Topic: E-Communication
I think I'm in danger of dropping into Pollyanna mode again, but here goes anyway!
I've been reading posts from multiple bloggers since returning from NECC. Many have been interesting and thought provoking, even when I didn't necessarily agree with the author's point of view. But a troubling number (in my thinking) have been mean-spirited, snide, and self-serving. I don't think that people need to agree with everything they read or hear, but I do think they need to be professional about the way they phrase what they post. I wasn't the target of any of these, so I don't think I'm being overly defensive. By the same token, my heart does go out to people who were on the receiving end of some of these comments.
Then yesterday I read Thomas Friedman's opinion piece from June 28 entitled "We're all public figures now, so behave yourself." He writes:
"When everyone has a blog, a MySpace page or Facebook entry, everyone is a publisher. When everyone has a cell phone with a camera in it, everyone is a paparazzo. When everyone can upload video on YouTube, everyone is a filmmaker. When everyone is a publisher, paparazzo or filmmaker, everyone else is a public figure. We're all public figures now."
Friedman also references a book written by Dov Seidman called "How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything...In Business and In Life." Apparently, Seidman argues that in our increasing transparent world, where mistakes are much less easily forgiven than in the past, how individuals conduct their lives is of utmost importance. In other words, the people who succeed will be those who are able to build trust, work well collaboratively, lead well, and apologize when they make mistakes.
Seems that these are skills we need to teach both our students and ourselves. Going back to my original concern stated at the start of this post... educators who use blogs to make points for themselves at the expense of others may want to rethink this approach. Not only is this poor modeling for students, but this mean-spirited writing may come back to haunt you one day.
Technorati Tags: Thomas Friedman, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, NECC07, Dov Seidman
