PLN Problems Part 2

 A little over a month ago, I wrote a post about PLN problems. The gist of the post was about how some on Twitter (and other social networks) may feel invisible at times. Many of us pose questions or share resources that may go unnoticed. So, I decided to create a Google Form to survey social networkers regarding their experiences online. When I published my blog post I had low expectations. Call my cynical, but I did not think I would have much of a response. At first, my suspicions were right. Not much activity. Even with retweeting. At that point I was going to write about my findings, and then other members of my PLN began to retweet my call for input. 100+ responses later, it is time to put it all together.

Question #1: Which social networks do you currently use?
73% said Twitter was their main social network. Plurk came in second with 34%.
Question #2: How often do you log on to a social network?
 88% log on multiple times per day, 6 % once per day, and 6% check a couple times per week.
Questions #3: How often do you reply to a social post? 71% said as much as possible,  22% said rarely, and 5% said they only reply to those they have met face to face.
Question #4: Have you ever felt invisible on a social network?
88% felt they had in some form been invisible or ignored, 15% said they had not felt that way.

Looking at timestamps on the Google Spreadsheet there was a difference between Plurkers and Tweeters (definitely a separate blog post). Initially when I posted on Plurk and Twitter for help with writing a blog post my impression was that I was getting feedback only from my Plurk PLN. I could tell because Plurk was mentioned exclusively or in addition to Twitter. The Twitter responses came in much more slowly, even with multiple retweets. I have to say, the action picked up once my friend, and ISTE roomate, Beth Still retweeted my post. My Twitter PLN came through!

How do you feel about such an overwhelming response of people feeling that they are not noticed when they post links or questions? I think we have all felt that way at one point or another. But I did not expect that the response would be so high. I was helped by direct blog post comments such as the sheer size of social networks making it very hard to comment on each post read. Advice was given to send direct messages (DMs) and @ messages. I see the merit, yet, I think this limits responses since they are person specific. Others felt that there are cliques reminiscent of high school. Paul Bogush commented: "Twitter is high school all over again. The popular kids stay with the popular kids, and deny they are only staying with the popular kids, and deny that they are the "cool kids". 
It is hard to dispute this when you see the frequency of interactions between certain groups. This inner circle as some have called it, may not be able to reply as much as you think. Consider that some of the most prevalent networkers may only follow 1/10 of those that follow them. Great point! Lisa Parisi said:" I think the ignoring just comes from having too many people talking at once. It is hard to hear. Be louder (tweet more) and be more secure in your voice (give opinions, retweet and share links, etc.). It's harder to ignore the squeaky wheel.". Paul Shircliff however follows and is followed by fewer than most (on Twitter) and still feels that he receives  few responses. On Plurk he has a higher level of responses. I must admit, I feel the same. Maybe it is the format, or the types of conversations that take place. But I will continue to use both. 

I have learned much from writing this post. I was reminded that just because I see certain names on my screen does not mean that they will see mine. Just because I follow someone, doesn't mean they follow me back. I learned that some will not follow those who do not follow them. I learned that there is not enough time in the day to respond to every post read. The time of day you post, may impact responses. And finally, I learned that my mission to find the answer is not complete.

I look forward to all of the potential responses on this blog and on social networks. Feel free to contact me for individual conversations.

Cleaning out my RSS feeds (aka Cleaning House)

This morning I cleaned house. I swept the floor, wiped the counter tops, vacuumed and started laundry. But, that's not all of the cleaning I accomplished. I decided it was time to clean out my Google Reader page. I use RSS subscription to keep up on the latest educational and technology trends. It is amazing how much I have learned from reading blogs and following updates by my favorite vendors.

I go through times where I subscribe to so many feeds that my inbox becomes unmanageable. It can be overwhelming to see unread items topping 200. However, much is valuable. I frequently bookmark ideas with my delicious or diigo accounts.

This morning, after reading through current posts, I realized I had a long list of feeds that I could not even remember why I had subscribed. This is what brought me to the next phase of "house cleaning". One by one I clicked on the feed and looked to see when the last post was made. Surprisingly, I found some from 2007! Needless to say, I decided to unsubscribe. I then decided that if someone hadn't posted in 6+ months I would unsubscribe.

Well, now I have hindsight and wonder if I should have changed my criteria. I am lax at posting myself. Does that make my thoughts unworthy of subscription? This is a thought to ponder. My resolution to this problems is as follows. I will continue to visit links posted on Twitter, Plurk, and other venues of my Professional Learning Network (PLN). Many of these sites I will subscribe to. Some will have great value, some will not. That is how it works.

My hope is that I might inspire someone who has not used RSS subscriptions to give it a try. I can honestly say that my teaching and learning as well have been greatly changed by the content I have gleaned from my subscriptions.