Well, it’s been a while. I’ve been neck deep in my thesis since December. I submitted the final version yesterday. Now I just need to set-up my Permalink site. That’ll happen soon.
Yesterday, I found myself downloading another social capital article and in the back of my mind I was thinking, “This might be good for my thesis…”
Oh, wait. I finished it. What *will* I do with all my free time?
Anyone who knows me well knows I get nervous if I have too much free time. And part of me doesn’t want to lose my companion, Intellectual Inquiry. So today I will bask a little in the accomplishment and then I will keep reading and I’ll keep writing.
I’ve been thinking about writing to Howard for a couple of weeks. Howard has cancer and he has asked for support from his many friends in the online community. Cancer is tough. Getting treated for cancer is no treat. I know that Howard has been there for many others over the years … now is the time to be there for him.
I have never met Howard but I feel like I know him through his writings and his tweets. He’s one of my heroes. I know what you are thinking: how can you write a love letter to someone you have never met? Well, to understand that, you have to know a little about me. Some people use love like they use their fine china—it’s for special occasions only. Well, for me, every day is a special occasion and there is so much around us—every day—that is worthy of our love. Howard is my teacher. I am privileged to know him through his writings. As I slog away at my thesis about online communities I question myself every day. Is this worth it? Should I be doing this? Is my topic meaningful? Do online communities even matter? Howard reminds me that they do. Every time someone tries to dismiss the online world as a fad time waster or a menace and start in with their “Kids today…” speech, I think of Howard and I remember that my online friends and teachers mean every bit as much to me as the people I love in my face-to-face life. In some cases, they mean more. I have read an excerpt from Chapter 11, “Rethinking Virtual Communities” in his book The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier many times. I read it aloud at a presentation last week. Page 329. Check it out, buy it on Amazon—it’s good stuff; you, too, can spend quality time with a great teacher.
Howard: I wish you healing. I wish you whatever dignity is possible when you have to deal with the indignities of cancer. May the people who know and love you be able to hold you close for many moons; may the people who do not know you have the opportunity to experience you in person or virtually; and may your many students and admirers continue to enjoy and benefit from your wisdom, humor and art. You are loved. May this sustain you as you do battle.
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 Smith, Shannon, Gail Salaway, and Judith Borreson Caruso, with an Introduction by Richard N. Katz. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 (Research Study, Vol. 6). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2009, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
My last clear memory was December 3. It’s a blur after that, but a busy blur. I’ve read books, saw a movie in a movie theatre (a rare event), consumed copious quantities of coffee, learned the true definition of confabulated, contributed to the economy, wrapped gifts, sent 80 holiday cards, bought metallic jeans, had mail lost and then found, fell in love with FedEx, learned Drupal and I converted a tables website template to all CSS–an almost exact match, thankyouverymuch.
What have you been up to? You never call, you never comment. Am I alone here or what?
Well, I have been thinking about you, ICYWW. And wishing you a magical year in 2010.
(A what, you ask?? A choropleth map has shaded or patterned areas in proportion to the measurement of the data being displayed such as population density, unemployment, income, or voting patterns.)
When you have a minute, check out Sagebrush Vernacular a collection of 120 photographs of rural Nevada architecture that is part of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Special Collections.
Every day seems to bring more books. I am making up for lost time.
On the recently read list:
Branded Nation by James Twitchell, University of Florida professor of both English and advertising. The picture he paints of branding in higher education is quite sobering. Anyone who works in higher ed should read his book and think very carefully about “the brand.”
Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block, community organizer (transformer?). It’s about transforming community and changing the narrative. It appeals to my social worker’s heart because the focus is really about changing the narrative from problems to possibilities.
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community is by Robert Putnam, a political scientist and professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The most important idea in the book for me is that of bridging social capital, weak ties that link people in different social groups or “sociological WD-40.”
Next up: Obsessive Branding Disorder and True Names.
