Got Twitter?
Got Twitter? I don’t mean only in “do you have a twitter account?”. That’s the easy part. I’m referring to whether you’ve wrapped your mind around what twitter is and why it’s getting so much attention.
Twitter is best seen as a tool for staying in touch with, and aware of, others. (for a more advanced exploration of the utility of twitter see: social grooming). Or you might find this short video overview of Twitter useful.
How do you get started?
- Set up an account
- Find some people to engage with (or in Twitter language, friends). E-Learn 2008’s Twitter profile is here. My profile is here. Feel free to post your twitter profile in the comments section.
- Use hashtags (#). #elearn is our conference hashtag. It’s a useful way to connect with others who are at the conference. Use it in your tweet and others will happily find you.
- Use twitter search to explore comments on the conference, presenters, etc.
As with any technology, the proof is in the doing. Alan Levine has posted the Twitter Life Cycle that seems to resonate with many new users (i.e. starts with “this is the dumbest thing … ends with “I can’t stop!”).
If you already use Twitter, what are you doing with it? Using it to stay in contact with colleagues? What about for interactions with students?
