Finding Voice in the Overwhelmed

I've been lurking, it sounds kind of creepy to say, but I have been. I have been reading blogs, have my two online communities for our class paper up on my screen as much of the day I can stand, checking out our class backchannel, thinking about the virtual communities that we populate every day, some without really knowing.  And, there is a lot of stuff!

But I'm also an introvert, who spent the weekend entertaining, and reading all this knowledge sharing has been putting my brain into overload!  The things to say, the things to not say, how to contribute knowledge to the virtual communities!

Perhaps that is why professional conference hashtags get so much use - while Dennen (2011) suggests that most interactions don't seem to be closely connected and tied, and can be shallow, they exist none the less.  People, sitting in meetings, sharing information, tweeting about upcoming events or quotes they find impactful, feel as if the conversation components are worthwhile to share.  I know professional conferences I attend put # use, looking for the number of tweets and users and connections; have teams designated to streamlining and energizing people; and folks following looking for concerns and issues.  (And then charging stations, because of all of those devices fighting for the same network space to tweet drains those batteries).  I've always found, however, that a lot of that information, as Dennen (2011) points out, helps those not at the conference connect to the learning and feel included (which opens up a string of other things to discuss for big organizations that rely on that funding).

What I like about thinking about conference conversations on Twitter is the focus of it on a tool.  If it is communication, or broadcast, of conference experiences, how else can we use it to facilitate, endorse, or showcase learning?

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Dennen, V. P. (2011). Conversations on the hashtag: Does conference Twitter use promote professional discourse? Paper presented at International Conference on the e-Society. Berlin: Germany. [PDF]