Just a quick video from ALA. Here’s some of what I did on Monday… enjoy!
Miscellany
OK – I’m a sucker for these things. I saw this fledgling meme and just wanted to participate! Some responses have comments… Play along if you’re bored or so inclined!
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THE 99 THINGS MEME
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog. (uh, yeah… at least 6 of them at different times)
2. Slept under the stars. (boy scouts)
3. Played in a band. (I’m a closet rockstar)
4. Visited Hawaii. (twice!)
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (I give to charity – but want to be responsible, too)
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis. (ick – a bug!)
10. Sang a solo. (see #3 above)
11. Bungee jumped. (I am terrified of heights)
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (well, if music counts, anyway)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (like anyone would want to do this)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (I’d love to SEE it…)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (long, long time ago)
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping. (I’d want to do this why?)
27. Run a marathon. (I used to jog – just not a marathon)
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (and I played little league, too 
)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (if HTML in 1995 counts)
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (money doesn’t satisfy)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (see #11)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. (car wreck when I was a kid – we survived)
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing. (fonder of eating than catching)
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (well… what counts as “movie,” exactly?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (freelance musician in the 1990s… and I suppose my speaking/writing/blogging thing now.)
58. Taken a martial arts class (Jackie Chan watch out!)
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen. (wanting to do more of this, actually)
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (uhm … no …)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. (from my kids – they picked them from the neighbor’s yard, but it’s the thought that counts)
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving. (see #11 again)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (a way-cool flintlock pistol that my son plays with now – the perfect pirate accessory)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (a one-night job. Cold-call telemarketing. I hated it, and apparently the feeling was mutual)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (a goal of mine is to visit England)
77. Broken a bone. (collarbone and pinky – different times)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (yippie!)
81. Visited the Vatican. (ancient cathedrals did a great job of visually connecting people with God, imo)
82. Bought a brand new car. (nah – 2-4 year old car is half the price with fewer problems)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible. (via parts and pieces over the years. I think so, anyway)
86. Visited the White House. (and saw Nancy Reagan sitting in a garden, to boot)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (see #48)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life. (glad to do it if needed, gladder to have never had the opportunity)
90. Sat on a jury. (not on my to do list)
91. Met someone famous. (Marie Osmond. Also sacked Tricia Yearwood’s groceries once)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. (I have 3 kids, but my wife did this part much better than I could ever do)
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
Meredith included me in a cool meme – How I got started blogging. I thought I’d answer… and looking back, I just realized it’s my 5 year Blogiversary! I’ve been blogging for 5 whole years… wow!
Onto Meredith’s questions:
1. How did you get into blogging?
It’s Gary Price‘s fault, ultimately. On May 6, 2003, I moderated Gary Price’s session on “Blogging for the Greater Good of Researchers” at the InfoToday 2003 (National Online 2003) conference. Gary used Blogger to create his presentation. At the time, what Gary was doing honestly didn’t make much sense to me. I remember thinking “why would I use Blogger when my web developer just built a CMS from scratch?” But I thought I should try out the new interesting tool to see what it could do for me and my library.
Sometime after that presentation, I started reading a couple of blogs, and started using some social tools like Bloglines and IM.
I also started fooling around with Blogger. I wasn’t about to start a personal blog – I’m just not that interesting! However, I realized that I wasn’t seeing much in the way of library website-focused blogs, and thought I might be able to pull that topic off… so I started tentatively posting stuff. My first “real” post was on September 12, 2003 (I think I deleted some older “just testing this stupid blog thing out” posts).
By October 2004, I had fallen into my “what’s in David’s head” groove, writing about stuff that was… well… floating around in my head. Ideas I decided to develop “out loud,” so to speak – in front of you – in a blog format.
And by February 2005, I had started videoblogging, too. Again, primarily because I needed a way to test new ideas, and couldn’t test them off my library’s website.
2. How did you gain an audience?
Hmm… Ultimately, I think my audience grew because of three things:
- good content (y’all read it, anyway
- networking – At Computers in Libraries 2004, I met Jenny Levine, Steven Cohen, and Michael Stephens. This was my first “try not to be a complete wallflower” conference – and I eventually worked up the courage to comment on their blogs, and share my blog with them in the process.
- marketing – I’m no marketer, but I’m no dummy either. At every speaking and writing gig, I started mentioning my blog. I can vividly remember when Bloglines told me there were a whopping 30 people subscribed to my blog
3. What advice would you give to new bloggers who want to make a name for themselves in the biblioblogosphere?
First off, don’t try to “make a name for yourselves.” That’s the wrong approach (I’ll delete your email and ignore your blog, anyway). Instead, do this:
- Start a blog, and write good content. Figure out what other “popular” bloggers are writing about, and write about the same thing. Add your own spin to it.
- Or, write about innovative or new things your library is doing.
- make sure to link to other blogger’s posts when writing your own post (making sure the link is actually relevant, of course) … cause we’ll notice. Most of us have vanity feeds set up to monitor what others say about us.
- start commenting on blog posts (and leave your blog URL in the comments). That gets you noticed in two ways: 1. if you comment on my blog, I’ll notice (well, duh David) and 2. people interested in the topic will notice – they’ll comment, they’ll see your comment, and they’ll very likely check your blog post out, as well.
- Speaking or writing anywhere? Make sure to mention your blog.
- And then keep it up. Again – I’ve been doing it for 5 years. Building up an audience takes time.
that’s it. That’s my secret sauce… and now… who to pick next? How about Jessamyn, Jenny, Steven, and Michael?
Gotta love airlines. Take Continental, for example. They’ve decided (along with a few others) to start charging people for checked luggage. Here’s what they say: “Continental has implemented a $15 fee for a customer’s first checked bag when traveling on Economy fare tickets…”
And then, this: “The service fee will not apply to EliteAccess customers, including those seated in First or BusinessFirst, OnePass Elite and SkyTeam Elite members, customers traveling on full-fare economy (Y) class tickets, or active military personnel traveling on official orders.”
Translation – rich people and businesses, we won’t stiff you the $15 bucks (even though you can afford it). We’re only going to stiff THE MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS.”
But remember… they really do think we’re important – they say so: “Our OnePass® members are important to us” (from the email they sent me).
Really? Then I’d think they would tell me WHY they decided to charge more. They DO have a FAQ – but it didn’t address the first two questions that popped into my head (why did they decide to charge for luggage? and Why not EliteAccess and First Class customers? Why make the Econo types pay?”).
If you don’t like paying more for luggage, check out airfarewatchdog’s checked bag fees chart.
I should warn you – if you visit my actual site and it looks kinda funky, there’s a reason! I’m switching over to a new theme. Everything is working like normal – it just looks different. Catch ya’ later!
I was just named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker for 2008 – how cool is that!??! For those that are interested, here are some links to the Movers & Shakers lists:
- My write-up (
I hope they correct my name soon – in the subheading, they smushed my middle and last names together so it reads “David LeeKing”- now fixed – thanks, LJ!) - Library Journal’s list for 2008
- Jessamyn’s better list for 2008
- A list of all Movers & Shakers – I’m in some good company
These things are awarded because some of you took the time to fill out the form and suggest me. That means a lot – THANK YOU SO MUCH! You guys – my friends, colleagues, readers, commenters, listeners, etc – really help push me and the ideas that stick in my head. When I write something stupid, you tell me. When I write something interesting, you build upon it. I find it amazing what some of us librarians and internet/information professionals can do… together.
Consider this award yours, too!
What a cool idea! Jenny and Michael have set up a cool fundraiser for LISHost (the dudes who host my blog and many other librarian blogs). Here’s what Jenny says: “So to thank him [Blake Carver, the dude behind LISHost] for all of his efforts, both on our behalf and for the profession, Michael an I are raffling off a Nintendo Wii to help show our appreciation in the form of a fundraiser. Please note that neither LISHost nor LISNews is in financial trouble, and this is not a call t “save” them. This is simply a way for us to acknowledge Blake’s efforts and thank him for everything he does.”
I’ll second what Jenny and Michael said – Blake runs a great website hosting service and has the best customer service I’ve ever seen in a webhost – he’s awesome!
If you want to donate, go to Jenny or Michael’s posts, click the Donate button, and fill out the form. Jenny and Michael – thanks for the great idea!
