Norm Friesen argues that "constraints presented by commercialized forms and contents... threaten to sharply limit the potential of much newer social media for education and learning, however these are conceived." Advertising provides the basis for the design, organization and maintenance of the services accessed by the personal learning environment, he argues, and this has a direct impact on what the user sees and is able to do in such services. For example, we are prompted to extend the range of our connections, so much so that the term 'friend' has lost any meaning. Moreover, our opinions all point in one direction; "expressions of reservation, nuance and qualification are made difficult if not impossible; and negativity, in both its everyday and dialectical senses is avoided." But, writes Friesen, "learning is just as much about division as it is about connection." These are good points, I think, and Friesen's concerns are well taken. A theory of connections can't be just about forming connections; it has to be about the organization, shape and design of networks of connection, patterns of connectivity. And to me, this means that we need to design learning systems to meet personal, not political, social or commercial, objectives.
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