So we’re a good two months into the New Year and we’ve been working hard at our New Years Resolutions. Most of us have been eating healthy, hitting the gym every morning at 5am and reading our Bible everyday, right?!
Of course not. New Years resolutions hardly ever work. They’re just not sustainable. If you are waiting for an arbitrary date to start to change, you’re not really going to change.
Maybe then, the approach we should take is not to start doing something but to stop doing something. That’s where Lent comes in. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I chose to unfollow someone on twitter who I disagree with on pretty much everything. It was something that I had given consideration to for a while but couldn’t bring myself to. For a variety of reasons. Continue reading
In the world we live in today it is easier to put your voice out there than in anytime in history before. Anyone can publish their opinions as a blog or as a tweet. We can share pictures instantly with anyone, anywhere around the world. It is pretty amazing when you think about it.
One of the ways that social media has been particularly beneficial is through the spreading of ideas. More so, the spreading of ideas that can change people’s lives for the better. Sometimes, something comes along that goes viral. Not since the invention of the television have we seen anything with quite the same effect as the internet has had on news and media.
You may remember two years ago when Invisible Children launched their Kony 2012 campaign. Continue reading
I for one am glad that twitter is a thing.
I am able to publish posts on my blog and then share them with people. Sometimes they get read, sometimes not. But I have a place where I can share my ideas which will hopefully resonate with others who will be inspired. This is when social media is at its best. When people are moved and educated and inspired to act.
It is at it’s worst when people use it to demean, insult and ridicule people.
It’s easy to do this because we don’t have to actually face the person we are attacking. Rarely is dialogue fruitful in the sense that conversation can lead to thoughtful and open discussion. The manner in which it is played out is where the difference between the life giving discussion I have described and a bitter descent into name calling can be created.
So how do we dialogue on twitter in a way that is helpful and productive?
Here are a few ideas that I think could have aided various discussions I have been privy to on twitter recently. Continue reading
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