Flickr and Photosharing

I do love Flickr. Of all the fun toys and applications of Web 2.0, Flickr might be my favorite. Not only do I love the uploading and sharing of my own photos (Oh--the ease of it all!), I also just love browsing through other people's photos. I most commonly turn to Flickr before I travel. It is one thing to look at maps and guide books. It is so much more fun to see photos of the places you would like to go--not only is it inspiring, but it does also help with your sense of direction in exploring a new city. Love. Love. Love. I also love to look at decorating ideas from the homes of other people. I love Danish and Scandinavian design most of all, but it is difficult in the United States to find good examples of fantastic Danish homes. Flickr links me to my addiction. When I just need some cheering up, I Flickr photos of pets. I have seen everything from adorable puppies, spoiled snakes, and even an indulged hedgehog--these chase away the blues with ease.
Most of the photo sharing questions that I answer deal mostly with Facebook, but I look forward to spreading the good word of Flickr.

Social Networking and Me

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn...Oh My! We get a staggering number of questions each day about social networking. What does this setting mean? How can I post pictures? Who is this random person following me on Twitter? My experience with Twitter is quite minuscule. I created an account (to seem the "hip" librarian), but I find that I have a severe dislike of the word limitation. I also have a pretty intense dislike for the form of communication. You could be following some amazing folks--like your favorite author (which I do). However, you do not get to see a whole lot of what goes on in the conversations. It seems very one sided to me since we can not really see the original post that someone is responding to, you really only get to experience part of the conversation. How much can I get from "@MmePince I love blueberries too LOL". Perhaps I just need to get further into Twitter to fully enjoy the service. I do enjoy seeing immediate responses to world news (like the great posts about the world's tiniest vertebrate), I can't see using it as an actual tool for searching. Many people are using it for brief book reviews, which are fun to read and handy to have especially if you haven't read the title before, and I could see it as a tool for reader's advisory.
Responding to patron's questions about Facebook is a constant battle to stay informed about all the changes that the service seems to be making these days. What is the timeline feature? I hate the timeline feature, can I change it back? I no longer can save pictures from Facebook like I use to, what do I do now? Pretty much unless you are a Facebook user, you will not know where to start. For example, these days there is a "download" button that you must use to save a picture. You can no longer right click and save.
Social networking is more of a love/hate relationship on my behalf. Yes, it is great to keep up with old friends on Facebook. However, the online social obligation often frustrates me. Facebook is an all encompassing social media with chat, email, wall posts, etc all at your finger tips  rather than having to track down each individual service. Twitter and I have to talk more, and maybe some day we will come to appreciate each other. I do have to say though, I may refuse to upgrade to whatever social media dethrones Facebook.