I Inspired Him

After screwing around with my technology to be able to write this blog post I have lost my momentum. Please excuse the lack of clarity and perfection.

The 411: I am at a sleepover with my best friend. He is playing video games, & I never was one for video games so I went outside to read my newly started novel "Beat The Street".  After about 5 minutes he came up and asked what I was reading so I told him the synopsis of the book.  

After about another 5 minutes he asked, "Hey that looks good could I read a couple pages?"

Of course I handed over my book immediately because this is a kid who has a hate towards reading & would NEVER pick up a book by choice or force, even during school!
 
Why was I able to get him to read when everyone else failed?  Was that truly the power of friendship or boredom?

What do faces do 4 u

Living in an ever-changing, globally connected world can be difficult.  When sending a MMS message to someone across town or chatting with someone across the continent you are communicating, like it or not.  Since talking to someone face to face seems to be a thing of the past how can you know how they are feeling? FACES, of course! How can you make faces online while emailing or MMSing?  As Americans we have unofficially nationalized the alphabet of faces and emoticons.  Do you find yourself using these way too often?

If yes, how can we find a way around them? What else can we do? One company has found a solution. Who will be the next?
  
What do faces do for you?

Twitter in 2 words

Now that I have been using Twitter for approximately 2 months I feel like I am able to reflect about the service and what it brings to the world.

In 2 words I feel like I can describe Twitter, Life-Changing.

I wasn't at all sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up for Twitter but I believe it was well worth it.  I have come up with lists about Twitter that I believe are worth sharing.

What It does great:

• Connects teachers and anyone to people across the globe that they never would have met.
•  Spreads a little upbeat joy to everyone.
• An easy way to find some neat web apps and cool sites. (especially from @shannonmmiller)
• An easy way for anyone to get news updates on weather to a crash on the interstate.

What makes Twitter great for me:

• I can interact with others who have the same passion and understanding as me. In general people I am constantly around get very tired of always hearing about the library.
• A quick way to get answers for just about anything from what camcorder should I buy, to how can I add pizazz to my blog, to What is a PLN?
• A place to put my thoughts where I feel like people are listening.
• A place for me to build my PLN 15 years in advance! ;)  At that point in time I'm not sure if my Personal Learning Network will be outdated.  I'm truthfully not sure what I am going to use my group of educators I have gathered (PLN) for at this moment. (Note to self: tomorrow's blog post)

Some actual reflecting now...

Earlier I said that Twitter is Life-Changing so here is why in my perspective... Twitter has changed my life by connecting me to the world.  You don't have to wait until the 6:00 news to know that the fireworks display was canceled, or have to wait for the Thursday paper to learn what happened LAST week. You can access the news & people & updates specifically about things YOU like ANYTIME.

  Lets face it... The only bad things about Twitter is that it is  addicting, time consuming, & has too many whale carrying birds!

What does Twitter do to help you? How do we use Twitter effectively? When do we know we are using Twitter effectively?