Facebook Group and now Pages

Just a quick post about the changes in Facebook. There has been lots of heated debate recently about some of the updates to Facebook, and cries of but its starting to look like Twitter. I can't say I am that upset by the changes and its surely a sign that soon the two will probably merge, which -unlike the rumours that Microsoft are going to buy them- is no bad thing.

There has been one very positive Facebook change of late and that is that Pages now behave like a personal profile. I am quite excited by this as admin for all things 'Redbridge Primary ICT'. I had experimented with Facebook as an information sharing and interaction tool before, by creating a Facebook group, but this hadn't gone past the initial sign up stage. It seems to me that this the way of most groups, they are like ephemeral pledging sites, where we say 'I am in' to causes like 'Bring back Woolworths or Marmite Rocks'. But with the new Facebook Pages, I can use Facebook for Primary ICT in the same way I use it myself. This means I can post links updates, photos and videos and they will appear on fans (friends) pages.

It has been in place for a few weeks now and I am already starting to see other ICT coordinators interact with our news and those that are admins are beginning to use it as a tool to push out news. Yes if we were all on the MLE, we'd use the MLE to throw out news and events etc, but maybe we wouldn't. I think just as we all consume a range of text genres, we all make use of a range of tools and many of us begin and end our days with Facebook. We go into work mode when we log into the MLE. Also logging in to an MLE can be a bit of an effort, FB is more immediate, its where the gossip and the action is, though this of course only true for around 40 per cent of ICT Coordinators in Redbridge.

So the facebook page is there and if you are not already, then become a fan. It is where my net activity is shifting mostly due to its speed and ease of use. But for now my blogs live on as a place for reflection and in depth thought.