The
sure signs of summertime: long weekends, cool
drinks, road closures, power shortages, mosquitoes
(or was that just a vuvuzela buzzing?) and in late
July, or early August, Costco should have their
Christmas decorations on the shelf. These are
just a few of the signs that summer has arrived in
Ontario... And if you're fortunate enough you might
have a little time to enjoy some these, and many
other activities.
It is a time when, for the most part, school is
out: although we do know there is summer school,
summer courses and a variety of other educational
activities that take place. It's a good time
to relax and reconnect (in person or otherwise...
read on...).
A For some of us, time off allows a bit of travel,
and this got me thinking about our travel photo
contest with Snappy the Turtle (yes, out turtle has
a name... and a website -
www.facebook.com/teacherslife and Teacher's
Life's first venture into Facebook. Take some
time to have a look, get your very own turtle and
share your photos.
Obviously people are taking time to connect in a
different way. I must admit I did not have a
Facebook page until a month or so ago, and I've only
'tweeted' a few times (obviously no threat to Chris
Bosh or Lindsay Lohan). I must also admit I'm
still not yet comfortable spending time in this
realm, but evidently many of you are.
In this new world of social media the element of
time has changed communication in both our personal
and work lives. Included in the definition of
social media (I looked it up on Wikipedia so it must
be true) is the term 'recency' (I'm not making this
up... although someone clearly did!):
"Recency - the time lag between communications
produced by industrial media can be long (days,
weeks, or even months) compared to social media
(which can be capable of virtually instantaneous
responses; only the participants determine any delay
in response). As industrial media are
currently adopting social media tools, this feature
may well not be distinctive anymore in some time."
I'm not sure what to make of all this yet, but
perhaps this summer I'll have the time. But
first, off to Costco to beat the December rush (this
is all starting to sounds like a blog!). Enjoy
the summer... and take some time.
-Doug Baker
President & CEO, Teachers Life
