5 Things I Think About Twitter After 25,000 Tweets
By Mark Barnes |
| via Twitter.com |
Soon, I'll surpass 25,000 tweets. This got me thinking about Twitter. Here are 5 things I thought:
- I Tweet a lot: The average number of tweets sent by a user on Twitter is 307 according to DMR. Considering more than 100 million people are active Twitter users each month, I was astonished by this statistic. It makes my 25K really cool, or it means I have far too much time on my hands.
- 6,000 people make for a lot of friends: For a couple of years now, I've been actively attempting to build my Twitter following. At roughly 6,000 followers, I used to feel sort of lonely. After all, I know educators who have more than 100,000, which is staggering, I think, for someone who is not a celebrity. Then, when I reviewed the stats on DMR, I realized that the average Twitter user has a paltry 208 followers. Suddenly, it seems like I'm standing in a very large crowd. Thanks PLN.
- It's okay to seek out new friends: For a long time, my connection philosophy was: "If you tweet it, they will come." I shared lots of content and waited for followers. Sure, I gained a couple of thousand loyal friends, but then my connections stagnated. I realized not so long ago that seeking out interesting people and following them first is sort of like handing out a business card. You'll be surprised how many people follow back. This reciprocation is what puts the "social" in social media.
- Cyber friends can be real friends: When I started using Twitter, it was nothing more than a promotional tool, and the people there were nothing more mythical figures, locked in my computer monitor. Now, I have made numerous friends from Twitter, whom I have met at conferences, dined with and collaborated with on various projects. This is the best part of Twitter.
- Mixed in those 25,000 tweets is some compelling conversation: While there are plenty of times I tweet a link to something and there is little follow-up, sometimes a simple statement or link sparks a very interesting debate, like this one.
How often do you tweet, and what do you think about Twitter?
Mark Barnes is an education author and consultant and the publisher of Brilliant or Insane. Learn more about Mark on our Team page. Follow him on Twitter here.
Thank you for sharing your thinking Mark. My stats are about half of yours. I started using it in 2007. There are times that I am prolific but usually I pop in and out of the stream during the day. I have been spending more time on Saturdays in an alternate account at a chat for Catholic educators. I think that it is an amazing resource, a place to challenge my thinking, a place to learn about alternatives to professional development, a place to challenge myself, and something I can't imagine leaving behind. I wrote a post a few years ago about what I saw as social media benefits. It really is amazing how connecting in online spaces has so much power and use.
ReplyDeleteHey Ann, thanks so much for this. I read your post, and I love how it details how so many different networks work. I guess this is another good example of connecting. Glad we've met.
DeleteI'll look for more of your work.
I see you do EdCamp. Do you know Kristen Swanson? She's one of the creators of EdCamp; she and I go way back.
Yes. I met Kristen several years ago. We run into each other every now and again - usually when I travel to Philadelphia for different education events. I actually met her before she got involved in EdCamps.
ReplyDeleteI am glad we met too. It is surprising that it was through Facebook. Usually I tend to initially "meet" educators through Twitter. I really should write a post of my own about Twitter. My uses have changed and it would be worth documenting my thinking about it. Best wishes on your continued thoughts on how you want to use that network.