When I began blogging again in January after taking a lengthy hiatus, my first series of posts was devoted to establishing a PLN (Personal Learning Network).  Although I must admit that I’ve been remiss in utilizing all of the resources I’ve highlighted on a daily basis, I do value the connections I’ve made with other educators and do the best I can in maintaining regular connections with my peers.  Of all the tools I employ, Twitter has become the most invaluable, but this afternoon it gave me quite a shock.  Upon logging in, I discovered that approximately 1/3 of my Twitter network was gone…and the the problem wasn’t mine alone.  For reasons unknown at this point, Twitter “bombed” and wiped out a large part of what all its users have worked hard to build and maintain; a vibrant PLN.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of a PLN or Twitter, this may seem a non-event; what difference does it make to lose contact with a few “virtual” friends and colleagues?  For those of us who rely on the wisdom, insight, advice, and collegiality of our professional counterparts from around the world, it means we now have 10s, 100s, or even 1000s of fewer minds with which to connect.  I “lost” more people on Twitter today than teach at my school; imagine losing each and every one of your “real” co-workers….

The lesson here is not to avoid social networking; I’m still using Twitter and I’ll rebuild my network (albeit slowly) as necessary.  I would ask, though, to consider how extensive your PLN has become since the advent of these tools.  It’s been said that we don’t know what we have until it’s gone; as an educator in the digital age, are you “connected” to the point where something like this could affect you?  As bad as this feels for the moment, I would think it worse to not be able to relate to the loss of contact with such a large number of inspiring individuals….

Hopefully Twitter will be restored soon.  In the meantime, who’s in your network?

Posted: 07|23|08 at 6:58 pm. Filed under: Social Networks.
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