next »

[duprleo]

To whom it may concern:

I thought the article in COLLEGE 2.0 "How Not to Lose Face on Facebook, for Professors" was very interesting. Even more recently the President's Twitter account was hacked. I wanted to find out in a forum how IT Security Personnel were writing policy for the High Ed Community. Obviously this is a different industry then government or business.

Thanks

Leon

[inthelab]

Post a free link to the article!!

[neutralname]

http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i22/22a00104.htm

[neutralname]

There has been a recent craze on FB for people to post "25 things about me."  I've seen some friends and colleagues post information about themselves that they probably would not want the Dean or the BOT to know.  I don't put info up there that I would not be happy to share with our BOT. 

[inthelab]

I only use LinkedIn for professional contacts. 

[daurousseau]

I just joined Twitter at a relative's request. After trying it out, I can't see the difference between twittering and calling your Mom from the airport to say, "I'm walking toward baggage claim now!"

[fiona]

Twitter (which I've never tried) sounds much too loquacious.

What next? A gadget that sends only grunts, scratches, and other bodily noises?

Get the patent now.

The Fiona

[polly_mer]

I don't understand the purpose of the constant updating and sharing personal information in a professional setting.  I understand maintaining a professional webpage and updating it quarterly with professional activities.   However, even my husband doesn't even want a minute-by-minute recap of my day and I know he loves me.  Why anyone else want that information?  Does anyone else wonder whatever happened to just keeping a diary with private thoughts that didn't need to be shared with the world?

I'm also bemused about the time involved on all sides in sharing and updating on a frequent basis.  What else could people be doing with that time?  I understand joining discussion groups to share ideas and gain some perspective, but none of the twitter/facebook/myspace babble appears to serve that purpose.

[malcha]

I've never been tempted by either Twitter or Facebook.  Part of the point of having friends is that there are some things I talk to one person about, other things I talk to another person about, other things I discuss in a group conversation.  I have a feeling that if I tried to boil everything down to a common denominator I would get something pretty inane (like a mixed metaphor).

And would I ever bore a large public by recounting the brewing of ever cup of tea throughout the day? Er . . . *tries to delete posting history*

[polly_mer]

And would I ever bore a large public by recounting the brewing of ever cup of tea throughout the day? Er . . . *tries to delete posting history*

You have a point, but none of us read the fora specifically for all the details on your cups of tea (at least I hope not).  Instead, I imagine that you dropped by one of the threads that are the equivalent of the fora coffeehouse/bar, chatted with a few friends, and then went back to doing something else--possibly contributing to a good discussion on a serious thread or returning to your work after a break.  Somehow, and maybe I'm deluding myself here, that seems different to me than doing a running stream of consciousness (twitter) or posting your diary on the web like Facebook.

[helpful]

Twitter is just writing down what one would say on a cell phone and sending it to everyone you know. Seems as useless as talking on the cellphone immediately after class (which many of my students do) or while driving or, name other useless times to talk on the cell phone.

[bread_pirate_naan]

Collaborators of mine who work on/in/with social media agree [with me] it is stupid to have a facebook account [in one's real name].

What else could people be doing with that time? 

I have been repeatedly harangued because I am not on FB.  "All of your friends are asking about you."  Actually, my firends have my email and phone number.  I don't have any desire to be easily accessible to people who are simply curious.

People are going through the motions of keeping in touch, without much interest in the quality of connection.

[Young] people are supposedly empowered by such forms of self determination, but for all the freedom and 'controls', much more information about the user is produced/disclosed that allows better targeted persuasion and deeper entanglement with a system that serves markets, not users.

[malcha]

And would I ever bore a large public by recounting the brewing of ever cup of tea throughout the day? Er . . . *tries to delete posting history*

You have a point, but none of us read the fora specifically for all the details on your cups of tea (at least I hope not). 

Well, now I'm just hurt.  Sure, people are interested in every mojito that imaginary rodent downs, but when it comes to my fascinating cups of the beverage that cheers but does not inebriate? Not so much.

Seriously, though, I have friends who have actual discussions on Facebook.  But I have one friend who was always a bit antisocial who now seems to have decided she only wants to deal with the world on Facebook and is cutting face-to-face time more and more out of her life, to the point where I am both miffed and worried.  I suppose there is the same danger with this or any other form of online community, but it still has me particularly down on Facebook this week.

[yellowtractor]

I want to raise the moral tenor of this thread by saying that I, for one, care very much about Malcha's cups of tea.  At least in the abstract.  Her Platonic cup of tea, as it were.  All cups reflect the one true Cup.

[polly_mer]

Seriously, though, I have friends who have actual discussions on Facebook.  But I have one friend who was always a bit antisocial who now seems to have decided she only wants to deal with the world on Facebook and is cutting face-to-face time more and more out of her life, to the point where I am both miffed and worried.  I suppose there is the same danger with this or any other form of online community, but it still has me particularly down on Facebook this week.

I think this situation is related to Naan's comment about going through the motions of being connected without the hassle of actually being connected.  I've made friends here on the fora and I love the interactions that I have as pen pals by PM with a few particular people.  However, as one of my colleagues mentioned recently, only having online friends causes real drawbacks when life intrudes and it's worse when what you need is more than a sympathetic ear. 

If the people in the group can't be bothered with a minimally inconvenient thing like writing a letter or making a call to a specific person, do you really think those people have the level of commitment to sit with you in the hospital, stay with you to help out during a bad patch, or lend you money/equipment/transportation when you need it?  I think not.  These young people don't understand that the important part of being friends is the time spent together with shared experiences (i.e., together in the same place at the same time interacting) that lead to overlapping lives.   I worry that the parallel lives of "I'm walking to class; you're at the food court" won't be strong enough when push comes to shove.