Social Media Does A Like = A Friendship?
09/28/2011
Today I had the honor of speaking about social media to a wonderful group of educators and people who work with children and school districts. Toss of a pink boa to Julie Hollis for coordinating a terrifc conference sponsored by Communites in Schools.
This post was inspired by and dedicated to educators who are bravely stepping into an the exciting new world of social media; they're opening the doors for our children to learn in a different way.
- In order to develop meaningful relationships someone needs to take a risk. ~ Darcy Mullin, On Learning @darcymullin
I've spent the last couple of weeks preparing for this assignment by wandering about the "Social Media Education Village." I'm happy to report there is a vital, exciting, community where some innovative educators are doing creative work in the social web.
On the flip side, there are fears .. the same fears and concerns I've seen from people in other industries: negative comments, internal structure, governance, content, time and resources. Plus one more. How to keep our children safe in this new digital world that will be their home .. in one way or another.
It's a world where the importance of people-to-people connection is Not changing. However, how and where we communcate is different. Mobile smart phones and tablets are the baby steps to a generation beyond what we see now.
It's a world where the importance of keeping our children and ourselves safe is Not changing. However, how and where we create safe spaces and protect ourselves now includes the digital world .. which by the way, is just as real as offline.
It's a world where the importance of friendships is Not changing. However, defining what friendship means when people we just met or who are friends of friends of friends want to connect with us. Or when a brand pretends to be a person and steps into the social networks where we have built community. Do we have a new catagory of friend ...call it "social friendship?"
It's a world where the importance of privacy or what we share is Not changing. However, determining how much and with whom is becoming blurred. Or when an brand's app demands data from us (that might invade the privacy of the people within our online communities) in exchange for playing their games or gaining their information.
At the end of the day I wonder, does the technology change who we are and what we can expect from this new media life? Or does the technology in an oxymoron way take us one step closer to our humanity? Does a Like = a friendship?
Thanks to Sherry Heyl for the intro.
