Have you considered joining the Twitterverse?

Jay Roberts from the Outdoor Ed community made a great 'blog post about why Twitter can be a good thing for development and ongoing discourse in your area of study (Why you should care about "twittering" April 21 2009).

The experiential/outdoor field cannot be resistant to technology (in fact, any cursory look at the latest gear shows that we are in fact quite the opposite). Yet, sometimes, we get caught in the mindset that computer-based technology somehow diminishes the Good life [I have been to conference sessions on Millenials, my generation, where all they seem to do is demonize our love of tech! -L]. This is not necessarily so. In fact, used properly, places like outdoored.com, blogs, and yes... twitter can advance the field by more effectively and efficiently linking communities of interest in ways we couldn't have dreamed of even 10 years ago.

I've already used Twitter to network with folks who used #tristate09 as a tag during the American Camping Association conference in Atlantic City a couple months ago. You can also follow conferences you might not be at, like I did #aeene09. Not only do these give another dimension to conferences, allowing you to ask about presentations you are unsure about, they also often lead to Tweet-ups--that is, physical getting-together in meatspace. And a big reason I go to conferences as a new professional are to network.

Since I moved to rural Jersey because that's where the work was, Twitter also helps me stay in touch with my twin sister (who does geology field work in southern California) and my friends from school. It helps us know what one another are up to, helps me show and tell exactly what I do sometimes.

• 06:27 Hopping in the shower then setting up the dam rappel to do with my participants from Harlem. These 8th graders are AWE-some!
• 15:44 Blogging and processing my last program, then tackling to-do list.
  
  
• 20:42 Reading a little Backpackers Field Guide by Rick Curtis and pondering how I want to condition over the next 14 days for leading participants.
  
  
• 14:28 Is getting really excited--spring facilitation rush starts tomorrow! #youthworker Will be fantastic to get facilitating again.
  
  
• 21:45 Check out this massive common snapping turtle we saw! She must have been 20" JUST shell! tinyurl.com/20inchsnapper Huge pic I took

Thanks Jay for making a thoughtful post on Twitter for Outdoor Ed. Using Twitter does not have to be a timesuck and distraction, used intentionally (and we are all about intentionality as facilitators) it can be a valuable new forum for the exchange of information and coming together of people.

You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ElleasinSwell