Sharing the Knowledge

The world is your classroom … but what are you teaching?

As I cycled home yesterday I spotted a fellow cyclist by the side of the bike path with his bike upside down and his back wheel in his hand. Whenever I spot someone with a flat or mechanical issue I slow down enough to ask if they have all they need to get back on the road. Most of the time the cyclist will have everything under control and so I just keep going but Glen was having a few issues.

He had owned his carbon fibre road bike for four months and this was his first flat tyre. He had absolutely no idea what to do. The interesting thing was that he said he couldn’t get good reception on his phone so he couldn’t head to YouTube for help. After giving him a quick lesson on tyre changing he was ready to get back on the road.

Doing what comes naturally

After that encounter I started thinking about a couple of things. Firstly how most of us have skills that we just take for granted that we can pass on to others. I’ve changed way too many flat tyres over the years so I can do a change in fairly quick time. I sometimes forget that something so natural for me is anything but natural for others.

What simple skills can you pass on to other people?

YouTube is your friend

The other thing I thought about was the rise of YouTube as a way of learning from each other. While Glen couldn’t get reception to watch any tyre changing action, he did say that he was going to watch some YouTube clips once he got home to learn more about the process.

Several months ago I had the unenviable task of changing parts inside our toilet cistern. I had the parts but no instructions so I searched YouTube to find some guy with the same cistern as us demonstrating what I needed to know. He wasn’t an expert, just a guy who had the same difficulties as me so once he figured out what to do he videoed a demonstration. Brilliant.

Do you head to YouTube to learn skills of any kind? Have you ever created a YouTube video to show how to accomplish simple tasks? Maybe I should video myself changing a bike tyre.



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Too Much Information?

Do you sometimes squirm a little when you see what someone has ‘shared’ online?

Maybe it’s a status update that would have been better shared with one or two people than with the whole world or a photo that really should never have been placed in public.

Since the meteoric rise of social networking there has been an equally sharp increase in the amount of information that people are sharing with everyone else on the planet.

Technology company Intel has produced the Mobile Technology Etiquette Study which suggests that we’re sharing way too much online.

According to a recent multi-country study commissioned by Intel Corporation and conducted by Ipsos Observer* on “Mobile Etiquette,” the majority of adults and teens around the world are sharing information about themselves online and feel better connected to family and friends because of it. However, the survey also revealed a perception of “oversharing,” with at least six out of 10 adults and teens saying they believe other people divulge too much information about themselves online, with Japan being the only exception.

It seems that we don’t understand or we just don’t care about the possible effects of sharing too much through networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the many other social platforms that now play a major part in opening our private lives to the public.

According to the latest Intel survey, approximately half of adults around the world feel overloaded by the amount of information people share online. Yet, adults and teens across the globe are sharing a wide variety of information online, with photos of themselves or people they know cited as one of the top things being shared. Other frequently shared items that adults are likely to share include: announcements of important life events in Australia and the United States; reviews and recommendations in China, France and Japan; sports information in Brazil; and current events in India and Indonesia.

While the survey revealed that digital sharing on mobile devices helps many people feel more connected to others, the tendency to share too much information can annoy others for various reasons. Adults and teens from each country had differing opinions on top digital sharing pet peeves. However, constant complaining, posting inappropriate photos, using profanity and sharing too many life details and personal information were prominent responses.

More than 85 percent of survey respondents across the globe wish people thought more about how others will perceive them when sharing information online. At least one-quarter of adults and one-third of teens around the world, with the exception of Japan and Indonesia, have been embarrassed by something they have done online. Many also admit to having a different personality online and to sharing false information online.

Have you been guilty of sharing too much? I do share a lot of stuff online but I still draw a line on many topics and situations. I realise that even those things that I share with a select group online can go well beyond any privacy settings I may have selected so I’m very careful with how much I send into cyberspace.

What kind of sharing makes you cringe? One of the big ones for me is the ‘fishing’ status. I’m sure you’ve seen them. It’s when someone posts something like, “That’s it. I’ve had enough.” or, “I don’t care what she thinks.” or anything else that is designed to give just enough information to make others swarm in and say, “Are you alright honey?” If you need support, talk to a friend. Don’t go fishing for it online.

How about you? What do you think when friends overshare online?



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