When I first opened my twitter account in 2008, I was probably ahead of the game. I did it, not of my own personal free will, but was academically extorted into it by Professor Comerford of my
"New New Media"studies class in Norrköping, Sweden.
Today as I write this blog, which was similarly founded in the same era under professor Comerford's coercion, I am starting to appreciate some of the lessons learned back when people were still confused whether twitter had anything to do with twits and if a blog was something that happened if you ate breakfast too quickly. I am also realizing that, like with any new phenomenon, things have evolved and I may have misjudged the usefulness of some of these tools.
In listening to a presentation on Digital Footprints by Tyson Seburn, a prominent figure is the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) field in Toronto, I was immediately struck by how social media in general seems to have matured from the early days of the facebook frat party, to a true network of professional resources that are as essential to career-building today as a strong resume and clean clothes have ever been.
Specifically in the field of teaching English as a second language, in an industry that is foundationally international, the potential to build community, share resources, network, and provide teachers around the world with connection to their peers, is an advance that stands to benefit English teachers, and accordingly their students as well.
In 2009 my colleague and fellow Blog Journalist writer Russ MacDonald mused in a blog post:
"I suppose there will always be some Twitterers (twits?) who will maintain the service, but perhaps its popularity will fade into the netherworld of internet memes (remember ICQ?)."
There is still time for this to happen, but twitter is hanging around and finding more ways than ever to make itself useful. It seems that it is not just for celebrities and advertising, but that in our busy, over-saturated internet world, we still have time for 140 characters. It doesn't seem that this trend of rushing around is about to reverse, so it looks like twitter is here to stay.
Ultimately, I found Tyson Seburn's session to be a bit of a wake-up call for me personally and socially. The tools are there for everyone to use, the digital divide notwithstanding, and it is incumbent on us to make use of them, and to help those without the savvy or know-how to "get-connected" as much as possible. Our digital footprint is no footprint in the sand. It belongs to the alter-ego known as our digital selves; a persona that has spawned itself into existence and that will only continue to evolve and grow over time.
Below is a link to Tyson Seburn's presentation slides:
http://www.slideshare.net/tysonseburn/your-digital-footprint-28851582
