When I started to blog and tweet professionally about 4 years ago, I didn’t realize how creating a persona (read: branding) would blow up all over the place. What started as a public reflection space for me has turned into friends with domains, colleagues blogging and tweeting, new connections from around the globe, etc. It has made me really think about the separation of personal and professional. My tweets are generally professional with a smattering of food and sports thrown in but my facebook page has always been a strong mixture of both. My blogs are separate. My personal blog is about running, food, God, and personal growth. This blog is about teaching, philosophy, change, and leadership. I want to write for two separate audiences.
This week I had a great conversation with colleagues at the AIMS Technology Retreat. We discussed the way we separate personal and professional within our social media platforms. It really got me thinking about each of my portals and how I have set boundaries of professional and personal. I decided it was time to add another layer of boundary in my social media persona. So I have created a Teach2Connect facebook page. This way I can share with my PLN while at the same time not boring my non-school family and friends with thoughts, articles, and tweets about school. (I can also spare my PLN from ramblings about food, my dog, running, and my excessive television habits.)
Our students don’t understand these boundaries yet and perhaps never will. I don’t suggest this kind of Berlin Wall for their own social media use as I think our trends are changing. Since my target audience for my blog, tweets, and now fb page is generally above the age of 28, I thought it would be appropriate to create the boundaries with which we are comfortable.
What does that mean? If you are in my PLN or I am in yours (hopefully both), pop on over to Teach2Connect’s facebook page. If we are friends on fb and you want to dump me on my personal page, no offense will be taken! Either way, I hope we remain vigilant in the conversation of re-thinking teaching and learning, reinventing school leadership, and revoking antiquated ways to learn.
Teach2Connect 