An Unconventional Analogy for Trying Twitter

"I don't do Twitter."
"It's too shallow."
"I'm already on Facebook."
 
It wasn't until March 2012 at the NWP Spring Meeting in D.C. that I realized Twitter was a teaching resource that I wanted to stand up for.  Me?  I'm still in the novice stage of Twitter.  I've been on Twitter for just under six months, but tweeting for even less than that.  In D.C. I realized Twitter had become that badboy boyfriend that I wanted my parents (or NWP peers) to respect.  Misunderstood.  Deep.  A little wild.  It was the teaching resource that I was looking for.  (Yes, it appears I'm in a relationship with Twitter, and I'm okay with that).  I have digressed.
So besides being a little sultry, let me propose a far more appropriate, and even rural analogy.  Eggs.  You begin your journey on Twitter as an egg.  Your way of letting others know that you have a presence on Twitter is to post a profile picture.  Posting a profile picture and observing friends and celebrities is the equivalent of being a little chick.  So WHEN do you start viewing Twitter as purposeful or as a resource?  When you begin to respond, retweet, and even try on a hastag# or two!  Once you've caught yourself reading like a tweeter, or even drafting >140 character stories, that's when you are granted wings and are a fully-fleged little blue Twitter bird.
Who cares?  I care.  I preach two things: Being Gluten Free and Twitter.  Why?  Because they make me a better person.  
If I haven't grabbed you yet, stick with me.  Twitter is a long, long, long hallway of information.  Along the hallway are doors, doors of information about any topic #giftededucation, #commoncore, #eduwin (to name a few), that are just barely *cracked open.  Your mission on Twitter is to walk down the hallway, and peek in a few doors.  If you like what you see, retweet it, comment on it, use it in your classroom!
Twitter can be overwhelming, just like a badboy boyfriend or like caring for a flock of chicks, but I dare you to ignore its lure.  Twitter is anything but antiquated.  Try it.  Tweet it. 
 
-Abby 
 
*cracked= another rural reference