Comments on: Iterations Toward Irrelevance http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/ (bôr'dər-lănd') n. Located on or near a frontier. An indeterminate area or condition. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:24:44 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Borderland » Blog Archive » What now? http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/comment-page-1/#comment-81347 Borderland » Blog Archive » What now? Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:38:15 +0000 http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/#comment-81347 [...] Bad for You? I’ve opened a twitter account. This marks an about-face for me, based on a previous declaration, and a comment I left on another of Doug Belshaw’s posts about the changing face of the [...] [...] Bad for You? I’ve opened a twitter account. This marks an about-face for me, based on a previous declaration, and a comment I left on another of Doug Belshaw’s posts about the changing face of the [...]

]]> By: Doug Noon http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/comment-page-1/#comment-55600 Doug Noon Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:41:58 +0000 http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/#comment-55600 It's interesting to me that this very same issue has come up in the Web Tools course I'm holding for the teachers I work with. Seeing the use for a tool isn't a necessary precondition for picking it up, I know. Sometimes a use only becomes apparent after a period of experimentation, trial, and exploration. I recognize all that. I see a larger issue than just Twitter pro and con. To me, and this was what suggested the title, I know I'm deliberately ignoring a trend that has spawned a new public space. Why? I think I'm busy enough already. It's one of the things that the teachers who don't want to maintain a blog tell me. I also don't live in a city, though the people who love it there claim that it's a very stimulating and vibrant experience. I believe that some of us, as Chris says, are content with the local contacts that we have. Jenny's comment above questioned whether there are "technology must-haves." I suppose there are. Email is the main one I can think of. The photocopy machine is another. Telephones...and things that everyone expects you to have. Like an address. Nobody expects a teacher to have their own website. When that happens, the people who don't join are completely lost to the rest of the world. How many hermits do you know? It’s interesting to me that this very same issue has come up in the Web Tools course I’m holding for the teachers I work with. Seeing the use for a tool isn’t a necessary precondition for picking it up, I know. Sometimes a use only becomes apparent after a period of experimentation, trial, and exploration. I recognize all that.

I see a larger issue than just Twitter pro and con. To me, and this was what suggested the title, I know I’m deliberately ignoring a trend that has spawned a new public space. Why? I think I’m busy enough already. It’s one of the things that the teachers who don’t want to maintain a blog tell me. I also don’t live in a city, though the people who love it there claim that it’s a very stimulating and vibrant experience. I believe that some of us, as Chris says, are content with the local contacts that we have.

Jenny’s comment above questioned whether there are “technology must-haves.” I suppose there are. Email is the main one I can think of. The photocopy machine is another. Telephones…and things that everyone expects you to have. Like an address. Nobody expects a teacher to have their own website. When that happens, the people who don’t join are completely lost to the rest of the world.

How many hermits do you know?

]]> By: Chris L http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/comment-page-1/#comment-55599 Chris L Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:04:00 +0000 http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/#comment-55599 Scott-- the advantage is that many thing that come to me from my Twitter community don't find their way to blog posts... for a long time or ever. Again, it's like being in a social space and being part of a group conversation... some of those ideas and thoughts might later be captured in a blog post, but most are not. I find the value of things from my Twitter friends to be such that is has replaced some other ways I used to try to nose out the useful ideas. Note I'm talking about ideas, which are not necessarily sites or physical resources. For me, it is well worth the time. But I also believe that, like a group conversation of peers, it isn't possible or rewarding to try to follow every single thread of every single simultaneous conversation. That way lies true madness. If one doesn't need or doesn't want to deal with being part of a big group conversation, then they don't need something like Twitter. For me it has become very nearly indispensable and obviously a resource of incredible valuable. Here's the key point: the conversations that are happening on Twitter that matter to me are-- for the most part-- not happening anywhere else. IM, strangely, is even further away from Twitter than blogging is. Scott– the advantage is that many thing that come to me from my Twitter community don’t find their way to blog posts… for a long time or ever. Again, it’s like being in a social space and being part of a group conversation… some of those ideas and thoughts might later be captured in a blog post, but most are not. I find the value of things from my Twitter friends to be such that is has replaced some other ways I used to try to nose out the useful ideas. Note I’m talking about ideas, which are not necessarily sites or physical resources. For me, it is well worth the time. But I also believe that, like a group conversation of peers, it isn’t possible or rewarding to try to follow every single thread of every single simultaneous conversation. That way lies true madness.

If one doesn’t need or doesn’t want to deal with being part of a big group conversation, then they don’t need something like Twitter. For me it has become very nearly indispensable and obviously a resource of incredible valuable. Here’s the key point: the conversations that are happening on Twitter that matter to me are– for the most part– not happening anywhere else.

IM, strangely, is even further away from Twitter than blogging is.

]]> By: Doug Noon http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/comment-page-1/#comment-55400 Doug Noon Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:41:15 +0000 http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/#comment-55400 I'm glad for the feedback on this post. Brian, I think the immediacy is precisely what I want to avoid. Yeah... if I was a tweeter, you'd probably know that we've got a few inches of snow, and the temperature is above normal - around freezing - which is warm for Halloween. I’m glad for the feedback on this post.

Brian, I think the immediacy is precisely what I want to avoid.

Yeah… if I was a tweeter, you’d probably know that we’ve got a few inches of snow, and the temperature is above normal – around freezing – which is warm for Halloween.

]]> By: Brian Crosby http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/comment-page-1/#comment-55389 Brian Crosby Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:06:58 +0000 http://borderland.northernattitude.org/2007/10/26/iterations-toward-irrelevance/#comment-55389 Hi Doug - I "Twitter" and I would agree that 1) You don't need feel bad about missing out on anything. 2) However, I also agree it gives you the chance to have conversations about things (in this case edtech and teaching and nonsense) that I miss because there just aren't many that know much about those topics around me (and maybe that should tell me something?) and it gives me a chance to shoot the breeze on those topics. I also agree with the pub analogy ... it's kind of like that. There are many social networks out there, and absolutely there isn't time for a fraction of them. i.e. those I've talked to that do Second Life tell me that they often don't have a life (no kids, no husband...). Not true in every case but many say that. What is sometimes just too cool about Twitter is its immediacy - like last night when an earthquake occurred in California and the Twitterverse had info about it right away - someone that was in the quake Twitted and in 2 minutes others had found the epicenter and magnitude and it didn't show up on the news for an hour. I know not necessarily a must ... but kinda cool. Also at times you have a tech question or wonder if there's an application that does whatever and you often get great feedback right away. Has the snow started to pile up there yet? ... we already had snow here in Reno, but its been pretty moderate since. Brian Hi Doug – I “Twitter” and I would agree that 1) You don’t need feel bad about missing out on anything. 2) However, I also agree it gives you the chance to have conversations about things (in this case edtech and teaching and nonsense) that I miss because there just aren’t many that know much about those topics around me (and maybe that should tell me something?) and it gives me a chance to shoot the breeze on those topics.
I also agree with the pub analogy … it’s kind of like that.
There are many social networks out there, and absolutely there isn’t time for a fraction of them. i.e. those I’ve talked to that do Second Life tell me that they often don’t have a life (no kids, no husband…). Not true in every case but many say that.
What is sometimes just too cool about Twitter is its immediacy – like last night when an earthquake occurred in California and the Twitterverse had info about it right away – someone that was in the quake Twitted and in 2 minutes others had found the epicenter and magnitude and it didn’t show up on the news for an hour. I know not necessarily a must … but kinda cool. Also at times you have a tech question or wonder if there’s an application that does whatever and you often get great feedback right away.
Has the snow started to pile up there yet? … we already had snow here in Reno, but its been pretty moderate since.
Brian

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