Oh, Twitter....I do not love you!

Right now I feel like my mother....or worse, my mother-in-law when they get some "newfangled" technology.  Do I not love Twitter because I've only been using it for a week??  Maybe!  But, I do not love it!

I downloaded Twitter to my phone for the first time last week.  Since, I have followed some of things I am interested in....Houston Texans, Texas A&M Football, Apache Belles, Rodeo Houston and of course JJ Watt. ;)  I have been paying more attention to how often you can post something directly to Twitter from the internet.  At the end of article you read, there it is....that little bird.  So, yes, Twitter is everywhere.

Twitter can be an excellent marketing tool.  For example, this weekend my family and I went to the NFL Experience in downtown Houston.  It was a blast.  There were so many things for the kids to participate in.  Every activity always had a sign telling you to #SBLI all of your photos.  There was a Skittles booth that once you proved that you posted a picture with #tastetherainbow, you got to pick a locker and get a free prize.  So, after posting a few pics with the required hashtag....

...we walked away with some Skittles, Skittles sunglasses, and a $5 gift card to the NFL store.  The kids were thrilled.  Mom, not so much.  We all know there is no item at the NFL store for $5!!

Back to Twitter and using it for an educational tool.  I did a lot of research and I can see where it would be a great tool for the older student.  I found a great article at https://elearningindustry.com/15-ways-twitter-in-education-students-teachers that listed "15 Ways to Use Twitter In Education (For Students And Teachers Alike)".  This article gave examples such as using it to announce homework, for student collaboration, and creating a classroom hashtag.  These are all great ideas for students that have mobile devices or regular access to a computer.....and, of course, all of us who are taking online courses.  Being able to search for our class via #etec527 is a great tool.  Having the ability to add #etec527 to any comment or article that you find makes sharing information so easy.

I have also downloaded Hootsuite to my phone.  I like that you have the ability to link all of your social networks into one app.  Remembering to actually post the information to Twitter or Hootsuite isn't easy for me.  It could just be because I am new to it.  Maybe, one day, it will become second nature to pass information along so easily through Twitter or other apps like Hootsuite.

The hardest part for me to wrap my head around is for those of us that will be working with elementary students.  I do not work in a school yet but, hope to become an elementary school librarian within the next few years.  A huge percentage of those students do not have internet access away from what is allowed in school.  My 10 year old does have an iPad but, it is used mostly to play kid-friendly games and to watch Netflix when she's trying to get away from the little ones.  While the child is at school, using Twitter for research is a possibility and I can see Twitter being used to update parents and school/library followers.  But, as a whole, I feel like Twitter is geared to older students.

I'm sure many will disagree.....maybe, one day I will, too. 

Vanity Search-ETEC 527

I am no expert in using the internet or Web. 2.0....but, I can typically find what I'm looking for when performing a Google search.  This week I found the result of my search quite interesting.  First, I'll mention that I do not have that many Web 2.0 accounts.  Prior to attending graduate school, I had a Facebook and Instagram account.  I do enjoy reading blogs but, I never had one of my own.  Classes that I have been enrolled in require blogs, Twitter, and even an ePortfolio.  So, when I began to search for myself online, I was not expecting to find much.

My first search was for "Lauren Finnerty".  This is the name that I am enrolled in school under.  Currently, both of my school blogs and my ePortfolio have "Lauren Finnerty" listed on them.  I discovered that there are quite a few Lauren Finnertys.  I clicked on each entry of results through the first 10 pages.  On page 1 of Google results, the 8th entry was for white pages.  It did pull up some of my information....no phone or address.  On page 2 of the results, there was an "instant checkmate" that had old information about me but, not much.  Again, it did not have an address or phone number.  Only the city that I used to live in.  I also clicked on the images and did not find one of me.

My second search was for "Lauren McMillan".  "Lauren McMillan" is my maiden name.  Through 8 pages of results, there was not one link associated with me.  There were also no images.

The last name I tried was "Lauren McMillan Harris".  I am currently in the process of changing my name to my married name.  This is the name that my Facebook page is listed under so, I knew that Google would find something.  I was right!  The first two results were about me.  I clicked on both links and did not see any actual information or pictures.  I guess having my profile private is actually working.

To dig just a little deeper, I had to add additional words.  For example, I was on a "Nightline" episode back in 2014.  To find that episode, I had to search "Lauren Finnerty Nightline".  The first result was the article and video associated with that episode.
 http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/moms-secret-turning-christmas-shopping-free-holiday-travel/story?id=27373989

Finally, I was an Apache Belle at TJC.  So, I searched "Lauren McMillan Apache Belles" to see if I could find anything.  Google found where I had posted a picture on the Apache Belle Facebook page.

That's it!!  The search shows that I am not all over the internet.  I am glad to say that having private accounts really do work.  What I do post online is only seen by those that I want to show.  It does make me feel a lot better about any pictures of my kids that I post.

I'm interested to see how the everyone's search went!!