DISQUS

Brian · 1 year ago

Good points, I used to unfollow people for the same reason but have switched to using tweetdeck and making groups that fit my filter needs.

Jabiz Raisdana · 1 year ago

Hey Jason,

Great posts. Thanks for really getting me thinking. Hope that we can re-connect sometime soon in the future.

Here are my thoughts:

http://intrepidteacher.edublogs.org/2008/11/15/...

Jabiz Raisdana · 1 year ago

Just realized that you can't read edublogs, so here is my post:

I just read a great blog post by Jason Chambers, an international educator I recently met at Learning 2.008 in Shanghai, in which he says

One of the problems with the modern ability to publish is that if you’re going to choose to publish a poetic journey through your each and every thought, then you may want to look at which channel/forum/genre you choose to do this with. I’d like to introduce a new word into the discussion of microblogging: “microbugging” - a proclivity to share every thought with one’s social network, as opposed to actively editing one’s thoughts in order to relay and collect useful communication.

I prefer to surround myself with positive, balanced individuals. I’m not interested in receiving a ’stream of consciousness’ relay of someone else’s every thought, doubt, or question. It’s time for us to filter - both in terms of output, and in terms of input.

I am quite certain that I am one of the people he is referring to, if not the only one. His post has got me thinking about my use of Twitter, my involvement in social networks, and people’s expectations of me as a member of their networks.

I have always had a hard time differentiating between the personal and the professional. I guess. For me, the idea of a purely professional network is boring. There are only so many links to new tools and blog posts that I can handle. I have been slowly moving away from an Edtech network and trying to merge different ideas and people into my feeds and interactions.

I don’t feel I have much new to offer the Ed-Tech world, at least not right now. So should does that mean that I shouldn’t participate? People have different ideas of what these networks could or should be. I am still trying to carve out a small community of like-minded educators from a larger network of people. It is a long and tedious process, but like most human interactions, I feel that the more open and honest I am, the more fruitful the relationships will be.

For example, I have been sharing a lot of personal blog posts with my Twitter network. Why? While, I am starting to understand that this type of poetic journey through my each and every thought is not for everyone, I still think that it is important to

… present fragments of ourselves online, as if offering cyberspace a random set of pixels, will somehow paint a clear picture of who we are. We use blog posts, Tweets, Skype calls, profile pics, book lists, photos, podcasts, and music sharing sites to scatter pieces of ourselves into a giant void, hoping that maybe somebody out there is picking up the pieces, and what’s more we hope that once they have assembled some sort if idea of who we are, they will like the image enough to start building a community around it.

The reality is that we cannot befriend the entire world, nor should we be trying to. The only thing we can do both professionaly and personally is put ourselves out there and try to make meaningful connections.

I am not criticizing Jason, and while at first I was a bit bummed out that he cut me off, because it appears we have a lot in common, I can now see that he is absolutely right. How we filter our networks is a choice that each person makes on his/her own terms, after all we create these networks to function for our individual needs. His post has definitely got me thinking. Maybe I am misinterpreting how to use these tools. Maybe it is time for me to filter - both in terms of output, and in terms of input. What do you think?

Like most people, I am still in the process of learning how best use these tools for my own learning. I want to thank Jason for making me reflect on my use of Twitter. Curious to know what you think. Becuse even as I spill my ’stream of consciousness’ relay of every thought, doubt, or question, people keep following.

intrepidblue · 1 year ago

sometimes i do like to hear what people are doing/thinking ... but only to a point. i've been totally guilty of random needless tweeting, but i try to keep it in check.