Why?

I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time, and certainly not the last), but it seems to me the 23Things concept is a way to update knowledge of technology within the Library community. But why?

Not that I don't think it's laudable. But what is the goal? I know why I keep up with technology, but this set of exercises was not conceived for me. These exercises, in this setting, targeted all library employees, asking them to try out various web technologies, think about them in a library context, and report on them in a now old (by web standards) medium: blogs. Why?

Is anybody even reading the blogs (besides a few friends and coworkers)? I get a picture of someone somewhere checking 249 feeds...for what? That they were written? Why?

What possible relevance will this have in their jobs for those who have (or haven't) participated? From what I've seen and heard, it's been diverting, it's been strange, it's been stressful. It has not been useful for work.

Where is the culture of Web 2.0 in this library? Where are the leaders that will join the dialog?

Technology is only a tool. 23Things is about learning the tools. The architecture of Web 2.0 requires new and different tools. But the architecture itself is so radically different that the new tools are useless without a paradigm shift. What these exercises have done is teach the tools, show the blueprints, and withheld the permits necessary to build.

Why?