Things 1 and 2

Thing 1 - iGoogle

iGoogle is essentially an enhanced version of the Google homepage. Remember the Google homepage? I only tend to go there nowadays when there is a customised version of the logo to look at, and in the first instance always use the Google search box on my web browser when I want to find something online. But once I'd started to put some gadgets on it, it became more attractive.

A homepage that lets you see news and weather, check your e-mails and Facebook and Twitter, search Amazon or National Rail Enquiries - it could prove quite handy. Certainly the click-and-drop method of rearranging things appeals to the librarian's sense of order. I created a separate Library tab, but couldn't find many relevant gadgets to add (a search for 'library' brings up a piano arrangement of The Christmas Song and the trailer for The Terminator in the first few pages of results), so at the moment it looks sparse with only the Cambridge Libraries Widget and Copac and WorldCat search boxes.

One thing I really appreciated was the range of 'themes' you can choose from to make the header more attractive - after some experiments with musical and bookish themes I settled on the lovely picture of Clare Bridge above, which is visible from our library if you look out of the right window. It's early to say how useful iGoogle will prove to be, but I know it will continue to be relevant to Cam23, so I'm sure I will get into the habit of using it.

Thing 2 - creating a blog

I have never used Blogger before, and so was delighted to have a good reason to try it out. Over the last couple of years I have got into the habit of following other people's blogs, and I like their malleability (the blogs, not the people). A blog can be whatever you want it to be, and you can reveal as much or as little of yourself as you desire.

First impressions: Blogger is good. It seems mostly intuitive, and the process of setting up the blog was straightforward. Fiddling around with design settings is something I naturally enjoy, so it's nice to have a new toy to play with. I chose a fairly straightforward template which I then customised with links on the right-hand side, a computery font for the title, and a background photo of some piles of books I took a while ago (some of the overflow from my bookshelves). I expect the blog will evolve into something more settled and permanent in the coming weeks, but for the time being I am going to keep experimenting with widgets and changing things around. A little less pink might be a good idea.

"It's like, how much more pink could this be? and the answer is none. None more pink."

I don't know if I have any grand plans for this blog. My intention is for it to be finite, but I am aware that a number of participants in last year's 23 things have continued to blog since the end of the programme, and can imagine myself doing the same. I would like it to be a gateway to discussion and a means of communicating with other librarians and non-librarians. I would also like to keep it fairly light-hearted (occasional jokes, pictures, multimedia...). Early days yet.