An awareness of the views of those in other countries, an understanding of how Google ranks the results of a web search, a knowledge of the permanence of information posted online: These are some of the lessons that every student should be learning in today’s schools, says education technology consultant Alan November—but not every middle or high school is teaching these lessons.

The culture appears to be grounded in not only a need to share, but also a desire to be recognized. Retweets – when someone sends your tweet (message) out to their followers (a term supporting the need for recognition) somehow elevates your status within this community.

Social Media as a dominant force for communicating has penetrated every element of society. Can a virtual community possess a culture? Every company and organization possesses a definable culture. Behaviors, decision-making models, intrinsic and extrinsic actions and how people are treated may all play a part in defining it. These elements of culture are measureable and easy to define within a controlled entity. Social media lives and breathes in a virtual reality. It permeates all corners of the world, allows people to communicate across all traditional boundaries and thrives 24 hours/day. So…does it have a definable culture? If you have spent any time on Twitter, you quickly realize thousands of people have a need to respond to the question, “What’s happening?” Twitter has developed it’s own language with tweets, retweets, tweeple, twitpics, twibes, etc. You can follow topics with a hashtag and people with lists. What is most apparent is the need people have to share. The culture appears to be grounded in not only a need to share, but also a desire to be recognized. Retweets – when someone sends your tweet (message) out to their followers (a term supporting the need for recognition) somehow elevates your status within this community. There are etiquette protocols as many people publicly thank you for following them and for retweeting. Retweeting becomes a type

As you get deeper into the structure of Twitter, you can join a twibe or tweeple group, which provides inclusion – another indication that the need for recognition is systemic.