Tweet, Tweet Little Birdie (Thing 12)

I've really been looking forward to Thing 12 because I LOVE Twitter. I do. I do.

I created a Twitter account back in 2007. Unfortunately, I forgot all about it and didn't return to it until 2009. One of the librarians I work with couldn't say enough about Twitter. Not remembering that I had an account, and never having used it, I'd ask her, "What's the purpose? It seems kind of useless." After hearing her talk so much about it I decided to give it a whirl. Imagine my surprise when I attempted to register and was told my e-mail address was already taken. Well, I was livid. How could someone have the audacity to use my personal e-mail address? I just couldn't understand it. I sat there, staring at the computer screen, for a while. Then a faded two-year-old memory made its way into my mind. I signed in and voila, there I was.

Now I'm a Twitter addict.

One is the Lonliest Number (Thing 11)

When I log on to the Internet I log on with specific sites in mind. I have a good dozen blogs that I visit daily. I always check Facebook and Twitter. I might check out IMDB, Etsy, and hunch. I get my news from CNN and Drudge. If I need recipe ideas I'll search RecipeZaar or Tasty Kitchen. I update my reading list on Good Reads and I update my personal blog. But I never get online intending to IM. I'm not especially loquacious, so chit chat in any form is not really my cup of tea. When I do any sort of IMing I do it through Facebook. In order to complete Thing 11, however, I used Yahoo!Messenger to IM. I used Yahoo!Messenger because I have my e-mail account through Yahoo! and that allowed me to skip the registration phase of this new Thing. The thing about IMing is that if no one you know is doing it, it's kind of hard to participate

To Ning I Say Nyet (Thing 10)

I fooled around with Ning and I didn't really like it. Each of my searches (Salvatierra, Guanajuato & Mediterranean cooking) pulled up hundreds of networks, so it's clearly popular, but it's just not something I'll fit into my Internet routine.

I Didn't Mean to Forget About You

I've been out of the country for the last three weeks and prior to that I was in Illinois for one week. I came home today and thought I'd reacquaint myself with the old Internet. I was just about to log off when I remembered...North Texas 23! Oh my gosh!

It's All About the Flair (Things 8 & 9)

I'd been on MySpace for years and I really enjoyed the ease of changing my layout frequently. Hunting down music that paired well with different layouts was also fun. My sister and I would argue the merits of each of our preferred social networking sites. Her argument against MySpace was that it contained too much smut and there were a lot of perverts on there. I did agree with her, but I also argued that Facebook probably attracted as many perverts (or would-be pervs) and the smut on FB was less visible only because most people set their profiles to private. Mostly, though, I argued in favor of MySpace because I felt it was the underdog.

After a bit of cajoling I did finally join Facebook a few months ago. What can I say about Facebook? It's a fun way to pass the time. I like keeping up to date with my friends and family. I love voicing my opinion with Pieces of Flair-subtle yet to the point. I'm not much into some of the other features like creating virtual towns, growing virtual gardens, adopting virtual pets, etc, etc...

I couldn't honestly claim to use Facebook at work for "professional" reasons. I'd be logging on at work for the same reason I log on at home--to take the quiz that tells me which Gilligan character I am most like.

Because I'm Such a Pushover (Thing 7 RSS)

The Common Craft video has convinced me to give Google Reader a second chance. All right, already.

Blog Readers NOT Readers of Blogs (Thing 6)

Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to something. I initially didn't care much for Facebook. I didn't understand people's fascination with it, much less why people would choose to spend so much time on FB. Now, although I'm not a frequent updater, I visit Facebook at least once a day just to see what friends and family are up to.

I feel the same way about Google Reader as I once did about Facebook, but to a greater degree. I understand how Google Reader could be very convenient for people who frequent a great number of websites. Rather than visit each site individually, you go to Google Reader and see which site's have been updated. It involves much less clicking and there are fewer pages to open.

Since I visit only a handful of blogs daily, and several more less frequently, I find that delicious

fits my needs perfectly. (I know, I know that's social bookmarking not a feed aggregator.) Also, Google Reader's layout is far too cluttered for my taste. I prefer simple and clean layouts.

In conclusion, Google Reader is not my bag. Maybe someday, maybe someday.

Tumblr

I used to follow a blog on tumblr until the author moved her site to wordpress. I enjoyed her stuff, but I didn't care too much for the format: lots of photos with very little to no text. Yesterday, Claire Robertson posted about having her own tumblelog to keep track of images she finds on the web. She posts the most beautiful pictures on Loobylu, so I knew her tumblelog was going to be something truly inspiring.

Can you guess what I did? You can bet your bottom dollar that I joined tumblr. I currently have a blog hosted by wordpress, but, inspired by Kath, I wanted to start posting pictures of what I eat everyday. (I'm hoping that that will help me make better food choices.) But I don't feel that my blog is really the place for daily photos of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Enter tumblr. Daily photos of what I consume, without the need for much text on my part. The Internet, like the Universe, conspires to give you what you need. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson said that. :)

I Bungled FD Toys (Thing 5)

FD Toys was not easy to use. I attempted to make a cube from a picture of my nephew, but I actually had to print out the image and fold and tape it myself, like something you'd find on the back of a cereal box. I expected it to be like a cube I saw on another 23er's blog. Oh, well. I used the Hockneyizer, which was super simple.

I'm pathetically proud of this next one. "Why you trying to hold back, baby? Tell me what you feel. If you're having mixed emotions, I'll show you that I'm for reeeeeeeeeeeaaaal!" Man, that's awesome.

The Flickrati Cont'd (Thing 4)

Made using Captioner

Made using Spell with Flickr (Can't get the letters all on the same line. Errgghh.)