Thing 18 Explore Social Networking

Facebook, my archenemy! While I have a Facebook account and have for at least two years, I cringe every time I get a note from Facebook saying that I have friends waiting to hear from me.  If you are an avid Facebook aficionado, I'm sure you had no idea that they send you notes if you don't get on in a reasonable amount of time.  Promise, it has happened to me, several times!

Why such dislike of this beloved social networking site?  Well, as a mother of two extremely active young ladies, a wife to a husband who travels way too much, a student in a demanding Masters degree program, and a worker at that same college, TIME is something that I have very little to spare. When people inquire as to why I never get on Facebook (as if I must have a serious illness to avoid this like the plague), I explain that the problem lies in the fact that IF I get on this website, I look up and two to three hours have elapsed.  How does this happen?  Does it happen to others?  My curious mind had to know.  I now have PROOF that Facebook is a total time waster.  Check out #18 in PC World's 40 Fantastic Time-Wasting Websites by JR Raphael, 7/27/09. I have now confirmed my belief.


That being said, I do occasionally treat myself to a good Facebook time waste.  It's fun looking at pictures of people that you see every day, or perhaps haven't seen in over 20 years.  It's fun to peek into other people's lives and see what they are up to today.  Look at their pictures, comment on how cute is that puppy, kids, whatever!  It allows us to bond with others that we may have lost touch with but still care about.


Educators need to know about social networking because that is what students do.  They live by and for technology.  Have you ever seen a teenager without his or her phone?  I rest my case. While I don't see classroom applications with this tool, as my cautious side screams not to mix business with pleasure, I do believe that effective educators MUST have knowledge of social networking sites to be able to communicate effectively with their students.  Twitter, with its 140-character text limitation is a bit annoying.  I understand that they are trying to minimize all that "gobble, gobble, gobble" as Edna Mode from The Incredibles describes, but come on, everyone is writing in shorthand but no one really took the decoding class. 

I really did not gain new insight into these popular sites.  I like Facebook when I have the time to play, but my life does not allow for that right now.  Facebook is much easier to navigate then Twitter.  Tweeting is something that I know that I won't do, just because of the shorthand version of the language.  I have to be satisfied to know that I know what Facebook and Twitter are, so that as a parent and educator, I can speak the kids language.