I SPEND TIME in both Twitter and Facebook but have discovered the real world constrains deep engagement in both.
Every year that I teach creative multimedia to college students, I test awareness of several different social networks. Most students dive in for a semester but two years later, I see different patterns of engagement. The pressures of academic work constrains how far students can spread themselves. They cut back on public posts and leverage direct channels effectively.
In practical terms, this often means I will see people sharing tips late at night in Facebook groups. Twitter's direct messaging also proves handy when trying to get things done.
During academic lectures, I point out how some companies and government agencies block access to social media, so it is important to have more than one lazy web channel if you depend upon collaboration. I also explain that when people chatter away in the open, some supervisors think it is unproductive.
Since showing my first students how to discover free online tutorials in 1995, much has changed. Twenty years from now, when I'm retired, I'll be interested in seeing what my son and daughter use for online collaboration.
