Blogging

So I've been visiting and reading lots of the Cam 23 blogs, and I must say I'm very impressed! It's great to see such a wide variety of styles and designs. Each blog is very unique, and I've enjoyed reading some very insightful thoughts and views on the potential use of the different Things in the library world.

I was hugely proud of myself that I had got my blog up-and-running. I then sat back for a bit, content to visit it and edit it a bit here, and add something extra there. But I then realised that standing on it's own, my blog doesn't really have much purpose...Aha (the light bulb flicked on), I get it now! Blogging is about being part of a community. And bloggers need to interact with each other in the virtual online world. Right! So whereas initially I was quite happy for my blog to just exist, and was really quite content that noone should read my posts, I now recognise that it's all about getting out there and following and commenting, and starting conversations that could have real meaning. So I've made a start. It's still slightly daunting, but I'm sure as I get more practice it will all start to come much more naturally. And who knows, maybe I'll get so hooked by all this blogging that by the end of the 23 Things programme I won't want to stop!

I was very excited to hear about the RSS feed for all the Cam23 blogs. However, I have Bloglines instead of Google Reader, and haven't been able to subscribe to the feed through Bloglines which is a shame. Another problem I have encountered is adding a picture when I follow another blog. I thought it would use my profile photo, but it didn't, and when I tried to upload the photo I use on my profile it told me that the file was too big. So I just have the standard photo-less picture, though I see that others have managed to use their own photos. Anyway, I am learning a huge amount and am looking forward to gaining more confidence in the blogging world.