My first experience with social networking on the internet took place on myspace. I joined after I bumped into a friend at a store whom I had not seen in years. She was visiting from out of town and when she returned home, she contacted me about joining myspace so we could keep in touch. I joined and spent quite a lot of time at it for about a year. I even got in touch with a mutual friend as a result of it. Then I got busy with going back to school and general life obstacles and I haven't been to my myspace page in years.
I can rationalize with myself the purpose of using social networking sites such as LinkedIn. I know it is becoming the way of the world but I still miss the face to face interaction at times, the social part. When I attend professional development conferences, half the benefit is coming into contact with other people of similar interests and professions and being able to share ideas. This can sometimes be more beneficial than the actual meetings and presentations.
I wonder if this has something to do with why our field is underrepresented on social sites. We generally tend to want to be with people and cherish the interaction with our students, plus we frequently attend large gatherings for conferences where we are able to network. I suspect there are many professions who do not meet in the way teachers do and therefore need a site like LinkedIn to keep in contact.
In regards to using social networking sites like LinkedIn, I love the idea of being able to ask questions of multiple people and get expert/experienced advice from around the world with just a push of a button. I think the potential for professional growth is great, especially at a school like ours that is part of a network of schools from around the world. But I am concerned about the lack of socialization, in the traditional sense. There is definitely networking involved, but really, how "social" is it? I wonder if, as the practice of social networking evolves, perhaps the terminology needs to evolve as well.
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You make a good point that people in the field of education have many opportunties to attend conferences and workshops. My husband is an engineer and though there are some conferences that he attends, it is not at the level in which I do. I have never thought about this before. His world depends on interaction and there are less face-to-face meetings than our world.
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