Twittering
I think some people say that they don’t like Twitter because they don’t understand how to use it. I would define successful use of Twitter as how a person can become both a consumer and producer within the network personalized and created by that same person. I am particularly attracted to Twitter’s versatility.
Because of Twitter, I have become acquainted with numerous educational researchers and in-service teachers that are on the cutting-edge of incorporating digital literacies in the classroom. I both produce and consume related to education and studies. Educators participate in education chats every Tuesday that are separated and traceable through #hashtags of #edchat on Twitter. Without actually “knowing” these teachers in the traditional sense (as in, meeting physically), I feel as though I know these teachers. We share links of lesson plans and our own blogs about curriculum and literacy practices. We challenge each other to think differently.
Howard Rheingold, the author of Smart Mobs (a fascinating, but somewhat outdated book), has issued an editoral in the SanFransicso Times about Twitter literacies: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rheingold/detail?entry_id=39948.
As Rheingold argues, I produce and consume on a personal level using Twitter. I tweet about school, people, church, food, and some witticisms thrown in for good measure. My iPhone affords me the ability to post pictures, sign into locations using BrightKite, post what I am listening to using Blip.fm, etc. With this technology on the go, I am able to share the information that I want to about my own life.
Just yesterday, I saw a tweet on my Tweetie app stream that mentioned a restaurant on the street where I live. I @replied back to this person and asked if it was any good. In a few short minutes, I had an exchange with a person that I don’t know through anywhere except for Twitter that highly recommended this scary-looking hot dog place to me, saying that is quite good.
I have come to believe that Twitter is a social network that can be personalized to emphasize the importance and ability to give and receive information, both professionally and personally depending on your own choices through the personalization of your network. It has become much more than What are you doing? Instead, it has become How can I change your life?