An Ocean of Messaging via Twitter
What is all this twit?
When visiting the cephaloblog you may have noticed the purple squircle on the right side near the top. It’s a little Flash app that loads messages from my Twitter account. Twitter is a free service that allows anyone to send micro-messages of 140 characters or less out into the world wide Web.
It is easy to be skeptical about this tool and it is difficult at first to describe the utility of the service. The best explanation that I have found so far is this video from Common Craft:
An Ocean of Messages
So Twitter can be about the little things that happen in your life. But it can also be a neat collaboration and connection tool. For instance, I have found a number of users focused on ocean and science topics.
One of them is Michael Coyne from seaturtle.org (seaturtle). He recently got the crew from the popular tech podcast Buzz Out Loud to adopt a leatherback sea turtle. A satellite tag was placed on that sea turtle, named JaMoTo, and it is now sending updates of its position via Twitter. And you can follow along.
Another example is Dr. David E. Guggenheim from 1planet1ocean.org (OceanDoctor). I recently followed a series of messages he sent from the Explorers Club Annual Dinner in New York City. It is unlikely I would be invited to such an event, but it was neat having my own paparazzitwitterazzi there to cover the carpet:
I barely recognize many of my colleagues in clothes, let alone formal wear. I'm used to seeing them in/under the water. 11:57 PM March 15, 2008
I'm honored to be seated at dinner beside Don Walsh, one of only 2 humans to have visited the deepest part of the ocean 08:15 PM March 15, 2008
Sylvia Earle: How did (I) become an explorer? It's easy. You ask questions, and you never stop. 07:51 PM March 15, 2008
Message in a Bottle
At first it is easy to get lost in the overall ocean of messages that Twitter can generate. But the trick is to search for and follow just the folks you find most interesting. I find the people I am following often lead me to information I would not otherwise have normally found, but still within the purview of my interests. In turn, I can post about resources that they may not have noticed either. Plus I get to learn when they are drinking coffee, all at the speed of 140 characters per second (or thereabouts).
So if you are not on Twitter and do decide to stick a toe in, let me know. And if you are already swimming in it, message me directly.
Ocean and Science Twittizens
Here are some of the folks I am following on Twitter:
- Michael Coyne, from seaturtle.org (seaturtle)
- JaMoTo, an adult female leatherback sea turtle (JaMoTo )
- Dale Basler, a Wisconsin science teacher and co-host of Lab Out Loud (Basler)
- Sonya Buyting, science journalist from Sassy Science (sassysonya)
- Dr. Kirsten Standford, co-host of This Week in Science (drkiki)
- Dr. Jenn Forman Orth from the Invasive Species Weblog (invasivespecies)
- Dr. David E. Guggenheim from 1planet1ocean.org (OceanDoctor)
March 31st, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Have to say, for now twitter is still in the domain of the technorati. I think half of my twitter feed subscribers are just freaks who are trying to follow all twitterers (thousands!). It’s cute and fun (though it was a beast of a job getting that twitter widget to look the way I needed it to) but it’s not really an important part of my blog.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Jenn: Agreed about the twots. And about the technorati.
But I also find that there are a lot of teachers and educational technologist using it as part of their so-called Personal Learning Networks. It can provide just-in-time answers like no other resource that I have found.
Also, if I find someone interesting, I click on their followers too, to see where they lead. That’s how I found out about the Sassy Science Podcast. And about Lab Out Loud. I imagine there is a number at which point it will become less useful and too unwieldy. But in the 100 person range, it definitely is providing a steady stream of interest and utility. And hasn’t yet gotten too weird for me.