Well... I can
officially state I have joined the world of Twitter! I know it may seem
hard to believe but I have never entertained or thought about joining this
social networking tool. Nonetheless, no turning back now, Twitter is my
latest addition to my personal learning network. This tool is actually a
great way to build one's PLN because this social media site is like a two way
street. It is a productive way of sharing short and concise updates about
myself and interesting information or news I find on the Internet. I can
state this is an addition to my PLN because I am learning from other people and also sharing information with individuals I may or may not know. That statement may sound a little scary or
intimidating to some users. However, if we follow the rules of Netiquette I believe we will remain on the right path and as a result maintain a positive
digital footprint!
Now... what did I learn or notice in my exploration of Twitter?
Twitter seems to be a very fast pace social networking instrument.
The news feeds change so often that every time I went back into my
account, new posts filled the page. One thing that certainly
surprised me was the fact that it might not be as easy as I thought to acquire
followers. It also took me some time to figure out the correct way to post a tweet and the proper use of phrases
called # Hashtags. The help page on the k12learning20.wikispaces.com website titled
Anatomy of Twitter Lingo @ Reply,
#Hashtag, Retweet, Favorite and the video "How
to post a Tweet" really helped me learn this Internet
trend.
I also can see a few
advantages and disadvantages of this social media platform.
One advantage is that you only need to post a maximum of
140 characters. This is great for people that don't like writing long
messages. I was slightly challenged with this feature when I was posting an article;
nevertheless once I grew accustomed to condensing a thought and point
form messaging, it became quite natural. An additional benefit to Twitter
is that it is not only a social networking site to socialize with friends
and colleague's, it also can be used to gain knowledge and learn from other Twitter
members, companies, or new agencies. I
personally never thought about this aspect of Twitter... I always thought it was
just for socializing! Even though there
are many advantages with this particular social media source, there are also some disadvantages. The
first possible drawback of Twitter is that it could be a time waster and secondly, it is a
social tool that could expose individuals to the possibility of bullying. However, I am not one to dwell on the negative sides of things. Therefore, I would like to share an interesting experience I already had with
Twitter this past week. I re-posted an
article to Twitter that I read on my Feedly reader. Within hours after I posted this article, the
Digital Trends website that I subscribe too asked me to follow them on
Twitter. I found it fascinating how interconnected
all these learning networks actually are to one another.
Lastly, I would like to share an interesting article posted
on the Brock University Student Bloggers site titled Why Reading Week is Essential for Students. It is a good read and explains why “Reading Week” is so important for
university students. I am personally
looking forward to this week off, having some down time, and working in advance
on assignments that are due in the very near future!
Wishing everyone a great, safe reading week!
Alex
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| Gleefan ©2009. |
k12 Learning 20 (2011). Anatomy of Twitter Lingo @Reply, # Hashtag, Retweet, Favorite. Retrieved from http://k12learning20.wikispaces.com/twitter_lingo
Jing (2015). How to post a Tweet. Retrieved from http://screencast.com/t/z2dby76hdqe
