I have been an avid email user since 1996. Back in "those days" you had to pay $3.00 per month to have a BYU email account and the online place I knew how to access the Internet was in the labs at the Talmadge building. Then I went on a mission, and when I came back it was a whole new world.
Email has been my primary communication since then, and I have frankly been annoyed when some people don't promptly return my emails. I noticed this particularly among my institute students in Miami, many of whom always talked about "facebook."
Alas, my computer (owned by the Church Educational System) blocked facebook so I never got to join in the fun.
Fastforward to September 2008. I want to keep in touch with all my loved ones in Miami, co-workers at Deseret Book are insisting I get facebook, and even my mom has an account. I waited until we were supposed to open an account for this class (the original date) and then began my facebook experience with gusto.
Now my life has changed.
Okay, that is a bit dramatic, but facebook has become a significant part of my communications life. I've reconnected with people from my mission (companions and converts), touched base with people I have met at different stages of life, and even become "friends" with some new people.
One of the reasons I was persuaded to try facebook is that I want to see how it can leveraged as a means to communicate uplifting messages. I'm not too interested in updates like, "I hate the testing center. lol." But I do think facebook can be leveraged for good. I have made two "status updates" both of which were along these lines.
First, I made my status a gospel question that I was asked in a religion class I am teaching. It was a question that I did not know the answer to! About seven people responded (either by commenting on my status or writing me a message) and the question was answered, so hopefully some knowledge was gained.
My second post included a link to an article I wrote for Deseret Book's Timeout for Women (
http://deseretbook.com/time-out/devotional?dev_id=1602) My hope was that my former institute students, and others, would read the message and benefit from it. About the same number of people (seven) wrote on my wall or sent messages indicating it was helpful to them. I wonder, does that mean that only seven people followed the link? Is there a generalizable rule...if 7 people commented, then 14, or 21, etc. actually read it? I do not know.
I still think it is somewhat inconvenient to check email and facebook (why can't people just send me an email instead of writing on my wall) and email is my preferred mode of communication. But I still check my facebook account from my phone while walking up the hill to campus. And sometimes even during class. (don't tell anyone).
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