Power of Social Media

Being a devoted follower of Mashable, I read their articles religiously every day.  I subscribe to their feeds and read virtually every article published...and they publish a LOT.

Mashable is an excellent site, first and foremost, for tech and gadget news and trends.  They give honest and frank opinions on all manner of gadgets, market trends, etc...Something a little different than the standard review.  Combined with CNET, you can get a detailed view of virtually every new gadget (TVs, phones, tablets...) out there.  

More importantly, however, is Mashable's ability to go beyond "this is cool!" and search for meaning in the transitions our society is going through...the meaning and importance of social media, important news and trends that affect everyone not just us tech-geeks, and tools that we can use in relevant and meaningful ways in our lives.

Today, I read an interview with Shaq's social media advisor, Amy Jo Martin.  She has some important things to say about social media and how to use it to create a personal brand as well as how to reach out to followers in highly personal ways.  My favorite quote from the interview:

The ability to be able to communicate with people one-on-one and still be able to do so in a scalable way is extremely powerful. Brands being able to really unwrap the layers and interact with people triggers more loyalty and response and becomes a whole new layer of how we communicate. When you remove the traditional gatekeepers of communication, the potential is just infinite. It’s really only limited by the spread of technology worldwide and how long that takes. (AJM)

I am finding that as I begin to let go of my "gatekeepers", I am beginning to see more and more of the value (and opportunities) that social media can play in education.

• Creating a SCHOOL brand using Twitter and Facebook
• Using social media to connect in meaningful ways with the community and parents
• Teaching students how to create their own identity with social media tools in responsible ways--the importance is that colleges and employers are now beginning to look at FB and Twitter as part of the interview process.
• Using our students' prior knowledge (i.e. technology) to enhance their own ability to create, share, publish, explore

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the possibilities.