, but then I decided that I was spending way too much time switching between and tracking conversations via my Facebook account, my Ning account, my Flickr account, and my blog--not to mention other blogs and such that I was following. It was time, I said, to reign things in a bit and re-establish a life away from the computer.
My Ning was the first to go. I had delved deeper into Facebook groups and fan pages, and ended up setting up a Facebook fan page as a replacement for my Ning network. Then I made a resolution to step back from all of this and spend less time in front of the computer. Over the past few months, temptation has gotten the best of me, and, once again, I'm using Facebook and Flickr (and have temporary latched onto the Reddit group devoted to LOST). But that's it. And honestly, that's enough (in fact, it's probably still too much).
Still, I had fun working through this Thing and revisiting some of these other social networks. One thing that struck me as I did so was how niche-based many of these other social networks are. Whether users are delving into Ning or Gather or something similar, they are doing so in an effort to set up a community devoted to a very specific topic (like teaching librarians, etc). I also took a close look at WebJunction (something, admittedly, I should be much more familiar with), but was, once again, struck by how much their courses cost.
The other issue to address is the use of these social networks in the library. Again, as I mentioned in my thoughts on Thing 16, I think it's important to reach out to patrons where they spend their time. Thus, Facebook seems like the obvious avenue. Yes, there are some Ning's out there devoted to librarianship (and there's some discussion on WebJunction as well), but the relevance of these communities is hampered by how many people participate (i.e. a paltry sum). Another issue that hampers participation is time. In this age of budget cuts, the pressure is on to use one's time as efficiently as possible and to prioritize core services. And one of the things that many in the field have less time for is networking with other professionals and taking the time to explore and create--especially when positions are eliminated and responsibilities are parceled out to those who remain.
Strange days, indeed.
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