CPD23 Thing 13: Google Drive, Wikis and Dropbox

I will have to have a look at some of these at home as I can't access Google Drive at work, and I can't download Dropbox.  They both look brilliant in concept though, and I particularly like the look of Dropbox, for sharing photos with family members.  It's difficult to email a lot of photos, and you don't necessarily want to put them on Facebook, as they don't every really delete their photos, from what I've read. I definitely will try Dropbox at home for this reason alone!  It will also be a great way for my brother to send his documents to me, and I'll tell him about it so he can try it for his work as well.  Not sure how secure it is, but for regular family stuff this shouldn't matter.
Wikis - I've used these before, Wikipedia of course, as an occasional editor, and I've looked at a few others.  They're as good as their content, and editors, so particularly useful for larger groups, rather than just a few people.

Thing 12 - Putting the Social into Social Media

I have said it before, but my favourite professional social medium is Twitter - it's a great way to keep in contact with a wide variety of people, librarians, information professionals, Stephen Fry, and so on. 
I do read different blogs, but there are so many and it's hard to keep track of them all, while Twitter is so easy to just dip in and out of. I don't tend to have time to post as much as I would like on Twitter due to work pressures, but you can get away with using it like this.

Things 10 and 11 - Librarianship training options and Mentoring

Thing 10 - librarianship training options - This one is pretty easy for me, as I'm undertaking an MScEcon Information and Library Studies via distance learning from Aberystwyth University. I am fortunate enough to be sponsored by work, while I'm in a librarian position. I'm still in my first year, so it's still very general, but there is plenty to be getting on with - lots of information to plough through!  I will look at Chartership after I've qualified, but for now I have plenty to do.

Thing 11 - Mentoring - I don't have a formal mentor, but I have had a lot of help from senior colleagues without whom I wouldn't be in the position I am today!  I have found people very willing to offer advice and assistance, and it's a great way to develop your professional network.

Things 8 and 9 - Google Calendar and Evernote

Thing 8 - Google Calendar - I looked at this just a few months ago, and so I'll just review it again quickly. It's a good, useful calendar but I just don't need it at the moment.  If I ever need to arrange things online though, or while moving around, it's definitely worth considering.  My Outlook does the job for me now, and I even like to keep paper calendars at home! 

Thing 9 - Evernote - I have used this at home (there are issues using it at work due to our firewalls), and you can even download an app for your phone.  I did download it for my phone, but don't use the internet enough to bother keeping it.  It's handy to keep and organise references as you think of them, so you don't have to worry about remembering which webpage you were looking at 3 days ago.  I've still got it, but haven't gotten into the habit of using it that much, yet!