Tim Abbott

Social networking 'damaging school work' say teachers

Well... further to my previous post, the BBC reports that in a recent survey of 500 teachers half of those who took part said children's "obsession" with social networking was affecting their ability to concentrate in class. One in four said they believed children with the poorest grades in school were those who did the most online social networking.

I wonder, is Social Networking principally the cause or a symptom of a more distracted society. Competition for our attention is immense - we have more channels to watch on TV, there's more advertising, most of us have mobile phones, we shop more, we live in more socially fractured homes and generally live life at a more accelerated pace than previous generations. Social networking is just one part of this whirlwind of diverse activity, this multiplexed existence and although I feel sure it plays a contributory part in our lack of focus or concentration I think it's just one aspect of a bigger picture.

What fascinates me is that when we run a Prayer Space in school, one of the most popular activities is the 'quiet tent' - a place where students are invited to relax and be still. Some come back repeatedly at break times and lunchtimes. Some are reluctant to leave. The experience of peace and stillness seems almost to overwhelm them, to catch them by surprise.

Is Facebook Making Us Stupid?

Happiness, distraction and social media (or, Is Facebook making us stupid?) is a well argued and well researched post by Fernando Gross that I found encapsulated many of my ponderings on the subject of the omnipresence of the online world. I admit that I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, well, more of a tolerance/hate relationship, in that it has great value in keeping up with people and is useful in some ways as a disseminator of news to those who follow several ministry activities I'm involved in. The now almost obligatory ubiquity of Facebook disturbs me, but it also beckons to us to live our lives there, to stay involved, not to miss a moment. Fernando sees this as symptomatic of a deeper issue.

He writes;

We are heading towards something one might call the distraction economy. A lot of the time we spend on social media comes from moments of distraction. It’s the moments between things (or the moments when the current tasks seem to demand less than full attention) that people are filling with these digital interactions. Next time you go to a film, look around and see how many people are looking at Facebook, email or whatever even while the opening credits are rolling.

I recognise myself too easily, and painfully, in some of his observations. What is it about distraction that we love? Is a hyper-connected world gradually eroding our capacity for focus, for Getting Things Done? Where will it all lead? Ultimately I have faith in a human-ness that is intrinsically part of how we're made - an echo of Eden. Just as you can't make a device requiring physical input that's smaller than the capabilities of human fingers (though voice control may get round this), and there's little point creating screens with resolutions better than the human eye, so our soul, our desire and ability to communicate, has limits that are not easily transgressed. At the extreme some individuals can spend their entire social life online, but as a society we still find this aberrant. All ages celebrate, seek out and enjoy the gathering, the meeting up, the being together. It's still something we seem to want to do, as though we're made that way and our souls become restless without it. I'm not sure this is such a generational thing - the main difference is that younger generations are more adept at using the technology and therefore subsuming it into their connected life. There are plenty of 'silver surfers' who spend a lot of their time there too. The question remains, is it making us dumber?

Fernando concludes;

Facebook is just a part of this equation. It stands out because it so clearly embodies many of the problems of the distraction economy as well as being the most successful player in that field. I’m not sure the internet or even Facebook is making us stupid. But, I am sure that living in a permanent state of distraction and partial attention is far from smart.

I agree. Read his full post. The well researched links are worth a look.

Now, I must get back to work...!

24-7 Prayer looking for a new UK Prayer Co-ordinator

Andrea Percy has been the UK Prayer Co-ordinator for 24-7 Prayer for four years but is now moving on. Do you know someone who might be the right person to take up this vital role at the heart of this still growing movement? Here's the word from 24-7 HQ...

We’re looking for someone organised, enthusiastic and passionate about prayer to come and join 24-7’s UK office team, as our new UK Prayer Co-ordinator. This is an amazing opportunity for someone who wants to dive right into the deep end of/with 24-7 prayer.

Andrea Percy has fulfilled this role fantastically for the past four years – many of you will have spoken with her on the phone, or read her stories/articles on the 24-7 UK website, or met her at a gathering or meeting. We’re sad to say goodbye to Andrea, but we’re delighted at what God is opening up for her in home-town of Reading, and especially amongst the Reconcile community.

And as a result of all this, we now have an incredibly important role to fill… could you, or one of your friends be who we’re looking for?

The UK Prayer Co-ordinator supports and resources 24-7 prayer rooms around the UK. A lot of the work takes place via email and phone-calls, either from the new 24-7 UK office base near Kings Cross/London or from home, but it also often involves meeting and speaking with individuals, organisations and church groups.

There’s lots more to it, of course, but we’ve summarised the role around four main themes;
+    administration… supporting prayer rooms, managing databases, responding to emails
+    resourcing… maintaining and improving resources, and developing new ones
+    fuelling… gathering stories, writing articles, encouraging individuals and organisations
+    championing… representing prayer and 24-7 prayer, developing vision and strategy

So… we’re looking for someone organised, someone very capable with emails and office software. We’re looking for an enthusiastic and effective communicator, in both written and verbal forms, with individuals, organisations and churches. And we’re looking for passion. Lots of it. :)

This is currently a 19-hour a week post, for which we can offer £475 per/month (plus travel expenses to/from London). The post-holder will need to be within commute-distance of Kings Cross/London, because at least one day of the week’s work will be spent there, along with other 24-7 prayer (UK and International) staff. Other hours will be spent either working from home, or in various meetings. The post-holder will be line-managed by 24-7’s UK Director, Phil Togwell.

If you’d like to apply for the role, please send an email explaining your connection with 24-7 prayer and why you’re interested in joining with us, and include any further questions you may have as well, to Phil at phil.togwell@24-7prayer.com

The deadline for applications is Sunday 28th November, and we will try to arrange interviews during the following two weeks.

Royalty free photo request

I received an email from a regional marketing company today asking for permission to use the above photograph that I'd taken of Colchester High Street with Christmas decorations which they'd spotted on Flickr. The purpose was for an email marketing piece and they asked if I would "permit us to use the following image rights free for this work only".

I replied;

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'rights free' - do you mean 'royalty free'? As this is a commercial activity I'm sure you'll understand that it's only fair that I ask what budget you may have available for the use of images. I'd be happy to consider use of this image but it would be helpful to know a bit more about the intended use.

I am more than happy to grant permission for any of my photos to be used for non-commercial use and have done so on a number of occasions. But I'm concerned about a growing trend for commercial users to try to get photos for nothing by flattering people into allowing use of their images for the sheer 'honour' of attribution. If there's money changing hands somewhere in the process then it's only just that an appropriate proportion, according to the budget, goes to the content providers.

The reply I received was as follows;

Unfortunately whilst this is commercial activity there is no additional budget for imagery. Our entire imagery budget is utilised... on developing a stock library and as a result we have access to more than 30,000 images for free usage. Whilst it would be nice to feature your image, given its quality and relevance to the content, in this instance we do not have a budget to do so.

For the record, I'm not bothered about the money. I don't call myself "Tim Abbott Photography" and put watermarks on my photos on Flickr in the hope that someone will think my photos are worth something. But neither am I that excited by the prospect of having my photographs used for free by people who get paid to make use of them, so for this request my answer is "no".

However, in the event that someone wants to use one of my images for non commercial or charitable use I'm quite OK about that which is why they have a Creative Commons licence. Ask and I'll likely say yes.