I was somewhat disturbed about a recent post by a friend and connected colleague concerning the state of Twitter and its use by some individuals in what is now fast becoming the education social media culture. My friend seemed to be longing for the “good ole days” of Twitter when it was smaller numbers and people knew their place in their interacting with others. I remember those days as well, since I was on Twitter years before my friend. I think my perspective and take-aways on this are a little different.
I see the benefits of having a collaborative tool like Twitter to improve the profession of teaching. Twitter enables educators to easily and quickly exchange content in the form of links to other educators. The very things that need to be exchanged for collaboration include: articles, posts, movies, podcasts, websites, whitepapers, videos, interviews, and now even books. Twitter is not the format that one uses for exchanging ideas requiring deep thought and reflective exchanges. Twitter does however enable educators to drive traffic to places where those exchanges may take place. I personally do not consider Twitter as a form of Professional Development, but rather a bulletin board that directs folks to the places that they can get personalized professional development. It is that ability for educators to self-direct their intellectual growth and skill improvement that has led me to push to grow this social media culture for many years now.
Back in the day before Twitter there was little transparency in education. Teachers were trained in education courses from colleges, many of which were slow to change from 19th and 20th century models of teaching. They were then placed in a job that was governed by the culture of the school to which they were assigned. Collaboration, to whatever level it existed, was limited to a building or district. Those educators who were invited to attend them attended education conferences. It was also a matter of whom the budget allowed for conference attendance. The speakers at these conferences were often administrators who brought along their lead learners to share their best and most progressive lessons in sessions with others. Keynotes or highlighted session speakers were often celebrities, authors, administrators, consultants, vendors, or even politicians. Social Media has changed that for educators. Educators, many of whom gained prominence by sharing with others through social media, are dominating today’s conferences.
Sharing Is Not Bragging. The whole condemnation of self-promotion is a little ridiculous since to a degree everyone on social media self-promotes in order to get their message out to a larger audience. Using your voice to a limited audience seems counter productive. There are some who do it too often, but it is a public platform. We can’t regulate what others tweet. Of course the irony of many bloggers writing about, or condemning self-promotion is that they often self-promote within their own blogs or tweets to drive traffic to their posts. It is the best way to share ideas with a larger audience. Yes, there are “Rock Star” educators on Twitter, but that more often comes from sharing great ideas. If I might indulge in some self-promotion here; I direct you to A Rock Star, not by choice.
I hate that we have, what I refer to as, Drive-by presenters at conferences. They fly in for a session or keynote and fly out immediately after their delivery. The fact of the matter is that they did share needed info with a larger audience and as much as I hate their not sharing further with more personal interactions with conference participants, they do offer what people often need to hear. That is the goal we want to achieve.
My friend also seemed to be down on those who only RT tweets. Re-Tweeting serves several purposes. First it allows novice tweeters to somewhat engage in Twitter as they learn the culture. I RT frequently when I find great tweets so that my followers, who may not have gotten that tweet, may benefit from it. Yes, there are some who never get beyond the RT phase of tweeting, but that is their choice and loss. We need not judge them for that. I also discovered the power of an RT lies in how good the original Tweet is. If one RT’s really smart Tweets from really smart people, She/he is credited for that tweet and those smarts, as well as the original tweeter. It does build a following, but if it is not followed by original thoughtful tweets, that following may be short-lived.
One other thing that we must all keep in mind is that Twitter is Social Media. That word “social” opens the door for folks to talk about whatever the hell they want to talk about. Most of my followers know my Friday’s are Pizza and wine nights. That has nothing to do with education, but everything to do with me. Twitter is based on relationships. Often those relationships come with more than just exchanging links.
An important fact that my friend overlooked in the post is that we each have a responsibility to pick and choose that we trust to follow in our personalized learning networks. That is what makes them personalized. I would suggest to anyone who uses Twitter, that if for any reason someone does not strike a chord with you, UNFOLLOW him or her. I would also caution you to maintain people who disagree, as opposed to those who are just being obnoxious. That disagreement will promote deeper reflection on the very things you need to reflect on. That is why I read posts that I do not always agree with.
The very strength of Twitter comes from it being open. It affords access and transparency to education that has never been afforded before. It is also new to many educators who need time to adjust and fit in. We best serve our followers by modeling Twitter the best way that we can, but we can’t tell others what they must do to fit in. Eventually, everyone will get it. We must be tolerant of those who get it but choose to game the system. This sounds like real life outside the classroom. Control and compliance don’t seem to fit into social media. What is different is that we can pick and choose who to follow and how much to engage them. It’s all about the personal learning. By the way this is just my opinion and has no direct bearing on whatever you choose to do in your social media interactions.
I think the push back for self promotion is not about promoting ideas, but the idea of promoting ourselves, in effect branding ourselves by using generic quotes and less than introspective blog posting. The fly in/fly out presenters at conferences often have reasons they cannot stay longer, but the tweet in and deign to respond to tweets back have none. Let’s have more conversations and less drive by tweets.
William you are one of my favorite voices on Twitter because you have a clear point or view and are courageous about expressing your thoughts. Much respect…. But I think you missed the mark on this one. Part of the notion of democratizing media is that people are free to use it as they see fit. There is room for those who want conversation and room for those who want to be drive-by tweeters. Why must we attempt to dictate what the optimal use of Twitter is? Who is harmed by the drive by speaker or tweeter? Too often I’ve seen people hesitant to express themselves because they fear the wrath of the earth-based arbiters of good and evil. I would submit that the best way to get more people engaged in the conversation you want is to make it safe for people to participate anyway they want. Much love my brotha’…
Errol, it would be injudicious for me to not state my opinions 😉 Like any true democracy, the use of Twitter comes with responsibility (at least it should in the ed community.) You ask who is harmed by the drive by’s, it would be those who come to Twitter looking for conversations over substantive issues but instead are assaulted with a too constant stream of tweets that are quite frankly bumper sticker quality.
I completely understand there are those who feel they will be judged by others on Twitter when they tweet and they are correct. We are all judged by our interactions on all social media platforms. The real question is will they be attacked or will they be challenged? I try to challenge and may sometimes fall short either through the medium (140 characters….) or through my inattentiveness to word choice. Heck, sometimes I just choose to be peevish and/or juvenile. My point being, what good is the rhetoric if when challenged we simply cry “Don’t judge me”? And as always, thanks for the push back. 🙂
This is why I respect you Will….always candid and thoughtful….
You’ve made a good point on the ed community responsibility piece. Like all communities this one has a distinctive culture and set of expected/accepted behaviors.
What may be peculiar here is that unlike well established sectors of the education community, the connected educator community is young and evolving. In many ways, this is the wild west of the education nation. People are trying new things, experimenting and attempting to see what works.
These are exciting times to be in education and I suspect that we all may be quite surprised to see how the connected educator community looks and behaves five years from now.
I was around when Al Gore invented the Internet . I clearly remember the massive online debate in the early online education community about whether it was “ethical” to use the internet for commerce. Educators who saw the Internet as a tool for meaningful research were appalled at the thought of the Internet becoming a frivolous “market” for buyers and sellers.
I suspect that even those who were most vehemently opposed to the “garish” commercialization of the earliest connected educator community, now enjoy being able to buy a book on Amazon.
I see the twists, turns and detours we’re all taking as part of the birthing process. I think we all benefit by giving every sector of this new community lots of space to “act out.” I have faith that in the end it will all be good, because the basic culture of the community leans toward the greater good. So hey, let’s enjoy the journey!
Much love…
I agree with William. The frustration lies not with Twitter, but educators who are constantly tweeting, having their other “connected” educators RT their posts, and creating fortune cookie tweet branded cards. They aren’t sharing original ideas…they are angling for the next conference keynote opportunity. These educators have created a new Twitter culture of “what can you do for me?” Trying to network with people only to extend a brand or persona that they have created. I don’t think they are being real. Twitter has become a place where people shout a lot about how great they are. I find the best educators who are doing something meaningful with students don’t have to shout about it at all…..they don’t even feel the need to queue it up in their Buffer. They just do it because it’s their job as educators.
As someone who tweets a lot (and sometimes keynotes), if you ever think I am falling into one of these categories of concern, please call me on it immediately and publicly!
Thanks for the interesting back-and-forth here. Great stuff.
Like any product that’s being marketed, people can vote with their feet/wallet. This is precisely the reason we can unfollow or block.
Moaning about it achieves nothing.
Great post Tom. Savvy and wise perspective.
Thanks!
[…] I was somewhat disturbed about a recent post by a friend and connected colleague concerning the state of Twitter and its use by some individuals in what is now fast becoming the education social me… […]
Although you don’t think of Twitter as a forum for PD, this thoughtful post belies that for me. Without Twitter I don’t know how I would have connected to so many dedicated educators. Through chats, links and blogs I learn and share.
Hello Tom,
I’m loving the banter between you and the “connected colleague”. Several days ago, you responded to a tweet asking what it is you do. Your response was perfectly priceless, “I learn, and I share.” Can it get boiled down any more simply than that? Twitter, like other social media, is an outstanding tool for learning and sharing. When our learning and sharing improves, we acquire a following and establish meaningful relationships. For me, tweeting feeds into blogging, which will hopefully feed into book writing / publishing. As you have mentioned previously, just a few minutes of Twitter each day satisfies our thirst for personal learning. The tweeps I follow contribute significantly more than just 140 characters of text. Words alone cannot convey the appreciation I hold for my PLN mates – most of whom I chat with every day on Twitter. Shortcomings, really?!? Bob
Mr. Whitby,
As I read your post I sensed I could see your point of view. Ultimately this is your blog and that is perfectly acceptable. I will say that I don’t agree with everything that you’ve stated.
First, I do believe Twitter to be a form of PD. The chats I choose to participate in have pushed my thinking, promoted reflection and driven me to learn more. Most specifically the Standard Based Grading chat. To interact with Rick Wormeli and others has really helped my depth of understanding when it comes to that topic.
When I attend a conference and listen to speakers for 45 minutes or so. I find a similar experience to Twitter. The speaker often times pushes my thinking, creates reflection and possibly pushes me to learn more.
So yes, I do believe Twitter is a form of PD.
As for the twitter shortcomings. Personally I believe in the follow/unfollow button. If I don’t care for what a person is sharing I have two choices:
1) I can unfollow
2) I can reach out and discuss the issue on a more 1-1 level
But the choice is mine on how I handle it.
I have a question for you, in your above post you referred to your “friend” several times. I’m assuming since the person is your friend you have spoken on this topic. May I ask, how was the conversation when you presented push-back? Was it a two-way conversation? Just curious.
-Ben
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[…] an educational Twitter user at any level, you need to read Tom Whitby’s post “What Twitter Shortcomings?“. Tom is always good for a thought provoking post and he doesn’t disappoint here. […]
I enjoyed reading this post. The contrasting opinions on these topics are fascinating, and I find that I agree with bit and pieces everywhere, as well as disagreeing. I’m a Twitter user, and I’m here to stay, for many reasons. You’re right, I just unfollow the obnoxious.