CPD23 blogging

I've already got behind with the cpd23 things, but the meet ups happening this week are spurring me on to do another thing before I meet some other lovely cpd23ers. I think I have subconciously put off thing 2, just because there are so many blogs out there! The Delicious participant list really helps with this though. I decided to look at a couple of blogs tagged with UK and higher education first, as this is the sector that I am in.

I found a fellow blogger who, like me, was also just getting started with the things and commented on their post. A few bloggers have registered but not yet posted about cpd23 things, so it is reassuring that I am not the only one who hasn't got to thing 7 yet!

Having decided to also try a serendipitous approach, I clicked on a couple of blogs from the list showing the latest updated on the cpd23 site. I enjoyed reading A Librarian Learning to Blog (and other things!). I've discovered a few other bloggers who are working towards chartership, or are new professionals in other sectors to mine. I'm hoping that by following some of these I will see new perspectives on the things and learn a bit about other library/information sectors. Like PalelyLoitering, I was also drawn to blogs with names or post titles that looked interesting or just happened to catch my eye.

Following a few links on the blogs that I read led me to the Neon Librarian (love the bright picture on the blog page), and back to Cambridge, where I recognised a few blogs from the Cam23 Things and Cam23 2.0 programmes. Nice to see some familiar blogs as well as new ones!  Looking forward to following some of blogs that I have found throughout the programme - hope we can learn from each other!

Cam23 2.0

I'm pleased that 23 Things is back in 2011 as Cam23 2.0! I really enjoyed the programme last year and as well as learning a lot about web 2.0 and social media, I gained the confidence to blog. There were a few surprises, such as the discovery that I actually continued to use Twitter (something I had steered clear of prior to 23 Things!). While I'm by no means a prolific tweeter, I do find it useful as one way of helping me to keep up with what's going on in the library world. 23 Things was a way of getting more involved in the Cambridge libraries community and this was not just through meeting people at the launch and closing parties.

I've decided to stick with Blogger so that I can use my existing blog. As for what I want to get out of Cam23 2.0, I hope to refresh my skills and update my learning from last year. In this fast moving world, some things may be changed since last summer, and I'll be trying out some of the new things as well. 

iGoogle was one of my favourite things last time around, and I have continued to use it (although not every day). I have just taken the time to review my iGoogle page. Having investigated the current hottest gadgets, I decided to add the Google translate gadget to my home tab. Every now and then it is useful to have a translator to hand, so I will try this out next time I need one. My 'library stuff' tab is the one I use most. It's my preferred method of following blogs as I only follow a few, and contains the ever useful Copac and Worldcat gadgets. To prove I remember some of what I learnt last 23 Things, here's a pretty picture:

For the extra thing this week, I have added a search box and a labels word cloud to my blog. It's so easy to make changes in Blogger, which is one of the reasons I like it. As time goes on, some of the other gadgets may be useful too. I picked a very librarian-ish template this time around, rather than sticking to the default. I look forward to viewing some of the other Cam23 2.0 blogs, seeing which templates and gadgets people have used and of course reading the posts!