CONNECT! (in some fashion)
I am starting my second (and final) year at SI this week and I am trying to prepare for the incoming deluge of information and communications by updating my various connecting portals to my classmates, my employers, and the world in general. Obviously connectivity depends on personal preferences but I find it amazing that we all have so many identities online these days, more and more reflecting portals for our “real” personalit(ies) (Skype, LinkedIn, Facebook) but just as many for the other identities we would like to hold true as parts of ourselves. I am now connected on Skype (I just got my first camera for my computer. It is an old skool eyeball and I am thinking of adding antennae or something to give it a personality.) so I can talk to my niece in Colorado. I am now connected on LinkedIn so I can attract potential employers with my stunning resume and associated activities. I am about to buy a new cell phone and just upgraded my text plan so I can be accessible anywhere (pretty much. I still won’t do the iphone or blackberry thing) to my employers and classmates. I am entrenched in Facebook. I forget about my MySpace profile but that’s still out there too… wasting away with past updates and song preferences.
And today I tried to become a member of ALA and PLA. I got about halfway through the form and their website went down. Again and again. Why is it that the national organization for those who network and connect people to information and people to people keeps repeatedly discouraging me from joining their throngs of committees, round tables, organizations, and initiatives through poorly managed web content? If I continue to have trouble with this my ADD-attuned fingers may just forget about one of the potentially most important connecting opportunities I need to take advantage of me. It’s what happened last year at this time. I need to make amends but I may end up hanging out on Skype instead. Or start making YouTube videos for my own amusement. Really, I think I just need a beer with friends.
So: ALA and PLA members–was it hard for you to sign up? Has it been worth it to be part of the organization? Do you use Skype? What’s it like?
I like what you have to say about connection, especially with professional organizations — I would ask the opinions of your fellow SIers who are heavily involved in the student chapters of ALA/PLA this year, and try to get to any conferences that interest you if you can afford it. For me, the connections that have been the most valuable have been made in first life, not over ALA Connect.
I think finding ways to disconnect is also important. Go for a walk in the Arb (or canoe the Huron!), relax with your boy, and always grab a beer with friends when you can. :)