Readings: Week 11

.... or Twitter: Week 11.

So, per our instructions, I took the plunge into Twitter. And? I just don't know. Like a lot of people, I've long thought Twitter is just kind of silly for most people. (I always say, "It's like Facebook with just status updates. Who needs that?") I can see how it'd be useful for certain types of people-- politicians, celebrities, and the media. And they're the type that are largely known (in the public consciousness) for using it. But the more time I spent around SI, the more I came to think there might be something to Twitter having professional uses too.

And, after spending some time there, I think it probably can. But like every other professional tool, it takes some time to get used to and some figuring out to use well. Personally, just jumping in and following some people, I'm just overwhelmed. Figuring out who to follow and then finding the things they say that are actually useful is just too much; I'm not able to find information I actually want or like.

I'll admit I haven't spent that much time on Twitter, and I know there are tools that can help make the abundance of info less overwhelming. But I still feel like it may not be the most efficient tool for staying professionally connected. Hard to tell, though.

One thing I think is key is having a good strategy for who you follow, and not just following random people who look interesting. For one thing, if I'm going to use Twitter for professional purposes, I really don't want to follow people who fill it up with non-professional updates. I'm  really not that interested in the personal lives of random people I don't know. But some people only feel comfortable if they're able to really merge their personal and professional identities, so that's the only way they'll feel comfortable tweeting. That's just not me, though. What this means is that it's not a good idea to just click "follow" on someone whose tweets you aren't familiar with just because you think their description looks interesting. Finding people to follow is thus more complicated than I anticipated.

Overall, I'm still on the fence about Twitter, but it'll be interesting to hear other people's observations in class tomorrow. There's a lot to be said and a lot of different perspectives out there, I'm sure.