I also left this comment, albeit it was the 83rd one, at The Strength of Weak Ties:
Wow! This discussion is at the same time intense and depressing. Once again, I feel like the kid who doesn’t know the right things to say to be considered cool. I am fairly new to the “echo-chamber,” and as a new member I found it at first very exciting, but I am starting to learn what the author means about the tragedy of commons and not just in regards to Twitter.
Even as a newbie, one can feel that there are certain names that always turn up. There are the experts that everyone follows. There are the names that carry clout, and then there are the little guys like me, simply trying to make sense of this all.
Perhaps it is still the novelty of Twitter that makes it worthwhile for me, or perhaps it is my naivety of the Edublog “in” crowd that keeps me out of discussions like this, and for that I am grateful.
I am a Middle School English teacher obsessed with learning and making connections. So it is a natural link for me to use Web 2.0, both for my own learning, but also to try and figure out what can make my own teaching more productive for my students and their rapidly changing world. Which is ironic because as of now, I don’t even have students, but I haven’t let this stop me from trying to use this network of people help me make the connections I find valuable.
I have met some great people on Twitter and made some great connections. My followers are slowly growing and I periodically check to see who they are, not to see if the “popular” kids are watching me, but to see if there is someone out there operating on my wavelength that could prove to be an alley in the war against ignorance. I blogged and shared my ideas when no one was reading, and I will continue to do so when a few kindred souls might chime in.
Let me finished with a quick story: When I was young I wanted to be the next Jack Kerouac, like every wide-eyed idealist, I was going to write prose that would change the world. I quickly realized that I am not that good of a writer, but that has never stopped me from writing. I don’t want to be famous anymore, I simply must write. The same thing is true for blogging. When I started I thought I could get huge numbers of people to read my work and leave 100’s of comments a week, but now I see that I simply need to write and perhaps, I will meet a few people who like what I have to say.
In closing, Twitter may be old hat for the early crowd, but some of us are still getting good mileage out of it. So come follow that…@intrepidteacher
The point of his post – and my response – is the motivation for using Twitter, the issue of the echo chamber and the less than ethical approaches some have to new tech (i.e., shilling v. critical engagement).
Nobody is taking issue with “newbies” per se but the behaviour of many newbies in relation to the rather important issues that some of the oldies have worked hard to draw attention to.
Again, the issue is not a versus but a difference between critical minded exploration and mindless adoption.
Additionally, the fact that you are driven by a sense of mission and purpose in your work differentiates you from those he is talking about within the school teacher community who are looking for nothing more than the approval and endorsement of companies who are all too eager to brand their classrooms. This is a big problem.
Your work and your words bear no resemblance to those interests or motivations. That’s why I follow you. Don’t worry about being cool or in the know. That’s not the point. The point is to have an opinion and say something. And there’s a difference between “saying something” and PR, hype and status seeking.
You could have written this post for a large number of us. I too have let go to just write for me and that is great! If someone reads and comments it makes my day, but my day is not diminished if no one does. I am not so involved in twitter – need to let that go for now for my sanity and my family. But I do need it as it is isolating trying to make a change on my own. Thanks for the honest, refreshing post!
Hi Jabiz,
I got here because you added me as a Twitter friend. I return the friendship to educational bloggers like yourself, but don’t bother with those that do not blog… call me a snob, but I *use* Twitter as a network that I learn from and I don’t want to read what self-promoting networkers have to say. That said, when I add a new blog post, I promote/link to it on Twitter. This has been happening a lot recently since I am moving my blog post-by-post and reflecting on each one as I go.
I’ve always been on the outskirts of the echo-chamber and seldom get more than one or two comments on a post… “oh-well” is all I have to say to that! Oddly enough, this bothered me a bit as my popularity slowly grew, then that ‘need’ faded- Twice! First, when my blog changed addresses on me (it was going to do so again and that is why I decided to be my own host) and then again last summer when I took 2 months off of blogging.
My experience of re-reading, reflecting and reposting my blog posts has made me realize that although I appreciate the connectedness that comments offer, I get that from Twitter whenever I want. I’ve also realized that my purpose for writing is to reflect and learn, and like you, I do this for me:-)
I read about your plight and think that it is a horrible situation. I frequently wonder if my often critical view of education will get me in hot water?
I wish you luck in finding a new position soon.
Regards,
Dave (@datruss on twitter)