This is my first foray into the world of creating and posting on my very own professional blog. I have to say that I am overwhelmed with thoughts of “who cares what I have to say”?
I was raised to be humble and understated. As an outsider looking into the world of social networking I always thought that telling “the world” what I ate for lunch or what about my favourite TV show is, was a bit “self indulgent” (Simon Cowell eat your heart out!). I must also admit that, as an administrator, my views on social networking have been jaded by the countless discipline related issues that have involved this type of communication!
Notwithstanding these apprehensions and perhaps misguided beliefs about social networking, I have always believed in the power of collaboration and teamwork. I have witnessed, in my personal and professional life, the power of people coming together to achieve remarkable good. From my ancestors who came to a new land seeking the promise of a better life to establishing high functioning learning teams in my school, I can say with conviction that better things are likely to happen when not “going it alone”.
Recently I attended the TEDxUBC event on Future Ed. For the first time I saw how social networking can be an incredible tool for good (I know, I’ve been slow on the uptake on this one). My attendance at that event prompted me to join twitter just two week ago. The subsequent two weeks have been nothing short of eye-opening for me as a professional. I have been “introduced” to remarkable people, ideas and resources.
Today I post for the first time. I still have many questions about social networking and I still wonder if anyone cares what I have to say. But leave those questions and reservations for another post!
I suppose the short (and easy) answer to your question is "no one." Or maybe I should I say that I'd like to think that no one should actually care what you had for lunch or what your favourite moment was at last night's Canucks game - unless you are blogging for your doctor's diagnosis or sharing with your friends, but then shouldn't you just speak with them directly?
ReplyDeleteBlogging and tweeting and uploading and status-listing are ego-centric by design, aren't they? And yet, I can't help but think they can also be tools through which we become less lonely in our fears, and more tolerant of the changes (and challenges) before us.
I can appreciate how various discipline issues have affected in you an apprehensiveness for social networking, When I started blogging last year, my purpose was to share some special moments with family who couldn't be present; then I started a blog for my students as a way of informing them of deadlines and gathering feedback for lessons; and this past February, I blogged about the Olympics because I wanted to look back and know exactly what I was thinking. It has to be about the quality of the intention. As educators, surely we cannot be blind to these types of communication. (I sense another shift in pedagogy.) We can choose to be self-indulgent or to be critical and thoughtful.
A little self-indulgence never hurt anybody. Right?