Facebook: “It’s not just for socializing anymore!”

Are you a Facebooker? Do you have acres of friends/acquaintances who can’t wait to share their latest purchase at the mall, a new cute photo, or the best quote of the day. Facebook can be used for socializing – on a grand scale -- or to privately check in with a favorite relative. 

I am a late bloomer as far as Facebook is concerned. Rarely checking my page has resulted in being the last aunt to know which niece is pregnant, the grandmother who has to be told when new grandchildren pics are posted (embarrassing, but not the end of the world), and the least-likely candidate to know the latest town news. I am not losing sleep over the “town news” portion.) At most, I am an infrequent voyeur concerning Facebook. I rarely post and almost always regret if I “like” someone’s entry. So Facebook has not been a big facet in my life, until now.

Despite being in the educational realm, I haven’t ever thought about using Facebook in a different way — as a thoroughfare for sharing knowledge or to broaden my learning network. Admittedly, not a lot of people are aware that Facebook can be, and is being, used by organizations for disseminating information.

The Center has recently started a Facebook Page. Have you looked at the information found there? “Liked” the Center Facebook page? Added any information or commented on a post?  Now that you know about the Center’s Facebook presence and the AIW possibilities ask yourself,  “Am I a surveyor of information or am I an originator of information?”

The challenge for me and for you is to put those AIW successes out there to learn from and to be brave enough to ask for help concerning those sticky situations. So today, I challenged myself to delve into Disciplined Inquiry, working through the social media to post information that someone might be able to use. I had to really talk myself into this endeavor. First, find the Center Facebook page. Second, respond to someone or something. Third, post something — even if no one responds to it or uses it. (That’s the scary part of social media. It is so out of my realm to stick my head out and presume that someone might want to read something I wrote or created.) So I am putting myself out there. Check out my post; I have shared a strategy for easing AIW folks into instruction.

And maybe, just maybe, I can check in more often to learn from my AIW peers and regularly touch base with those lovely Facebook-using relatives of mine.

Your Facebook-challenged friend,         
Susie Peterson, AIW Coach