Thing 6: #Rudai23

I reviewed blogs from various Rudai23 participants and was impressed and entertained by what I read.  I was really worried that I falling behind considering this blog post is titled Thing6 and Thing14 is ready to complete.  I should be able to catch up soon though. I just completed my work experience and now l have a week or so free until I start my Masters in Library and Information studies.  I was really impressed by some blogs and others well, not so much. One in particular really related to me and my story, which was interesting to read.  Like me, she completed an Arts degree and the notion of being a librarian unexpectedly came into her head one day.  I left a comment on her blog.  She really seems to enjoy it as well which is very encouraging.  Some Blogs I reviewed from the link provided weren’t started yet, so if they’re participating they will have to play catch up. I also read participant’s blogs from the bottom left column on the Rudai23 webpage which were very professional. 

I taught these blogs were good but too professional if you ask me. I feel a blog should show personality in order to relate to people, and I think that was missing in some. I regularly replied to comments left on my blog so I just reviewed my blog and the previous comments. I wasn't surprised that i only related to few bloggers considering i am only entering the field, whereas most of the bloggers are qualified librarians, working in the profession for many years.  

Thing 5: #Rudai 23

Thing 5: Online Networks. #Rudai 23

I found Thing 5 to be an easy to complete mainly because I already have both a Twitter and Facebook account.  Since I’m more accustomed to Facebook, I decided to complete that second part of the task which deals with Twitter. I edited my profile and uploaded my picture to correspond with my Linkedin account. I also did this to promote my professional brand correctly.

I followed the Rudai 23 group on Twitter and made my first tweet using the #Rudai 23 hashtag. The Rudai 23 group soon responded with a welcome greeting. I didn’t use twitter regularly prior to this task but that is about to change.

Thing4: #Rudai23

Thing 4 was probably more challenging than the other 3 tasks I have encountered with Rudai 23. I began the task by setting up a Google account. I explored the features of Google+ and it wasn’t really what I expected. I heard of Google+ in the past but I never ventured to see what it was about.  I had no idea that it was a social media site. The site lets you design the page to suit what interests you. For example, I have posts from Manchester United alongside posts from Munster Rugby. I think being able to design the page to suit your interests is a brilliant feature and I’m very happy with my page at the moment. It’s also easy to edit, so if you change your mind about something you can just go back and change it with no problems.  I visit the site regularly now and I’m delighted to have done this task. I also added Rudai 23 to my page so I can see the latest posts and keep up with the tasks.

The second part of the task was slightly more demanding for me. I setup a new Gmail account and was fortunate to acquire a Gmail address using only my full name with no numbers or symbols. I feel this address is more professional than the Hotmail account I setup when I was fifteen old and I’m hoping this will aid my professional brand image in the future. The difficult part of the task for me began when I tried to import my Hotmail contacts into my new Gmail account unsuccessfully. However, this did lead me to explore Gmail more comprehensively.  I found that I could search for my contacts in a search bar with either their names or their Gmail addresses.  I added a contact and we had a hangout session. I started the video call so I know how carry out the process. I was impressed by the fun features on the side of the video platform which lets you change the background behind the person in the video. You can also add facial features such as a beard or glasses for entertainment purposes I guess. 

 I found Thing 4 to be a little time consuming but it was really worth it for me.  I learnt about some very useful tools available through my Google account.  I can also see why librarians use the hangouts feature as a free way to hold video conferences because the quality of the video’s audio and visual is very acceptable. 

Thing2: #Rudai23

I don't know what I was expecting when I joined LinkedIn.  I had heard a lot about the site without actually knowing what it was all about.  I found the process of joining the site and supplying personal information straight forward.  I was nervous about uploading my picture and having it out there for the world to see but after reading the reasons why i should, then the pro's outweighed the cons.

The brand I want to portray is one of professionalism and experience.  This is very hard for me to do considering I'm at the start of my journey to become an accomplished librarian.  I took a picture of myself and supplied personal information and my academic achievements to provide the viewer with an accurate description of who I am.  Overall I found the experience to be an enjoyable and I'm happy I decided to join LinkedIn.