Exploring Twitter

For quite some time, I've been a slightly intrigued by Twitter.  I owe it to The Regis and Kelly Show.  A couple summers ago, I was an avid fan of the show (ok, more like an avid fan of Kelly's shoes), and watched and laughed along at their process learning how to 'Tweet.'  I was slightly intrigued, enough so to log on and make my own account.  My Twitter circle consisted of four other people: Regis and Kelly, Ashton Kutcher, and Oprah, and the virtual friendship was unfortunately a one-way street.  It was kind of cool that I knew what Ashton and Demi were doing on the weekends, and whether or not I needed to DVR Oprah's show, but other than that, I just didn't see a whole lot of value.  At this time, I saw Twitter as nothing but a place to let the world in on ridiculously random information no one really cared about.  

Hence the typical Facebook statuses...


"(Insert Junkie #1) is going to bed."

"(Junkie #2) hates two-faced people."

"(Junkie #3) is depressed."

Although I guess you could consider this all 'networking,' I found this practice boring, and somewhat awkward.  I'm all for the connections and accessibility F'book has to offer, but it seemed like it was becoming a place to stalk people you would never pick up the phone to call, or an easier place to break up with your boyfriend.  

Then, Megan, a teacher at NU, asked me to 'publish' a blog post for our school's faculty blog.  Thinking this would be a post read by my fellow colleagues, my husband, and maybe my mom, I typed, proofread, and hit the send button without dwelling or stressing.  "It's All About the Questions," examines my use of essential questions when planning and guiding my 10th grade language arts curriculum.

Megan, as well as Bridgette, aka, Twitter extraordinaire, immediately 'tweeted' my post, and within literally minutes, it was out there for the world to see.  Megan's tweet ended up posted on a Twitter page entitled, "Tech News Daily." A principal she knows then shared it with her language arts teachers.  Within a half hour, I had reconnected with a fellow English major from my days at UNI, an English teacher I've gotten to know via ICN in my former Master's classes, and some great reading material from other teachers in my field.  Now this is what I call 'networking.'

So, I am now an official member of Twitter.  My twitter name is ajorgensen13.  I am currently overwhelmed, as I have no idea how to 'RT,' or re-tweet, but hope to play around this weekend.  I'm already seeing some really neat things that could happen if I would open this up to my students in the classroom.  I'll be sure to blog about my trials and tribulations in the Twitter world, and have posted a sidebar on the bottom of this blog to track my tweets.  And if you already call Twitter a home, followers and navigation guides are welcomed and encouraged :) 


P.S. Did you know Brad Womack and Emily Maynard from The Bachelor each have a Twitter???  Have I convinced you in its worth yet???  Just sayin'...