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Put Down Your F*^%$* Phone…. As Shared by Chuck Wendig
If you know Chuck Wendig, the novelist, you know his use of …… ummmmmm …..colorful language and straightforward talk.
If you don’t know Mr. Wendig, I highly recommend his Writing How-To books. Haven’t personally read his novels, but I am totally down with his How-To books… and find his style & language – in your face, colorful, call it what you will … real. I shared my thoughts about one of his books, 30 Days in the Word Mines [here], last fall.
His is the language I don’t use online, but admittedly, *may or may not* use in my offline world.
When his latest post landed in my e-mail inbox, I saw the title (in full glory, no symbols, all spelled out Thank.You.Very.Much) first-thing in the morning, and thought, what?!?! Then realized, Oh, it’s Chuck Wendig.
His post, peppered with his colorful language, resonated with me. People and their cell phones drive me absolutely c.r.a.z.y.!! Can we say appendage? I’m certain cell phones will eventually morph into being just that… an appendage permanently attached to our body. sigh….
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t think I could live without my cell phone. (Wow, that’s a sad statement.) Truth is, cell phones make so many things in life more accessible (good or bad) than ever before. For example, as I get RobinLK Studios off the ground (beyond my full-time career in Education), my cell phone becomes even more important, keeping me in touch with customers, suppliers, and new opportunities… often via social media… my two favorites, Instagram and Pinterest, though the studios are on Facebook, and Twitter, too. If anyone’s figured out the magic formula of managing multiple social media accounts, both personally and professionally, please clue me in! I can’t seem to find one app (yes, for The Phone) that helps me move seamlessly between accounts…
But when is too much too much?? Check out Chuck’s take on it. I couldn’t have said it any better (or colorfully).
Rated M for Mature Content and WC for Worth a Click. Here you go…. [here]
Do cell phones and their owners make you crazy? Are you addicted to yours? Know someone who needs an intervention? 😉
Have a great day!
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The Art of Saying Much…with Little {Great Reads}
Backstory: I first shared this post in April 2010, a fact reflected in certain (outdated) references – Borders and BlackBerry – and behaviors (tweeting, still new to me at the time). Times have changed and so has my writing. I’m pleased to share a much-abbreviated post, shortened by 200+ words, with the same goal: a Great Read recommendation!
Original Post, remixed:
Do you tweet? You know. That thing people do online and on their phones, sending frivolous messages to one another about ‘absolutely nothing’ in 140 or fewer characters. Only kids tweet, right? Not really. It’s a fad, right? I’m rethinking my viewpoint on that, too.
I began tweeting last summer, having little idea of what I was doing, but engaged in it nonetheless. Then, a new school year began and I got sidetracked. Not a chirp for months. Until recently. For no known reason, I began making noise again. And thinking about that noise. Who was hearing me? Who wasn’t hearing me? Who did I want to hear me? Why did I want them to hear me? And…. how could I make my messages more creative?
While thinking about all of this tweeting, a visit to the bookstore enlightened me further….
How to write short
I discovered 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla, one of the co-creators of Twitter. Topic? “How to write short and sweet for the Information Age”Verdict? Fascinating read! Thought-provoking. Historical. Practical.
Did you know the first short form message recorded in U.S. history was a telegraph message?
What hath God wrought? ~ Samuel Morse
21 characters. 1 powerful message.
Can you say a lot by saying very little ~ in writing? E-mail. Blog posts. Tweets. Status Updates. A note to a loved one. A note to a stranger. A note to one’s self.
Brevity. Practicing.
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Social Media: Are You Creating or Cringing?
Technology continues to advance.
Students’ learning continues to evolve with technology.
Source: http://www.edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/social-media-icons.png Is your instruction evolving, too?
What do you think when you read the phrase Social Media? Does it spark your creativity or serve up a hefty helping of uncertainty?
Social media wasn’t what it is today when I was still in the classroom full-time. We weren’t tweeting and updating our status by the millions…. yet. I often think about how much fun it would have been to have all the social media tools when I was still working with high school students in the classroom every day.
Now, I try to incorporate social media into training and coaching sessions, building communities of learners online and in person, but before I knew much about it, I was a bit nervous about using social media…..
- What about privacy?
- How do I learn the technical stuff?
- Who’s reading what I write?
- How do you communicate with students?
- How do you engage them?
- What are other highly effective educators doing?
- How do/could I use Social Media?
These are questions I often ask myself ~ to stay current and learn new things from like-minded colleagues.
I recently saw a tweet from @edudemic about social media, and of course, jumped over to read more. I found not only a post about a new social media resource for teachers but also a great site chock full of 411 for educators. Score!
Are you creating or cringing?
You decide. Then, check out this site [here] to add to your instructional toolbox.
