Thing three...

Status: 10% zombie, 90% perk

Thing three...makes me think of Thing One and Thing Two, those mischevous fellows in the Cat in the Hat.

So - thing three was to visit some of my coworkers blogs, leave some comments, and make some observations on what I saw...

Quite a wide variety of success, and truthfully, interest in having a blog. As with any assignment, there are those people that just won't like it. Pretty normal. Blogging, and technology in general is not for everyone. It can be more than a little overwhelming at times.

Not all that long ago, I really wasn't into technology much. But when I decided to go to library school, I was forcibly tossed into a very new world for me. As time has gone by and I have delved deeper into the various things available out there, I've found there are some things I like a lot, and some things I can do without. It's all a matter of finding what works for you, and running with it. Even if that means running in the opposite direction when all of this is over!

If you had told me five years ago how "wired" I would be today, I would have scoffed. But now, I embrace it and am grateful for the opportunities that have opened up for me because of the internet.

I can post my photography on Flickr, and sometimes people ask to use them for their websites. Not a moneymaker for me, but there's still something special about knowing your photos are appreciated and people have noticed them.

The social possibilities of the internet are boundless. Of course there are those people that use it for ill - but the truth is, if they weren't online they'd be harassing somebody in person. My mother is fond of warning me of the hazards of meeting people online - but then, she's watching the daytime television shows that like to show the most scandalous and outrageous stories. There's much less entertaiment value in a nice happy ending story, after all. Some, but it's not going to get the same ratings.

I digress.

If you blog for any length of time, it is inevitable that you will eventually get to know people who may be very far-flung from you. Some connections will remain superficial, and others will grow deeper. Sometimes people will just disappear - after all, everyone does have a life outside of the internet world. Well, everyone except maybe that 42-year old Sci-fi geek that lives in his mother's basement...

People make connections with other people. It's human nature. We all have a bit of a tribal tendency in us...that desire to group with people that are like us. These days, we just have more options to find those people than in our own neighborhoods...and I like that.