Weekly Experiment: Outward Only

Every week in my Literary Citizenship class, I’m giving my students a new weekly “experiment” or intention.

This week it’s “Outward Only.”

Social media doesn’t have a reputation as a force for good. A lot of people think that it makes us self-absorbed, etc. And this is true, don’t you think? It’s hard not to use SM to celebritize ourselves, to share our oh so amazing thoughts, to brag on ourselves oh so humbly. Social media does cause us to turn inward. So let’s try something different for a week: lets use it to focus outward instead.

For the next week, use social media ONLY to help others. For one week, you are trying to make the world a better place for books. Share links. Praise others. Thank others. Talk about books you’re reading, your favorite writers or magazines.

Nothing about yourself unless it helps someone or something. Outward focus only. Nothing inward.

Every time you engage in this activity, use the hashtag #litcitizen.

It’s like #fridayreads.

Actually, that’s exactly what FridayReads is: Literary Citizenship.

Join us. (And please share this post widely. Thank you!)