So today is, apparently, Social Media Day at The New York Times. In addition to announcing Jennifer Preston as its social media editor earlier today, the paper makes social media the focus of its latest Room for Debate feature–an occasional series in which various experts share their expertise on a question of cultural import. Today’s: “Is there such a thing,” the Times asks various social-media gurus, “as overuse of social networking tools? In the online world, is the notion of a public/private divide simply not applicable?”
The answers offer no mention of the scourge that is Texty McSorethumb, alas. In exchange, though, we do get a rather delightful anecdote from Clay Shirky–who, in making the point that “society has always carved out space for young people to misbehave,” recalls a drunken evening in which he set his hair on fire.
I’d write more about this, but I have to go Twitter.
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.