How will you keep up with overwhelming sources of information and social media? Howard Rheingold of Stanford University in California reminds us that we need only sample the flow. Fundamental to social media is the fact that information flows openly. Rheingold identifies five new kinds of literacy needed to take advantage of open collaboration using social media:
- Attention
- Participation
- Cooperation
- Critical Consumption
- Network Awareness
The skill of selection tools for virtual collaboration and filtering the information that matters specifically to you, is part of 21st Century Literacy. To begin be sure you understand what you hope to achieve or create from your social media experience. Most people completely miss this step. And social media tools are dynamic environments in which, to some extent, users determine what can be achieved. Even when using the same tool, different users may have different aims. For example: you can use Face Book for personal socializing, or to send a public message about your company or cause.
To begin to develop social media literacy focus on a just one or tools, then become an observer , listen and learn what the platform is capable and what the social media culture using that tool has to offer. Experiment. Have Fun. The saying, “the map is not the territory” really applies here. You have to experience this territory to learn it, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes or ask for help. Social media sites as well as web search engines contain mryiad of information on how to find new tools, use them and filter information. Here, Matt Singley offers some advice on how to filter the noise on Twitter.
Map provided with permission by xkcdA webcomic of romance,sarcasm, math, and language.
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