IM

My sister and I went to the same college in Oregon. The first year we were there together, I lived in an on campus apartment and she lived in a dorm room. If she wanted to talk to me, she would call my phone so I would go into my bedroom where my computer was then hang up before I answered. A few seconds later I would hear the familiar sound of someone starting a chat with me--it was almost always her. IM was the preferred form of communication on campus(and an excellent procrastination tool!). I also used it as way to keep in touch with family and friends who were in other areas of the country.

My one concern with text chat has always been that I am a horrible speller. I think most of my friends actually expect me to spell words wrong, so I don't worry about it much when chatting with them. But it would be a concern for me if I was chatting with someone I didn't know, like a patron.

I've found that I have been using IM less frequently in the last couple years. Part of the reason may be because most of my friends have "real jobs" now and all of us spend less time sitting at our personal computers for homework. But even my friends who are still in school are not logged on as much as they used to be. I think texting and comments on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook may be becoming more popular. That being said, I still think IM is valuable tool that libraries can use to connect with patrons.

Reading Blogs

As many people have already pointed out, I find the one of the biggest challenges about keeping a blog is having something to blog about! I've enjoyed reading the other 20 for 2.0 blogs and trying to figure out who's doing the blogging. Some of my favorite blogs to read are those written by some of my favorite authors. I guess this makes sense...if I like their books, I should like their blogs! It is an interesting glimpse into the lives of the authors as well as an excellent way to keep up on new books coming out.

The hardest part...

For me, the hardest part of the 20 for 2.0 program so far has been naming this blog! Especially after reading several of the clever blog titles by other staff members. I even considered using some obscure German word in the hopes the fewer people would understand my less-than-creative title choice. But after cleaning out a closet the other day I found a magnet I picked up while studying in Austria that said "There are no Kangaroos in Austria." And at that time, it seemed like the perfect title for my new blog!

But there is a story behind this phrase. When I decided to study abroad and mentioned to people where I was going comments like, "At least they speak English there," or "Throw another shrimp on the barbie!" made me realize that people were confusing the tiny European country for the Land Down Under! And apparently the problem is more common than I thought. Another student on my program received a Christmas package from her parents in May after it took a detour down south to Australia.

Eventually I learned to leave the word "Austria" out of my conversations and instead, I told people I was going to Vienna. And then I heard: "Oh, do you speak Italian! I've always wanted to take a gondola ride on those canals."