7 Things you shold know about twitter

7 things you should know about... Twitter
Scenario
Edward, an instructional technologist in Ohio, was generally familiar with Daniel’s research on active learning at his institution in California, but when they met at a conference and had an opportunity to talk, they realized their separate research projects had considerable synergy. Daniel’s research team included two others at his institution, as well as three more people around the country, whereas Edward was working alone on his project. Daniel found Edward’s results very interesting, however, and invited Edward to combine their two projects. Because Daniel’s team lived in various places, they had already set up a number of tools to facilitate communication across locations and time zones. One of those tools was Twitter, a Web site that let the team members communicate as a group through mini-updates displayed in blog-like format. The team exchanged e-mail and had conference calls, but they met in person very infrequently. Daniel told Edward that Twitter helped the group stay connected in ways that other means did not. Edward was skeptical at first. He set up an account, added the other researchers as friends, and started participating in their Twitter posts, or “tweets.” All were short (tweets are limited to 140 characters), some had nothing to do with the research, and many referred to people, events, and even long-standing inside jokes that Edward knew nothing of. For the first week or so, Edward felt very self-conscious posting tweets. He kept with it, though, and found that the more he used the site, the more valuable it became—his understanding was cumulative. Even though he couldn’t pass fellow researchers in the hall and exchange a few words, those exchanges happened electronically. He soon understood their jokes and references, and he found himself checking Twitter even before he read his e-mail. Through Twitter, Edward came to understand how Daniel had earned his reputation as not only a