Comments on: Using Technology for Balance Instead of Guilt http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html shifting libraries at the speed of byte Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:46:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Talking Books Librarian http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9038 Talking Books Librarian Thu, 22 May 2008 14:55:52 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9038 I actually think the key to finding balance is not using too many of the new services... if you try to use a bunch of them, I think it becomes really overwhelming. Find several that you like, and stick with those. Every now and then, try out a new one... if it works well, start using it and give up one of the others you have previously been using. I actually think the key to finding balance is not using too many of the new services… if you try to use a bunch of them, I think it becomes really overwhelming. Find several that you like, and stick with those. Every now and then, try out a new one… if it works well, start using it and give up one of the others you have previously been using.

]]> By: walt crawford http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9043 walt crawford Thu, 22 May 2008 15:33:41 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9043 Interesting. I wouldn't couple LSW Meebo and Twitter that tightly, although either or both can be too much. With LSW Meebo, you're either there or you're not--and if you're not, you don't worry about "catching up" since it's not possible to go back more than 40-50 comments. As Meebo calls it, it's a room--sometimes deserted, sometimes full of people with overlapping conversations. If you're in the room and it gets to be too much, you leave (as I usually do after half an hour or so). On the other hand, if everybody loved LSW Meebo, I suspect it would generally be too fast & furious to work very well; 6-12 people seems to be the sweet spot. With Twitter (as I recall from before I gave up), the tweets accumulate--like short blog posts. Sure, you can ignore the whole lot, but the temptation is to try to catch up. At the same time, and maybe for the same reasons, Twitter is awfully attractive. Other than drawing a distinction between two short-message "communities," I'll just say this is an interesting discussion. I'm still thinking about FB, but my track record with online communities is fairly shaky. I know from experience that giving such communities the attention they deserve (and that I'd be inclined to give them) means I don't get my own reading, thinking and writing done. That's just me--old, male, shy, not a good multitasker. As a long-time exponent of balance, I certainly agree that balance is a dynamic thing that keeps changing over time. Interesting. I wouldn’t couple LSW Meebo and Twitter that tightly, although either or both can be too much.

With LSW Meebo, you’re either there or you’re not–and if you’re not, you don’t worry about “catching up” since it’s not possible to go back more than 40-50 comments. As Meebo calls it, it’s a room–sometimes deserted, sometimes full of people with overlapping conversations. If you’re in the room and it gets to be too much, you leave (as I usually do after half an hour or so). On the other hand, if everybody loved LSW Meebo, I suspect it would generally be too fast & furious to work very well; 6-12 people seems to be the sweet spot.

With Twitter (as I recall from before I gave up), the tweets accumulate–like short blog posts. Sure, you can ignore the whole lot, but the temptation is to try to catch up. At the same time, and maybe for the same reasons, Twitter is awfully attractive.

Other than drawing a distinction between two short-message “communities,” I’ll just say this is an interesting discussion. I’m still thinking about FB, but my track record with online communities is fairly shaky. I know from experience that giving such communities the attention they deserve (and that I’d be inclined to give them) means I don’t get my own reading, thinking and writing done. That’s just me–old, male, shy, not a good multitasker.

As a long-time exponent of balance, I certainly agree that balance is a dynamic thing that keeps changing over time.

]]> By: LeeAnn http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9044 LeeAnn Thu, 22 May 2008 16:00:04 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9044 I'm a newish librarian, solo at a proprietary school and my use of sites like Facebook (which so far I find kind of silly and I never check it) is limited to my personal use thus far; I'm very slowly dipping my toe in the water (this comment is an example of my slow beginning) but here's what I wonder: When I ride the bus, or go for a walk, a good percentage of the people I encounter are on the phone (sometimes it's me on the phone). I often think - why is everyone someplace else? How do we use all those tools, work at home and do personal stuff at work and on and on and still manage to be wherever it is that we are? people on the bus talk on the phone instead of meeting those around them...and those around them might have something to offer. How do we SEE the flowers and birds we pass, when we're always somewhere else? at least I feel often that I'm not really attending to my surroundings and I wonder if others ever feel that way. I’m a newish librarian, solo at a proprietary school and my use of sites like Facebook (which so far I find kind of silly and I never check it) is limited to my personal use thus far; I’m very slowly dipping my toe in the water (this comment is an example of my slow beginning) but here’s what I wonder: When I ride the bus, or go for a walk, a good percentage of the people I encounter are on the phone (sometimes it’s me on the phone). I often think - why is everyone someplace else? How do we use all those tools, work at home and do personal stuff at work and on and on and still manage to be wherever it is that we are? people on the bus talk on the phone instead of meeting those around them…and those around them might have something to offer. How do we SEE the flowers and birds we pass, when we’re always somewhere else? at least I feel often that I’m not really attending to my surroundings and I wonder if others ever feel that way.

]]> By: Candy Schwartz http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9047 Candy Schwartz Thu, 22 May 2008 16:43:25 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9047 I keep balanced by logging into to the full FB and Twitter sites once in the morning, and then I let netvibes monitor them for the rest of the day, along with my RSS feeds, LinkedIn, GMail, and some static thingslike GCal. I can catch up when I have a moment to spare all on one site that way, and netvibes is available wherever there's a connection and a device. I don't use the phone because I am too cheap to pay for more than the $5/month pay-as-you-go from Virgin, and I am not that often on the road for any length of time except during conferences, at which point I would have my Asus eee. The only difference between work and home is that I tend not to do schoolwork at home, but I do social networking in both places. I keep balanced by logging into to the full FB and Twitter sites once in the morning, and then I let netvibes monitor them for the rest of the day, along with my RSS feeds, LinkedIn, GMail, and some static thingslike GCal. I can catch up when I have a moment to spare all on one site that way, and netvibes is available wherever there’s a connection and a device. I don’t use the phone because I am too cheap to pay for more than the $5/month pay-as-you-go from Virgin, and I am not that often on the road for any length of time except during conferences, at which point I would have my Asus eee. The only difference between work and home is that I tend not to do schoolwork at home, but I do social networking in both places.

]]> By: Amanda Clay Powers http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9051 Amanda Clay Powers Thu, 22 May 2008 19:20:09 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9051 I love this post--thank you! I'm working on a talk for the MS Library 2.0 Summit on Managing Your Identity on Social Networks, and I completely agree that we don't have the killer app Social Aggregator yet. Only two of my friends are on Friend Feed, and I find that right now it's just a way for me to see what I've been doing...which is fun, too. Sort of. Ping.fm is interesting--but I haven't made it work yet. You can update all your social networks at once (i.e. synchronize twitter and facebook status, etc.). Another tool to manage all of it, but still not quite there for me. I just blogged a few days ago (for the first time in a year on my personal blog!) about being afraid of getting a smart phone (http://www.amandaclaypowers.com/?p=65), so your comments hit home. I've pretty much decided to go ahead and take the leap, but now I can't decide which one to get...I'm definitely not a technophobe, but there are so many out there. Any recommendations? As for Facebook and Twitter--Facebook is my job. We've jumped in head first at the library, with our own group and pages and application, events, video contests, flickr feed, etc. All of our students are on it, and most faculty and administrators, student groups, and even classes. I do reference on Facebook, and pretty much run my personal life from it, too. Most everyone I know (inluding family) is on it. I definitely keep it mostly professional, but I think it's good for our patrons (I'm at a University) to see me as a real person. So I put my theater groups, poetry groups, etc. on it. And my sister-in-law posts videos on my wall of my three-year-old nephew. But we're in a small town where the university makes up about half of the population. I've just gotten back on Twitter (I found it frustrating and silly in the beginning...), and I'm having some more success with it. I live in a small town in a small state, and I think I may be following (and followed by) everyone in town, including some students--I get great insight on what the ebb and flow of student life is! And this week Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Clarion Ledger (the big paper in the state) started following me (and vice versa), so I'm fascinated to see where that is going. I still only have 37 followers...lol. But I love what David Ward and folks are doing at U Illinois Champagne-Urbana Undergrad Library are doing with Twitter on their website--they keep running updates about which printers are down, slow network issues, etc. Good stuff. Again, thanks for the post. I love this post–thank you! I’m working on a talk for the MS Library 2.0 Summit on Managing Your Identity on Social Networks, and I completely agree that we don’t have the killer app Social Aggregator yet. Only two of my friends are on Friend Feed, and I find that right now it’s just a way for me to see what I’ve been doing…which is fun, too. Sort of. Ping.fm is interesting–but I haven’t made it work yet. You can update all your social networks at once (i.e. synchronize twitter and facebook status, etc.). Another tool to manage all of it, but still not quite there for me.

I just blogged a few days ago (for the first time in a year on my personal blog!) about being afraid of getting a smart phone (http://www.amandaclaypowers.com/?p=65), so your comments hit home. I’ve pretty much decided to go ahead and take the leap, but now I can’t decide which one to get…I’m definitely not a technophobe, but there are so many out there. Any recommendations?

As for Facebook and Twitter–Facebook is my job. We’ve jumped in head first at the library, with our own group and pages and application, events, video contests, flickr feed, etc. All of our students are on it, and most faculty and administrators, student groups, and even classes. I do reference on Facebook, and pretty much run my personal life from it, too. Most everyone I know (inluding family) is on it. I definitely keep it mostly professional, but I think it’s good for our patrons (I’m at a University) to see me as a real person. So I put my theater groups, poetry groups, etc. on it. And my sister-in-law posts videos on my wall of my three-year-old nephew. But we’re in a small town where the university makes up about half of the population.

I’ve just gotten back on Twitter (I found it frustrating and silly in the beginning…), and I’m having some more success with it. I live in a small town in a small state, and I think I may be following (and followed by) everyone in town, including some students–I get great insight on what the ebb and flow of student life is! And this week Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Clarion Ledger (the big paper in the state) started following me (and vice versa), so I’m fascinated to see where that is going. I still only have 37 followers…lol. But I love what David Ward and folks are doing at U Illinois Champagne-Urbana Undergrad Library are doing with Twitter on their website–they keep running updates about which printers are down, slow network issues, etc. Good stuff.

Again, thanks for the post.

]]> By: Meredith http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9063 Meredith Fri, 23 May 2008 02:13:16 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9063 Great post, Jenny! I think this is something we all struggle with and I appreciate learning how other people find balance. Great post, Jenny! I think this is something we all struggle with and I appreciate learning how other people find balance.

]]> By: Malar Villi NADESON http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9065 Malar Villi NADESON Fri, 23 May 2008 02:52:36 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9065 Hi Jenny, Thank you, found the info both useful and relevant. Personally, my experience at my college library has been with facebook and blog. Both have been received very well by both teaching staff and students. Facebook, is a space where I can meet students whom I'm unable to get through the college email, through the blog, I'm able to post chunks of info, which could not be sent via email, and have created a link on facebook for my blog as well. I'm new to Facebook and Blog and have implemented it to the best of my knowledge, I'm trying to improve as I'm going along. Hi Jenny,

Thank you, found the info both useful and relevant. Personally, my experience at my college library has been with facebook and blog. Both have been received very well by both teaching staff and students. Facebook, is a space where I can meet students whom I’m unable to get through the college email, through the blog, I’m able to post chunks of info, which could not be sent via email, and have created a link on facebook for my blog as well. I’m new to Facebook and Blog and have implemented it to the best of my knowledge, I’m trying to improve as I’m going along.

]]> By: John http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9070 John Fri, 23 May 2008 05:28:31 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9070 Have you tried the Flock browser - www.flock.com. I've found it makes flow of info lot easier Have you tried the Flock browser - www.flock.com. I’ve found it makes flow of info lot easier

]]> By: What is this thing we have here? | Information Wants To Be Free http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9081 What is this thing we have here? | Information Wants To Be Free Fri, 23 May 2008 13:36:28 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9081 [...] Jenny Levine wrote in a recent (excellent) post “for most of my professional career, the line between work and personal has been blurred, making it difficult to tell where one starts and the other ends.” Me too. I don’t see the point of trying to separate these different pieces of my life since each is so intricately connected to and impacted by the other. That doesn’t mean I disclose every intimate detail of my life. I never mentioned on this blog that Adam was seriously ill this winter and how absolutely terrified I was. But I pretty much avoided talking to anyone about it because I kept bursting into tears. I can only write about it now because he’s doing so much better. Even when librarians write about their personal lives, I don’t feel like they’re taking part in gratuitous self-disclosure. Sometimes they’re trying to keep their friends up with what’s happening in their life. Sometimes they’re just using their blog to process their own thoughts and feelings. All good things. [...] […] Jenny Levine wrote in a recent (excellent) post “for most of my professional career, the line between work and personal has been blurred, making it difficult to tell where one starts and the other ends.” Me too. I don’t see the point of trying to separate these different pieces of my life since each is so intricately connected to and impacted by the other. That doesn’t mean I disclose every intimate detail of my life. I never mentioned on this blog that Adam was seriously ill this winter and how absolutely terrified I was. But I pretty much avoided talking to anyone about it because I kept bursting into tears. I can only write about it now because he’s doing so much better. Even when librarians write about their personal lives, I don’t feel like they’re taking part in gratuitous self-disclosure. Sometimes they’re trying to keep their friends up with what’s happening in their life. Sometimes they’re just using their blog to process their own thoughts and feelings. All good things. […]

]]> By: Susan RoAne http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9086 Susan RoAne Fri, 23 May 2008 17:56:50 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9086 Jenny, glad that google sends me alerts on Face-to-Face...and that I've found your blog. As someone who writes and speaks on communication (and officially registered, The Mingling Maven), having a cogent, informative and conversational resource is so helpful. THANK YOU! BTW, that you are able to ignore your phone is a skill (trait, talent or gift) that most people who use technology don't possess. Of course, I have a bias in that I wrote How To Work a Room and the forthcoming Face to Face: How To Reclaim the Personal Touch in a Digital World. But I want to be sure I am "current" so that I can keep up with my multigenerational network of friends and family. Your comments about Twitter peaked my interest and curiosity. And there are just somedays I would just hold a book in my hands and read it! Thanks again for great info. Jenny, glad that google sends me alerts on Face-to-Face…and that I’ve found your blog. As someone who writes and speaks on communication (and officially registered, The Mingling Maven), having a cogent, informative and conversational resource is so helpful. THANK YOU! BTW, that you are able to ignore your phone is a skill (trait, talent or gift) that most people who use technology don’t possess.

Of course, I have a bias in that I wrote How To Work a Room and the forthcoming Face to Face: How To Reclaim the Personal Touch in a Digital World. But I want to be sure I am “current” so that I can keep up with my multigenerational network of friends and family. Your comments about Twitter peaked my interest and curiosity.

And there are just somedays I would just hold a book in my hands and read it!

Thanks again for great info.

]]> By: The Logical Operator » The edge is a fickle hellcat. http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9328 The Logical Operator » The edge is a fickle hellcat. Wed, 28 May 2008 19:09:00 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9328 [...] and libraries and all the delightful interactions betwixt same, Jenny (the author*) posted this post, about technology as a source of guilt, rather than a tool for life balance. I came across the [...] […] and libraries and all the delightful interactions betwixt same, Jenny (the author*) posted this post, about technology as a source of guilt, rather than a tool for life balance. I came across the […]

]]> By: Morning Links « The Geeky Librarian http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9351 Morning Links « The Geeky Librarian Thu, 29 May 2008 11:17:16 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9351 [...] Jenny Levine continues to be the best library technology writer out there with a nice discussion on how to cope with social networking. [...] […] Jenny Levine continues to be the best library technology writer out there with a nice discussion on how to cope with social networking. […]

]]> By: Jennifer http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9353 Jennifer Thu, 29 May 2008 12:45:45 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9353 I really appreciated this article. It's so easy to find posts and articles on the newest and greatest software available and I sometimes wonder how much of any one thing I need to know. Your honest assessment of how well or not well some of these tools have worked in your experience was really helpful. I really appreciated this article. It’s so easy to find posts and articles on the newest and greatest software available and I sometimes wonder how much of any one thing I need to know. Your honest assessment of how well or not well some of these tools have worked in your experience was really helpful.

]]> By: Blog Review | ILS 599 Marisa Gorman http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9403 Blog Review | ILS 599 Marisa Gorman Sat, 31 May 2008 02:41:51 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9403 [...] http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt... Uncategorized | Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!) [...] […] http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt… Uncategorized | Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!) […]

]]> By: cindi http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9472 cindi Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:52:15 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9472 Friendfeed allows you to set up "invisible friends"--feeds from friends who don't have a FriendFeed account. The problem with utilizing RSS is that it only syndicates public information. Private twitter streams or friends/family-only flickr photos do not show up, requiring us to use the native interface for those. You can also set up your FriendFeed in Twhirl. Another reason to love Twhirl! Going to give Social Thing a try. I didn't like the way that Flock--mentioned by another commenter--displayed the Twitter feed. It appears to display the most recent update from all your friends, rather than the conversation itself. Perhaps that is a setting, but I got bored and moved on from Flock's social features pretty quickly. <a href="http://brightkite.com" rel="nofollow">Brightkite</a> holds promise, especially for those of us who use social media via SMS, but until Verizon decides to play nice with them, it's not an option for a lot of folks. The search continues... Friendfeed allows you to set up “invisible friends”–feeds from friends who don’t have a FriendFeed account. The problem with utilizing RSS is that it only syndicates public information. Private twitter streams or friends/family-only flickr photos do not show up, requiring us to use the native interface for those. You can also set up your FriendFeed in Twhirl. Another reason to love Twhirl!

Going to give Social Thing a try. I didn’t like the way that Flock–mentioned by another commenter–displayed the Twitter feed. It appears to display the most recent update from all your friends, rather than the conversation itself. Perhaps that is a setting, but I got bored and moved on from Flock’s social features pretty quickly.

Brightkite holds promise, especially for those of us who use social media via SMS, but until Verizon decides to play nice with them, it’s not an option for a lot of folks.

The search continues…

]]> By: Jenny Levine http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9477 Jenny Levine Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:57:18 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9477 Thanks for the great comments everyone! Sorry for the mass comment, but I do appreciate your responses and ideas. @walt - I use Twhirl, which only shows the last 20 tweets, so going back in time isn't an option there. Maybe that's why I equate the LSW chat room with Twitter more than you do. For the most part, I don't feel compelled to "catch up" with either one, but then I've also learned to let go of reading everything in my aggregator and trying every new thing. @LeeAnn - That was kind of the point of my post, that there are ways to find that balance. I sometimes feel the way you do when you're not present in the moment, but I was trying to provide tips for letting things go and streamlining to allow for that. I hope you can find a mix that works well for you. @Amanda - Great post! Which cell carrier do you use? You can definitely manage a smartphone (as opposed to letting it manage you) as long as you're conscious of it. Thanks, @Meredith. Keep up the great work, @Malar! @John, I've downloaded Flock and will give it another try. I haven't used it since it first came out a couple of years ago. It would be great if it solved some of these problems for me. Thanks, @Susan. It is a skill it has taken me a while to develop, but I think just being aware of these things helps you get there, which is why I continue to post about this. @cindi - FriendFeed's "imaginary friends" is an interesting idea, and I might use it for a family member who has just one feed, but realistically, I just don't have the time to find all of the feeds for all of my friends who aren't on the service and then manually add them. Plus, then it's up to me to keep checking to make sure I get the new ones. For some reason, FriendFeed won't work in Twhirl, and their tech support has been non-responsive on GetSatisfaction. I thought SocialThing was also displaying private Twitter feeds because it's based on my account logins, but I'll have to double-check that. BrightKite is interesting, but so far I don't feel compelled to update based on my location. The search does indeed continue.... Thanks for the great comments everyone! Sorry for the mass comment, but I do appreciate your responses and ideas.

@walt - I use Twhirl, which only shows the last 20 tweets, so going back in time isn’t an option there. Maybe that’s why I equate the LSW chat room with Twitter more than you do. For the most part, I don’t feel compelled to “catch up” with either one, but then I’ve also learned to let go of reading everything in my aggregator and trying every new thing.

@LeeAnn - That was kind of the point of my post, that there are ways to find that balance. I sometimes feel the way you do when you’re not present in the moment, but I was trying to provide tips for letting things go and streamlining to allow for that. I hope you can find a mix that works well for you.

@Amanda - Great post! Which cell carrier do you use? You can definitely manage a smartphone (as opposed to letting it manage you) as long as you’re conscious of it.

Thanks, @Meredith.

Keep up the great work, @Malar!

@John, I’ve downloaded Flock and will give it another try. I haven’t used it since it first came out a couple of years ago. It would be great if it solved some of these problems for me.

Thanks, @Susan. It is a skill it has taken me a while to develop, but I think just being aware of these things helps you get there, which is why I continue to post about this.

@cindi - FriendFeed’s “imaginary friends” is an interesting idea, and I might use it for a family member who has just one feed, but realistically, I just don’t have the time to find all of the feeds for all of my friends who aren’t on the service and then manually add them. Plus, then it’s up to me to keep checking to make sure I get the new ones. For some reason, FriendFeed won’t work in Twhirl, and their tech support has been non-responsive on GetSatisfaction. I thought SocialThing was also displaying private Twitter feeds because it’s based on my account logins, but I’ll have to double-check that. BrightKite is interesting, but so far I don’t feel compelled to update based on my location. The search does indeed continue….

]]> By: Matt Galligan http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9496 Matt Galligan Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:53:00 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-9496 Jenny, I can't tell you how much we appreciate the mention. We're very happy to hear that we rank so high in terms of important things to check daily...when we release our version 2.0, you'll see a lot of major improvements. Most of these improvements were back-end, but you'll see some of their effect on the front-end. One of those things that it has affected, is our ability to continue to add services to the service. With the new version, we're able to add services at a much faster rate, which will be great...and we'll be able to get you more features very fast. Glad to hear you're a dedicated user! Can't wait to see how we can help you further.. Jenny, I can’t tell you how much we appreciate the mention. We’re very happy to hear that we rank so high in terms of important things to check daily…when we release our version 2.0, you’ll see a lot of major improvements. Most of these improvements were back-end, but you’ll see some of their effect on the front-end. One of those things that it has affected, is our ability to continue to add services to the service. With the new version, we’re able to add services at a much faster rate, which will be great…and we’ll be able to get you more features very fast.

Glad to hear you’re a dedicated user! Can’t wait to see how we can help you further..

]]> By: Keccles http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-10057 Keccles Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:13:08 +0000 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2008/05/22/using-technology-for-balance-instead-of-guilt.html#comment-10057 Great comments and perspectives! As an old librarian with teenagers, I find that I best balance my social networking using Facebook. It just works for me in balancing contact with students, faculty and family! Great comments and perspectives! As an old librarian with teenagers, I find that I best balance my social networking using Facebook. It just works for me in balancing contact with students, faculty and family!

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