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?
