*Whew!*
Can you tell I am not an avid blogger? Well, it's about time I get with the program, and here's why:
I have spent the better part of my day exploring Twitter, roaming from follow-ee to follow-ee and seeing lots of buzz around this whole concept of online social networking beyond the blog... I especially like Twitter CEO Evan Williams's entry: http://evhead.com/ .
But here's where it gets creepy. Since January, I've narrowed down my research interests and am reading a lot of stuff on social networks and social capital (i.e. ressources embedded in those social networks, which we invest in expecting returns in the marketplace). This concept is particularly interesting in today's economy, where so many of us know so much, that it is no longer so much about what you know, but rather, it's about who you know. (Although, to be fair... hasn't it always been like that?)
That said, how could a social networking site like Twitter possibly be helpful to me, an aspiring researcher and professor? Remember what I was saying about social capital being a ressource? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, when we interract with people, it isn't always to gain ressources. It can also be about maintaining status or having some sort of "social support." The first type of action is called instrumental action, and the second, expressive action. So although I don't expect to get any job opportunities through these activities, I do get to express myself to a generalized, imagined other. It's rather that, or annoy my friends to death with my anxious rants. This way at least you can skip the paragraph when you have had enough :P
As a sidenote, I'm watching CNN in the background and I'm not sure whether I am more disturbed or amused... All I know for sure is that I am really, really happy not to have the likes Romney and Limbaugh hanging out in the sidelines spreading lies... Oh, and did you know Lost in Translation is one of Stephen Harper's favourite movies? ( http://www.conservative.ca/?section_id=1002§ion_copy_id=102936&language_id=0 ) ...I guess he likes all the pretty lights ;)
Can you tell I am not an avid blogger? Well, it's about time I get with the program, and here's why:
I have spent the better part of my day exploring Twitter, roaming from follow-ee to follow-ee and seeing lots of buzz around this whole concept of online social networking beyond the blog... I especially like Twitter CEO Evan Williams's entry: http://evhead.com/ .
But here's where it gets creepy. Since January, I've narrowed down my research interests and am reading a lot of stuff on social networks and social capital (i.e. ressources embedded in those social networks, which we invest in expecting returns in the marketplace). This concept is particularly interesting in today's economy, where so many of us know so much, that it is no longer so much about what you know, but rather, it's about who you know. (Although, to be fair... hasn't it always been like that?)
That said, how could a social networking site like Twitter possibly be helpful to me, an aspiring researcher and professor? Remember what I was saying about social capital being a ressource? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, when we interract with people, it isn't always to gain ressources. It can also be about maintaining status or having some sort of "social support." The first type of action is called instrumental action, and the second, expressive action. So although I don't expect to get any job opportunities through these activities, I do get to express myself to a generalized, imagined other. It's rather that, or annoy my friends to death with my anxious rants. This way at least you can skip the paragraph when you have had enough :P
As a sidenote, I'm watching CNN in the background and I'm not sure whether I am more disturbed or amused... All I know for sure is that I am really, really happy not to have the likes Romney and Limbaugh hanging out in the sidelines spreading lies... Oh, and did you know Lost in Translation is one of Stephen Harper's favourite movies? ( http://www.conservative.ca/?section_id=1002§ion_copy_id=102936&language_id=0 ) ...I guess he likes all the pretty lights ;)
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