Thing 10

So, to cut down on the number of random memberships I have to sites, I decided not to join Ning, but I did look around a bit. I am pretty sure I've been to this site before when it was reviewed on a blog I watch. So I started to try and find groups about my interest.

First I searched for 'taiko' which is Japanese drumming. There was a group called Medical Taiko but I don't think they are what I was looking for. Anyways, that's the only thing that popped up for that search. Secondly I searched for writing, since someday I think I would like to write a book. There were a lot of groups for teachers who teach writing to their students and a nice community called Write it! Publish it! Market it! which I clicked on for a closer look. I had a hard time finding the type of content I was looking for (guides to writing and getting published) on their site. It mostly seemed to be about joining and chatting. I guess I was looking for something meatier. Actually, looking closer, they do seem to have blogs where some of that content can be found, but I am not positive it's the type of community I would use a lot.

Anyways, it seems like a nice way to link users up with social networks based on interest. Not sure if I'd use it but it's good to know about!

Things 8 & 9

Well, I've been putting off doing the Facebook stuff because there really isn't much for me to do here. You see, I already have a facebook account that I opened back in my undergrad years, and have been 'found' by most of the people I graduated high school with. I guess that's one of the main things I like about Facebook - although I don't use it daily or even weekly, it's great when I want to look up someone from my past and see what they are up to.

However, I have many old classmates added as 'friends' who weren't really... so it's a bit disingenuous.

I do restrict my privacy settings severly on Facebook because I am not comfortable with employers or people I don't know looking through my private info. Although there is nothing on my profile that would be harmful to me professionally, it creeps me out. Also, there was a lady on the news yesterday whose picture had been used on a billboard in Prague without her notice. The company had taken her picture from her facebook account and she happened to have a friend who lived in the Czech Republic... I don't want that to be me!

I have about 10 groups I am a member of currently, though they are not updated very often. Most are humorous - fan clubs for a favorite teacher/supervisor or with fellow coworkers from when I worked for my university.

Nowadays I only go on Facebook to confirm new friend invites or to read messages sent by a friend. Like I said, I don't use it daily, though I know people who did - particularly in college.