One of my favourite Monty Python sketches called “How to do it” told viewers that in this week’s episode they would learn to play the flute, split an atom, build a box girder bridge and irrigate the Sahara.
Holding a flute and pointing to the mouth piece, the host explained, “You blow in there
and you move your fingers up and down here.”
Having struggled through five years at high school to play the flute even reasonably well, I can still laugh at that sketch. Today, it speaks to me of the new social media reality where we take complex issues and boil them into 140-character tweets.
I Googled the other “How to do it” tasks and found Youtube or Wikipedia hits for each one. (Did you know that scientists have concocted a 2-trillion dollar-a-year plan to geoengineer the Sahara Dessert?)
Starting out on this social media journey has me both excited and daunted by the ever-expanding size of the medium but, fortunately, this is not my first scary ride. When faced with a challenge, I usually get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. After a while, I find a way to shrink the problem into a manageable size, then I look for humour and then I get to work.
I know where I am in this trajectory. Time to play the flute.
Enjoy Moe Koffman on me.
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 