Smiles — not this post, but the blog I link to at the end
These last few weeks, I have been really thinking (actually struggling) a bit with what “this” all means…..
“THIS” meaning the cyber world I have journeyed into that preoccupies my time, my conversations, my decisions, my travel opportunities, and much more.
Today, May 9, 2008, I am very discontent on a variety of levels. And for someone that is usually quite happy, content, glass is 1/2 full, happyhappy joyjoy……I have not liked me much. It isn’t helping that I did turn 48 and certain things I cannot control are happening with my body (hate hate hate growing old) and it isn’t helping that decisions of the “long ago past” are now affecting my present……but grins, isn’t that true of so many of us??
But I am wondering what is the “common denominator” in all this. (Smiles, my math friend will like that reference!!) And I think the commonness has to deal with what is going on each day on my 19″ monitor (via skype, twitter, blogs, gmail, gchat, wikis, projects, and more!)
So — the dilemma right now is what to do?? I could not walk away from Web 2.0 — even if I tried, it is now an integral part of me…..woven in so tightly that if I tried to unravel it, I would not know where to begin……….
I would not walk away from Web 2.0 because it is the essence of my being with my projects. The availability that I have to make a small impact on so many teachers and perhaps make a day in their classroom just a little nicer would not be as easily accomplished with the tools literally at my fingertips. Without the tools, I guess I could write a book, but it would not have the rippling effect that the ease of Web 2.0 provides.
I should not walk away from Web 2.0 because it is not going to go away — even if I did. 
And I have made friendships, lasting friendships here, that are so easily accessible here due to the tools of Web 2.0. To be able to skype for one hour with friends in Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Montreal, Australia, China, Georgia, and more — would not even be feasible if I had to really pay for them monetarily. To have friends that I buy plane tickets for just to fly to visit them — is doable because of Web 2.0 as well. Priceline has made traveling so affordable for me!! To have my network available 24/7 to help with needs, links, presentations, and just laughs is necessary.
But I am still in a quandary because I know that there is more to me than “THIS”. But what is it?? And am I just going through a mid-life crisis? LOL, I hear it happens to women too………..
so, as I re-evaluate my use of Tech (Yet again), I invite you to read this post by someone who IS walking away:
http://charlenecroft.wordpress.com/
I am not to where Charlene is ….. yet. But it was nice, very nice, to read the thoughts of someone else who, like me, is trying hard to make sense of all this…………
Hmmmm — a bit much for a Friday!
But this is where I am.
Anyone else there too?
Jen
I have been there and some days am still there. I am a very cynical person who spout there is something big on the horizon and fear that we (the collective we) are not on top of things enough to be ready and accountable for it. I am hoping that the big thing is a movement of enlightenment (of which I am on the journey as well).
So, I have not unplugged. But I do not embrace everything. I get twitter but I cannot go there yet.
Already there is enough and if there is more there will not be any balance (wow – I think really what I am doing is trying to restore balance).
Thank you for sharing – her post was insightful and definitely worth the read.
Jen, I think a lot of us are in the same boat, wondering how to handle all that Web 2.0 allows.
I had been off the grid for a while and missed all of the hullabaloo, but found the conversations interesting. The thing that grabbed my attention the most was the emotions that were so strongly attached to a website/tool. And it made me think…
Web 2.0 tools have strongly changed the way we connect and operate, so strongly in fact that we begin to equate our real identity with our online presence. And while the two may be one in the same, the vehicles we use to create that identity begin to take on a life form of their own. Instead of viewing these tools as a form of communication as we would a telephone or email, we’ve elevated them to superhuman status- and from my own experience, became completely obsessed.
For a month or so, I found myself completely sucked in. I stayed sucked inside of my Google Reader, kept Twitter up religiously, faithfully added to my Diigo account and had Twitter links pulled into Google Reader so I wouldn’t miss anything. I had Skype open so I wouldn’t miss the chats or anyone who may want to contact me. I know I had a friend or two who might have thought I was stalking them in Skype.
I had to send them a message as soon as I saw they were online. Then “real life” took over a couple of weeks ago and kept me from keeping up. There were massive withdrawal pains the first few days.
What I’ve realized is that I am obsessed with the information. We can have access to people and tons of tidbits in seconds. I felt that if I didn’t try and grab it all that I will fall farther behind the pack. – Not to say that I was even in the running to start off with.
So I guess what my rambling is about is the fact that you’re right. We do need to put all of this in perspective. All of “this” is just stuff. It’s a way to communicate and learn, but in reality it all falls in line with things like the telephone, IM, and email. They are just tools. But we’ve become “close” to these tools because of the people it has allowed us to meet and contact. What matters most is what is going on right here, right now with the people I care about(family, friends, students, etc.)- no matter how I connect. The balance, for me, now lies in asking myself how can these tools improve those relationships (either professionally or personally) and am I using them to improve those relationships. If the answer is “yes”, then carry on. If the answer is “no”, then I need to move on.
Please forgive my ramblings, but this was fresh on my mind today. I hope what I’ve written makes at least a little bit of sense.
Thanks for all of your insight!
Cindy
@Louise –
Thank you for taking the time to write.
I do wonder sometimes what will be the ramifications of all this — that we are embracing, letting it be life-changing, interrupting our “regular scheduled program”, and shouting to the rooftops — “Try This!”
I try to use what I can with my teachers — but realize if I lose myself in the “tools” I am losing much more than I even am aware of.
Thanks again for writing!
@Cindy
Smiles — write as much as you want. I enjoy reading your viewpoint!
I agree with you about being sucked in — and as you know, as all my readers know, I have been there — and am perhaps there right now.
I think that I am giving too much “warrant” to the tool …..
But you are right — when we attach the emotion to the tool — we might be in for disappointment. BIG TIME.
For instance, if twitter were to go down — what would some people do? What would I have done? LOL
How I am dealing with it — I am walking away from “the grid” on weekends. I check mail, this blog, but try to stay far from twitter, my rss feed, and anything that will draw me in and I end up sitting at my computer all day — neglecting friends, housework, pets, sunshine, etc!
I appreciate what you said about using the tools to improve relationships….
(You can’t seem to win!)
I am happy to say that I have had the opportunity of meeting several people face to face that I got to know from the tools….and with very few exceptions, I was not disappointed! In fact, with a few, I know I have made life long friends. On the other hand, in the last few weeks, I have lost “friends” I have never met f2f because of how I was judged on my use of a tool.
Smiles, and now I ramble. But thank you so much for taking the time to write your thoughts down.
Jen,
I have been a person who had way too much wrapped up in the internet, although this was long before “web 2.0″ came along, and so I can understand where people are coming from when they feel like they have to completely remove themselves from the web.
However, as a person who has returned to the web and managed to keep it in perspective, I thought I’d offer the tips/mantras I use to keep myself from becoming completely immersed.
1. The web will still be there. It doesn’t matter if I don’t log in for a day, a week, a month, or even a year — the web, along with the networks I’ve created, will still be there, trucking along as if I never left. Sure, there will be plenty of tips and websites, etc., that I will have missed out on by not following my Twitter feed, but these things have a way of resurfacing and if I really need to know something, all I have to do is ask.
2. Real life always has to take precedence over virtual life. Although there are times that virtual life can develop relationships that become real life relationships (I have several good friends and even my husband who I would not have known if it weren’t for the web), when it comes to making decisions about spending time on the computer versus spending time with people who are sharing my breathing air, the people who are with me must be first.
3. Technology is not an entire diet, only a supplement. I find myself slipping in this area from time to time – I catch myself watching the GPS map on my husband’s Blackberry and saying “hey look, there’s a lake right over there” (pointing to the handheld), rather than watching out my window for interesting landmarks. Technology is great as a dietary supplement – it can enhance things that are outside of technology, but it can never be 100% or even a majority of the input your brain receives. Teachers need to recognize this as they plan lessons for their students. There IS such a thing as too much technology in the classroom.
Those are the three main things I remind myself of on nearly a daily basis. I’m doing pretty good, though – it’s been several days since I really followed my Twitter feed and I blog, but on a “blurty” basis – I’ll write an article for each blog on the same day, then it’ll be a week or two before I do a new one. I don’t feel any less tech-savvy or respected because of my self-imposed limits.
–Elaine
@Elaine
Thank you for taking the time to post. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
#2 on your comments is the one that is sticking most with me right now…..and I am making an effort on making sure that I spend my weekends in F2F conversations and enjoying the sunshine, nature, and things I had pushed away for a while because of my “tech” use.
I would love to hear more about meeting the “hubby” via the internet. That sounds TRULY interesting.
Smiles to you
and thanks!
Jennifer