A few weeks ago I wrote about using social media to seek out and pursue relationships with (or merely be inspired by) virtual mentors. Earlier this week, The Chronicle of Higher Education also highlighted how this practice is a very good – and particularly useful – approach to mentorship. The article provides good reasoning and good advice, and I especially like this tidbit of truth:

The power and potential of virtual mentors and academic communities are helpful to everyone, but they offer a particularly powerful tool for marginalized groups, whose mentoring needs are often neglected. Social media provide graduate students of color, first-generation students, and others with an important space to navigate the often inhospitable culture of academe.

Being able to seek out and potentially build relationships with mentors is a key advantage of living in a socially mediated world. Read the entire Chronicle article here.