This week I have overheard a few comments about social media, mostly on trains, one was something like:
- “I have twitter but I don’t do it”
and another:
- “it is just another place and thing for people to check so nobody will use it”.
Both comments immediately strike me with fear. Can expanding your own perspective really be seen as a chore and something you can not be bothered to do? Sure, I am not the most active poster on Twitter but I recognize the value. In the past I have done basic training on the value of social media for people, I suspect the people I heard above need such training! Indeed, if the second person is talking the truth for their organization, perhaps it is a bigger problem that I suspected.
This all made me think back to my Christmas movie marathon, which included watching Shirley Valentine for about the first time in 15 years. As at the start of this clip, Shirley talks to her kitchen wall to consider the failings of her life. This is, of course, a fairly common trait in movies via diaries (Bridget Jones/Twilight) and, more recently, blogs. Now I suspect that something the people I overheard on the train miss the point of is that whilst social media is what you want it to be but should not be dismissed out of hand. To me, it is used to learn about land from the world, I also know plenty of people who use it (well mostly Facebook) to effectively log their lives. Fine, so be it. If only one person interacts with each posting you have created something beyond what Shirley, Bridget or Bella had managed.
Whose Education Is It Anyway? 