Between our The Evolution of Technology blog series and my other weekend technology columns, I’ve found that writing about technology and Social Media is not only fun but I bring, just as I do with my parenting writing, a unique point-of-view. How? Because: I’m NO EXPERT. I use and experience technology as a layman, but express it as a writer. My parenting “expertise” is exactly the same.
As most of you know, I’m a very bashful guy: the shy, retiring, quiet sort who doesn’t share his feelings or opinions. I wish. My personality gets me into occasional trouble, IRL. I also can occasionally put my foot in it online via a Tweet, email, or comment. BUT, twitter IS the most dangerous one of them all, for you and me!
How do you use the short space allowed to describe yourself in your Twitter bio? I believe a Twitter bio reveals a lot. Mine is below and let’s analyze it first, before I break apart others.
I’m old enough to remember using rotary phones, having a pen pal, and Black and White TV with no remote, or a remote that was wired and did almost nothing. My boys have grown up with computers, Facebook, music “sharing” first with Napster and then so many others, Twitter, and Social Media. How they communicate is so much different than when I was their age. How we all communicate now is so varied. Do you think you employ effective communication?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Featured guests:
Dabney Porte, Britt Michaelian, Andrea Vahl, and Tshaka Armstrong
This is a very special show discussing the importance of parents being completely aware of what their children are doing online. It covers many of the major platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and we offer practical tips and advice for parents that are not tech savvy. This is a must-listen for all parents who have kids who go online…in other word, ALL parents.
My family accuses me of always being on the computer. Well, I am on the computer a lot, that is my work. I write, I tweet, I Facebook, I host and participate in tweet chats, and I do a radio show. Plus, I write a comic strip and other assorted things like fully redesigning BruceSallan.com right now. I imagine if I went to an outside office vs. work at home, their impression might be a bit different.
So, for the fun of it, for them and for those of you wondering what a busy day looks like in the life of someone active in social media and traditional media, for that matter, let’s take a look at Thursday’s timeline!
The following was sent to me via an e-mail by the extraordinary Rabbi Bryski of the Chabad of the Conejo. What a marvelous idea to compare Twitter to bigger meaning in our lives. Take a read:
Dear Bruce;
Until recently if you asked someone if they “twitter,” they’d probably give you a funny look. They might say, “What, do I look like, a bird?” Or they’d be insulted, because “twitter” meant “babble” – basically to yak nonsense. Come to think of it, maybe the definition still applies. ?
But twitter now has a new meaning. “Twitter” is the name of an online service that allows people to send out short messages called “Tweets.” They have some value – a kind of electronic news bulletin. Flash! Accident on the interstate. But “Tweets” have also upped the interaction level – one can follow a celebrity’s Tweets. Or you can build up your own following. Tweet about your walk from the car to the office.
I had lunch with a good friend the other day and the subjects we covered really made an impact on me, as I reflected on them. I had just come from a lesson in using social media, where I’m learning the new technologies that are popular in our culture now, such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkenin, Smart Phones, I-everythings, etc.
While I’m not a total novice, I do admit that every time a new “thing” comes out, it fills me with dread. I face having to learn it, figure it out, and even understand it. Frankly, I did not “get” Twitter at all until my lessons finally penetrated my middle-aged, failing hard-drive of a brain. And that was also after reading “Twitter for Dummies”–and I’m not kidding.
