Academix 2009

I have been attending the Apple Academix 2009 conference. This conference is aimed at Higher Ed folks, but has been really great for me.

One of the things that has struck me is the overall dismissal of Twitter. It reminds me of the dismissal of Rock and Roll, or more recently the dismissal of the Internet, Cell phones, wikipedia. People dismissed each of these in term as really not very valid.

Is twitter any different? I know it isn't a perfect tool, it is full of inane daily drivel, but does that mean it isn't valid or isn't going to stay around? I doubt that Twitter is going to go away.

Two examples:

I have never met @shareski but I have a friendship with him. He has commented on my tweets and I have commented on his tweets. It isn't a close relationship, but if I were to meet him, I could introduce myself and we know each other. No, this isn't the kind of close friendship I have with people I see f2f everyday, but it is a relationship that I value and when my phone wasn't working right for a few weeks I lost that valuable interaction from twitter.

Another similar although different experience is a friend on Facebook. He was my student 6 years ago. When I joined Facebook he found me and added me as a friend. Well, even thought I have not really seen him, we have resumed a friendly and good relationship. I comment on his status updates he has asked me a few questions. Today, I saw him at the conference because he is attending school here. I was able to walk right up to him and say hello and ask how the election went for him (He ran for student body president) No, we aren't exactly close friends, but it is definitely a relationship that I value. I found out too, that a book that I read out loud to class, when I was his teacher prompted him to go out and read the rest of the series. The important part of all this is that these technologies are about the relationships.