I have blogged about Twitter before, and it’s beginning to have some real value for me. I now “follow” a number of news and information sources such as CNN and NPR, along with several of my favorite tv and radio broadcasts such as the Bob Edwards Show, The Diane Rehm Show, and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

I still rely on online newspapers to keep me up-to-date, and just today I read an interesting article in the New York Times, which included some demographics about tweeters and other micro-bloggers. This article, along with a recent Beatblogging.org post, had new information that was released in a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. This latest Pew report studied the use of Twitter and social media services with micro-blogging features.

According to the latest Pew report, 11 percent of U.S. adults update their status online. Although there are various social networking sites with micro-blogging features, Twitter is the most popular and best known of the dedicated sites.  As for me, I  am more likely to update my status, or to micro-blog, on Facebook, which seems to have become my personal social network of choice. There my online circle of friends grows more organically and expands more rapidly than on Twitter. Facebook seems to have more connectivity features and applications than LinkedIn, where I am networked primarily with folks from my professional world.

As social networking continues to grow, I expect to follow more online news and information services and programs on Twitter.  I’m sure I will discover more social networking sites related to my personal and professional interests. These days I just can’t seem to get offline.

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post about Twitter.  I still “tweet,” but my short conversations continue to be pretty mundane.  The real value of Twitter is bringing together “tweeters” who share a common interest or cause, and are able to update others, especially when new information is of the essence. Twice this week I was able to confirm Twitter’s importance in these types of situations. A CNN article described how tweeters were able to share their information and emotions during and after the Mumbai seige. At another point along the information spectrum, my local newspaper, The Syracuse Post Standard, announced how readers could report on Black Friday shopping news through a local twitter channel.

As more people use Twitter in such instances, the use of this social networking tool is sure to grow. Just yesterday the New York Times featured an article about Twitter’s rejection of an offer to be purchased by Facebook. Evan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, has grand plans to expand Twitter, update its features, and maybe even make it profitable one day. Well, guess I’ll be off to tweet about this blog post.

Everyone seems to be tweeting on Twitter. Last month Talk of the Nation devoted a segment to Twitter, explaining its purpose and inviting listeners to tweet with them. EDUCAUSE describes Twitter as “part blog, part social networking site, and part IM tool.” The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative has a Twitter primer in its  “7 Things You Should Know” series.

Twitter was created in March 2006 with the purpose of answering the question “What are you doing?” “Followers”  track and communicate with those they follow. Twitter is unique in limiting each tweet (aka post) to 140 characters so “conversations” are typically frequent and short.  I follow and am followed by about a dozen folks, both friends and colleagues. I have to admit that my tweets are pretty prosaic as are most of my followers’ tweets, if they tweet at all. There are some exceptions  — mostly the faculty I follow who use Twitter with students and colleagues. As more formal groups, such as Talk of the Nation, use Twitter as a venue to engage listeners/readers in conversations I expect the general level of discourse will be elevated.

I participate in several social networking sites, and I mostly post and read posts about the ordinary. The network I find most engaging is Goodreads where participants share reviews of books they’ve read. I’ve got a couple dozen Goodread friends; I look forward to their updates and I enjoy posting my own reviews.

Social Networking is becoming prevalent and there are more sites than ever before — both general and interest-specific. There are so many new opportunities to connect with others, share interests, and participate in online communities. Their role in higher education remains to be seen, so stay connected. Meanwhile, I’m off to tweet about this latest blog posting.

YouTube and iTunesU are not the only Websites where you can find lectures and presentations. Earlier this month I wrote about Big Think, a site about ideas and intellectual discourse that features interviews with scholars from many disciplines and provides opportunities for readers to participate in discussions. An interesting post on today’s Wired Campus has references  to a number of Websites that feature lectures and presentations. Among them are The Research Channel, a non-profit consortium of colleges and universities that broadcasts video in a several formats; Princeton University’s UChannel; and University of Maryland’s DoFlick. Here at SUNY Cortland we have made lectures and other learning materials available on our own Website, as well as on iTunesU, Second Life, and YouTube. With free access to these resources through libraries, and as more universities are willing to share their intellectual capital, learning is truly becoming more democratized.

Today’s Wired Campus reaffirms the popularity of YouTube and other video sharing sites. According to findings 47 percent of Internet users view videos on YouTube, up from 33 percent the previous year.  The entire Pew Report, which includes some interesting demographics, is available on the Web. An earlier Pew Survey indicates that news, comedy, and educational programming top the list of what people are watching on video sites.

In the past couple of days the media have been buzzing about YouTube and its use in the academy. The Wired Campus  recent post is about how many campuses are using YouTube for a variety of purposes, including marketing, course casting and other presentations. According to a recent Chronicle of Higher Education  article, several colleges and universities have signed agreements with YouTube to set up official channels. At SUNY Cortland we have posted technology training videos on YouTube to make them more accessible to our own students and to reach out to a wider audience.

Both the New York Times and The Chonicle of Higher Education have featured articles about Big Think, a website about ideas and intellectual discourse that hopes to be a “YouTube for ideas.” Big Think features interviews with scholars from many disciplines and provides opportunities for users to participate in discussions. According to the NYT article Big Think was developed by Peter Hopkins, a former student of Harvard Ex-President Larry Summers, and his partner Victoria Brown. Dr. Summers and others provided seed money to develop the website.

Colleges and Universities, including SUNY Cortland, have been posting videos on iTunesU for several years now, and YouTube is another venue to reach today’s students who frequent social networking sites to socialize and learn. The impact of this electronic medium on higher education remains to be seen.

First there was Web 2.0, then Business 2.0 and more recently Library 2.0. In a recent issue of Educause Quarterly I’ve just read about Commons 2.0 that “brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways….[with] the freedom of wireless communication, flexible workspace clusters that promote interaction and collaboration, and comfortable furnishings, art, and design to make users feel relaxed, encourage creativity, and support peer-learning.”

The evolution of the 2.0 world corresponds with the evolution in the way we provide services and resources. The 2.0 concept also reflects the variety of collaborative ways and spaces in which learning takes place. It certainly reflects the learning styles of our millennial students who are comfortable with new technologies, communicate electronically, and use social networking sites to create their own learning experiences. Commons 2.0 author Bryan Sinclair suggests five guiding prinicples for Commons 2.0: open, free, comfortable, inspiring, and practical.

At SUNY Cortland we have an extended area on first floor of the library designated as the Learning Commons. Our Commons meets Sinclair’s 2.0 criteria and is consistent with his 2.0 principles. Our Commons is close to the library cafe so students can easily bring food and beverages with them. The Commons has wireless access and is attractively designed with chairs that are comfortable and furniture that is flexible.  However, students must leave this appointed area to find books and periodicals, check out laptops, use mobile technologies, and create media projects — all part of the 2.0 experience. Hence our library director maintains that the entire library is the Learning Commons. Should that notion be extended to include the entire campus? Beyond the campus? Anywhere formal or informal collaboration and learning are takes place? Diana Oblinger’s 2006 e-book Learning Spaces is an excellent resource for examining the convergence of space, technology and pedagogy in the 2.0 environment.

The 2.0 world is changing as new technologies and media formats foster greater opportunities for interaction and shared learning. As providers of technology and information we must continue to understand our students and how they learn. We need to engage others on campus to assure that spaces being built and redesigned do encourage the 2.0 approach to education.