Social Networks for Student Engagement? 140 Characters or Less

I have been engaged with some interim assignments (it's what we do, right?) and ignoring the growth of social media and its potential influence in student affairs. Much thanks to Tania at The Student Leader Blog, for introducing many new tools in her posts.  Microblogging is my favorite of the social media applications. Facebook and MySpace have long provided microblogging with their status updates, but Plurk and Twitter have capitalized upon this theme. 

Plurk offers a colorful horizontal time line of communication and is populated by a variety of individuals, including what seems to be an abundance of K-12 educators and knitters.  The competition to engage in the site and increase your Plurk Karma is the a driving force behind much of the chatter. I made some interesting connections and found the fun Plurk graphics quite appealing.

You are much more likely to find me on Twitter where I have connected with a variety of higher ed media and instruction professionals.  With an estimated 2.1 million users, Twitter conversations are active and of the moment.  The recent California earthquake was reported within seconds on Twitter in contrast to the almost 9 minute lag time before hitting traditional news media. 

Social networking will link you to ideas and professionals beyond your campus, but will it engage your students?  Well...who knows?  Karlyn Morissette addressed the futility of pushing technology that is not student driven in her post Twitter: The next Second Life Syndrome?. 

Five or ten years from now, there will be something new in social media to help us connect.  With that in mind, I think we have an obligation to at least introduce our students to the social media tools that we have today.  Making connections. Building community. 

What are your favorite social networks?