Interesting Questions about My Second Life and Twitter Neglect

This is the COOLEST chair in Second Life.


There must be a gaggle of professors requiring interviews of SL educators. I must have done 5 or 6 interviews this week. Most of the questions are pretty standard...who are ya...whatcha doin...whya doin it...

One student asked: Where do you get your inspiration?

Well, truly, I am inspired by literature. I love a good story. I love a bad story written well. Literature is full of great stories. Think about it...isn't is interesting that Grendel just took over a whole big hall and a bunch of guys sat around and said, "oh yeah...that is our resident monster dude over there, but we, valiant warriors, are too lazy to get off our duffs to do anything about it..." until Beowulf shows up and says "DUDES! Why on EARTH are you eating out here when you got that big ole bad hall over there???" See...it is all about language. Making it fun for students. At some point, SOMEONE loved Beowulf (and not just stuffy academics). It was a bedtime story. Little kids and giggling teenagers sat around listening to Dad tell that tale AGAIN to the guests.

In an email today, someone pestered me about my lack of twittering. I READ my twitter log; I just don't write on it much (I am a busy girl, ya know).

Honestly, I love the concept of Twitter. I think it is a great tool for learning. I don't use it in the classroom because I have 50000 other tools that I do use. And, to be honest, there is SOMETHING to be said for privacy. I don't need to know what all my friends are doing every moment of the day. Hell, you really don't WANT TO know what I do all day (wash dishes, more dishes, more dishes, then some more dishes). It isn't that I don't love all my dear friends; I just don't need to be attached to them all the live long day.

Now, some people use Twitter to post interesting links to articles they are reading. Others use it to say, "Ooops! Dropped the Soap!" Really? Oh, that is fasssscinating. Ugh.

I am not much of a phone person either. Ask Mark. He calls all the time: Whatcha doin? Nuttin. How about now? Still nuthin...getting ready to wash dishes. Again? Yup, again.

I really am not that interesting. I could maybe drum up something interesting, but it would be bupkus. My life is relatively boring. I am infinitely jealous of the twitterers with these exotic exciting lives...they MUST have maids or dishwashers or SOMETHING!

I have friends that twitter from their mobile phones...documenting every second of their lives (getting on the plane...got to my seat) and (plane has landed...I can Twitter again!). ARGGgggg. I hate my cell phone, and I do not use it for ANYTHING except calling cabs and my husband (on rare occasion...like car accident kind of occasions). Trust me...you do not want to talk to me when I am in the grocery store with Mustache Man thrashing about on the floor demanding Spiderman Cookies or when I am in the middle of chasing Sharpie Boy down the street as he chases a cat that LOOKS like Mikey-our-cat but isn't Mikey-our-cat. You DEFINITELY do not wanna interrupt my loud singing in the car, and you don't want to talk to me when I am working out at the gym (truly, I could only huff at you and maybe snort). So, your best bet? Email.

My Twitter friends think I am being old fashioned. Nope. I celebrate the use of Twitter in the classroom. I celebrate your right to post your most mundane details. I celebrate the documentation of every moment of life for all of the world to enjoy. But, I am not inspired by it; I am inspired by a GOOD story or a BAD story written well :-)