Peter Rock questions Twitter’s worth as a tool and Alec Couros invited us to chip in. So here’s my 2c.
Twitter is what you make it through sensible stalking. Who you are following and who is following you is critical to the quality of your Twitter experience.
Choose people who are exploring your field of interest (Wenger’s domain?) and pertinent thoughts, tools & technologies will come flying at you at the speed of light. You’ll make new contacts through them and hear just-in-time when events (webcasts, live conferences, or f2f conferences) are happening. It’s even possible to attend F2F conferences vicariously, as the edutwitterers discovered with this weekend’s Educon2.0. Additionally your followers are an informed peer group that can provide insightful answers to your questions.
But stalk sensibly, or end up reading a lot of “what i’m having for breakfast” tweets.
To find out who is tweeting about your interests, use a Twitter search engine like Terraminds.
I’m beginning to understand your advice (i.e. sensible stalking) and am finding it valuable. As well, thanks for the terraminds tip.