Over the years I feel like I've met many a person who has told me that one of the things they most like about vacationing in someplace different is to be able to "people watch." And, I must confess, the idea of being in a sunny, foreign local alongside a busy avenue gazing out at passersby appeals to me, as well. Whether watching a young couple in love or a vendor haggling over a sale with a potential customer, it is always "strangely captivating" to observe others. Some of my fondest travel memories are of just that. For instance, some years ago in Rome, I recall seeing a young priest sitting on a bench (happily smoking a cigar) in a rather heated discourse, as a particularly memorable moment. Language barriers aside (I like to imagine he was speaking Esperanto) I was not close enough (nor creepy enough) to overhear what he was saying. Regardless, it was indeed captivating.

So, why am I writing this? Because of Twitter. I won't claim to be a Twitter-fanatic, but I use it. Or, rather, I pay attention to it and occasionally take advantage of it. I won't bore you with a long exegesis as to why Twitter is important (I'm not sure it is) nor will I spend much time extolling the virtues of "the network".* What I will do is list some reasons that it is worth paying attention to with a link to a twitter feed (e.g. a user account):

1.       Discovering the New

2.       Staying Current 

3.       Following Conferences (I can't attend) 

4.       Listening in to How Other People Work

5.       Connecting with Friends

6.       People Watching 

So, in the end, I won't argue that "you absolutely have to be on Twitter." But, what I will say is that it makes for an interesting window into others' monologues (be they interior or virtual).

*Note: over the past couple of years, many ed-tech users frequently praise Twitter as a means for isolated instructional technology specialists and/or "Educational Technologists" to communicate with each other. That is, one user posts a question for others to respond. I'm sure many folks use it that way (and find it helpful). I tend to find that there is something altogether exclusionary about Twitter when used this way. Too often it feels like a clique-ishness  gets developed where one user is only valuing the opinions of a smaller set (and then, at best it is navel-gazing; at worst, rather offensive).