My Twitterverse
If you’ve read my About page, you know that I’ve not been very active here in the DEN, so I don’t have a lot to share about my DEN activities.
However, I do want to chat about Twitter for a few minutes.
I could post this on my own personal blog (aemacdougall.ca) but since numerous DEN Members are involved I decided to post it here.
Almost a year ago (March 21, 2012) we hosted a DE Day of Discovery here at our School Board Central Office. It was attended by close to 100 teachers from our district.
Prior to that day I had a Twitter account, but had really only created it to “see what it was all about.” Needless to say, I hadn’t seen anything to that point. I had tweeted once or twice and followed a couple of people.
On the day of the DOD I was standing outside the main presentation room as participants were arriving. Many had cell phones out checking calendars, emails, calls… and maybe Twitter. Someone standing next to me said, “They better put those phones away when this all starts up.” I agreed.
As part of the opening remarks and housekeeping points it was pointed out that Tweets were encouraged throughout the day and in fact there were Twitter feeds being displayed in the presentation room.
I was curious… I was also hooked!
I watched, I Tweeted a bit and I “Got it!”…
If you’re on Twitter and you think it’s just a bunch of people Tweeting about their every move throughout the day – then that’s your fault, not theirs. You follow the wrong people!
I follow one of those people and I do it consciously for a couple of reasons. I also follow:
- some news outlets (including weather and traffic)
- some arts sources (local theatres and symphony)
- very few commercial entities (@ipevo which makes a fantastic “document camera” and many other products)
- a few friends and acquaintances (for example, @jessedee, an amazing young man who is head of Social Media for Tourism Australia)
- some personalities from the entertainment industry who I think have something important to say – or I just enjoy (@janemarielynch, @yannick_bisson, @DebraMessing, @jianghomeshi, @strombo)
- many, many people and organizations related to education and educational technology (including lots of DEN members)
There are some suggestions for who and what people should follow, including percentages of news, fun, and work related. But I don’t think Twitter users should worry about such guidelines too much. My number one suggestion is to find someone interested in the things you’re interested in, follow them and then see who they follow… follow some of them and then you’re off!
This post has morphed from a “My Twitter Experience” into a “My Advice About Twitter” post. Perhaps in my next one (or two) I’ll sort that out and be a bit more focused!
Until then, Cheers!
