Good Night, and Good Luck (Thing #23)

And now, the end is near; and so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

Ah, the end. Here I am, just a few weeks after beginning what was a sometimes frustrating, mostly fun, and always educational challenge, about to make my final post and complete the 23 Things.

It's only in the last few years that I've become computer literate. I'm old enough that I took typing class in high school, and learned on those big clunky industrial electronic models (I was so excited when I finally got my own Brother typewriter, that even had built-in whiteout). Being married to a computer programmer has helped, but most of my knowledge has just come from the down-and-dirty, pull-up-my-sleeves-and-get-into-it type of learning, searching and fiddling around until I figure it out. So for me, the way this challenge was set up was a perfect match. I learned A LOT and will take a good deal of it and use it in my personal life, and hopefully, my professional one as well.

If I had to pick favorites, mine would be LibraryThing (although I don't really count that one since I knew and used it beforehand), Podcasts, Wikis, and YouTube. I'm excited to see how all of this technology will affect libraries going forward, how Library 2.0 will enhance our physical and virtual environments, and develop and strengthen our relationships with our communities.

I would definitely participate in more discovery exercises. It's been fun and inspiring to see people who didn't think they could do it not only finish, but enjoy themselves and have fun in the process. When I first started this challenge, I stated that one of the things I found most difficult about the process of lifelong learning was taking the time to play. This challenge has definitely helped in that area, as I've done a lot of playing these past few weeks. We may not all be 'digital natives' but we can still show those young whippersnappers a thing or two - or even twenty-three!