Twitter following?? How do you do it?

Hi,
I still can't figure out how to follow like-minded people on Twitter? I'm a technology/teacher/coordinator for k-4 and I'd love to find a "PLC" (or "PLN" - I'm not sure which is the right set of initials!) to share (144-character) tips with, but I'm not sure how to do it. Help!! Am I the only over age 13 person who can't figure this out?
Thanx!

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Permalink Reply by Cheska Robinson on November 5, 2009 at 9:50pm

Hi Faith,

Don't feel so discouraged! Networking on Twitter does take awhile, especially when you're specifically trying to find others in a similar area. There are several ways you can do this.

1. If you already have a few people you're following, take a look at their list of followers. Teachers on Twitter also usually recommend other educators through use of hash tags, like #teachertuesday or #followfriday. Keep an eye out for those on those days!
2. Use Twitter search and type in keywords like "K-4 teacher", or "educational technology".
3. Use a Twitter directory, Twitter lists or generated Tweeple lists by other educators. http://wefollow.com/ is an example of a Twitter directory. A quick Google search will give you more examples.
4. Look through wikispaces with generated lists like Twitter4Teachers: http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/.

Here are some more resources, courtesy of R. Byrnes from FreeTech4Teachers:
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2008/12/10-teachers-to-follow-on-t...
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/03/8th-way-to-find-teachers-o...

Hope that helps! Feel free to add me on Twitter, @MissCheska.
I'm secondary science/tech, but I RT many resources for elementary/ms too :)

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Permalink Reply by Faith Shabat on November 6, 2009 at 7:26am

Thank you MissCheska. One more question. Where do you have your tweets going to? I don't want to get text messages all day. It will clutter up my family life, personal life, professional life. Can I send them to one spot (ie an email folder) which I can check once a day, or is there a way to create an inbox for professional text messages. How do other people manage this aspect?
Thanx,
Faith

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Permalink Reply by Laura Gonzalez on November 6, 2009 at 8:35am

I don't receive any tweets via text. I have that shut off; I check twitter.com whenever I feel like it.

Only follow professionals or you could set up one of those new lists. (I haven't tried the list yet so I don't really know how they work).

I liken it to riding the waves at the beach. Just surf what you like and don't bother with the rest. You are in control of how much twitter takes over your life. :)

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Permalink Reply by Cheska Robinson on November 6, 2009 at 5:29pm

No problem! :) Like Laura, I don't have my tweets sent to my phone. There are too many coming and going at once, and it'll drive me crazy! I suspect that's what's happening with yours! I'd recommend turning that setting off! Stick with the website, or use Tweetdeck (http://www.tweetdeck.com/). Once you download it, there will be an icon on your desktop. Click on it and Tweetdeck opens up a browser with all your PLN's, family and friends' tweets. All your tweets will be on this browser for you to read on your own time. It also refreshes every hour or so, I think, so you get the most up to date tweets when you open Tweetdeck.

One of the tricks I like to use with Tweetdeck is that I also create a "Favorites" columm. When I go through the tweets and see anything that I like or want to go back to later, I use the tab "Other Actions" >> "Tweet" >> "Favorite". That sends the tweet to that separate column on TweetDeck and stays there until I get the chance to read it, bookmark it and clear the column.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Storm on November 6, 2009 at 8:46am

it's a great resource, and I too only follow when i feel like it. i'd recommend just using the website to check.
i recently started too. sstorm01 if you want to check out my list. have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Faith Shabat on November 6, 2009 at 11:58am

Thanx so much for all of your advice. I'll try it all out over the weekend. Happy tweeting!!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin H. on November 6, 2009 at 5:59pm

What I have found is that building a Twitter PLC (whatever) takes time and patience. It's a slow process, not a quick one, and as you follow folks, they see if you are worth following. So, make sure you have a website (if you have one) linked in your Twitter bio and a few words about yourself.

Kevin (@dogtrax)

PS -- and keep yer sense of humor about you

from my comic Boolean Squared

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Permalink Reply by warren.aarong on August 27, 2011 at 7:56pm

I just started using Twitter not that long ago, but I am very happy with the results.

1. I suggest using tweetdeck to help organize your social networks. It will also automatically shorten your links and tweets and set up columns for your searches.

2. Search keywords that are important to you (you can use hashtags # to look for tweets tagged by authors) (i.e. #edtech #edchat)

3. Once you find a tweet that really interests you, check out the author. I always look to make sure they don't include too many personal tweets and that several of their most recent tweets are of interest to me.

4. As you build your network, you will notice lots of retweets (RT). You can continue to build your network by checking out the original authors of those tweets.

Enjoy!