Customized Home Pages - Thing #28

I used My Yahoo to customize my home page as an exercise in the first 23 Things. I selected My Yahoo because I had been using Google for many of the Things and wanted to try something different. I ended up with a home page that really works for me. When I got a new laptop in the fall, I kept the same home page without any changes.

For this Thing, I changed the color of the home page, deleted one gadget that I never use, and added a maps and directions gadget and a New York Times front page news gadget. My home page provides me with local and national news, a weather report, stock reports, TV listings (modified for the networks I watch), and a few miscellaneous, less used options like movie schedules.

Twitter - Thing #27

I been reading Twitter tweets (of family members) for a few years and have had an account for the past year and a half. Twitter was my first venture into social networking. I took the leap and set up an account when my daughter was away at college. Most of my tweets were written to amuse her or keep her up-to-date with what I was doing. Last fall, she transferred to a college closer to home and my use of Twitter dropped off. Once I set up a Facebook account, I found that the few people I follow on Twitter link their Facebook and Twitter updates, another reason my Twitter use has decreased.

I don't particularly want to link my Twitter account to my blog, so I didn't take that step. I did become a follower of mnmorethings.

Ning - Thing #26

I joined Ning and a group for my library system in the first 23 Things, but I did not revisit Ning after I completed the 23 Things. Today I added a photo and a comment. I also read through the entries for the RCL group. I don't have a good sense of how Ning would be useful at work yet, but I probably need more experience using it.

Gadgets - Thing #25

I read through several of the Thing directions last Saturday and felt overwhelmed! So, I returned to my Thing #24 strategy of working through a single Thing element per day.

I used Google Gadgets for Thing #25. The directions were absolutely clear and easy to follow. I added and subtracted gadgets until I ended up with an "on this day in history" gadget, a local weather report, a National Geographic photo of the day, and a news feed.

I rejected a game gadget before I tried the game. The gadget image moved and flashed in a way I found too distracting when viewing the blog. I tried a number of news gadget, but some of them weren't working.

Beginning Again-Thing #24

I haven't blogged since I finished the original 23 Things last April, but I have been following the blogs of a few of my coworkers who started with the 23 Things and kept on blogging.

I worked my way through Thing 24 over the past couple of days. So far, everything seems much easier than it did last year. I have a new laptop and that makes a difference. I used an ancient Apple computer last year-an introduction to the Mac and the 23 Things at the same time. There were some challenges.

It was relatively easy to update the look of my blog and avatar, although I did not veer from the standard templates. I imported a photo using one of the gadgets-this was where the new computer made a huge difference. Instead of being a lengthy and painful enterprise, it was quick and seamless.