Thing 3: Twitter and other online communities

It's funny. I tend to be pretty good about embracing technology (after all, one of the hats I wear in my current position at BOCES is Model Schools, which means I have to embrace technology and then turn around and teach it to others), but online communities are one area where I struggle. I'm pretty comfortable with Facebook...at least, as far as posting and reading goes. I'm not a fan of all of the news surrounding Facebook, Google, and Amazon lately with regards to privacy, but I'm not sure how much of that is justifiable, and how much of that is a little bit of curmudgeonly "get off of my lawn" mentality. I have two young adult girls, which means that I'm way old when it comes to my social media foodprint (Facebook is sooo five years ago, Mom)...in their eyes, we older folks have made Facebook old, so they have fled to other media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. (Snapchat appears to be their platform of choice these days. It's how they generally text their friends as well as post stories.)

So, every once in a while, I try out another platform, and so far, I've not been a fan. That's okay. Much as I'd like to get rid of Facebook, it's a great way to keep up with relatives, hear about family reunions, and occasionally hear about our friends from the various places where I've lived. I've rather resisted falling down the Pinterest rabbit hole, Snapchat baffles me, and Instagram might be my go-to...eventually. It's slowly growing on me, though I still haven't totally figured it out.

Not long ago, I gave Twitter another try. Most of my limited interaction with Twitter is when a tweet is referenced in a news story, and I click on the tweet's hyperlink. I've also used Twitter on those rare occasions when something is going on where I might need instant information (Why are helicopters hovering not far from where I live? Are there trees down in the area from the recent storm?) But I haven't yet tried to actively follow anyone. So I thought I'd try. I chose a few folks to follow, such as Future Ready Librarians, Jennifer Lagarde, and Shannon Miller. From time to time I peek at Twitter to see what they are tweeting, and I like what they post. But these folks also have Facebook profiles, and I see a lot of similar information there, so I've drifted back to Facebook for those kinds of posts.

Comments

  1. pollyalidaJune 22, 2018 at 7:17 AM

    Most of the time my twitter activity is just for searching for new tech tools and ideas. And sharing resources. Not as much personal interaction as on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete

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