True confession. I wish there were a way to hide the follower count on Twitter. That might sound odd, but I’m being honest. Let me explain. I’ve said this many times, but Twitter is just not about number of followers, at all. I totally get that for businesses, it is. I get that companies buy followers, worry about their reach, and work hard to get “their numbers up.” But education, the heart of learning, is not about business. It’s about connecting.
I’ve been asked before, “How can I get more followers?” And I always reply with the same answer, “Twitter is about connecting with others, not about followers.” A hashtag will get your tweet seen if you need help. You will gain very close, truly lifelong friends from tweets you engage in. You will learn more, far more, than you ever thought possible. Engage. Connect. Reflect.
But learning on Twitter? It’s just not about follower count.
Recently, I met a new friend who is genuinely wonderful, and their words cut through me like a knife, “You probably don’t even know me,” the thought became a neon sign in my mind, flashing. Not About Followers. About PEOPLE. I want to know people. I want to learn about you and your classroom, and I want to share what I believe in, because it’s bubbling inside my soul and might explode if I don’t. Not because it’s cool to say it, or the trendy thing to do. But because, when we strip away all the “stuff” that surrounds us in education, all we have is each other.
I believe we can learn something from every single person we meet. I believe we are all in this learning thing together. Each one of us. YOU, me, her, him, US.
When I look at students, at other teachers, and at the Twitterverse, I will never see a number, because that reduces people to data… something that’s wrong with education in the first place. Connect with people, not numbers. We can do a lot of good for one another. And if I don’t know you yet, I want to. Because I have a lot to learn from you.
