On Saturday, my daughter and niece took the ACT.

The essay question centered on whether social technologies have strengthened or hindered human relationships.

I thought that was interesting (and timely) because I had started to work on a blog about that very subject. I had found myself arguing both sides – on multiple levels. And I’d spent way more time on it than the ACT gives to high school juniors.

In my interview with Simon Mainwaring he posits that technology is making us human again.

And today, I’m going to go with that, despite the fact that I could argue either side of the ACT question above. Why? Because after several drafts and too much fretting, I’ve remembered that this isn’t a thesis. It isn’t a book. It’s a community blog designed to gather our collective thinking. Right now, mine is complicated,overly-nuanced and too laden with concerns of making an incomplete argument.

I love that in the social media world, we’re encouraged to try things and make mistakes. The focus is more on authenticity, brevity and sharing than on being “right.” What one is thinking takes precedence over what one has perfected. And what we create together is celebrated.

That has a real sense of humanity to me.

Author: Maril MacDonald