Bonnie,
You are right. I find our alumna are more quickly to share their Facebook or LinkedIn information than anything. They do expect to connect to colleagues. We actually work with all of our freshmen on cleaning social media.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Rosalind,
You are right. It is amazing how small the world is when you start connecting. I had a student that was asked for her facebook username and password as part of the interview process.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
These skills can transfer to the workplace. Students should practice using a professional tone; employers aren't inclined to hire individuals who can't communicate in a clear, concise, respectful manner.
Why is it important for students to develop good social networking habits?
It is important for students to develop good social networking habits for tools like blogs, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. to create knowledge, understanding and establish academic communication. Students actually build strong bonds with their classmates and friends on social networking. When students feel connected they have a good sense of belonging and being accepted. Overall, social networking has allowed students to participate and become involved, where as they normally would not participate. Of course, you will eventually see improvement in their daily school activities through participation. Through participation this makes it real, more relevant and meaningful for students.
Students need to develope better social networking habits because it will help them in the professional working world. I think that many students are accustomed to posting anything and everything, which is not appropriate for the professoinal environment. Learning what is appropriate and not appropriate will help them.
most students aren't unaware of the far-reaching implications of not using social media responsibly. Most students don't realize that copies of everything they posts are also stored in every router that connects them from their home computer to the hosting site, so they really have to make sure that a lot of thought is given to everything they post.
M. Crowley
It is important for students to develop good social networking habits because it allows students to use the platform to demonstrate what they have learned. It also teaches students the important of having good written skills. Many organizations are using social media as a recruitment method. Having good social networking habits can be beneficial in helping the student advance his or her career by allowing organizations to meet them without having a true face-to-face interaction. The one thing that is important is for students to think before they post because once the information is posted it becomes permanent content.
Christi Monk, MA
It is so interesting to think of the generational differences as far as attitudes to social media and putting info on the web in general. Some of this might not be **just** generational, but I do think that many of use who grew up without the internet perhaps think more about privacy issues. We didn't grow up with our lives being "public".
I have many students who seem to text and facebook post almost as a reflex, if that makes sense - like that's what their thumbs naturally "do". Though it seems easy to just "delete" something if you didn't want it up, this really isn't true. It is especially important to consider one's future, and make sure everything we post on the web is "professional" - would you want your future "boss" to see this? I think it can be difficult for college students - especially the youngest ones - to think in this manner. Developing good social networking habits is a skill that will truly last a lifetime!
Melinda ,
I agree with you. Employers are looking at social media to determine communication ability of students. Students need to know that people are watching them in this venue.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Revonna,
What a great post, you articulated the reasons well. I actually looked at a a couple of textbooks for business communication and they are adding all of those social networking tools as part of the content.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Julie,
I agree with you. It is amazing the emails I get from students to me with the language used. I don't that really helps their cause. I have heard over and over "I have the right to say what I want", and I say, " I have the right not to hire you".
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Michael,
You are right. There are companies now that specialize in the monitoring of social media. Business contract with these businesses to provide them with a report very similar to a credit report regarding their social media activities.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Christi,
I really hadn't thought about businesses meeting you before the f2f interaction. That is a great point. Students can't "unring a bill" when you post something on social meeting. That phone camera can be a students' worst enemy.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jennifer,
I agree with you. I am part of the "old guard" and it is hard to think this is just a passing fancy; but when I see the business environment using LinkedIn so much and I hear the comments of employers looking at potential employees' facebook pages. They are looking!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Wow -- I just copied this entire forum for reference and later review. I had been thinking only about making my class more tech-savvy and didn't really think about the other ramifications mentioned here. Companies use FB for credit checks? What next? Tweets with mind-reading capabilities?
Eileen,
The benefit of using the technology is teaching students about the risk and the liability of it. It really can be mind blowing.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi, Dr. Wilkinson.
It's important for students to develop good social networking habits because these are the times we now live in. From LinkedIn to FB, to Twitter and the like, students need to realize the connections they are able to make along with the responsibility they need to take on for posting appropriate messages. "Big Brother" is watching. Social networking can be wonderful for students, as long as they are aware of the successes and consequences that might come along with it.
It is important for students to develop good social networking habits because it is being used more and more in professional networking. It is important to know the skills that promote professionalism and proper communication. Many people use social networking in a more personal and relaxed way. It may take a shift for some to think of it in a professional manner.
I do have one concern, how does confidentiality or FERPA play a role in social networking?
Good social networking habits will better prepare them for the vast opportunities inherent with this teaching medium. It should reinforce proper etiquette and bolster their ability to use this resource properly.
Students should develop good social networking habits because this is an opportunity to engage with and learn from others on a global level. They can engage in discussions with experts and make connections with those who could be of great assistance to them.
