Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I'm a Lurker
I know that sounds a little creepy. For years I have hidden in the shadows of the Internet peering into a variety of message boards, from travel to sports to politics. I NEVER post. I’m not exactly sure why. I enjoy reading the thoughts and opinions of other folks. I guess I never thought I had anything valuable to say or I was scared to say it. This week I have spent some time (actually a lot of time) looking at The Synapse, a PLN for biology teachers. I’m not sure if I have the time or energy to create a network on Twitter. This one is already built and is full of motivated, collaborative teachers. I really enjoyed the AP biology discussion group. In a few hours I got a dozen great lab/test-prep/and video ideas. If you are a biology teacher check it out! Thanks Eric for passing this along. It got me so motivated that maybe I’ll come out of the shadows.
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Great tip.....can't wait to check it out. I too am a little overwhelmed at the amount of info that needs to be sifted through on twitter. I find myself spending more time "surfing" than actually collecting and dissecting pertinent content. Sounds like Synapse may solve this problem......
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your idea of "lurking"... I do that too. I really don't have interest nor the time to spend a great deal of time trying to come up with something worth posting. But I do enjoy reading the science related or news article posts.
ReplyDeleteI can relate too - I have never thought of the word "lurking," but that is what I do! Thanks for the tip on the synapse. I checked it out briefly and it did have some good ideas.
ReplyDeleteNo problem with lurking! It is good to lurk a bit to get the "feel" of the culture of the community. But, as you saw, when you post you can actually become part of the community!
ReplyDeleteAs for Twitter, keep working with it this summer. If you don't like it at the end....drop it! I'll try to post more direction on how to use Twitter during #scichat -- I know it can get frustrating.
haha I have described myself as a lurker before as well. We have a great Earth science listserv through SUNY Oneonta and I always check the emails and read ones that look interesting, but I have never replied to anyone, or sent anything. Blogging for this class is good for me, forces me to come out of my shell. I never blogged before because I was so over cautious of what I wrote, always worried about how people would react or receive it. Now that I have posted and commented a few times it is much easier... Ive realized that it is not a big deal! haha
ReplyDeleteksharm
ReplyDeleteYour right it has been easier. I always worried what I wrote might "come off" wrong. I have to limit the sarcasm. That doesn't translate very well.