Sunday, May 23, 2010

My Struggle

First of all, thanks to everyone who made comments on my last post. I really appreciate that. Second of all, I want to be up front with anyone who may be reading this. I am struggling with this blog. I am busy, sure, but that has never stopped me before from following through on something I committed to. However, if there is something that I cannot rectify in my own mind and heart, then I tend to wait, and think and contemplate the dilemma until I can find a solution. If there is no solution that I can find, sometimes I just stand still. To me, integrity is very important. I need to believe in something in order to stand behind it. I am struggling with what I believe in, regarding this challenge to the collective, this project, and my blog.

As stated at the beginning, I am NOT a social media advocate. I do not have (nor like the idea of) a Facebook account. I don't really "get" Twitter, and to be 100% honest, would prefer to disconnect from my computer, not be tied more closely to it. What inspired me to start this up was that talk I wrote about weeks ago and the speaker's talking about the concept of the collective working together toward a common purpose.

I do work in eLearning, so thought that finding a way to tap the collective knowledge and find new and innovative ways create learning opportunities for clients would be a worthwhile pursuit. Howevever, I learned very quickly that this is not how "the challenge" is going to work. What is actually going to happen is I will need to have a project, through networking find people with expertise who can give me advice, and then I can go and create some form of solution. I already do that in my work - network, get ideas, find solutions. What I was wanting was something greater.

Bradly (the one who started this all for me in the first place), just wrote in a comment attached to my last post that, "It's a big world and you are just getting started. Lot's of conversations to be had." I believe that. I believe there IS a way to tap the collective (and maybe report back what I found in a blog). However, if it is going to need to be driven by me, then I need a more inspiring question. My passion is NOT technology. I see it as a tool that can help people in many ways. I also see it as a barrier. As we add more and more forms of technology into our lives we become burdened by needing to ensure we remain connected to it all. Sure, updates from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, website RSS feeds, email, etc. etc. can all come
to my Blackberry, but I still need to log in to my various accounts, to access the information. It feels like a waste of my time, and only adds stress as the hours connected to the "real world" through my computer screen overshadow time I spend actually IN the real world.

I see value in some ways, but have not bought in. I am not even sure that I ever would want to. You see, this is my struggle. It is exciting and immensely valuable to be able to access instant connection with people around the globe. I see the power the internet and other mobile communication devices provide. I see that we CAN connect, share stories and information and ideas. However, if I need to drive it, monitor multiple accounts and spend extra hours I would rather spend in nature or spending time with family and friends, then I need to think long and hard about if the benefits outweigh the costs.

I am still inspired by the concepts I mentioned in my first post. I know the collective is out there-a powerful, wise, creative force! However, if I need to be the driver of the discussion in the mini-world of my own blog, then I need to have a question I more strongly believe in. I just don't intent to become a researcher of and expert in social media and report back to my blog about what I find. That, just does not inpire...

So, I may be quiet over here, but I am musing. Musing about what is truly worth connecting over. I also need to find out how TO connect, rather than just post reports on online. Collective - many of us together, working together, musing together, learning together. I will figure it out and when I do, I will let you know. I will keep you posted! ;)

1 comment:

  1. You said it. Take it from me, technology IS my passion, or at least...it is a common aspect of my various interests that contributes greatly to my enjoyment of work, hobbies, and many other things in my everyday life.

    But even I find that the list of social networking tools you listed up there made me feel mildly stressed just reading it, and I don't even use most of them.

    I catch up with a couple "global" peer groups via IRC a few times a week to share our current top interests in entertainment, tech, and economics, as a quick, frenzied "link-fest". That's about as old-school as you can get, and I find it very rewarding.

    Otherwise, I stay away from almost everything else. There just aren't enough hours in the day for all the noise out there. It's enough to give you ADD.

    Just my $0.02. ;)

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