I woke up this morning feeling like I wanted to write (as I do most mornings). But, the past few days, I’ve been struggling. It’s not that I am blocked – no, I have plenty of things I could write about. It’s just that I don’t want to write about any of them. I’ve been hanging out online, exploring social media, new communication, Web 2.0 – whatever buzzword you want to attach to it – for almost 4 years now. You could call me an old timer, an early adopter, an aficionado. You could just say I’m a geek. All of those descriptions would be accurate. As cliche as it sounds, social media has changed my life. It’s helped me to meet people who are now very important parts of my life. It’s improved my business, my writing skills, and my confidence in both of those things. I’m passionate about communicating online. I love to share what I’ve learned with others, and watch as their eyes open to this new way of sharing, telling stories, and doing business. So why is it that I’m feeling so tired of it all? As I sit here, sipping coffee, I’m combing through ideas for my blog – things I’ve decided would be interesting to write about. But I can’t help but feeling that the world doesn’t need another productivity post, another “Web 2.0 and the future” post, another top ten list, or another “get the most out of social media” post. I’ve lost interest in reading other peoples’ posts like that, so why the heck would I add to the noise? I think I’m starting to see more clearly what the problem is. There are a lot of people out here trying to make a go of social media as a business model. There are social media coaches, people to teach you how to tweet, social media strategists, coordinators, community managers…the list goes on. I now see companies publishing request for proposal templates with requirements for hiring social media “companies”. But here’s the problem. Social media isn’t a business model. Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for social strategy, or teaching, or community building. I’ve done, and currently do, all of those things. But here’s where I think the difference is – social media is not the centre of everything. I don’t teach social media. I teach communication. I don’t build social media strategies. I build communication strategies. The principles of communication and marketing are the same as they were 15 years ago – heck, 40 years ago. Fundamental human behaviour – the way people react to the information being presented to them – has not changed that much. The tools have changed. The culture has shifted to different methods of engaging with each other through technology. But that’s pretty much it. There’s no great mystery to any of this, and I think part of my frustration is that we’re spending so much time out here, trying to teach each other the wonders of social media, when all we really need to be doing is teaching people to communicate better. Now, I’m not one to complain without coming up with some sort of solution, so here’s the action I’m prepared to take. I’m going to cut out the social media blather. That means unsubscribing from a bunch of stuff. It means filtering my content streams better. It means focusing my work efforts on what I do best – helping people to tell better stories, and helping them to find the best tools to do so. Social media is out for me. It’s yesterday’s news. It’s done. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not quitting it – of course I’m not – I get far too much out of it. It’s too important to the way I live, and work, and play now. I’m just getting rid of the concept that social media is some type of mysterious, elusive Holy Grail of the Internet that we’re all striving and struggling and fighting to be “the best” at. Social media isn’t a big deal. People are a big deal. [photo credit:rick harris on Flickr]
One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Story
I love Antiques Roadshow. I’m not kidding about that. I can watch for hours and hours without getting bored. I have no particular preference over the U.K. or U.S. version. To me, it’s all about the content. These days, shows about “one man’s trash” are becoming increasingly popular. Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and Auction Kings all top the list of shows I never grow tired of. Why the fascination with other peoples’ junk? It’s the stories. Every House Has a Story One of the many hats I wear is as co-producer of a television series called The House Healers. The premise is simple – The House Healers take the most run down, ugly, and dilapidated houses they can find, and transform them into beautiful, livable, green homes. Our renovation projects are not the “one week, use the cheapest materials possible and just get the job done” renos. They are not the “hire 600 people and Ty Pennington to knock down the house and build a whole new one” renos. We bring our viewers the real reality of renovation, where it takes 10 months, thousands of dollars, and buckets of blood, sweat and tears to make it happen. In the first season of our show (we’re on season 3 now), The House Healers bought their first flip house, a 105 year old home in the west end of Ottawa. The house was in a sorry state of disrepair, with the last update done probably sometime in the 1960s. The house had stayed in the original family since it was built, and the woman who lived there had been there since her late husband’s grandparents had sold them the house some 60 years prior. Since she was elderly and no longer able to live in her family home, it was sold to The House Healers with a promise – that whatever they did, they were not to tear the house down. (Note: It probably should have been torn down). On the first night of demolition, we were filming in the upstairs of the house. The dust of 105 years was thick in the air. Pieces of doorframe and wall and floorboard were flying. One of the team pulled a bookcase down and a small leather pocketbook slipped to the floor. We opened the pocketbook to find old postcards, a dried corsage, and by far the coolest thing – an invitation to lunch at Buckingham Palace, dated 1936. We carefully put the pocketbook away for safekeeping, with the intention of giving it back to the original owners once the renovation was complete and the family came back to see the finished house. But for the next 11 months of the renovation, we wondered about that pocketbook. Who went to Buckingham Palace and why? Where were those dried flowers from? Surely there was a story. The reason I love making this show is because every house has a story to tell. Every time I walk into a new renovation project, I wonder about the people that lived in that house before. Every time I admire the amazing transformations the team is able to produce in the homes they renovate, I think of all the work and thought and planning and effort, and stories of how they got to this point. I’m really lucky to be part of something that can document this process, and tell the story of how old homes get new life. What’s Your Story? I love old things because they always have a story, and it’s the most exciting thing to draw that story out. if I had a bigger house I can assure you it would have a lot more “other man’s trash” in it (don’t tell my husband). Thinking about the stories the things in our lives hold is fascinating. It’s why I often get confused when people tell me they have creative blocks. I think there are so many stories to tell, that it would be impossible to run out. One just has to look around them to find stories in the simplest things – that coffee cup on your desk, sent to you from a friend far away. The big black dog, now laying at your feet, abandoned 7 years ago in a snowbank. A small leather pocketbook, fallen behind a bookcase 70 years ago. Everything has a story. What story are you ready to tell? By they way, if you want to find out the rest of the story of that leather pocketbook, you can watch this. [photo credit: andresv on Flickr]
Life Lessons from George Bailey
My favourite movie of all time is It’s a Wonderful Life. I bet I’ve seen it 100 times. Once, I watched it 4 times in the same day, back to back. Every time I see it, I wind up in tears at least 3 times. I have much of the dialogue committed to memory. One of the things I love about the film are all the things the protagonist, George Bailey, has to teach us. Every time I watch it, I have another realization that sticks with me. I figured it was high time to sum them up, so here are some of the things George Bailey has taught me. Do the right thing, even if it’s not popular. Near the beginning of the film, a young George Bailey is working in Mr. Gower’s drug store. Mr. Gower is noticeably upset, and George goes to check on him. Gower tells him to take a prescription to a customer. As George picks up the medicine box, he looks and sees that the pills Mr. Gower has prepared are actually poison. He runs out of the store, not knowing what to do. When he returns, not having delivered the medicine, Mr. Gower punishes him harshly. Once George explains the mistake that’s been made, Mr. Gower realizes what he’s done, and is profoundly sorry, and grateful to George. George knew he was going to get in big trouble for defying his boss, but he also knew the consequences of listening to him. He took the chance and did what he knew was right. Not only did he save a young child’s life, but he also prevented Mr. Gower from going to prison. We all want acceptance. We all want to avoid conflict or trouble. However, sometimes we have to make the tough decision to go against the popular belief. Sometimes we have to run head on into trouble because we know that it will be better in the end. Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t the popular thing. And like George, we need to be okay with that, and do it anyway. Walk your own path. George Bailey, as a young man, had dreams of going to college, and traveling the world. When his brother Harry, who was supposed to take over the Bailey Building and Loan, arrives back in Bedford Falls with a wife and plans to move away for a big job, George is left, once again, holding the bag. This realization is very upsetting to George. His Mom, seeing this, points him in the direction of Mary Hatch’s house. She feels that the next logical step in George’s life is for him to finally be with the woman he’s meant to be with. George has other ideas. Even though, deep down, he already loves Mary, he turns away from her house and walks the opposite direction. However, as we soon find out, George ends up at Mary’s house. And so begins their happily every after. As much as George was starting to resign himself to the fact that he would end up spending his life in Bedford Falls, running the Building and Loan, he was very resistant to walking the path everyone wanted him to. But even though he ended up staying in Bedford Falls, marrying Mary, and having a family, he went about it all his own way. In the end, he found his own truth. Nobody told him how to get there, but he ended up exactly where he was supposed to be. You don’t need to be like anyone else, you just need to be you. Like George Bailey, you may stumble along the way, but ultimately the time and effort it takes to get there will be worth it. Carve your own path. Your life will be richer because you made this journey in your own unique way. People first, money second. How much do we hear these days about the “human” side of business? Everyone tells us that faceless companies cannot exist in this connected world. But George Bailey….George Bailey knew that, even back in the 1930’s! Let’s take a look at how George operated his human business. George’s father dies the night before he is to go off to college. He puts college on hold to sort out his father’s affairs with the Building and Loan, and as he’s about to leave, his arch-nemesis, Mr. Potter, reveals that he would like to dissolve the Building and Loan, deeming it unnecessary. The Board turns down Potter’s request on the condition that George stay on to run the business. George gives up college and ends up staying, because he can’t bear the thought of people having to crawl to Potter for money to build their homes. Over the next several years, George helps people like the Martini family and Ernie the cab driver buy houses for their families, because he believes that people should have opportunities to improve their lives, and that life does not have to be a struggle, especially for money. And, when the stock market crashes and the bank calls his loan, George and Mary don’t even think twice before using their honeymoon savings to help their customers. The Bailey Building and Loan was the original human business. George always thought about how he could help people first, and he worried about the money later. As a result, he had loyal customers and was well respected in his community. Potter, on the other hand, was a “warped, frustrated old man”, who only cared about himself and his money. It’s pretty obvious who had the better life. Don’t let anyone step all over you. Ever. George stands up to Potter four times in the movie. The first time is when he is a kid and he runs into the office to ask his Dad for advice about Mr. Gower’s medicine, as Potter is chastising his Dad. George yells at Potter, tells him his Dad is “the biggest man in town!”, before being shuffled
Things To Do During Downtime
Ahhh….downtime. It’s so rare for most of us these days, but with the holidays fast approaching, many of us are dreaming of having a few days to unwind, particularly after the Christmas chaos has finally subsided. If you’re like me, you might have a hard time with downtime. I cherish the moments when I don’t have a To Do list as long as my arm – but I tend to dread them too. You see, I hate to be bored. And the first thing that happens to me when I have downtime is…I get bored. My mind starts to work on all those tasks I need to do once I get back to work, all the errands left to do, all the household chores that are unattended. I often have difficulty really enjoying my downtime. But something I’ve realized over the past few years is that downtime doesn’t have to mean I’m unproductive. In fact, I’ve learned some enjoyable ways to spend my relaxing hours. Here are a few ideas..maybe you can add yours in the comments too? Sleep We don’t get enough. In fact, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, one in five Americans is sleep deprived. Have a few days of downtime coming up? Why not get some sleep? I used to feel really guilty about sleeping – I felt it was a waste of time. But now, if I have a couple of days off, I try to get in as much as I can. I am not good at sleeping in, so I’ll still rise early – but I’ll take as many naps as I want to during the day. I’ll go to bed early. Sometimes, I’ll just lay on the sofa with my eyes closed for a while. Sleep if you want to. It does a body (and a mind) good. Learn Something New My brother has always been a music lover, but has never really played music (except for one, er, interesting attempt at the bassoon in high school). Last year, he bought an electric bass, an amp, and a pair of headphones (though I think the headphones may have been his wife’s idea). He went online and found some free bass guitar lessons, and proceeded to work his way through, in his downtime. He carves out a bit of time every day to practice, even if it’s only for a few minutes. And you know what? He’s having a blast, and getting pretty darn good at playing the bass, too. We all have things we’ve always wanted to try. Maybe it’s a sport, or a craft, or playing an instrument. And the best part is, there are numerous online tutorials about all sorts of things – you can do the tutorials online, in the privacy of your home, in your downtime, and the best part is, most of them are totally free! Go To the Library When was the last time you went to the library, browsed around, then just sat, quietly reading? I used to love going to the library during my downtime. I’d sit in the periodicals section and browse through magazines. I’d hang out in non-fiction and read sections of biographies. With the Internet, we can scan magazines and read books without having to make a trip to the library, so we don’t bother anymore. But there’s something to be said for the peace and quiet of a library. There are no distractions. Everyone is absorbed in what they’re doing. Feeling bored? Go to the library for the afternoon. You’ll walk away feeling peaceful and focused. Cook Stuff for the Freezer It’s that time of year. Cold winter days make us long for hot, comfort-food meals. However, the busy-ness of the holidays makes it difficult to find the time to cook. So, why not take advantage of downtime to prepare a bunch of meals for the freezer? Lasagna, soups and stews are all ideal, nutritious freezer foods. And, you can make it a group activity. Get a friend to bring over the ingredients for a double batch of her favourite recipe. You provide the ingredients for yours. Then, cook up both meals to freeze, and split the results. You’ll end up with two great dishes in your freezer for half the effort! Come Up With Ideas One of the best ways I know to spend downtime is coming up with ideas for stuff. I generally will pour a glass of wine, or some tea, and just sit, and think. I jot down what pops into my head. It might be a blog post idea, a business idea, or just an idea for a recipe to try. Roll with whatever comes, don’t judge. Write it all down, then on a day when you’re stuck for inspiration, you’ll have all sorts of fodder. Appreciate It Downtime is so infrequent for most of us, that we often forget to appreciate it when it comes. So, I think the most important thing to remember about downtime is to be grateful for it. Work hard, spend as much time as you can with the people that matter, and then, when you do have a few minutes to yourself, you’ll be more thankful, and want to make more use of that time. So don’t forget to appreciate your downtime, no matter how little you may have. It’s your ultimate reward. [photo credit: frozenintime on Flickr]
A Practical Guide to Learning from Mistakes
We all make mistakes. Lots of them. And we all know that often, the best way to learn is from our mistakes. The bigger the mistake, the more we learn. But sometimes, we tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. It’s as if we’ve learned nothing at all. I think that in many cases, we are going about learning from our mistakes the wrong way. Want to really learn from your mistakes, every time? Here’s what I’ve learned: Be specific. In order to really understand what went wrong, you have to be able to identify what the mistake was. This means being specific. Focus on the mistake, not the outcome. If the outcome was that you lost a client, don’t get all wrapped up in the grief of losing the client. It happened, the client is gone, it’s done. Focus on the events that lead to the situation. Analyze what mistakes were made to cause the unfortunate outcome (hint: they might not all be yours, but don’t pass blame). Make a list of the mistakes. Be specific and honest in your description. Don’t beat yourself up. When you make a mistake, it’s really easy to go down the road of self-criticism. We call ourselves all sorts of names – naive, dumb, and worse. Stop that. Beating yourself up over a mistake does you no good. It takes you away from coming up with a solution. Put it this way – if the mistake had been made by someone else, would you be as hard on them? Not likely. Look at the mistake as an outside observer, and clear your mind of feelings of guilt, embarrassment, fear or anger – they are useless to you in learning. Simply accept that you screwed up, and move on. Don’t dwell. We all have the tendency to dwell on mistakes. We mull it over and over in our minds, imagining all the ways things could have turned out differently, if only such and such had happened, or I’d done something else. There is absolutely no point in dwelling on what’s happened. The past is done. Focus on the opportunity you have in this moment to change things for the future. Take steps to solve the problem. Once you’ve written out the mistake, and have been really specific about it, you can look objectively at ways to solve the problem. You may not win back the client (unless you do!), but you’ll be able to find ways to avoid the same situation in the future. Write down your solutions, too. This is where the learning comes in. Now you know how to avoid making the same mistake twice. Next time a similar situation is about to occur, you will have specific steps you can take to avoid disaster. Look forward to your next mistake. People who are afraid to make mistakes are boring. If you want to be a singer, but you never perform at an open stage because you’re afraid you’ll hit a wrong note, then you’ll never be a singer. If you want to start your own business but don’t because you think you’ll make a mistake with a client, then you’ll never start your own business. Accept that you’re going to hit a wrong note once in a while. Accept that you’re going to mess up with a client occasionally. Embrace the possibility of making a mistake, and you’ll always have something to learn. [photo credit: nyoin on Flickr]
Arsenic and Possibility
Yesterday, a group of astrobiologists from NASA announced that they have discovered a new life form which can exist even if phosphorus, a compound which until now, was one of the 6 basic building blocks of life, is replaced with arsenic. This is a highly significant discovery. It means that our understanding of what makes life possible has now changed forever. It means the rewriting of science textbooks everywhere. These tiny microbes might not seem like much – they are microbes, after all – but what they represent is that it is now possible that life can exist in forms different than our own. Possible. I love that word. I watched some of the news conference with the scientists that made this remarkable discovery. The team’s lead scientist, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, was delightful. She looked like she’d just won the lottery – and in some ways, she has. She’s done the very thing that many scientists can only dream of – made a groundbreaking discovery that changes the way we look at our very existence in the Universe. One of her lines has stuck with me. She said, “If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven’t seen yet?” What else is possible? I believe that possibility is one of the most powerful things we have in life. It’s also one of the most underused. Often, we are so caught up in just trying to get through our day – our jobs are annoying, the kids are acting up, the dog peed on the carpet, our spouse is grumpy, our car broke down – all of these things cloud possibility. We end up just fumbling along, without any thought to what is actually possible. We spend more time thinking about all the reasons things are not possible, instead of exploring the reasons they are. Here’s how most people talk to themselves: I can’t quit my job, I need the money. I can’t go to marriage counseling, my spouse refuses. I can’t go back to work, my kids will think I’m neglecting them. I can’t lose weight, I’m too stressed. I can’t learn to play the guitar, I’m too busy. I can’t be a public speaker/artist/musician/marathoner, people will laugh at me. Imagine if Felisa Wolfe-Simon had said “Life forms can’t exist outside of what we know. That’s what I was taught. There’s no other possibility.” Lucky for us, she didn’t say that. To the point of her discovery, in the world as we knew it, it wasn’t possible that life forms could exist without the 6 basic elements – carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Because Dr. Wolfe-Simon decided to focus on what was possible, instead of what wasn’t possible, she was able to change our very perception of life. So then, I ask you – are you focused on what’s not possible? Or what is? [photo credit: nasa.gov]
People Doing Cool Things on the Internet III
Every Thursday, I am highlighting the fun, smart and amazing things that people are doing out here on the Interwebz. Why? Because I am inspired by these people daily, and I hope you are too. Know someone doing cool things online? Share it in the comments! Quilting Gallery If there is one thing that Michele Foster, or @MiskaOttawa as she’s known online, loves, it’s quilting. Oh yah, she also loves to build web sites. So guess what? She does exactly those two things. Michele is the founder and creator of the Quilting Gallery, one of the premiere online sources for everything and anything to do with quilting. The site features patterns, blogs, a marketplace, and her super popular Quilt Shop Locator, a one of a kind resource for touring quilting aficionados to locate quilt stores, professionals, and retailers all over the world. Mishka’s site is extremely popular in the quilting universe. I am not a quilter by any stretch of the imagination, but here is why I love Michele. She is living that dream that so many people want – she has merged her two passions – quilting and the Web – and is making a go of a viable online business. But it’s not just a money grab…Mishka is providing real value and has single-handedly built a strong and vibrant community around her. She is connecting quilters to each other, and allowing them a place where they can learn and share and grow. And it’s because of that, that she is successful. Keep an eye on this lady. She has much to teach us. Canadian Podcast Buffet Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche are the first real podcasters I ever met. On the day I met them, I barely even knew what a podcast was, but I did know one thing…these two were doing some mighty cool things on the Internet. Among other things, these two are the hosts of the Canadian Podcast Buffet – a podcast for podcasters, about podcasting, and featuring many, many podcasters. Here’s what’s super cool – they have been doing this show since 2005! In Internet time, that’s like, 20 years! What I love about these guys is they are not trying to make their next million through their podcast. Heck, they’re not even trying to make beer money! They are doing this because they care about the medium of podcasting, and because they love to tell stories. And I’m also pretty sure they would both tell you that they also do it because of the amazing people they get to meet. Mark and Bob took their love of podcasting to a new level in 2006 when they held the first ever Podcasters Across Borders conference in Kingston, Ontario. I was fortunate to attend and speak at PAB2010 (the event moved to Ottawa this year) and I can tell you it is one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to. PAB is about so much more than podcasting. To me, it’s a mini TED. I came away with renewed energy, a million ideas and many new friends. Go next year. Just go. And it doesn’t stop there. On December 8th, Bob and Mark have joined forces with the inimitable C.C. Chapman to present the first ever CreatorCamp here in Ottawa. This one evening event is all about people and creativity. Various presenters will be sharing their stories and I’m sure many amazing conversations will be had. If you’re in the city, please come! You won’t be disappointed. These are a few people doing what they love online. They are living passionately, unafraid to put themselves out there and create, explore and have fun. Inspiring, eh?
3 Things I’ve Learned About Connecting
People often ask me how I got to be this way. I’m known in my online community as a “connector”…that person who easily flows in and out of various communities, blending from one conversation to the next. I can talk about lots of different things, with lots of different people, from CEOs to students, musicians to scientists, and anywhere in between. I’m proud of my ability to connect with people, and to connect people to each other. Over the years, I’ve discovered some really effective and simple ways to connect, so today I thought I’d share a few with you. 1. Be On. To really connect in the online world, you have to spend a significant amount of time online. This means, you need to be out here doing actual stuff. And yes, that actual stuff can be blogging, sharing photos on Flickr, Tweeting, Facebooking, and all those things that so many people think are such huge time wasters. Well, I’m here to tell you, you can’t meet other people by sitting passively, reading the stream, and not contributing. It just doesn’t work that way. And I don’t care if you’re shy. I’m shy too. But I do it anyway. And if I say something dumb, or unpopular, I dust myself off and move on. For all the dumb things I say on Twitter, I end up with a few gems, and LOTS of good connections. And that is good enough for me. 2. Be Curious. I am curious to a fault and for that reason, the Internet has been the best thing and the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Every day when I launch my web browser, I am truly excited by what awaits me. Hyperlinks really do make me downright giddy. Even though I’ve been doing it for 14 years now, fact that I can simply click on words that take me to information still amazes me. How lucky we are to have all of this at our fingertips. So why wouldn’t you be crazy curious what’s out here on this incredible, vast resource? Why wouldn’t you want to explore, every single day, what other people are doing and creating and feeling and thinking? Curiosity gives you things to connect to. Be infinitely curious, and you’ll infinitely connect. 3. Be Nice. Every day I see people online, not being nice. Someone will link to a blog post, or share something they think is awesome with other people. They’ll talk from the heart about what interests them, what moves them, or what they love. And suddenly, they get replies back with snide, snarky, or negative remarks – rude comments about how they are doing it wrong. I believe that some people just like to criticize for no reason, and poke holes in other people’s stuff. I believe that sucks. Now, I’m all for constructive criticism. I applaud intelligent discourse online. It’s one of the main reasons I’m here. But when I see people pointing out flaws just for the sake of pointing out flaws? It makes me crazy. It’s not productive. It’s just simply not nice. Want to truly connect? You don’t have to be a Polyanna, but you do have to be nice. Here’s an example. Let’s say this guy, George, sees a typo in someone’s blog post. Thinking he’s being helpful, George, immediately posts a comment and tweets an @reply telling the blog writer, and the world that “voyeurism” is spelled incorrectly. Well, perhaps George should have considered sending a private message. And before our friend George does that, maybe he should consider that it’s entirely possible that he is not the ONLY one who has noticed the foible? That perhaps, the blogger has already gotten 15 emails and 35 @replies and 14 Facebook messages letting her (and the rest of the world) know about the problem (Honestly – I’ve seen people go through this more than once). I’m all for being helpful, but do consider criticisms wisely before posting. Do you want to be helpful? Great. Just make sure you’re being nice, too. And those turkeys who insist on always getting the upper hand or the last word in the conversation? They just need to get a life. In the end, connecting is not rocket science. It’s easy, if you just put yourself out there on a regular basis, wonder about everything, and above all, just be a nice person. Try it, you’ll see! [photo credit: szacharias on Flickr]
Case Jam: Facebook in the Classroom
I’m really excited and fortunate to be involved in a whole lot of stuff at Algonquin College these days. In addition to teaching part time in the Interactive Multimedia Developer program, I’m also teaching online courses in Digital Communication and Social Media in Business, and Jester Creative is working with the college to produce a LipDub video which is going to be shot early next year. All of these great projects have given me the opportunity to explore and experiment with the role social media is playing in post secondary education. I just finished giving a short talk on Facebook in the Classroom at the first ever Innovation Case Jam, an event focused on bringing college faculty and administration together to share ideas and come up with new and innovative ways to enhance the college experience for students, teachers and administration. I had to duck out of the event early to get back to my class, but I wanted to summarize some of the thoughts from my talk here to continue the conversation. The Secret to Success By far the biggest issue with Facebook in the classroom is the whole privacy question. A lot of teachers are hesitant to engage with students on Facebook as it’s often seen as more of a “personal” space. We use it to interact with our friends and family, and don’t always want to cross the personal/professional boundary with students. Conversely, students are also hesitant to link up with teachers, for many of the same reasons – do teachers really need to see the photos from last weekend’s kegger? I believe I’ve found a solution to some of these issues. I think there’s a lot of value in having a class Facebook Group. It’s a great, interactive space where students and teachers can share relevant links, videos, posts, events and so on. It’s a wonderful supplementary learning tool, and Facebook Groups can be made not only private, but secret, so the group can be locked down to outside participants and won’t show up in searches. The problem is, in order to invite people to a group, the administrators must be Facebook friends with the people they are inviting. This brings us back to the whole issue of privacy. Here’s how we solve it – make Facebook Group administration a student-driven effort. One way you could approach it is to assign class reps with the creation of the Group, and have them invite their classmates – your students are already connected with each other on Facebook anyway, right? Take yourself out of the mix. Not only that, but by handing Facebook over to the people that know it best – your students – you’re giving them ownership of the community. Now, you’re not having to do all the posting and explaining – rather, your students are free to share and explore and connect on their own. You should still be part of the group, for sure – but rather than run the conversation, just guide it. One example of how this is working really well is with Algonquin’s LipDub project. Though this is a Facebook page – a more public community than a group – it’s similar, because it is totally administered by the students – they are responsible for updates and for managing everything that goes on the page. We monitor and address any issues (there haven’t been any to speak of). The community is starting to thrive and as the project continues it will be a source of motivation, buzz creation and information. Perfect! How about you? What are your experiences with Facebook in the classroom? Do you have questions? Let’s discuss in the comments below. Photo credit: anna-b on Flickr
People Doing Cool Things on the Internet II
I had so much fun with this last week, that I’ve decided to make it a series. There are so many people doing neat and exciting and innovative things online, and I want to spend some time talking about them here. It ties in nicely with yesterday’s post too, on being a fan. I’m a fan of these folks, and I just have to tell you about the cool things they are doing on the Internet. FoodiePrints Blog As my waistline implies, I LOVE food. I enjoy cooking, I watch cooking shows incessantly, and have even been known to create the occasional culinary masterpiece in my kitchen. I’m the kind of person that has no qualms about tweeting what I’m having for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. In fact, I’ve met some really cool people this way. Foodies are a HUGE online community, and we spend countless hours indulging in our foodtastic ways. That’s one of the reasons I’m such a big fan of Don and Jenn, otherwise known as Foodieprints. Their amazing blog is chock full of culinary delights. You’ll see something new every day here, and in addition to their extremely well researched and meticulously written posts, you’ll be able to indulge in food photos to die for! Even if you don’t live in the Ottawa area, you can still appreciate the care and work that these two stellar food bloggers put into every post. I dare you to walk away from the Foodieprints blog without a grumbly tummy! Night of the Living Podcast Hubby and I are HUGE horror fans. Well, more hubby than me, but the longer I’ve been with him, the more I’ve come to appreciate the genre. But even more than that, I’ve come to appreciate the community. A few years ago, my husband started listening to Night of the Living Podcast, a weekly podcast about pop culture and horror movies. The NOTLP gang – Freddy, Amy, Erica, Mike, Andy and Kelly – are a group of close friends that hail from Cincinnati, who decided to spend an hour or so every week, recording their take on the world of horror. The result is a hysterically funny, jam-packed hour full of witty rapport, news, reviews, and just plain fun. The content is decidedly NSFW, but that makes it even more enjoyable, in my opinion! What’s even better about NOTLP is that Greg and I have been privileged to have headed down to the Midwest a few times to see the crew, and we’ve all become great friends over the years. They are amazing, genuine, and warm people, despite their somewhat perverse senses of humour (then again, that’s probably one of the reasons we all get along so well). If you’re a horror fan, or just want to be wildly entertained, please do check out NOTLP. These guys are the real deal, doing what they do out of pure enjoyment. What about you? Have you come across people doing really neat things online? Share them in the comments!