Response to Cohen and Hodgkinson articles

Wow. Tom Hodgkinson's article was quite enlightening and sobering. Part of me knows that data is being collected on me with everything that I do, pretty much in life, but learning about the different relationships of the players behind Facebook puts it into a new light. Two quotes in particular really stood out for me in the article. The first was "Far from connecting us, Facebook actually isolates us at our workstations." I think there is some definite truth to this. It's funny - I have a Facebook account and I've friended people that I always thought about keeping in touch with, but never had the means to: friends in Austria and China, and old high school friends. Funny thing is that since we initially reconnected on Facebook, we have posted next to nothing to each other. I guess I find it pretty impersonal to just post messages like that. Plus I have a lot more important things to do like being a teacher and parent.

The second quote that struck me was, "Facebook appeals to a kind of vanity and self-importance in us, too." This is certainly true and as was mentioned in the Twitter articles, the narcissism is very prevalent in these online "tools." It is noteworthy that so many people (myself included - although I really try to limit the information that I put on the Web) have been willing to give up so much of their privacy, really in the name of being entertained. It's a little scary the amount of data about us that is accessible to the government and big corporations.

Students love Facebook. Regarding educational use, I think we must talk with them about the implications of putting themselves out there on the web, and the possible consequences of what they post and the data about themselves when they give their information away for free.

Cohen's article made me feel a little more friendly toward Twitter - it was nice to hear the positive things that she had to say. I might give Twitter a little more of a chance, but I think I'm going to be cautious with Facebook.