What’s Twitter For, Anyway?
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
Back in April, when I started Twittering, I wasn’t convinced it had much of a use for it. I just knew that “everybody” was talking about it and so I’d better see what the big deal was. I’ve figured out that part of the trick is having a large-enough personal learning network (PLN). That takes time as you search for the accounts of friends, folks you want to learn from, and possibly even a few folks who poke at your own beliefs and make you think twice. As that network grows, so does your ability to learn, ask questions (and actually get answers!), and make personal connections.
It’s also been really useful at conferences like NECC and ALA, where you can search hash tags (e.g., #necc09 and #ala2009) and find out what others think or what’s going on in other locales. (You mean something was happening besides Neil Gaiman getting his Newbery Medal that evening? Perish the thought!) From my unscientific point of view, I found that the ALA hash tags tended to yield more content/ideas, and NECC tended to feel more social. Of course, having a smartphone makes this a whole lot easier. I even found that I had a few colleagues who were using Twitter to contact peers instead of texting, emailing, or phoning.
As millions flock to Twitter, it becomes clearer that we don’t have a common definition of what Twitter is for. Folks seem to have a common understanding that Twitter is not for folks to announce what bus stop they’re at or what they had for breakfast (unless you had it at Yolk in Chicago, in which case mere mention of it makes my mouth water).
Case in point: I was the official Twitter for the AASL Learning4Life (L4L) Training4Trainers Summit in Chicago. I thought that what would benefit folks most was to capture the major ideas … hundreds of Tweets’ worth of them by the end of our 7-hour day. I heard from folks in person that capturing details like URLs was really helpful for them face-to-face, I had a friend write during the Summit asking for a set of materials, and the AASL staff got positive feedback (see, for example, this AASL blog post).
Hold it! Turns out that what worked for some bugged the heck out of others. Turns out that if you search the hash tag we used (#aasll4l - those are “L’s” and not “1’s”), you’ll find that some people unsubscribed, with a plan to resubscribe after the day was up. It was simply too much information that they didn’t need, flying too quickly past them.
So what is Twitter for? Is it for live transcription? Just for a summary? Should it just be a link to a different form of information capture, such as a blog post or wiki page? Or is it for whatever we choose?
Photo: The desk of the Library of Congress Reading Room. In the background is the lighted escape door/stairwell from National Treasure 2.
Back in April, when I started Twittering, I wasn’t convinced it had much of a use for it. I just knew that “everybody” was talking about it and so I’d better see what the big deal was. I’ve figured out that part of the trick is having a large-enough personal learning network (PLN). That takes time as you search for the accounts of friends, folks you want to learn from, and possibly even a few folks who poke at your own beliefs and make you think twice. As that network grows, so does your ability to learn, ask questions (and actually get answers!), and make personal connections.
It’s also been really useful at conferences like NECC and ALA, where you can search hash tags (e.g., #necc09 and #ala2009) and find out what others think or what’s going on in other locales. (You mean something was happening besides Neil Gaiman getting his Newbery Medal that evening? Perish the thought!) From my unscientific point of view, I found that the ALA hash tags tended to yield more content/ideas, and NECC tended to feel more social. Of course, having a smartphone makes this a whole lot easier. I even found that I had a few colleagues who were using Twitter to contact peers instead of texting, emailing, or phoning.
As millions flock to Twitter, it becomes clearer that we don’t have a common definition of what Twitter is for. Folks seem to have a common understanding that Twitter is not for folks to announce what bus stop they’re at or what they had for breakfast (unless you had it at Yolk in Chicago, in which case mere mention of it makes my mouth water).
Case in point: I was the official Twitter for the AASL Learning4Life (L4L) Training4Trainers Summit in Chicago. I thought that what would benefit folks most was to capture the major ideas … hundreds of Tweets’ worth of them by the end of our 7-hour day. I heard from folks in person that capturing details like URLs was really helpful for them face-to-face, I had a friend write during the Summit asking for a set of materials, and the AASL staff got positive feedback (see, for example, this AASL blog post).
Hold it! Turns out that what worked for some bugged the heck out of others. Turns out that if you search the hash tag we used (#aasll4l - those are “L’s” and not “1’s”), you’ll find that some people unsubscribed, with a plan to resubscribe after the day was up. It was simply too much information that they didn’t need, flying too quickly past them.
So what is Twitter for? Is it for live transcription? Just for a summary? Should it just be a link to a different form of information capture, such as a blog post or wiki page? Or is it for whatever we choose?
Photo: The desk of the Library of Congress Reading Room. In the background is the lighted escape door/stairwell from National Treasure 2.
