My feeling on blogs is that they are all too often used as personal homepages or as online diaries which aren't always interesting or informative unless you happen to know the blogger. That having been said, there are some excellent ones. I have some great links saved on my laptop to blogs covering film posters, music I enjoy, quirky design and general silliness. A favourite of mine posts bad photoshopping in posters and adverts. Another is devoted to the cataloguing of fictional books within books. It seems to me that the best blogs are those with a focus.

Outside of personal blogs, is there a market for professional or institutional blogs? I think there probably is. For one, it is a great place to post "breaking news". For example, during the recent snowy weather, the Oxford Brookes blog was where I found out the up-to-date opening hours (which saved my girlfriend an unnecessary and cold walk). I have been very pleased to see the latest book titles, news (and, in some instances, special offers) posted on publishers’ blogs, and many authors (as well as non-literary celebrities) keep an online diary with thoughts and opinions, too. A blog would be a great means of keeping abreast of, say, the latest developments with the OULS Book Storage Facility at Swindon (new photos on the website, folks!).

iGoogle and sometimes ireadbooks

I already use Netvibes at home, although I have to admit, despite still having it as my homepage, it was a bit of a 5-minute-wonder that I don't pay much attention to anymore. To begin with I was really impressed with the use of "gadgets" and the range of gadgets available. I found it particularly handy to have my email and ebay watchlist open on the same page. However, after using it a while, I realised that I needed to log in separately to both sites, as well as Netvibes, every time I used it. In the end, my favourite gadget ended up being (and still is) the virtual fish, which goes some way to substituting any real pets.

 

iGoogle, I must confess, I was not aware of, but already I am preferring it to Netvibes. For one thing, I happen to have a gmail email address, so logging in once will open up all my email within my start page (I think "Single Sign On" is a very important feature of Web 2.0 technologies). Combine this with Google Checkout (which I also use) and Google's well-known and very powerful search engine and you have an impressive all-in-one page, with many useful features packed either into one page or easily accessible from the tabs.

Of course, you also get the benefit of a lovely personalised "theme" (it took me a while to find the colourful books - just the right choice, I'm sure you'll agree) and, as was the case at the time of taking the above screenshot, a painting of some meat. Random, but oddly similar to the painting I viewed at the Christ's Church Picture Gallery on Monday.

So, this is my first post on this blog, lovingly created specifically for the 23 things Oxford programme. And I couldn't be any happier with the name I've chosen! It combines a juicy pun with a memorable quote (but do you know who said it?), and also hints towards my interests and line of work. I intend to be a little on the relaxed side when it comes to the use of "proper" English, although I am going to force myself out of my usual online habit of writing entirely in small case.

I have decided to participate in this programme as I've always thought that 23 things looked like a great idea but I've never used it before, and I have resisted for many years starting a "blog." Even the name makes me feel a bit sick. I have a pretty good understanding of some of the better known Web 2.0 technologies, although I try not to jump on board every new craze (I'm not yet a twitterer). Mainly, I am interested in seeing how these technologies can be used in a work-based environment, especially as libraries, books and publishing seem to be heading this way. I also want to learn some new things that perhaps I wasn't aware of.

I definitely think the reward for this should be £23 in Amazon vouchers. It just makes more sense.