Nearly caught up - which is just as well as a new term is about to start, so a great deal of energy will be directed that way for the next few weeks. Maybe I'll surface sometime towards the end of October! Good timing for this breathing space.
In terms of actually using all the "things" rather than merely exploring them, these seem to fall into 3 categories; ones which I am using, ones which I hope to come back to, and those which, although I'm pleased to know about them will be kept in the metaphorical bottom drawer until there is an express need for them.
Of the last category, certain networks such as Linkedin don't really fit my needs just now, and I'm definitely not yet in the market for publishing (advocacy from a couple of weeks ago). The same goes for actually attending conferences and other networking opportunities, at this end of term there is so much to do that there is little time to consider such opportunities. Other "things" that I'm pleased to know about such as Dropbox and Google calendar come under the heading of "already have something that does the same job".
I've found some of the tools really useful and now use Google Docs, and Evernote daily, I'm also making better use of my RSS feeds and Zotero sits neatly in the right hand corner of my browser. I do intend to drop in on the Twitter account and possibly actually Tweet, as well as explore Mendeley and Cilip communities. Throughout the year I may try some screen captures to help with queries at work, so this intensive look at social media throughout the summer will keep me experimenting with new techniques and ideas for a while yet. I've also valued the chance to reflect on professional practice, "listen" to what other people are thinking about and have some of my beliefs challenged.
A very interesting and absorbing summer project, so far...
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