A Very Special Follow Friday

Well, it has been a week (plus 8 hours or so) since the tweets below were broadcast into the Twittersphere. As you read them, I wonder if you will be able to feel part of the excitement I felt at that moment.


Julie on 4/2/2010 @ 3:34 pm (Apparently I was so excited, I forgot how to spell).
NancyTeaches on 4/2/2010 @3:37 pm 
Julie on 4/2/2010 @ 3:41 pm
Julie on 4/2/2010 @ 4:43 pm


This official blog launch would not have been as successful (or exciting) as I think it was without my Twitter PLN (Personal Learning Network). I have only been on Twitter for six months, but have learned and shared so much from so many. It really is an invaluable tool for educators. When I first began, I found many educators who were passionate about technology, but not many whose main passion was literacy. However, that did not last very long because slowly, but surely I found many wonderful literacy advocates on Twitter.


Friday is a day to recommend good people to follow on Twitter, so I want to dedicate a post this Friday to all those in my Twitter PLN who really made the launch so memorable. Since this blog is devoted to reading/language arts, I will also include three of my Twitter lists comprised of literacy advocates who you might want to follow.

My Twitter Lists of Literacy Advocates:

International Reading Association Presenters & Authors in Education on Twitter
Members of the “All About Reading” group on the Educator’s PLN on Twitter
English Teachers, Reading Teachers, Reading Specialists & Literacy Coaches

Note: I haven’t worked on my lists in a while, so I know I left out some great literacy advocates. When I have time, I will add more people and the lists will update automatically. If you feel you should be on one of these lists (or have a good recommendation), please let me know and I will gladly add to the list.

Many of the people who made the blog launch so exciting for me are on the above lists; however, I want to give them a double recommendation (or Follow Friday) for making this week so special.

The funny thing about Twitter is that you never really know when it is a good time to post anything. As it turned out, April 2, 2010 (Good Friday) at 4:43 p.m. (PST) was a very good time to post! I thought I would be sitting in front of my computer thinking, “Okay, I’ve built it, but they’re not coming.” Instead, I felt like I had a roomful of people cheering me on. The conversation, feedback, comments, and retweets that came flooding in actually brought tears to my eyes. Really! I will never forget it and am forever grateful the following people were there for me this week:

People on Twitter Who Made My Blog Launch So Special (In no particular order)
(If the link you click on takes you to a specific tweet–many do–clicking on their Twitter name will take you to their profile)

flourishingkids
NancyTeaches
BmoreSchools
PaulWHankins
tenteacher
donalynbooks
literacydocent
suser1
Linda704
MaryKK
koolkat222
CircleReader
ProfessorNana
linkstoliteracy
mrsreading
wmchamberlain
FlyontheCWall
RileyCarney
tonnet
ReadingCountess
ddigiova
dolfrog
6Oct
thebookmaven
FaizaK
pacrapacma
ebowers44
chorkie
GaryBrannigan
BJacketsfan
Annemazer
clustrmaps
ShellTerrell
CherylRainfield
IAmDyslexic
maggiecary
Amandalanguage
TrudyNorton
MrsPstorytime
fiteach
mommyperks
mommybags

I would also like to thank these non-Twitter people for commenting about my blog during its very first week: Debbie Gorney, Ash Bishop, Lori Morgan, Lisa, Kathryn Bartle Angus, and several people who chose to give me feedback privately. Finally, I would also like to thank my husband, Michael; my sister, Karen; and my friends Bonnie & Wanda for joining me in song on the eve of the launch. Oh, how I love the karaoke!

P.S. I hope I did not leave anyone out. It was difficult to keep track of the flurry of interaction. If I did, I offer you my most sincere apologies.

Note: If you have taken the time to read this post, would you please take a second to click on the stars below to rate this post? Thanks a bunch–I really appreciate the feedback.