thing 25...aka overstimulating your blog...

so i've tried and added a few test things for this Thing...(and it took a solid amount of time to get through this Thing....woof.)

i believe in some amount of simplicity and i don't want my blog to be an overstimulating mess of icons, links, polls, games, sounds, flashes, etc. so that being said, i added only a couple of extra things that weren't previously there...i'll let others go overboard if that's their thing. it's not mine.

first, i'm not into my blog 'talking' so i perused those options, but chose not to add them...

second, i went with Outbrain as a trial. i like the star rating a little bit better than the ClickComments icons.

personally, my blog to me is meant to be individual. if people like what they read, i'd assume they'd comment. i don't really think i believe in folks 'grading' me on what i say. but i'll leave this up here for a bit and see what happens. i'm not real big on the 'suggested' readings. so far they don't really seem to have much to do with my topics...

for the mapping option, for now i'm testing out both
(where's the E?? sorry, i tend to like things spelled out. i'm not a huge proponent of shorthand) and

gVisit
(all hail google products!!)

i appreciated the links to the free use photos....(do i pull stuff off the web 'unofficially' often? yes. will i not do that as much any more? yes.)
i used to have a Flickr slideshow on my blog....it's out of date now, and i'm maxed out at Flickr's 200 free uploads unless you join for $$. someday in my free time i'll delete the old stuff and upload new. except, quite honestly, posting jpgs either right into here, or onto facebook is way easier...
speaking of the proverbial , i have wasted enough time, on that site for friendliness and social networking, so while i'm sure the recommended 'friend' sites are worthwhile, i didn't spend oodles of time on them.
and with that this post at .

night teachings...

tonight is blog class. hello bloggers!

tomorrow night is facebook 101.

all library classes can be found here.

they're free and they're offered at all branches throughout the year.

any questions? feel free to call 651-628-6803 and we'll be happy to assist :)

Thing 21 ~ another day, another new account....

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Well, I joined Ning, one of the 3 choices given in Thing 21. The finish line is so close, but yet so far at this moment....I'm hoping this badge attaches correctly. HTML still makes me a little nervous as I'm really not sure what I'm doing...it's a lot of trial and error....and asking techie friends for help ;)

It might be shameless to admit, but I really will unlikely use Ning much after this 23 Things is completed. And come on folks, you (those 23 Things folks) just got me mildly addicted to Facebook ~ I really really don't need to be online any more than I already am....

As for social networking sites outside of MySpace and Facebook, I am part of just a few others. Greytalk.com is, as it sounds, a networking site for all folks into greyhounds. I don't use it as often as I used to, but it's handy for medical reference, fun photos, and there are some *seriously* devoted owners on it. I have a different screen name on that site as I thought that was the thing to do 3 or 4 years ago when I signed up....you didn't use your 'real' name, you made one up...

The other site I use regularly, and unsurprisingly, is a beginner's discussion group on RunnersWorld.com. Any questions/training/topics running related are here, and the folks who post are super knowledgeable and my type of running people...of varying ages, paces, levels, etc. some are even local, which is kinda cool. I'm known by yet another alias on this board of discussions..

The end is near. I feel like the closing credits are about to scroll and I swear there's some kind of denouement score cueing up as a soundtrack...actually if I had a soundtrack to pick for this entire 23 Things process, it would SO be this..... which I do in fact have on my iPod and was a fantabulously done documentary...peace...~jd

through the magic of Facebook...

with great credit to an awesome photographer/singer named Dustin, I had to post this. Yes, I *am* walking on a railing...on the way back from taking some of my own shots, in Getaria, Spain last fall.

I had no idea Dustin had this pic of me until I joined Facebook. Wow. I guess I am tall :)

All the Cool Kids are Doing It....Thing 20 Facebook

alrighty, i'm a mac girl. all the way back to when I was 8 years old and was given an Apple IIE as a Christmas present. the mac folks are genius. so are their ads. And Justin Long? *hottie*. (and I've been a sucker for him since the long cancelled TV show "Ed" was on). yep, a little young for me, but meh. Not like I had a real shot anyway. And he has Drew. As in Barrymore for those that read People besides me ;) (Hi Stacy & Kelly!)

So while I usually think the world of Google, Facebook is it's own creature and appears to be the hot young stud of this popularity contest compared to MySpace (which seemed to be Homecoming King for a while (hahaha). But considering my dh and his 40-something friends, along with much younger friends as well, seem to be everywhere in Facebook, I think it appears to be "Top Dawg" lately. So this is the site I chose to sign up for.

It's crazy. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but here I go. Finding people that I haven't seen or spoken to since high school (for anyone who cares, I graduated from John Hersey High School in 1991). Like tonight I signed up, emailed one person who came up as graduating with me that looked like a girl I've always wondered 'what happened to Michelle?' and 4 hours later I have an email from her. Crazy cool~

I do talk regularly with 3-4 friends who I know from way back in those days. All of them are out of state from me, and email has kept us in touch well. But a site like this to network with long lost friends and those of now is pretty cool (even if i continually made fun of my husband often when he first signed up' 'what are you? fourteen again??!?!' I'd say.). Words = Eaten. Point for dh. Facebook is intuitive, easy to use, doesn't ask a million questions to get you to sign up for it, and it seems like people i *never* thought I'd see on it (hi DS!!) are there~ small miracles in one website. and for the youth of today, clearly I can see how this is a huge thing for them. friends to keep tabs with, text, write on their walls, stay in contact with as they go from high school to college, and beyond....

so just do it. try it. i guarantee you'll be amazed at who you find (or who finds you). I can't compare this to MySpace as I haven't gotten to it yet. I've searched it a bit, but I do not plan to sign up. One is *plenty* for my time/brain/online habits ~ If it wasn't 10:09 on a Sunday night I'd go run. I could use it......have a great week everyone~ the finish line to this 23 Things is on the horizon, and I will do it. I'm a determined (aka stubborn or driven) girl.....~jd