This week for the Extension 2.0 web course we are exploring web-based instant communication, such as IMs, chats, and Twitter. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon (again!), I am having trouble seeing the importance of instant communication for the BEPV program. One idea that appears in this article is to Twitter a conference (follow all Twitters related to a conference). I could see this being helpful to remind people when and where a workshop is being held, encourage attendance, and receive feedback.
I have an overarching question about all of the photo-sharing, social networking, and communication tools: How does one employ these tools for professional purposes and still separate one’s work and personal lives? From my observations of Twitter, for instance, a lot of people do not maintain that separation: their Tweets are equally about their work and personal activities. But what if I think that my mother doesn’t need to know when I’ve updated my curriculum, and my colleagues don’t care what I had for lunch? If you use Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr, for example, to keep up with friends and family, do you create separate accounts for work-related communication? I can see myself either getting overwhelmed trying to update too many sites, or trying to keep things simple and “oversharing” with my professional colleagues.
signed,
A curmudgeon