It was part of Aviva Dunsiger’s comment to my post yesterday that got me thinking.
I’m not in your pictures, but I’m reminded of the fact that we now connect more through this blog than Twitter.
I had used a service that grabbed a quick snapshot of friends and their images and I had asked anyone who cared to read the post whether or not they were in it. Sadly, Aviva wasn’t.
I suppose that we could quickly blame it on an algorithmic world. It wasn’t selected by me but rather than the service that I was using. So, who knows what the determining factor actually was. As I looked through there, I suspect that it was looking at interactions after a #FollowFriday session.
Like many people, I have a number of connections on Twitter which was the source for the data used be the service. The problem is that this number of connections could conceivably in the thousands.
Things weren’t always that way.
In the beginning of social media, there were a number of early adopters. Aviva and I would both fall into that category. Our learning network was considerably smaller; often the poo-pooers of social media were quick to mention that
I don’t care to know what you had for lunch…
and they refused to join. We would eventually prove them wrong.
There would be lots of people who were guilty of social media use in this manner. There were others, and I like to think I was part of it, who didn’t know whether or not social media was going to be a success or just a collosal technology failure. As it turns out, social media did indeed prove itself.
As the video shows, social media did prove itself.
I suspect that we would be having a different discussion if “social media” was one thing and one thing only. But, we’ve diversified and so many of us have spread our social connections across many services.
The result?
We have the ability to reach out and make more connections quicker and faster. On any given day, if you use a social media platform for learning, you can most certainly reach out and touch new people daily. Hourly. By the minute.
There is a downside though. When there was one or two platforms in play, I suspect that we had smaller networks and those networks would be much closer.
I’m happy to notice that Aviva realizes this too. We don’t necessarily connect via Twitter but she’s there first thing in the morning reading this blog. Before or after coffee.
In a previous world, it was also easier to appreciate the efforts of others. It was done frequently and often would support various initiatives. I think we have all experienced the drop off of comments on blog posts. When we’re spreading ourselves over different social networks, looking for the latest and greatest learning, is the time that one devotes to recognizing and appreciating those connections taking a hit?
It’s interesting to ponder. The only solution would be a concerted effort for everyone to back down but that’s not going to happen any time soon. For me, it’s not necessarily the fear of missing out but more of a fear of an opportunity to learn even more.
Just something to think about the next time you appreciate some learning shared by others. You know you appreciate it. Do you show it?
doug --- off the record 