Popping My Blogging Cherry - and the Beginning of My Web 2.0 Journey

So, I've never blogged before. But I'm doing all of this research on bettering my job performance (and getting a step ahead) that has made me believe I need to use all of these Web 2.0 tools. You see, Web 2.0 is leading to eLearning 2.0 which are the training tools of the future work force. And I'm a trainer, so I need to know this stuff...social bookmarking, RSS readers, social networks...the list goes on.

Disclaimer: Please excuse any incorrect vocabulary usage pertaining to Web 2.0; and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'll learn as I go and laugh at myself with you.

As of yesterday, I am the proud subscriber to Google Reader which I've loaded two (yes, two) web pages into. RSS reader - got it! I have been a member of FaceBook and MySpace for at least a year now (I know, not long compared to the 11 year olds out there). Social networking - got it! Social bookmarking - not quite there yet.

I try not to look at this as a daunting task. I consider myself an intelligent person and have been told that I learn quite quickly. But all of this Web 2.0 stuff makes my mind reel if I let it. So I'm taking it one new thing at a time and enjoying the learning experience.

It's amazing how the world has changed since I was in college. I'm not really that old - 29 and born in what most consider the last year of Generation X. I've used computers since high school. I IM'd my high school friends from college freshman year - until I made the new college friends. I emailed home periodically. I wrote my research papers in Word. But wikis, blogs, and social networks were not in my vocabulary.

Fact: Generation Y (or Millenials) use the computer more than they use the TV. They're considered "digital natives" who were born using technology. (As was the next generation, Generation Z. Which takes me off on a tangent - who names generations anyway? You'd think they could be a bit more creative.) They speak the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. They're also known as Generation "Why?" as they question everything and aren't afraid of a challenge. And this is the group that's coming into the workforce that trainers need to relate to. And understand. So that they can effectively train them. I'm up for the challenge.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be using this blog mainly to detail my journey into the Web 2.0 world. Who knows? Maybe someone else can learn from my experiences. Ooo...look...I can do color too!

My initial list is not a small one: Twitter, Pounce, Flickr, Yelp, Delicious, Ning, Reddit...and on and on and on. It's amazing how many of these sites are out there!!!

Well, here goes nothing. I hope I enjoy this experience as much as I think I will. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for my journey! And I hope you enjoy it too!

Apparently, I am not the only one unfamiliar with these terms. I just spell checked this blog entry and the following words came up as misspelled: eLearning, RSS, FaceBook, MySpace, wikis, Millenials, Flickr, Ning, and Reddit. Should I feel better or worse that the blog tools like spell check are as uneducated as I? : )