The end?

Well, here are some final thoughts on blogging.

• I can understand why people blog. Blogging is fun. Perhaps the act of reading blogs is not always fun, but writing the blog was, indeed, a good time. For one brief moment, I felt like an authority. I am not quite sure what I was an authority on, but I felt like I had something interesting to share. And, if nothing else, it was kinda cool getting to look at my own page.
• Not all blogs are created equal. Thanks to programs like blogger anyone can start blogging. This, of course, is a good thing and bad thing. Now people who are not very computer savvy have a way of sharing their thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately, some people have better thoughts and ideas to share than others. For example, while I had a good time, my blog offers nothing very useful for anyone else. I wouldn’t recommend my blog to anyone other than family and friends. Moreover, even if I did spend more time researching and writing on the latest library news, I think there are a number of great blogs already out there. (I found two more: http://www.librarystuff.net/ and http://www.librarian.net/ .) So am I really doing anything useful and worthwhile by just repeating what’s already been done? Hmm…Most likely not.

So this is the end. Officially. THE END.

---

Thanks for reading. And thanks, Elizabeth, for being my only follower. I appreciate your support.

So is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Over the past few days I have found some great blogs and some not-so-great blogs. The 60 second recap is below:

Half-Full?:

• I am shocked to report that I found a blog I’d actually read on a regular basis. The Shifted Librarian blog (http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/) contains information that is actually entertaining, educational, and current. I even smiled and laughed a couple of times while reading this blog. Some highlights include:
• A youtube clip from the Colbert Report on how librarians are communists. (No, really I can’t make this stuff up.) http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/tag/youtube/
• An entry about raising money for libraries by holding miniature golf-outings in the library stacks. (Break out the plaid pants!)
• A mini-movie clip on banned booked week and censorship. It’s bleeping awesome.

Half-Empty?:

• While I found one nugget of blogger goodness, there is still a lot of junk out floating around, including the library and information science blogs. Many of these blogs may have been informative and current at one point, but now are years old. For example, the blogs listed below sound interesting, but haven’t been updated in at least three years:
• Chi Lib Rocks! (A blog on the Chicago Library System): http://radio.weblogs.com/0111803/
• Leah’s Law Library Weblog: http://radio.weblogs.com/0109773/
• Others have been updated more recently, but are still a little slow at keeping current:
• The Rogue Librarian: http://www.roguelibrarian.com/
• The Laughing Librarian: http://www.laughinglibrarian.

Hmm…I am not sure what my final verdict on blogs will be. … But for some reason, I am craving a glass milk.

I am not going to lie. I am not a fan of blogs.

For those who happen to accidentally stumble upon my blog, my apologies. This will not be entertaining or informative. I am writing this blog as part of an assignment for a class. Up until 15 minutes ago, I had never seriously looked at a blog before. Indeed, I am of the opinion that, save a few exceptions, most blogs are full of mindless junk and endless rants. My husband visits one about a certain Chicago baseball team. I have read the comments, and it is kinda sad.

Of course, now that I have started my masters in Library and Information Science, my opinion may have to change. From listening to my professors and other classmates, it appears that "everybody is doing it." I told one student about my disdain for blogs, and from her face you would have thought I had said that I enjoy eating babies or abusing puppies. (Don't worry-- I enjoy neither).

Anyway, as I said, this is for an assignment. I fear I may be adding to the plethora of mindless garbage and rants. As I said before, I apologize. But then again-- at least I warned you ahead of time.

Perhaps by the end of this, I will have seen the blogging light. Or not. Either way, I shall try to keep an open mind.


--

And you may wonder why I have a picture of my puppy on this blog. Does this really have anything to do with this MLS blog? Well, honestly no--- other than (1) I think he is cute-- and (2) it is proof I don't beat puppies.

db