Not exactly sure why — but for the last week or so, I have taken a back seat and have just been watching our network more than participating. It could be that the Holiday Card Project has taken a great deal of my time (trying to sort through 250 + participants, putting them in groups of 25, with each group having unique states) can be quite a task……it could be that work has been trying and from day to day I am unsure if I have another day to head to work, or it could just be I took a back seat for a while without having to have an explanation.
But I find myself asking two questions lately “Why” and “What”? And I ask that of myself too.
The Why’s are the easier ones.
- Why did everyone have to see their twitter rank? (especially now since people are crying perhaps stolen passwords? — not sure if that is true or not)
- Why are the Edublogs Awards asking people to post blogs for nominations? I don’t see them using TAGS to capture the posts and they are inviting people to email them after they post their blogs? Hmmmm, is that really a good showing of the power of Web 2.0? My thoughts are that this is going to get MUCH more interesting!!
- Why does twitter play around with their tools so often? One day it works just fine, and the next day the option to delete a DM is gone, or the availablity to search for a friend is gone. Why is there the need to change — often daily?
- Why are some very articulate bloggers silent right now?
- Why are people booking for NECC when we have no idea of session speakers, keynotes, or even acceptance if we posted an idea?
- Why can one person share an idea and it goes unnoticed, while someone posts it and it becomes viral?
Smiles — those are my whys.
My What’s Are a bit more unsettling to me.
- What are people doing at their own campus? What am I doing at my campus?
- What determines which way out network slides at times?
- What if Google went down tomorrow……would people freak (and this is a WHY too)
- What am I really learning from my network and what am I contributing?
- What did I do before NECC 2007 to stay in touch with people who are now my “network”?
- What did I do before NECC 2007 that I seem to stopped doing now?
I don’t think I am in a funk and I don’t think I am in a “mood”. But right now, for me, I feel distant……and I know I created a bit of that distance……….and I am wondering WHY I did that and WHAT will I learn.
Just thinking!
Jen
Perhaps Twitter is looking for the “perfect look” and that’s why they keep changing. Kinda like some blogs I know… (-:
I was lured into finding out my twitter rank cos other people were- the power of the lemming I suppose!
Twitter password now changed- just for good measure!
Great set of whys and whats. I wanted to ask the twitter rank thing last night. I just sat back and watched it all sporadically.
The one that i have thought recently and is a big why is one you identified: Why are some respected bloggers silent?
(This year I am going to NECC whether my proposals are accepted – never been to one and my SIL lives there.)
I am not sure I am sharing enough and feel I take more than I give (except readership is up so maybe not). I can say that asking those questions led to sharing and doing more at my school which has given much more rewards. Balancing both worlds has been the hardest part. I am not too active anywhere else right now. I really need to go to the nings more.
@Debbie
LOL — Touche!!!
I will stay content with this one for a while – though I know the color scheme and picture will change as we get closer to Christmas!!
@AllanahK
Smiles, I was going to say lemmings but decided not to. So I got a giggle when you said the same thing.
What surprises me…..perhaps it should not…..is how often we tell our kids NEVER give out personal information! Yet, how often do we do the same?
The twitter rank yesterday just astonished me though — I didn’t really understand 1) why it mattered and 2) why this site was trusted as a judge. And — grins — for me, if I know it is going to post somewhere after I hit submit, personally I stay wary…..
@Louise
I agree that balance is difficult. Yet when I remember to share more at my school — than try to impress my network, it is (as you say) more rewarding!
To all 3 of you,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
I didn’t know alot of that Twitter scuttlebutt. I have pretty much given up Twitter. I don’t know if I was following too many people or what, but I was feeling unconnected there. Too many @’s, too many posts to keep track of. I benefit greatly from the sharing that goes on at Plurk and a couple of Ning groups.
I was neglecting my blog for a bit, but am now back at it, renewed, due to the Dembo’s 30 days to being a better blogger challenge. Writing keeps me focused on goals and deeper reflection.
Sitting back and watching every now and then is healthy, I think.
@pam
I have heard people say plurk is much better for sharing…..I just I haven’t figured out how to use it yet. And you are not the first person this week to tell me that they feel disconnected as well.
Dembo’s 30 day has been a good “think” for me too.
Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts!
Jen
Hi, Jen,
I’m so glad I found your blog. This post grabbed my attention. I have been in the Ed Tech community for a long time but I’m relatively new to Twitter, Blogger, Ning, etc. As a newcomer, one can make interesting observations about a community. I’ve observed that the online social community is a digital mirror image of the real world. Within the online community, there are the introverts, the extroverts, the intellectuals, the learners, the playful, the faithful, the cautious, the careless, the sensitive, the intolerant, the curious, the thoughtful, the seekers, the ambitious, the thinkers, the players and all combinations of these and other attributes. Understanding and navigating the online world seems to require the same social intuitions one calls upon in the real world. If one is keenly intuitive, as this post implies you are, you “see” social patterns, grouping trends, emerging leaders, aspiring thinkers, over-obligation, disillusionment and signs of withdrawal. You’ve used your deep experience in the online network to share patterns I cannot yet see – but I have every confidence in your observations. Keep searching for and blogging about your concerns. Every social system needs a conscience. Perhaps raising conscientiousness is your role.
I enjoyed the post so very much.