Thing 23 = Thing 40 (or, this is now, that was then)

No, it's not a new mathematical equation. Thing 23 is "Explore the Learning 2.1 blog and do the exercises in a post that interests you."

I chose Thing 40, or Retroland. It's described as "a social networking site where members can reconnect with the things they loved "back in the days" and interact with people who share the same fond memories." To complete Thing 40 you need to create an account on Retroland, explore the Retropedia, find a tv show, toy, or fashion accessory that I'd long forgotten about and then blog about the experience.

The Retropedia brings together aspects of popular culture from each decade, starting with the 1900s. These aspects are collected under the headings of tv, movies, toys, music, fashion, arcade games, food, places, and school 'daze'. Sounds great, I thought!

So, I created my account. However, when I started browsing, I didn't recognise anything from the 1950s, and when I explored the 1960s, there wasn't a "tv show, toy, or fashion accessory" that I remembered (or am I going senile?). The only collection in which I recognised/remembered anything was music - with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Petula Clark and The Beatles. Did I lead a sheltered existence? (Answer: probably yes, growing up on a farm, and then going to a very strict boarding school). Or is Retropedia more representative of popular culture in another country - the US?

The memory that did come back to me was of the first time I heard Beatles music played, very loudly, in the school hall, and I thought it was great. So I posted this memory.

I could spend ages exploring the Retropedia, and when I told Ross about it and sent him the URL I could tell he was hooked immediately.

So what does Retroland have to do with 23 Things? It does illustrate how things have changed, in particular how we communicate with others, how we find information and make it available, and how easy it is to do these things now. But is it better?

One thing hasn't changed - recalling memories from our past - 'the good old days' - is something people have always enjoyed doing. Retroland gives us another way to do this.

And just for a laugh, I've uploaded a photo of myself from 'the good old days' [of miniskirts]. For 'this is now' see the photo on the left (Where I've been 2).