Karl Daegling

Once again I have found an advantage to my non participation in the realm of internet social interaction. Except for my musical endeavors, I am virtually invisible on the web. A few sites came up when I Googled myself and aside from simple address and phone number posts the sum total of my internet identity is audio clips. There is not one single picture of me on the internet. Not one piece of music I have made, participated in making, or produced available for listening or downloading from the net contains content inappropriate for a child, church goer or hardcore prude. My abstinence from internet networking provides me a clean slate that I am now extremely thankful for.

I would not change a thing. I have considered the advantages of creating a Facebook page for my band, but ultimately I prefer human contact to network. I still like to talk to people on the telephone. Would posting dates for gigs, providing audio clips and creating a profile for my band help my music career? Probably. But the mystery of what I do seems more powerful than full disclosure.

As I enter the teaching profession, I see the potential trouble that participation in social networking could cause for an educator. We are responsible for upholding the values that our society holds dear. We are also required to be transparent and accountable for our actions, as we should be. We are responsible for educating the next generation of citizens, and should be a great example for our students. We must uphold high quality standards, because we may be the only purveyors of these standards to our students. All we have to do to understand the levity of these principles is look at elections, and how every candidate is scrutinized. We will be scrutinized in exactly the same way, by kids and parents. The National Enquirer researcher has nothing on a curious kid looking for dirt. Our First Amendment rights become conditional as teachers. Once we become responsible for teaching children, we must act according to a higher standard.

40 % of MySpace users are 35 years or older. I fall into that age bracket. My generation is busy catching up to the burgeoning youth market for new technological innovation that includes social networking. I am somehow pleased by my lack of curiosity in the medium. As a living being I value personal interaction over mechanical communication. I understand its place, and will use it when appropriate, but don't waste your time trying to find me on Facebook. I will not be there. I am right here. If you knock on my door I will open it. If you call me on the telephone I will answer.

Find my music and art at:
http://www.wepress.org/webib.html
http://www.dropsy.net/eskimo/discog.htm
http://www.notnoise.com/