So how hilarious is this?: The MacArthur Foundation has just completed a three-year study of social media usage among 800 teenagers and concludes, "...their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others..." That's it, that's the big conclusion, according to this morning's NYTimes: "Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing."
Apparently, too many adults think socializing on the Internet is a waste of time. Some research was necessary to find out if it was a good thing or not.
Sound familiar?: "Hey Junior, what's the ROI of that there MySpace page."
Now, anybody reading this blog is probably up to their Bluetooth headset in social media and probably spends time actually measuring it's use and effectiveness in a business or organizational context. We don't need no stinking research to prove that social media is useful "to succeed in the contemporary world."
What we need is some research to investigate what social media really does: How it helps to develop relationships, how it influences decision-making. And how effective it is compared to other media at doing these things.
Geeze, is the MacArthur Foundation just clueless? Or years behind the times? Or does it need to aim a little higher? All of the above?
And, get this, the study concludes that: " "geeking out" is the most intense Internet use, in which young people delve deeply into a particular area of interest, often through a connection to an online interest group." OMG, you and I are geeking out right now! LOL. -- Bill Paarlberg
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many… Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders... But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” 
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