Using Tweetdeck to Curate a Twitter PLN

Twitter is an amazing tool for building a PLN (personal learning network), but as you follow more accounts the main stream can be too fast/distracting to follow, and dipping in at random times is inefficient. Tweetdeck is ideal for curating your feeds: create a column for each topic of interest. Here’s an ugly image for an overview. It’s also great for keeping up with rapidly-moving feeds (such as twitter chats or breaking news).

Some tips: 

1. I find TweetDeck for Chrome works well
2. I get rid of the “Activity”column, it’s distracting
3. Click on >> (lower-left) to see more options
4. I add columns for many topics of interest. Each is its own potential PLN.
5. Some Twitter users curate “lists” of accounts. You’ll get notified if you are added. If you look in the list, there may be other interesting people to follow.
6. When an interesting conference or event is on, I follow the #Hashtag and am able to review the feed to learn vicariously. Too many columns can slow down Chrome, so delete them if they’re no use.
7. “Likes” are often used as bookmarks, though the poster will know. On the main Twitter app you can “save bookmarks” but not here yet. Sometimes at the end of an exchange, a user will “like” the final post as a polite way of ending the conversation.

Some MYP-related Hashtags/Accounts you might want to put into columns. Copy everything, including OR. As you follow more accounts, you can see the kinds of #tags they are using. 

• #MYPChat OR @MYPChat OR #IBMYP OR #IBChat
• #PYPChat OR #IBRebelAlliance
• #IBATL OR #SkillsFirst OR #DOKChat
• #EdTech

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Update: here’s a short tutorial video by Dan Klumper (@danklumper)