Peer Mentoring

While I was reading through some of the other 23 Things participating blogs, I came across this post on the Rainey.me blog that gives instructions on how to embed a carousel on your blog. So here I am trying it out. This is the list I created as one of this weeks "Things".



It's pretty simple if you follow the instructions. At first, the carousel was too big for my text box, but I figured out how to change the size so that it fit nicely within my frame. I'll have to create more lists now so that I display more carousels!

P.S. If the carousel is showing as little blue boxes with spinny circles in them, look for an orange bar at the bottom of the page that says "Only secure content is diplayed" and click on "Show all content".

A Social Catalogue

This week's 23 Things task was to explore the social features of our catalogue. Gone are the days of searching through cards to find a Dewey number. Now we can rate the books we've read, post comments, read reviews and follow fellow bibliophiles! I think it's wonderful. I love the little carousel that shows the covers of books that have been recently reviewed. It's helped me discover some great titles to add to my "For Later" shelf. It's also really convenient to have a "Completed" shelf. I read a lot of series books, and it helps me keep track of what I've already read.

Back in the Swing of Things

I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time, but I'm taking a new training program that requires me to blog about what I've learned, so I thought I'd drag this one out of retirement. What I've learned about blogging so far:

• It takes a lot of commitment. (I've found the best blogs are the ones that are posted to frequently. If there are days or weeks between your posts, your audience thinks you're not serious about it and loses interest).
• It can be a lonely experience. Sometimes it feels like no one ever reads what you write. It makes you wonder, "Why bother?"
• It's a bit narcissistic. When you think about it, bloggers are basically motivated by their desire to let the world know what their opinion is about something. Their opinion is validated by the number of comments, followers or page views they get. The more popular your blog becomes, the better you feel.

Today, because I haven't used this blog in so long, I had to update my template. It's a simple process, but agonizing. There are so many choices! You have to find one that not only you like, but also what you think your audience will like, and what will best suit the subject matter you're blogging about. I'm not totally happy with my choice yet, but the good thing is that I can always go back and change it. :)