I wrote a post in defence of Twitter some time ago, and the world has moved on considerably since then. Twitter is now X (though I find it hard to call it anything but ‘Twitter’, and still refer to posts as ‘tweets’. I love how the wonderful Mary Myatt always says ‘on the Twitters…’) Elon Musk looms large, Twitter has changed, and significant numbers of educators have left the platform. I felt some pressure to sign up for Bluesky, and eventually did so (@jillberry102.bluesky.social) and I now use both, in addition to using LinkedIn more frequently these days (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jill-berry-a5a55a21/) But I don’t feel I can easily turn my back on my Twitter network, which still contains a huge number of brilliant people and organisations (and new followers – ordinary teachers and leaders in schools – arrive all the time). When I tweet (sic), for example when I want to share a link to an article, a blog or a book, I often find the individuals and organisations I want to tag in are still on Twitter and not yet on Bluesky. I see that may change over time but, for now, I feel the need to use both. I was struck by this image posted by Aaron Hogan:
I’m currently reading the third #WomenEd book, ‘Disruptive Women: A WomenEd guide to equitable action in education’, and a number of comments in the book about the transformative power of personal and professional networks have really struck me, for example this, by Azuraye Williams:
“I asked the Twitter community if there was anyone who would be willing to coach or mentor me through my own leadership journey and development. This tweet opened a new world to me. A few fellow Black women who were senior leaders reached out to me and I was able to connect with them. From this, my own network and social circle of fellow Black women educators grew in a safe space where we met, had discussions and uplifted one another when we were celebrating our success, but also when we had workplace difficulties.”
#WomenEd, of course, wouldn’t have existed without Twitter in the early days (and presumably neither would #BAMEed, #disabilityEd or #LGBTed). Twitter has certainly transformed my personal and professional lives, given me so many opportunities and experiences, and enabled me to build a network that is far more diverse, inclusive, fascinating and educative than it would ever have been had I not established those connections, and those friendships, online.
Bianca Greenhalgh and Jess Mahdavi-Gladwell’s comments in ‘Disruptive Women’ also struck a chord. From Bianca: “Networking creates an energy of its own. ‘Networking that’s all about caring human relationships, rather than transactional assessments’ (citing Eylan Ezekiel) is what will aid personal growth.” And from Jess: “Those seeking progression and development benefit from the knowledge, experience and connections within their networks to help, to support and to guide, and this is especially so for under-represented groups in leadership.”
Nuzhat Uthmani’s recent piece in TES magazine about schools using social media (exploring both the challenges and the opportunities) was excellent, I thought – balanced and sensible, leading to her conclusion “By fostering responsible use and staying abreast of technological developments…, schools can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape – and enrich the educational experience”.
And I also loved Sally Apps’ recent blog about the power of the ‘Middle Ground’, which made me think of Nancy Kline’s comment that we need to ‘seek to understand’, rather than ‘seek to convince’, and how the world of social media could be so much better if more of us committed to doing so. My final observation is that, ideally, social media SHOULD be ‘social’ – we ought to use it to connect, collaborate, and build relationships rather than simply to ‘broadcast’ what we want to say.
Those are my thoughts about social media and the current state of play.
What do you think?
jillberry102 