Computers and the Internet have provided a blank slate to create. Lacking one single governing authority, sites have the freedom to create communities in the ways they see fit. With each new site conventions crop up are meaningful to the users of the community. The convention while useful to that community, doesn’t always have usefulness beyond that community. A hashtag on Twitter helps organize information, while on Facebook it looks out of place. Using that convention well demonstrates savvy behavior, but may have limited use beyond the context of that site. It is the context and usefulness that should help decide which practices and technologies move forward. One should remember, Everything works somewhere, but nothing works everywhere.

Wise words from @dkuropatwa – "Everything works somewhere, and nothing works everywhere. That's why education is so hard."

— Chris Lehmann (@chrislehmann) April 17, 2014