Thing 21: Other Social Networks

Ok, I joined the requisite library group in Ning, then I joined the Craftster Community, and then I started wondering if there was a group for librarians who craft. I couldn't find one on Ning, although I did find something about Crafty Librarians elsewhere on the web. It didn't really look like a gathering spot, though, so I took matters into my own hands and created "Librarians Who Craft" (I would have preferred Crafty Librarians, but I would never take someone else's idea) and the page can now be found on Ning. It doesn't have any content on it yet, but it should soon. I'm hoping that librarians who make stuff - whether they knit, sew, shoot pictures  (that's more art than craft, but that's ok), bead, paint, draw, whatever - will put examples of their work on it and find inspiration there.

Up until this week I was not a member of any online community (except for Facebook). I can see where the librarian communities would be helpful, especially if one were in a solo library. What frustrates me is that so many people have their true identities hidden - how do I know if I know these people already, or if they're my mortal enemies (I don't have many of those, so probably not), or if I made an idiot of myself in front of them at the last holiday party? I've been reading some of the 23 Things blogs and some of these people I'd like to keep an eye out for at meetings and gatherings, but how can I? It would be great to say, "hey, I read your blog, I thought such and such was interesting" or "how did you find that template for blah blah blah", but it's going to be awfully hard to unless everyone starts putting their blog name on their nametags. We're all professionals writing about professional development - why are you hiding????

Anyway, enough of that rant. Again, this was a fun one. And if you're reading this, and you craft, and you're a librarian, check out the new space on Ning. And if you must keep your identity hidden to put your craft on there, ok, go ahead.