Once more into the fray...

Furl is fun. And fairly easy to use. Converting my current favorites list into Furl will take some time with my dial-up connection, but it will be a timesaver in the long run. And, I've finally figured out how to get the furl button on the toolbar so that I can both furl a site and search my archive easily.
Furl will be useful for me in my work environment. I sometimes need to compare and research how other Towns deal with planning and zoning issues. I will be able to save a site that might change before the next time I need it, and I can organize and index all my choices. The keywords will be especially useful when revisiting a specific topic. I am part of a shared e-mail where all the Zoning Administrators in Vermont can ask a question and get a response from all the other ZAs. Furl will be an excellent means of archiving frequently used pages and of passing them on to others - a true shared learning experience. Many pages are difficult to find (for example, the section of State Statute dealing with off premises signs is in the Transportation Section), so archiving the actual page will be a real time-saver.

I'm a reticent blogger

Blogging doesn't seem to come naturally to me. I know that the purpose of this blog is to keep a record of my journey of discovery into new tools, but this is a very public forum, wider than just my classmates. I have this feeling that all my Puritan ancestors are lined up in disapproval. Seems kind of silly.

Sooo... here goes for Social bookmarking. This seems like a great organizational tool. I bookmark pages in IE and Mozilla, but then have two places to look. I also look forward to archiving sites and information for my own research. Maybe I can even drag my computer-reluctant husband into using this tool in his own research. He's just finished his dissertation in christian counseling, and this would have been a great way for him to keep track of web resources, especially those that, as Richardson says, suffer from "linkrot". He had a hard time citing some sources that disappeared.