At the risk of adding gas to the fire...
Monday, August 10, 2009 at 08:32PM @JConnell what does he [doug-johnson] expect? a medal, suspect it's some sort of code
about his [perceived] superiority? #utterbollocks - theokk
Goodness. Such an outpouring of reactions to my cancelling my Twitter account. Looks like Twitter is a good addition to my "sacred cow" list. When such issues tend to get emotional, it makes me wonder if further investigation is needed.
First let me say that my dropping Twitter was in no way meant to be disparaging to those who DO find value using it. If you find Twitter the best thing since waffles on a stick, I couldn't be happier for you and certainly don't think any less of you. Really. Nor was the intent of announcing this decision a way to cast myself in any light other than that of an adult who is capable of understanding his own learning style and needs. If that is considered worthy of a medal, we are living in a sad age indeed.
As I pretty much expected, most commenters folks suggested my "failure" with Twitter was due to:
- my lack of intelligence
- my lack of time spent on the product
- my lack of 21st century sensibilities - just not getting it
Caitlin summed it up pretty succinctly, writing, "If Twitter was too much noise and not enough value, you have only yourself to blame." It wouldn't be the first time charges of gross incompetence have been leveled at me. And remember, gross incompetence is 144 times worse than just regular incompetence!
One comment did give me serious pause, and perhaps helped me clarify why, in addition to personal ineptness, I found Twitter less appealing than others have. jyokley in praise of Twitter's immediacy wrote: "Twitter is more about instant gratification. I know what is on Joyce Valenza’s mind, almost as soon as she’s thinking it!"
Now you will not find a bigger Joyce Valenza fan than me in the entire world. It may well be due to Joyce's single handed efforts through her writing, speaking and personal example that the school library profession will move into a meaningful future. I try to read everything she writes, including her terrific blog "The NeverEndingSearch." And I consider Joyce not just a colleague, but a personal friend as well.
But what I appreciate most about Joyce (and Scott McLeod and Stephen Abrams and Miguel Guhlin and Kathy Schrock and Ian Jukes and David Warlick and the other couple dozen professional writers I "follow" through their blogs and magazine articles) is their considered, thoughtful responses and judgements about the world, not their "find o' the moment."
Today's information stream is a fire hose. It's Joyce's and other educational leaders' ability to discriminate between the novel and the important that appeals to me. As a procrastinator with subtle undertones of ADD, I need all the help focusing I can get - not more distractions.
As educators we believe that different students may indeed have different learning styles, and try to honor that individuality. Why should be not give each other as adults the same respect?
Something to think about the next time a teacher or administrator isn't willing to adopt the latest and greatest tool with which you may have fallen in love.
... tickets for the Inaugural Event are $50 but individuals promising not to multi-task (IM, e-mail, Twitter, etc.) during the event receive a 50% discount. - Information Overload Day (thanks to Stephen's Lighthouse for the link)
Reader Comments (16)
I agree with your post yesterday and today, Doug. I managed to twitter for awhile but just didn't see the point. I tended to follow more work friends on twitter and had social friends/librarians on facebook and the two just didn't mesh. So now I use my facebook status update instead. Like you, I find my time valuable and twitter just wasn't meeting my standards. The value didn't match the time. So I'm one of the rare YALSA members who *didn't* twitter at Annual conference last month. But I was facebookin', which is good enough for me. And my facebook friends. So I proudly tell people I tried twitter but turned it down. Aren't we lucky that there are enough social networking tools out there that we can play favorites?
For what its worth, I don't like Twitter either. Partly it is probably because I don't like phones either. I find the twitter feeds of people whose blogs I've read for years to be less interesting than their blogs were, and in particular, I hate the whole @conversation system. Too much of the time people I'm reading are responding to people I don't want to read, I can't backtrace the context, it is even worse than blog comments, something that would have been difficult to imagine a few years ago.
@DOUGJOHNSON BOLLOCKS TO YOU, PRE-NATIVE DIGITAL SCUM! RT@WHOLE WORLD!!!
And we don't add "gas," anymore--we only use bio-diesel.
Doug, you're right that Twitter is noisy. I've been relying on apps developed for it (like TweetDeck) to sort through posts and keep on top of things. Personally, I think Twitter is dead meat once Google Wave hits. Ok, maybe not dead dead, but for what I'm looking for in real time updating and discourse, a single Google Wave with a bunch of the Twitter librarians I follow on it will be hideously good. (I am hopeful it lives up to the expectation I have developed in my mind, which may or may not be based in reality.)
It's all because I called you a twit the other day, isn't it.
Seriously, I'll miss you on Twitter. I have found Twitter is all about who or whom I follow, and you posted some good articles and resources every so often. Still, I know how to find you in other places, so there is no escape for you no matter how hard you try to hide.
Quite agree with you. Tried it 3x, several weeks each. Too much nonsense, and no answers to any of my questions. Life is too short.
Experimentation is good, you've been, you've tried, you've moved on. Like life in general really! I too tried Twitter but found it didn't suit my needs but I enjoy Facebook and it is possible to hide all those comments from people who constantly update their status with such drivel as 'Phew, isn't it hot", 'Think I'll make lunch", "Just cut my toenails" etc! Life is short - let's make it meaningful!
Doug Im not holding the Twitter abandonment against you. I can love it or leave it, and often take spells away from it. Twitter did not seem all that important at NECC this year, which to me possibly indicates its decline in use (usefulness) amongst educators. But I still have my Twittergadget running and read through the nuggets mining for something of use. Don't feel guilty for abandoning the tool. How many jumped in a tool (re: compliments of the infamous "23 Things" movement) only to abandon it later? You tried it, you liked or didnt like it, and kept the useful, leaving the rest. Lots of blog faders and podcast faders out there, no? I do recall last time I heard you speak of Twitter in a workshop, you said then it is something to try, despite the fact you had not really found it useful to your learning. That's true of all the tools we use. Some we will like and find useful, some we will try on just for the ability to say we tried it, and perhaps speak of it knowledgeably.
I don't think your lack of participation in Twitter will effect your ability to effectively do your current job or get any future speaking engagements. So don't sweat it. I still consider your blog my number one rss feed and will attend your sessions at conferences. Despite being a twitter fader, you still stretch my thinking, and really that's all that matters.
Dear Doug,
When I first tried Twitter, I did not "get it". Now I do, and I use it mostly for posting my own questions to others. With a lot of very smart people following me, I can quickly get feedback on something that I need-- everything from an answer to a school committee member about parking fees for students at high schools (via the iPhone while at the school committee meeting) to the time I needed to spend $600 right away and wanted a document camera and used Twitter to find out everyone's favorite model.
I follow about 125 people, some of whom are prolific Twitterers and I enjoy "watching" their excitement when they find a new resource, as well as respect their expertise on various topics. I give back to those that ask questions from any of my followers, since that is the important thing about collaborative online tools-- pay it forward. (I try to be a good "professional PLN" Twitter user and not post personal stuff too often, but, at times, I do step out of my professional role and post something non-techie I want to share.)
I created a blog post a while back about the increasing use of teachers using Twitter to ask me questions that required much more than 140 characters to answer. What I was trying to say in the post is users should pick the correct tool for the job-- Twitter for things that require short answers and email for those that require longer answers. People would DM in me in Twitter with questions that I wanted to answer, but, in Twitter, I had no access to their email address for a longer response, and wound up DM'ing them back with my email address so they could email me the question for my response. I do not mind helping others at all. However, this multi-step process became a bit cumbersome after a while.
As one who tries all types of Web 2.0 tools, and thinks of ways they can be used to support the curriculum and the professional development of educators, I find Twitter to be one of the useful ones for me.. However, if a tool is not useful for you or does not meet your expectations, there is no need to continue to use it because it is "trendy".
I can always reach Doug in many other ways, and will continue to do so when I need his wisdom and advice. He is not leaving the Web-- just Twitter. I will miss his twitticisms but will continue to enjoy his witticisms!
Kathy
Doug ... I'm with you. But as Twain said it is disagreements that make horse races.
I guess I know myself well enough to know I would find the white noise way too distracting.
http://www.slideshare.net/henricodolfing/24-reasons-why-twitter-sucks - sums it up well for me.
.... and some comments above prove it is not the platform that dictates the manners is it? Hmmmm!
Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate the comment. Your statement "Aren't we lucky that there are enough social networking tools out there that we can play favorites?" is one I'll remember!
Doug
Hi Tom,
The whole "follower/followed" thing has always bothered me. I could never quite figure out who could see whose message and how to know if one were getting entire conversations.
Thanks for the comment,
Doug
Michael,
Oh, you honey-tongued devil (and PC) you!
Doug
Hi Andrew,
Twitter does seem to inhabit sort of a nether world between synchronous and asynchronous. Perhaps that was part of my unease. Let's hope Wave lives up to its hype. Sounds like a mess to me!
Doug
Hi Mary,
You KNOW how thin skinned I am.
I am looking into the witness protection program...
Doug
Hi Cathy,
Oh, I'll still recommend people try Twitter and especially know about it.
On to the next greatest thing - GoogleWave???
Thanks,
Doug
Hi Kathy,
For people who like a faster pace - like you - I can see how Twitter is beneficial. I'm just never going to be a the front of the pack. And while I like to be responsive to teacher and administrative needs, I also think all of us need to think about what can be considered reasonable. Unless one is performing first aid, my sense is that the considered response is better than the instant response.
Thanks for commenting. I am guessing you are in the majority on Twitter!
Hope you are off to good start to your school year,
Doug
Hi Greg,
Great slideshow! I did find it a bit ironic that just below there is a link on the Slideshare site that reads "Get votes on Twitter" I guess you can run but you can't hide.
All the best,
Doug
I wanted to share my view of Twitter from someone who is new to the library profession. Twitter was difficult for me at the beginning, but I made it part of my 15 minute Web 2.0 routine as you and Joyce suggested. During that time, I gradually grew the network of people I followed. I was so energized by the amount of resources being tweeted. My Delicous account was quickly becoming full of excellent web sites, articles and blog post from amazing library leaders. For me, Twitter was helping to fill a void I had found switching from the classroom to the library. I crave professional interaction and brainstorming. Without a grade level team, I was left feeling isolated. Through networks like Teacherlibrarian Ning and Twitter, I was able to “meet” the very people whose work I was discussing in my library classes. I have compared it to being a groupie at a rock concert! These networks also allow me to ask questions and share my own learning with other new librarians like myself. Having this immediate access to such an experienced and knowledgeable community has only elevated my instructional practices and will continue to mold the library program in my school. Your tweets will be missed, but as others have mentioned, I will be “following” you through other sources.
Nothing really important to add. I've tried to keep up with Twitter but have had no success and am fading on Facebook as well. I guess it comes down to an inherent suspicion of continuous off-the-cuff remarks and the fact there are very few times during the year when I need an immediate answer to something. Perhaps it is a reflection of my own insecurity that when I step out of my own considered reflections and into a more instant response I more often get into trouble.
Hi Amy,
I am very pleased that Twitter works for you. I agree that as sole practitioners in most of our buildings, online communities of fellow professionals are more important to librarians than for most folks.
Thanks for commenting!
All the best,
Doug
Hi Floyd,
I think I've decided I like quality rather than expediency! Good to hear from another Twitter-less person.
All the best,
Doug
This summer, I took a break from most of my library 2.0 world. I purposefully pondered and relaxed and I just turned it all off. In my blog post about my break, I also discussed leaving twitter. (http://archipelagoblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/turning-off-20.html). Now that work is starting up again, I think I have to get back on the bandwagon. However, I am going to shrink the amount of people I follow, both on Twitter and in my Google Reader. I enjoyed my break - and I think it may be a good thing to do every summer! I understand why you would leave Twitter - and I know why I want to get back to it as work starts again - I love communicating with other school librarians about daily issues, purchases, and tech decisions.
Thanks for your blog - I will keep it in my Reader!
(I am trying to catch up today!)
eLisabeth