#whyareyoufollowingme?

My husband will tell you that I have an unhealthy obsession, which, I suppose, is a bit redundant given the innate nature of obsession but still, this is what he believes.


(aside: do you ever feel that you are the only person on the planet who spots the obvious logic of a situation and yet cannot persuade others to see it your way?)


I call it a pet peeve, not an obsession - I have broached the subject less than 6 times, so it hardly qualifies but I won't quibble (again). It's Twitter.


I love Twitter. I tweet often. I re-tweet. I mention. I follow. I follow back. My pet peeve, and I'm only slightly embarrassed to announce this publicly, is when other tweeps unfollow me. I just don't understand and frankly, you unfollowers, my feelings are a bit hurt.


People use Twitter for a myriad of reasons but for me, Twitter is primarily a professional platform. I am building my "personal learning network" - a.k.a. #PLN - and connecting and sharing with like-minded educators around the world. It's fantastic. I'm not trying to sell tea cosies or porn or get a kajillion followers. I am methodically and conscientiously building my network.


Following someone new on Twitter can be a bit like a blind date, except that you have ALL THEIR PREVIOUS TWEETS TO READ and kind of assess a) what kind of person they are b) what they are interested in and, obviously, c) what they tweet about. If the abc's don't gel with what you're up to on Twitter, don't follow them. It only takes a few minutes to see if you're a match or not. Seems simple to me.


My twitter heart is on my sleeve. So, why, for the love of Pete, do people start following me and then quite unceremoniously unfollow me a few days later?


My photo is front and center. My profile is there for you to read. I have over 2000 tweets you can scan to see what I'm up to. Is the "what you see is what you get" just a little too obvious for you? Did I not surprise you enough? Did you think I would follow you back even though your entire Twitter feed is in Japanese or worse, incredibly boring and irrelevant?


I feel like you're driving me home because I didn't make out with you in the back of the car even though you knew I had a boyfriend. You just wanted another notch in your Twitter belt.


Honestly, I think you're kind of sluttish and well, I have my pride. Go tweet with @suzy745 and think before you follow. I did.