43 Things is a recent entry into the social networking services world that has received a great deal of publicity lately. What sets 43 Things apart from others is its focus on goals: the site offers members the opportunity to list their goals (those that they want to accomplish as well as those they have already accomplished), to cheer others on in accomplishing their goals and even offer help. There are also lists of goals that one can, in effect, subscribe to.
It’s a great idea: writing down goals and receiving support in accomplishing them are significant factors in achieving goals. However, I do wonder how much support is really intended or perceived through the online cheers. Also, there is the vocabulary problem: I decided to create a simple profile, and list just one goal regarding blogging … there were several goals already listed that seemed very similar ("Be a better blogger", "blog more often", "blog more", "keep my blog updated") and even categories that seemed similar ("blog", "blogs", "blogging", "weblog"), which may lead to parallel universes of similar goals.
I’ve often wondered about the potential therapeutic effects of blogging, which combines journaling with feedback (though, of course, that feedback may not always be constructive). And, of course, if I were a better blogger, I would have blogged about the therapeutic effects of blogging … perhaps writing this very specific goal down will help me accomplish it.