Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Thing 3: Twitter & Other Online Communities

This year I started using Twitter for the first time, so I was super excited to get to this lesson!  I have really been enjoying learning about Twitter, and I appreciated how this lesson helped me practice some of the tips and tricks to become a successful Twitter user.  BTW....is there a word people use to refer to "Twitter users?"  Personally I like the idea of being birds...in a flock?...maybe not.



The coolest thing I learned during the lesson was how to embed my Twitter feed into my blog.  I asked Google how to do it and with a little trial and error was successful!  I like how the Twitter feed adds a little more personality to my blog and makes it feel more personal.  I also added the Twitter icon that lets people follow me from my blog page.  I was wondering if it's good Twitter etiquette to put both the feed AND the follow button together on the same page?  Is there a Twitter etiquette page that anyone recommends?



Out of all of the articles that I read in the course of this "Thing," my favorite was Twitter: A 140 Character Love Story.  I am so impressed with how Jennifer LaGarde set up this resource, and I love the idea of planning some PD around this website.  It would be a very straightforward way for teachers to jump in to Twitter, and if I had been introduced to Twitter by this website I think most of my uncertainty and anxiety would have been eased!  I would love to try one of the Twitter challenges...does anyone know of a place that lists upcoming challenges?  I wasn't quite ready to start the #12daystwitter challenge when Polly posted it.

Another article I found extremely useful was 10 Golden Rules to take your Library Twitter Account to the Next Level by Ned Potter.  I have been trying to follow some of the advice in this article; mainly, that I need to tweet more multimedia.  I am also trying to follow the 1st rule about only tweeting 1 time in 4 about your own library.  It is tricky!  The 1 time in 4 rule means that you have to make a commitment to actively read other's tweets and explore their resources.  It definitely forces you to become more engaged.  I have slowly been growing and becoming more connected with other teachers in my district, so I am using that rule as an opportunity to try to retweet what they are doing in their classrooms.  I am seeing some amazing things happening around our district this way, which makes me feel more motivated!

I was a little overwhelmed with all of the Twitter tools out there...I will be checking the discussion board for ones that people like the most!  I also wonder:  if you had to recommend one tool to a relative newbie, which would it be?

2 comments:

  1. Nice job adding the twitter stream! And it's fine to have the follow button at the top there. No etiquette problem. :) Jennifer LaGarde, one of my heroes. Love her work. Good choice of resources there. And finally, one tool for new twitter users? Maybe hootsuite or tweetdeck to follow different hashtags and lists more easily?

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    1. One of my colleagues uses tweetdeck I think. Those tools are only for phones, correct? I think I've been getting a little confused about which tools are mobile and which might also work for a regular desktop (work) computer...

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