One more Thing...

Thing 23: What have you learned and where do you want to go from here?

The 23 Things Programme has been hugely informative and has opened my eyes to the various tools and services that the Web has available to offer me. Some of the tools have proven more useful to me now than others.

Since exploring the Things of the programme and attending some of the seminars that were on offer I have since amended my Facebook profile and made restrictions to its content. Opened a Twitter account - although I am not as active as I could be on this - of which the two I have added to Bitly to keep links in my social updates in one place and controlled. I have also opened up a Flickr account which I am keen to keep using and have found the Creative Commons aspect for protecting my images interesting to explore and play with as well as being reassuring in that my media is being protected. I have been using Flickr more when sharing on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

LinkedIn was a programme that I had heard of before starting 23 Things and was part of the reason I followed the programme, I have since worked hard at creating and maximising my online professional profile through the site and have enjoyed the process of doing so. The different medias explored in the programme and the social media sites, including the different aspects of each and how they can be used, has spurred my interest to online marketing and I am now looking to move what I have learned into promoting my office and Legal Deposit.

The programme has also led to me being more willing to explore more aspects of the online tools that I already have available to me and I have since began work on creating a website on behalf of a private company, creating company web addresses and email, which I will be able to use to market the company accross the different social media sites.  

Overall I have found the programme extremely beneficial and would recommend others to take part if they have an interest in social media, online profiling, online marketing or whether they want to get an overview of what is out there and what others are using. Many thanks to those who have run the programme!

Thing 21 & 22

Thing 21: Using Doodle and other online scheduling tools & Thing 22: Google Docs and Dropbox

Currently the most useful scheduling tool that I use in my office is the Microsoft Office Calender and the options of arranging meetings and sending invitations. These tools fit the purpose of my office and surrounding departments - simultaneously as we use a shared 'Drive' on the computer network, sharing documents for editing is easily done with the option of creating a shared document in Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. I often use the the 'track changes' tool that the programmes offer to and documents can be shared via email. 

Looking at the online scheduling tools, I can see how these can be implemented for use on a larger network and scale, for instance scheduling a training session or tutorial with distant learning students or a seminar/talk that requires a receipt of attendance from individuals throughout colleges or schools. Similarly the online document sharing tools can be used for this benefit. The spread of online sharing in this manner and indeed scheduling can see the spread to a global community and can allow research areas and individuals to collaborate their thoughts in one place.