Stop Killing the Love Of Twitter!

Have you caught the Twitter craze yet? Crazy question, right? Some of you are thinking, "Um, HELLO! What social media rock have you been hiding under for the past few years?!?" Ease up for a minute because I know plenty of people who refuse to jump into Twitter. Don't bother giving them a life jacket because they don't need it. Then there are others who take off their flip flops and dip their feet into the Twitter ocean, but quickly turn around and head back to the safety of the beach where they are comfortable. 

What's stopping these people from one of the greatest social media tools out there?!? THE RULES!!! It's people like me who hand people a list of hyperlinks for getting the most out of Twitter. Geesh! It seems like EVERYONE has some rule you should follow on Twitter, and the amount of rules is crazy. Some of the most ridiculous ones I used to believe (which gives me the right to make fun of them now) include:

*Be original. Don't just retweet what everyone else says. 

Why not? There are plenty of people in the world who are smarter and funnier than me. If I learn from or laugh at their Tweets, why not share that wisdom and humor with others?? Why reinvent the wheel? Retweet away, my friends!

*Decide who you want to be on Twitter.

This one makes me giggle. Um, don't I want to be ME?!? So many people today think we should separate our personal and professional lives--and pick one of those lives to portray on Twitter. Am I starting to sound like a cat food commercial? Get it?? Cats have 9 lives and I'm talking about establishing which "life" you want to lead on Twitter...oy. That joke was a lot funnier when I first started typing it. 

And...focus!!!

Why do I need to establish a profile that only relates to one aspect of my life? I really can't do that. As an educator, I believe student learning should extend beyond the typical school day. Aren't I being a hypocrite if I say my personal life and professional life are two separate things? My professional life certainly doesn't end at 3:30 every day. And I carry my faith and Wildcat pride--two major aspects of my personal life--with me every day to work. So, scroll through my Tweets and you'll find great tips for implementing technology in the classroom, powerful words from Max Lucado and Joyce Meyer, links to news articles and blogs about a variety of education-related topics, and thoughts about and by my beloved Wildcats. I don't actively seek followers. I'm not some high-profile user with over a million followers. I'm just Jenn, and the beauty of throwing out those rules is that you get variety when you read my Tweets. 

Disclaimer: If you're a business on Twitter trying to market a product and connect with clients, scratch everything I've said up to this point. But if you're just an average Joe wanting to jump into the world of Twitter, don't let people scare you off with all these so-called rules you should follow on Twitter. Just throw on that life jacket, plug your nose, and dive into the wonderful world of Twitter--you'll be glad you joined the fun!