Many educators are living on a diet of abstracts, one-line wisdoms from Twitter, and drive-by professional development.
I wonder how such a statement relates to journalism?
I am a freelancer, and a media commentator. No employer can limit my account, although I suppose they could stop commissioning me if I was sufficiently offensive or unwise. Here are my rules, worked out for myself over the years:
- I regard my Twitter presence as a part of my journalistic practice and try to engage in conversation without abandoning the professional disciplines of objective practice. I would be very worried if anything I tweeted meant that a future interview subject would think I was unable to do journalism of integrity.
- I almost never share personal material on a public account. I made an exception a few months ago, because my father is in aged care and has not yet been vaccinated. But I offered that as an example of the national story. I did not share, explicitly, my worry or angst. Nor my opinion.
- As a media commentator, I try to offer analysis, rather than opinion. It’s a blurry line, I acknowledge.
- I retweet not necessarily to endorse, but because I think my followers will be interested in the content. I usually respond to criticism, as long as it is not abusive. I hardly ever block people.
These guidelines have served me well, and I regard my Twitter profile and followers as professional assets.
Margaret Simons makes the argument for the use of social media. This is discussed further on The Minefield podcast. This is an interesting discussion thinking about other areas, such as education. In a discussion of teachers and social media, Stewart Riddle suggests that platforms like Twitter can be two tiered. On the one hand there is eduTwitter focusing on sharing practice and resources. Then on the other hand there is the more critical conversations. In the end, I cannot help but think about something Peter Skillen once wrote: