To me Facebook has always been a small source of amusement. I rarely post anything. When
I have I didn't get many responses. My profile picture is over two years old and I have little interest in changing it. I've never invested any real time into thinking about it. I think my feelings about Facebook stem from my personality in general. I prefer to keep a small group of friends who I am very close to as opposed to others who have tons of friends. Moreover, I would rather talk with someone face to face where I can read their body language and hear their voice inflection. When I write an email I am probably overly deliberate about choosing my words and scrutinizing each for a possible shift in the tone which I do not intend. Probably most important to me is that I really don't think everybody needs an update on my "status" at regular intervals.
Steve Lawatsch is crying cuz his fav plant died today.
I know that I personally don't post anything to my Facebook profile that I wouldn't want my students to see and I also don't friend students. There have been too many stories about someone else posting something provocative and because it is a NETwork not a direct line through each person, the provocative content ends up damaging a reputation or worse. What about the other social networking sites?
After making it through the ridiculous array of precautionary features on LinkedIn and the MACUL Space page. I can see how these sites might provide more than what Facebook does for me. They obviously allow you to be a part of a group of people with a similar experience. There is some illusion of being safer there than with Facebook as it feels more professional. I don't expect to hear about someones wild bar night accompanied by pictures on the MACUL Space. I am curious if school administrators would see the same potential safety if Ning et al. were used instead by teachers to communicate with other teachers in the same school, or even for class use. Is Ning reallly that much safer than Facebook, or am I just deceiving myself? Is the real difference that I can make myself the center of the network and thereby have the ultimate power?
I can relate to so many of the ideas you have expressed about Facebook. I tend to be an observer more than a participant. The exception is when there is something I am really passionate about saying and then I want to tell the whole world.
ReplyDeleteUsing these forums for sharing ideas in the educational setting is very helpful. I use the Internet for help on a daily basis and many times I end up finding the informationon on a blog. Thank you world!