11. Facebook

This one is a tricky one for me.  Not that it's hard, but rather that this is a work project and Facebook is personal.  I do not feel comfortable sharing my profile, friends, groups, etc. in a work related setting.  So I'm going to try and work around this as best I can by posting screen shots of my Facebook stuff.

a. My Facebook account- what it looks like if you're not on my friends list

b. Facebook Chat- I don't have a screen shot of this one.  I have used Chat before, but for the most part, I don't spend enough time on Facebook to sustain a conversation.  I also check Facebook the most on my phone and Facebook Chat is a completely separate app instead of part of the Facebook app.

c. My Facebook Groups

d. I really can't find a long-lost friend or family member since all the ones on Facebook, I'm already friends with

My Family List

A Small Part of my Friends List

13. Pinterest

In a nutshell, Pinterest is an addiction.  My mom, aunt, and friends had been trying to get me to join- telling me how great it is.  But I resisted- mostly because whenever they talked about it, they got all twitchy like a drug addict jonesing for his next fix.  But when I saw that we were going to do it for our 23 Things projects, I finally gave in.  Now I know what they were talking about.

I used to spend my free time reading, checking social media, watching TV, etc.  No more- I am a slave to Pinterest.  I have the mobile app on my phone and although it drains the battery like crazy, I'm on it all the time.  At this point in my addiction, I don't have time to cook any of the meals or do any of the crafts that I've been pinning.  I'll just be finding more things I'll never have the time to do.

It's even worse when it comes to the wedding stuff.  There is an entire category devoted to wedding stuff.  I've been pinning suggestions I think she might like, planning her bridal shower and bachelorette, and even planning my own wedding (which is nowhere near the horizon).  It's inspiring and also a little bit overwhelming.  I think this pin pretty much sums it up best.



12. Twitter

I know that I'm skipping ahead a little bit, but this one is an easy one.  I watched the video about Twitter.  I already use Twitter so I knew what he was talking about.  For me, Twitter is my preferred social media.  I can get updates, not just from my friends, but from my favorite celebrities, hockey team, wineries, etc.  I also feel like I get a lot more junk from Facebook so I just post photos there for the most part.  I use Twitter more to keep up with my friends.

Here's the video I had to watch:

 

Like I said, an easy one.

7. Web Reference Service

a. The first thing that jumped out at me on the Internet Public Library was the scroll of featured articles.  Since Election Day and Halloween just past, there were (what I thought would be) articles on scary book selections from Stephen King, election history, Native American Heritage Month, etc..  Actually they were just links to other webpages.  The Stephen King one, for example, just takes you to his main page and not to the suggestions that IPL said would be there.  This being said, you can find some pages with helpful information.  I clicked on "Browse by Subject" and then searched for wedding.  It led me to a pathfinder which had a collection of links and print sources for planning a wedding.  I would recommend sticking to the IPL's pages because they give you a brief description of the links.  Also I'd stick to the first couple of pages of search results, since they get less relevant the further back you get.  I actually got a link to the Boat Owners Association of America and that was on page 3.  One more thing, quite a few of the internet resources listed in the pathfinder no longer exist.  The Ultimate Internet Wedding Guide, for example, takes you to a GoDaddy page telling you that the domain has expired.

Since most of the sites we've had to work with so far haven't been very wedding heavy, I decided to just look around.  I clicked on "Newspapers & Magazines" and then Virginia.  It led me to a whole big page of nothing.  I figured it was time to quit while I was behind.

b. I wasn't sure what kind of question I should ask IPL2 librarians, since I'm sure they're busy and wedding related stuff isn't really what I would consider a "reference" question.  But what the heck, I'm a mostly wedding blog so I shall ask a wedding question!  I ended up asking for some resources on wedding superstitions.  My mom and I are kind of superstitious people, so I wanted to find some superstitions I can use in my friend's wedding or that I could base a gift around, like buying her "something blue".

With IPL, it generally takes several days to get an answer to your question.  So I kept a running track of it here for you. (more after the break)

6. Lifelong Learning on the Web

a. Ted.com is pretty awesome.  Basically, it's a collection of "talks" from TED conferences, all free on the internet.  Speakers that you would never normally see- all available for your viewing pleasure.  And they're not all serious.  It actually gives you  the option to find just funny videos, or beautiful videos.  My advice, if you don't know where to start, is to view all the tags.  If you click the link for talks at the top of the page, then "view all tags" at the bottom of the search options, it'll take you there.  By viewing all the tags, you can zero in on what you really want to see or just see the wide range of topics the talks cover.  You can find videos on robotics and faith, or magic and origami.  While they don't have a tag specifically for weddings, I did find tags for love and relationships.  I watched funny videos, touching videos, and more science-oriented videos.  Having read some of her work when I was a grad student, anthropologist Helen Fisher was one of my favorite videos.  In the video she discusses the science behind romantic love.  I've embedded the video below or you can check it out on ted.com here.





P.S. If any of my fellow 23 Things participants are having trouble embedding their video, you have to click embed, copy the html code, and then paste it into your post in html mode.  If you can't find how to change it into html mode, the button is in the top row of formatting tools, next to Compose.  Once you embed the video, you can change it back to compose and the video and player should be there.