Hi, I’m Kyle from Ning and I’ve been asked to write a guest post here on the ol’ HighEdWeb Blog (or “HEWB” for those in the know).
A few months ago I read a Wired piece by Clive Thompson on how Twitter creates a “social sixth sense.” After months of hearing the standard “there’s no point to that kind of service” argument, and not really being able to respond with a convincing defense of my Twitter habit, Thompson’s analysis really rang true to me.
In a nutshell, the argument is that while small nuggets of information about one person (”I just had a Slurpee!”) aren’t mindblowingly important, when you’re following a large enough group the aggregated stream creates a “cloud” of general awareness that really lets you feel plugged in. Sorta like watching the streams of code in The Matrix.
As someone that works remotely, there are all sorts of amazing technologies to help me do my job. From IM to IRC to VNC, it’s never been easier to do get things done from anywhere. The missing ingredient, however, is camaraderie. Water cooler chat. Awkward encounters in the bathroom. Co-workers are responsive and friendly in chat rooms, but it’s just not the same as being there and overhearing information about someone’s weekend plans, opinions on the new building, etc.
Enter social software. Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Ning-powered networks (wink) or whatever, these services help put a human face on your online interactions. If you’ve never met someone, you feel like you have. If you see someone once in a while, you feel like you hear from them all the time. It’s something that on the surface seems totally frivolous, but is actually extremely powerful.
Same goes for third-party relationships. I find that establishing social networking relationships with business contacts is the Internet equivalent of having a drink when you’re up in their neck of the woods. It’s a simple way to keep communication lines friendly and open.
Let’s look at it in a classroom context (this being a Higher Ed conference and all). Thinking back on my college days, the professors I felt closest to were inevitably the ones that opened up their lives a bit to the students. Rather than run for the door the second their lecture was complete, these teachers had explicit open-door policies, invited students over for BBQs at their houses and generally made it apparent that they were interesting, vibrant human beings with lives extending beyond the classroom walls. If you had a question or comment about the class material you didn’t think twice about expressing it, as a fantastic comfort level had been established.
Now this is all fine and good at smaller schools, but what about large universities with expansive lecture halls filled with hundreds of students, or remote learning programs spread across the world? While nothing will ever replace the comfort level of a close face-to-face relationship with a beloved professor in a friendly classroom environment, I’d argue that social media tools are a pretty decent digital alternative.
The obvious benefits of this technology (class event listings, media sharing, forums, address books, etc.) are quickly becoming apparent to educators, but I think these ancillary “sixth sense” benefits are just as fascinating. I’d love to see professors require that each student create (and regularly update) a social network profile a few weeks before the start of a new semester. Same goes for the professor himself/herself. Aside from being a great icebreaker on the first day, it’d open up an amazing new level of ongoing social awareness for all parties involved.
That or there’ll just be a lot of cat pictures. Fingers crossed.