Life tracking

One of the aspects of social networking that tends to befuddle non-adopters is the sharing of personal life lists. Since I started blogging several years ago, I've kept lists of movies seen and books read in a given year. At a certain point I moved those lists to listography.com, where I also keep private lists of work-related data that I know I'll need for year-end reviews (as well as packing lists, top ten drafts, etc.).

But since I joined Goodreads.com, I've stopped keeping up with the "books read" list on listography. (And the "movies seen" list is languishing, too, as you may have noticed if you clicked the link above.) Because the queueing system in Goodreads is so useful (you can keep track of books you want or plan to read, as well as those currently in progress and those completed), but most importantly because the social aspect encourages me to keep my profile current, I find it much easier to keep track of my reading there. It's kind of effortless, actually; when a book review of mine goes up, I'm usually reminded to hop over to Goodreads and link to it in the "my review" box, simultaneously marking it completed, and that's when I update my shelves to include the next book or two in my pile.

Because I'm not keeping a list of what I have read as much as making available to friends a view of my bedside table -- what I'm reading now -- I don't think of Goodreads in the same way as the "books read" post I used to keep on my blog. Yet behind the scenes, while I'm doing the social networking thing, the site is compiling that very same list for me. When I need it, voila -- there it is.

So now it bugs me that I'm still trying to keep my master list of "films seen in 2009" on listography. Why isn't there a social networking tool that would make compiling that list as effortless as it is on Goodreads? Why can't I invite my friends to see what I'm planning to watch, and what I've seen recently (or back in the mists of time)? Being in the pop culture media means being asked these exact questions all the time.

My former student Holly recommended the site livingsocial.com; it's where she keeps her books-read list, but you can also collect films, iPhone apps, ski slopes, albums, TV shows, and beers there. I'm leery of the kitchen-sink approach, and of course I'm not interested in abandoning Goodreads. Is this the best place to stash my film updates? Or are there any more film-centric sites out there that will aggregate my viewing, motivate me to update, and allow me to share?