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. 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 the 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 does this mean that I shouldn’t participate? People have different ideas of what these networks could or should be. I am simply trying to carve out a small community of like-minded educators from the 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? I think these personal insights add to my online persona. 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 professionally 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. That has to mean something right?
I mostly agree with the idea that sometimes a person’s stream of consciousness can be a distraction, but it all depends on who that person is and what they’re talking about. It’s an entirely personal decision, as you point out.
You said that you were a microbugger – but your posts don’t bother me, probably because we have a lot of similarities. For me, not everything has to be a link. I like getting little observations and opinions, or if someone is working through something or thinking out loud, I don’t mind being the thing that the ideas get bounced off of.
So, again, while the original post makes sense, and people should think a little bit about whether or not to post something, they shouldn’t think too hard! Twitter is 140 characters or less, it’s not a big crime to make a useless tweet.
Without the bits of background information a stream of consciousness provides, I find it hard to tell ‘where’ the poster is coming from. ‘Carefully’ selected nuggets of information tend to carry little joy, and I find it hard to be motivated to follow endless streams of links.
Without knowing something about the people you connect with, I think it is hard to know whether to trust their ‘opinions’ even if the opinions are just links to other information sources. Trust is a key element in knowing how to filter incoming information. I also tend to find that the info I find from people who clearly apply output filters to what they present are seldom much more informative than the first couple of pages of a Google search…
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I see myself in your description, as a person who is not a tech innovator or acknowledged education expert.
My blog is very much a mix of professional and personal musings. In fact, I find that the posts that generate positive response are frequently the ones including photos and anecdotes from everyday life.
I like what you do, I like who you are. There’s room for all types in cyber space. Don’t change, just refine.
I agree with previous commenters — and we all use Twitter for different purposes. I like to know there is a human behind the tweets, and what’s personal is what makes us human. Even some of the “big name” edubloggers on Twitter share photos or tidbits with their followers about their kids, dog, and what they ate for dinner. Don’t fuss over it — just be you! 🙂 I prefer not to limit Twitter in that sense; I have people in my Twitterfeed that are educators, yoga instructors, musicians, writers, and international aid/development workers — all things that I am interested in! It’s good that Jonathan’s post made you think twice, but don’t withhold who you really are – that would be a real shame.
As someone who is fairly far removed from the circles you travel and network in (I’m not an educator, I’m actually a college drop out. I’m not particularly a techie. I do have an interest in both topics, though.) my opinion might not be worth much. I see Twitter as a fairly personal means of expressing the very sort of stream of consciousness that Jason is railing against. The tool seems customized for quick and careless bursts of mental energy whenever they strike. If that’s how you want to use it, I see no reason to stop. It will repel some and attract others. I’ve been quite intrigued by what I’ve seen so far, at least. If the work you are involved in is a big part of your life, and you are passionate about it, that will show in your tweets and should work in your benefit, as far as networking goes. People who share your passions will flock to you, and your connections will grow from a sincere sharing of ideas and impressions. What could be better than that?