Working with Facebook Amish

EVEN THOUGH I WORK in a creative multimedia programme where we teach people how to promote their online profiles, I encounter a half dozen students every academic term who do not want to create a public persona online. I respect those opinions because I grew up among the Amish and I know people who enjoy productive lives while living off the grid. The hesitant students are like Facebook Amish and they don't want to be prodded by invitations, poked by friends, or tagged in someone's collection. All the social networks are making it easy to tag people (see how Flickr is doing it above). Sometimes there are skeletons in closets that people want to keep away from the light of the web, so getting tagged isn't nice. Other times there are issues about getting onto the radar of former colleagues, ex-spouses or bill collectors. I can respect all those concerns. But as a Media Writing lecturer, it means I want an essay written that explains the concerns my hesitant students express about wanting to remain cloaked or invisible online.

---

See my first Flickr photo with tagged people.

x_ref125sm