Reflections on Week 6

Well that was not what I expected. It was so much better! Not being a fan of statistics I was not to bothered that the lecturer had let us down at the last minute. I did feel for Adam though as it is awful when something like that happens and you are the organiser. Still, I know how useful the presentation would have been so hope it can be rearranged for a later date.

In the end the evening proved to be most useful on several fronts. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been missing the opportunity to talk face to face and get to know my fellow colleagues. By encouraging us to break into small groups and just talk, the evening was a winner! Not only was I learning about social media in my discussions but also getting to know people I had hardly spoken to before.

Building relationships is always easier face to face - well it is for me. Social media is really great but it is very different. Engaging people through asking questions on line means you miss out a vital part of the structure of how we normally communicate. This is the part called pastiming - social chit chat about ourselves, the things that we enjoy, are interested in and that 'feed our souls'. Whilst this can be done to a certain extent through social media, by asking questions and creating competitions to engage others, it is much harder work. Well I find it is! I suppose the difference is that face to face communications are instantaneous. It takes much longer to develop relationships with strangers on line. Note to self - this is obviously a lesson in patience that I need to learn!

So to conclude. My thanks to Adam for allowing us to chat. For me the evening proved most useful in developing my relationships with colleagues, gaining lots of useful social media info, and thanks especially to Emma I came away full of fantastic ideas for my blog and web site. There was a great deal of sharing and I hope my input with colleagues I spoke to was as helpful as Emma's was for me.

Finally, Steve and Emma suggested that we have a social get together over the summer, for some more social nattering. Great idea guys! Count me in.