The meteoric rise of social media

Social media: terrible name for “let’s get together.”

Yes, folks, this is important. Social media — Facebook, Twitter, and other things you thought were for kids — are the way to stay connected and keep up with the world. They create “ambient awareness,” the feeling that you’re close to someone even when you are not.

Required reading for those who don’t yet get social media: Brave New World of Digital Literacy. Just read it. This article from the New York Times last Sunday is the best description I’ve read, and when it comes to social media, I’ve read lots.

For an account of this working in a sober environment, see IBM Embraces Social Media in Business Week.

I was a reluctant and late convert to the religion of social media and microblogging. I’m starting to get it now. It is about staying plugged in to other people facing a world of tumultuous change.

If your enterprise learnscape doesn’t include Facebook and Twitter or one of their numerous clones, you’re not moving along as quickly as you could.

Stephen Downes’ and George Siemens’ on-going course on Connectivism has a following on Facebook and Twitter. Come visit to see first hand what the fuss is about. That’s where I’m headed now.