For Professors, 'Friending' Can Be Fraught - Chronicle.com
Use Facebook/MySpace. Don't use Facebook/MySpace. Connect with students any way you can. Don't invade their space. Watch out for power inequalities. Make them feel comfortable and at ease. Which is it? Can one do all of the above at the same time?
For faculty (and once as adjunct-faculty), Facebook and MySpace can be tricky. This article isn't ground-breaking, but points out that balance is best. The question is, "How does one balance these things?"
I'm at the point where I'd suggest that faculty who want to use social networking as part of school or for their courses should consider Ning. In a specific, for-class social network, everyone knows what can go into that space, and doesn't have to worry about embarrassing or awkward crossovers between their "professional" and "personal" lives.
Okay. Today I was innocently googling for a lost blog that I used to share with some female cyclist friends. When I googled the terms I was looking for, I got two top hits that linked to her blogs and a truckload of my own Twitterings right beneath. I scanned the page and was thinking, Huh! I'm surprised but it's fine and dandy--WAIT A MINUTE! I came across one of dubious nature at the w3top.org site. Using MY Twitter information, they have created a FAKE Twitter-Date hook-up site for ... me? ... based out of the Netherlands? Say WHAT?!?
According to them, I'm also seeking a: woman. Uh-uh ... No, I don't think so!
Like I said, Twittering just got a little creepy, if only because other people use my public information for things of dubious and unauthorized use. My next question is, "How do I make them stop?"
