\u201cAs a teaching tool, [Google+] intrigues me. I\u2019m already planning on holding Hangout office hours this fall for students, where they can get on and ask questions about class material. And because it\u2019s multi-user, others can hang out in the lounge and listen. Sometimes I go over the same stuff with multiple students in multiple meetings; this could streamline that process,\u201d said Littau\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
How exactly all of this works, and whether it will take off (it seems to be), is a mystery to me. But it is exciting to see new forays in Social Media that might help us zero in our focus. Achintya suggested it\u2019s a bit like looking deeply into one jewel on Indra\u2019s net \u2013 soon enough all other jewels are revealed. But he also found it a bit troubling, the idea that someone from who-knows-when might \u2018tag\u2019 a photo or add him to a group without his giving any permission. I suggested it\u2019s a bit like being at a dinner party, you can always opt out of a conversation, but you can\u2019t really control who will say what near you or what clique or group you\u2019ll unknowingly find yourself in.\n
\u201cYea,\u201d he said, \u201cBut it\u2019s like a dinner party you can never leave<\/i>.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\nOf course we
can<\/i>\u00a0opt out of all of it, exile ourselves to some distant corner of the social media net \u2013 perhaps perfectly content with our flesh-and-blood social network. This day and age that seems ever more difficult though, with so many of us traveling far and wide and the ease of electronic communication. So opting out completely seems to be a bit extreme.\nOn the other hand we can \u2018get lost\u2019 in the sheer mass of online communication. Trying to keep up with a thousand twitter-streams and hundreds of facebook updates is exhausting. Heck, just staying on top of my email is a chore sometimes! So finding limits is also important. Learning how to manipulate your social media to your needs is well worth the time invested. This online network can<\/i>\u00a0be extremely informative and helpful, even if it takes us a while to figure it out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nGive me the wisdom, spare me the Bieber.\n
Or, what\u2019s that old saying, \u201cSpare the Bieber, spoil the Buddha?\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n
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