Sunday, June 8, 2008

Generation Y - interesting little article

Generation Y - Welcome To Their World - ReadWriteWeb: "the world of Generation Y eludes a lot of the previous generations. Generation Y is absorbed in a world made possible through technology. This is a key factor that is left out of the misconceptions made about Gen Y. Here's a glimpse into the world of Gen Y and how they're using technology."

Worth a trot through this article... if nothing else but to dispel a whole load of myths and concerns people often come out with when it comes to considering this age group.

"They don't just adopt these technologies just because they're out there. They adopt them because of what they can do with them." - isn't that just a lesson for everyone? Especially those using technology within eduction.

Our online selves

Just updated my blogger profile because it was no longer correct and having done that (the things you find time to do when you've 'real' stuff to be getting on with, huh?)... I had a little browse at some other people's profiles and a thought occurred to me.  I wonder how much we really consider how we'll come across in these little snippets of our lives?

Here are a selection of some of my favourite interests from people's profiles:

"sports.specially ball and field games , music of all types..kinda. , inventing CODENAMES , being an obssessive person"

"I love to study history Telling people about the Lord Reaching out to the 500,000 here in England"

"Taking one of my 3 dogs to Agility, Looking for craft bargains on the net, & of course crafting in my room"

"Frugal living, reading, sewing , knitting & crochet"

"251 year old female Capricorn"

What do these say about the writers?  What do they think they want them to say?  Should writing an online profile be given as much thought as writing a CV?  I've often heard it said that to speak effectively for five minutes takes much more preparation than to speak for an hour - and I wonder if the same isn't true of these online snippets?  Does personal presentation extend beyond the obvious these days and online literacy needs to encompass all those things we might not think matter... but might end up mattering a great deal?  Next time want to employ an obsessive person who enjoys inventing code names... then just look on the internet and you're bound to find them... even if they never imagined you would...

Public vs. private facades.  The lines between them are ever blurring.
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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Why Online "Noise" is Good For You - or not

Why Online "Noise" is Good For You - ReadWriteWeb: "Quiet time, time off-line, deep thoughts and long books are all beautiful things - essential to a healthy intellectual, psychological and social life. We argue, though, that the opposite of all those things - online social media noise, is also a great opportunity that deserves to have its worth recognized at a time in history when many of us are struggling to deal with it.

So take some time for yourself when you can, find a nice place to sit with a cup of tea and blow through a few hundred items in your RSS reader. If you can relax into it, it'll help you remember some of the reasons why you love the internet."

What a relevant little article!! It's an interesting read and I do understand what they're getting at. I quite like to have a browse through my RSS feeds and generally watch the world rushing by, dipping in a toe as I can. However, in the last month I've been so busy with other 'stuff' that the sense of being overwhelmed by the online chat, chat, chat of news, articles, blogs and general communication became too much. I switched off. And you know what? The world didn't disappear without me. Online social noise is good. It can make you think. Can switch you on to new ideas. Can give new perspectives. But let's not overstate its importance here. It's not an all or nothing world out there.

Tuning out can be just as healthy as tuning in.

Oh, and hello blog again! It's been a while! Last month we moved five times (one move around the world), I started working on two courses, had assignments due on two courses I'm studying, had no internet connection for some of the time, had to buy cars, furniture, general household possessions... and all the while look after my two little people. When real life brings in overload, online life can definitely take a back seat.
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