Join the conversation!
That seems to be the mantra of the social media era. Every TV show I watch encourages viewers to "tweet-in" their comments and questions. We post status updates on Facebook with provocative queries at the end, eagerly awaiting our friends to weigh-in. And, of course, this blog post has a "comments" section. We are all being urged throughout the day to voice our opinions and questions...to say something, to say anything. And sometimes, conversations that should be taking place in private (on the phone or via messages or e-mails) are occurring on a Facebook Wall...and the rest of us can simply be voyeurs to other people's conversations.
Is all of this interactivity making us smarter and more collaborative and more engaged? Or, have we just created a lot of chatter -- one worldwide dial-in radio show with no true host, where anyone with a voice and an opinion can have a platform for free speech? Is this really dialogue or a series of parallel monologues?
I'm not sure.
Please comment. Or weigh-in. Or tweet me. Or post on my Wall. Or simply keep it to yourself and smirk.