My friend and former fellow PRSA board member Chris Veronda of Kodak will be joining my class tonight as a virtual guest speaker via Skype. We’re both excited about what the technology represents – a chance to bring a case study about Kodak from the text book much more alive and interesting.
And that gets me to thinking about social media and relationships. Although I don’t have the years of social media experience in back of me that some people have, I can’t help but think that anything which enables us to see and hear each other in a real-time conversation, even if we can’t be in the same room, can only strengthen relationships.
My problem with social media has always been one of time. Keeping up with friends and colleagues on Facebook is pretty simple and fun, there’s no question about that. But initial forays into chat groups years ago presented the same problems I now face – too much time needed to be dedicated to talking about a particular topic. My personality seems geared toward exploring a lot of areas, both personal and professional, but not necessarily toward spending hours each week talking about them. Learning is something else altogether; I’ll spend hours each week learning something I need to learn for my own advancement, or to be a more effective teacher. But Kahlil Gibran, in his long-ago mini book “The Prophet,” nailed it when he wrote that when you talk, you are not at peace with yourself. I’m sure there are multiple ramifications to that statement in today’s society. But rather than talk about myself and what is going on with me all the time, I’d prefer strengthening learning and strengthening relationships. So I’m grateful to the folks at Skype and other programs who make that possible long-distance. And I still wonder if our speaking into cyberspace forms strong relationships (unless it’s with people we’ve already met), or gives us our 15 minutes of fame that we should know better than to pursue.
Simple Conversations 