BBC reports on Venice’s new wifi network.

The Italian city of Venice has launched what is believed to be the most extensive, wireless internet system anywhere in Europe.

Ten thousand kilometres of cables have been laid, establishing wi-fi hotspots just about everywhere in the city.

So now when in Venice you will be able to use your laptop, UMPC, micro-laptop, wifi phone,  iPhone, even an iPod touch to connect to the internet over wifi.

Here in the UK we have Norwich however not much else seems to be happening with city wide wireless networks. Gloucester doesn’t have one, neither does Bristol; my two big local towns. Even finding free wifi is problematic with most wifi hotspots are charging, sometimes silly amounts of money.

If we are serious about personalisation of learning, mobile learning and enhancing e-learning, we need to allow our learners to be able to communicate, collaborate and reflect anywhere, anytime and at a pace to suit the learner. This more often then not, means that the learner needs to be connected. If they are using the VLE, Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, blogs, e-portfolios, or whatever; all these tools generally need an internet connection.

3G which isn’t available on all devices: is too expensive for most, not reliable enough for all, patchy for some and leads to digital exclusion.

City wide wireless networks like in Venice and Norwich would allow learners to access learning when and where they wanted to.

Photo source.

We often ask learners to submit assignments, often with a top sheet and to get it signed in. All this takes time and staff.

So why don’t we use the tools that we have in the VLE?

Most VLEs like Moodle, have the option of allowing learners to submit assignment electronically. The student uploads their assignment (as an electronic file). The VLE records the time and date of submission and more often then not, gives the student a receipt of their submission.

The tutor can very easily see which students have submitted and which haven’t. Some VLE assignment submission systems can be configured to not accept late submissions, but even if you do, you will be able to see which were late and which were on time.

Using tools such as Turnitin, it is possible to add automatic plagarisim detection to the submission process, flagging up assignments which may or may not need to be checked.

So why don’t we do it more often?

Well there are lots of reasons and some of them are quite valid.

If you submit electronically, then you need to mark them electronically, and some staff have reservations about marking on a screen. Either they don’t like looking at a screen for a long time or they don’t have easy access to a computer. Also though tools such as Word do allow for commenting and annotation, they are not the most intuitive of tools to use. As a result they will often print the assignments out, this means instead of twenty learners printing out one document each, the lecturer will be printing twenty out, which takes time, the time which was supposed to be saved by the learners submitting their documents electronically.

The learner will need access to the VLE to submit their work. If they don’t have access from home, will they be able to do so from college. It makes sense to think about the deadline for assignments as a result.

What about when the assignment submission process fails? The VLE doesn’t work or falls over. Well common sense approach works here, in the same way if the member of staff who collects physical assignments was ill, you just work around the problem and provide the students with a different way of submitting work, or change the deadline.

What about if learners don’t want to submit electronically? If as a institution you are embracing the concept of personalisation, then electronic submission may be just one way in which students can submit work, you may want to offer them a choice.

One solution which staff may want to think about is changing the way they mark electronic documents, stop thinking of them as electronic paper documents that you “write” on, but as digital files and as a result use digital technologies to mark them. What about using audio or video to provide feedback? Record your thoughts and feedback as you mark the document; then the student will be able to listen to your feedback as a virtual you and they go through the assignment. The JISC Sounds Good project did some interesting work on this. One of the tutors at Gloucestershire College has also undertaken a trial with recording feedback, and has had very positive feedback from the learners, who have taken more notice of the audio feedback and found it more useful.

Of course some assignments just don’t fit electronic submission, a poster for example. However just because one format of assignment doesn’t fit, doesn’t mean we should never use electronic submission. Electronic submission actually makes it possible for a wider range of assessments to be submitted than just written assignments. Learners can submit videos, audio files, muti-media presentations. With tools such as Google Docs, wikis, Prezi, Slideshare and other online presentation sites it is now much easier for learners to demonstrate their understanding.

Submitting assignments through the VLE is one way in which you can increase use of the VLE and make it easier for learners to get a better understanding of how it works and more choice on what and how they submit their work.

Photo source.

Great video from TechDis.

So here I am down in Cornwall for the Cornwall College ILT Fair. I am down here as a MoLeNET Mentor providing specialist support for Cornwall College. I have been asked to do four workshops on mobile learning with some Web 2.0 thrown in as well.

Rather than do four identical sessions I will be doing four different ones.

I have my bag of stuff so can show lots of things. Also have a case of PSPs with cameras that will be used. Hoping to stream some of the sessions using Qik or Ustream. Will be posting to Twitter as well.

Should be fun.

The iPhone has dominated the thoughts of many, more so with the release of the new iPhone 3GS. I have met many e-learning professionals and lots of them use iPhones and extol the benefits of the iPhone. The same is happening across the country and elsewhere in the world

Reuters reports that

Sony Corp is considering developing a cellphone-game gear hybrid in a bid to better compete with Apple Inc’s highly popular iPod and iPhone.

The PSP is a very popular gaming console, I can’t though see the PSP Phone as an alternative to the iPhone, but more a different beast appealing to a different audience.

James talks about his opinion of Apple’s new iPhone 3GS. He talks about the new features, the 3MP camera, video, digital compass, faster hardware, internet tethering.

He mentions JoikuSpot, the Nokia N95, MiFi, wifi hotspots and the WiFi Zone and Wifi Trak iPhone applications. He then reviews his new Polaroid Pogo printer and finishes off on Evernote.

This is the twenty-fifth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, To tether or not to tether.

Download the podcast in mp3 format: To tether or not to tether

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

James is on his own this week.

Shownotes

• Apple launch the new iPhone 3GS which has some nice new capabilities.
• JoikuSpot allows you to use your wifi phone, such as the Nokia N95, as a wireless access point.
• The MiFi is a 3G wireless access point, which runs on battery.
• WiFi Zone and WiFi Trak are iPhone applications which allow you to find WiFi hostspots (both links are iTunes Store links)
• The Polaroid Pogo is a Bluetooth portable battery powered printer which prints 3″ x 2″ sticker prints using a zero ink technology called Zink.
• Evernote is a web based note application.

Luke Fletcher from Gloucestershire College talks candidly about how he used the PSP with camera with his learners.

Luke was in the office for a chat, when a colleague (off camera) asked him how he found using the PSPs, luckily for I had a camera to hand, so I just picked it up and hit record and caught this wonderful natural narrative from Luke about using the PSP.

Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of sharing and collaboration. It was a key part of my role at the Western Colleges Consortium and I have contined to promote sharing of practice and resources.

Back in 2002, MIT launched their OpenCourseWare, and I on this blog reported in December 2007 about Yale’s entry into this field.

Yesterday, JISC officially launched the Open Educational Resources programme.

Open Educational Resources (OER), funded by HEFCE and run by the Academy and JISC, aims to make a wide range of learning resources created by academics freely available, easily discovered and routinely re-used by both educators and learners.

OER could include full courses, course materials, complete modules, notes, videos, assessments, tests, simulations, worked examples, software, and any other tools or materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge. These resources will be released under an intellectual property license that permits open use and adaptation.

As well as providing a wealth of resources which can be used (and much of the material can be used in FE as well as HE courses) it also sends a message to universities and college that it is okay to share and good to share. It should have a positive impact on your reputation and enhance and enrich the learning experience of your learners.

Despite earlier problems with embedding a Flickr slideshow into a WordPress.com blog, Vodpod appears to have resolved the issue.

Here is a slideshow of photographs I took at the RSC SW Summer Conference.

Audio recording, sound recording, podcasting, content and then some.

This is the twenty-fourth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Sounds good to me.

Download the podcast in mp3 format: Sounds good to me

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

James is joined by Mell Turford and David Sugden.

Shownotes

• To follow…

This morning myself and David Sugden delivered the keynote for day two at the JISC Regional Support Centre South West Summer Conference.

Our keynote was entitled, Cultural Confidence.

We used Activexpression, learner response systems, with the audience to allow them to interact with the keynote.

We also used Ustream to stream a video of the presentation, however flaky wireless meant that we kept losing the stream, however I did also record the presentation using my HD video camera.

I will post the video and the slides later, when I have sufficient bandwidth to upload.

Over the next two days I am attending the JISC Regional Support Centre South West Summer Conference 2009 which is just down the road for me in Rookery Manor in Somerset, just South of Weston-super-Mare.

I am presenting (with David Sugden) a keynote tomorrow morning and running a workshop later on in the day.

This afternoon I am on an expert panel which will be interesting as I have no idea about what we will be asked!

Today’s keynote is from Derek Law who is going to be running the JISC Services Management company which goes live in August.

Was quite interesting, now onto the workshops.

Back in March I attended the All Together Now event at Channel 4. At the time they made a video. Guess who is on it right near the beginning!

Apple have announced a new version of the iPhone, the iPhone 3GS

Now incorporates

• 3MP camera with better optics and autofocus
• video recording
• digital compass
• voice control
• faster 3G
• faster hardware

Find out more or take the Guided Tour.

So is it worth upgrading?

Well considering the cost of upgrading, probably not! Moving from the Edge iPhone 2G to the iPhone 3G was less of an issue for many O2 customers, they won’t get the same kind of deal upgrading to the iPhone 3GS.

So what about if you don’t have an iPhone, is what was a really good phone even better now with the 3GS?

In the past I have mentioned why I did not get an iPhone when it first came out.

So do I have the obvious choice, Apple’s iPhone? No, partly as when it came out it did not meet my needs, no tethering, no 3G, no applications. Even the 3G model has some limitations, in the main the poor quality camera and lack of tethering. With the Nokia N95 I can use it as a 3G modem or as a wireless hotspot, likewise the 5MP camera does make it quite capable of taking decent photographs.

The iPhone 3GS now meets some of those needs.

You will be able to use it as a tethered modem (well if you buy into the right O2 plan). The camera in the 3GS is now much better, 3MP, auto-focus, macro mode and able to take video too! Still not as good as the Nokia N95 camera, but good enough and better than what was in the 3G phone. I suspect that with the 3GS we will see a JoikuSpot type application very soon that will enable you to use the 3GS as a wireless access point.

I do think that the voice control and digital compass now add features that students with special needs may find useful in helping them become independent learners and also gain more independence in the community.

Overall I do like the new iPhone 3GS, I think it is a great phone to get, but if you already have an iPhone 3G then you probably can live without the extra functionality and just upgrade to the free iPhone 3.0 software.

Doing the rounds on Twitter today has been quite a few people talking about the Next Generation Learning video from Becta.

Some people have posted the video to their blogs, Steve Wheeler for example, Andy Oliver is another.

So am I going to post the video?

Well…

I already have!

Nearly a month ago, on the 12th May!

So if you want to keep ahead of the game and find out what is happening check back more often.

Very nice guide to RSS.

Do you blog, do you read blogs, do you use blogging to support learning, are blogs dead?

This is the twenty-third e-Learning Stuff Podcast, To blog, or not to blog, that is the question.

Download the podcast in mp3 format: To blog, or not to blog, that is the question

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

James is joined by Kev Hickey and David Sugden.

Shownotes

• So what is a blog?
• You can get a free blog on WordPress, Blogger and many other sites.
• Commoncraft have a very nice guide on what a blog is.
• James has used blogs as tools in workshops at conferences to allow delegates to share their thoughts, this he has done at a mobile learning workshop at PeLC09 and at the ALT Conference.
• The LSN and TechDis publication Go Mobile was accompanied by the Upwardly Mobile DVD.
• Andy Black’s blog.
• …from the elab… is Phil Ackroyd’s blog from City College Norwich.
• Lisa Valentine’s blog can be found here.
• Newsgator allows you to aggregate newsfeeds from a variety of sites, combined with NetNewsWire on the iPhone it makes it very simple to keep up with a number of blogs or dip into the stream now and then.

Though I do think netbooks have a future (even if Intel don’t) however what computer do I carry around with me to meetings, events and conferences?

My MacBook Pro!

So is it just that I prefer OS X over Linux and Windows?

Well not really, I do like OS X, but do like Xandros and Windows 7.

The main reason I don’t carry a netbook, is the battery life.

Now it is getting better than it was, but the three cell batteries most of the netbooks I have only last an hour or two, which isn’t good enough for a long train journey or a conference.

This is also an issue with learners having netbooks, they arrive at college at 9 am and most will be there until 4 or 5 pm. What’s the point of carrying a netbook, if well before lunch the battery has run out? Most colleges I am aware of, don’t allow non-college devices to be plugged in, so unless you have an enlightened institution with a sensible “personal applicance” policy, they won’t be able to charge up their netbook during the day.

So was quite pleased to hear from the Computex trade show via the BBC that:

some manufacturers are convinced cheap, low power computers with days of battery life are the future…

The new Tegra system has a lot of potential

Nvidia boss Jen-Hsun Huang claimed a Tegra system could play HD video for 10 hours, compared to 3 hours for a netbook powered by Intel’s rival Atom CPU, and an astonishing 25 days of MP3 playback, compared to 5 hours for current netbooks.

The key to embedding and transforming learning through the use of mobile technologies is dependent on many factors, decent battery life is certainly in there.

These new chips could make a difference.

One of the things I have always liked about the Asus EeePC is the Xandros interface.

The simple icons and easy access to the web and applications, mean that users who aren’t use to Linux can start using the EeePC without worry.

Having recently used the Suse desktop on the HP 2133 it was fine but not as simple to use as Xandros. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have the Xandros interface on devices such as the HP 2133, Samsung Q1, etc…

Saw on Twitter recently a link to Jolicloud which is a new OS for netbooks.

It looks very nice.

Alas it is invite only at the moment, so I have signed up and am chasing down an invite code.

I want to install it on an Asus EeePC and a Samsung Q1. The Q1 is not yet supported, but could be a more useful OS than Vista!

So is this the new PSP?

From the BBC

Video and photos of the PSP Go have been leaked online, revealing a smaller, more lightweight console that has dropped the failed UMD disk format.

Engadget has some leaked stats.

3.8-inch display (resolution is undisclosed)
43 percent lighter than the PSP-3000
16GB of Flash storage
Bluetooth built-in; supports handset tethering and BT headsets
No UMD drive
Memory Stick Micro slot
Full PlayStation Network support (movie and TV rentals / purchases)
Integration with PlayStation 3 (works the same as the PSP-3000 does)

From a learning perspective the 16GB of Flash storage is helpful as anyone who uses the PSP knows that the Memory Stick can sometimes go missing… generally to be found in the card reader of a PC. Alas it uses the small Memory Stick Micro format which means getting another adapter or ensuring that your current card reader can read that format.

Disappointed that there is no built in camera.

Lindsay Jordan from the University of Bath has published a really nice video on how why blogging can be used by learners to enhance the learning experience.

Find out more about the video on Lindsay’s blog.

One of the key things about getting staff to use technology, is to remove barriers.

One of the barriers is a lack of familiarity.

When asked by a member of staff if they could use one of our Sanyo CA9 cameras to film themselves in the recent Gloucester Docks Dragon Boat race, the answer was of course, and here is the result.

The next stage will be to take that video and show the member of staff how mobile versions can be made. This will include tools we already have in college and possibly using MoLeTV.

As a result we now have a member of staff who will be confident in the use of video technologies and the use of video with mobile devices.

Oh and a video for use on our atrium’s Knowledge Tree.

Post first appeared on Shiny.

A recording of the MoLeNET Live broadcast I did on the 1st May.

Online interaction or wasting time? Do services such as Twitter have potential for supporting learning or are they a distraction?

This is the twenty-second e-Learning Stuff Podcast, The Internet Brick.

Download the podcast in mp3 format: The Internet Brick

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

James is joined by Shri Footring, Jane Edwards and David Sugden.

Shownotes

• You can find James, Shri Footring, Jane Edwards and David Sugden all on Twitter.
• Is Twitter going to wither and die?
• Ten things people say about using Twitter, but really they shouldn’t
• Do have a look at tweetdeck – useful for filtering and grouping people.
• Useful for a range of stuff includin Twitter, Flickr and RSS feeds, is Friendfeed.
• Have a go with ipadio.

We have decided to deploy some Asus EeePCs in our college Libraries as short term loan computers to provide extra access to computing when we are busy and for those learners who want a smaller computer footprint when working on their learning.

One thing that learners may want to do is remove their browsing history from the EeePC to ensure that all cookies and password are removed.

This simple guide shows how to remove the browsing history from an Asus EeePC.

Download the iPod version in MP4 format.

Interesting presentation on how to present presentations.

Thoughts?

If you are making any kind of videos then I would recommend you check out this excellent guide from the Guardian.

Covering everything from basic techniques to special effects through to editing. If you are taking any kind of video then check the guide out.

So what do you understand by inclusion? Can we use learning technologies to improve inclusivity?

We discuss the ILT Champions Conference at Gloucestershire College, including the unconference format used and the learning spaces seen at the college. Do we need big names at conferences? Do we need keynotes? How do we make conferences financially viable?

We move onto planning. Do you plan your lessons a week, a month or a year in advance? Is planning a good thing or does it hinder creativity?

This is the twenty-first e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Goldilocks, what’s that all about then?

Download the podcast in mp3 format: Goldilocks, what’s that all about then?

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

James is joined by Dave Foord, David Sugden and Nick Jeans.

Shownotes

• The ILT Champions Conference took place on the 21st April at Gloucestershire College.
• What is an unconference?
• The Ofsted report on VLEs.
• James’ keynote at the RSC Eastern Mobile Learning Event.
• James will be presenting a keynote at ASCILITE 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand.
• Ewan McIntosh was at the JISC Conference.
• James’ blog post on Twittering at conferences.

I am a fan of Twitter and use it a lot, I have blogged about it a fair bit too, my blog entry on the demise of Twitter was quite popular, but I thought my piece on how I think Twitter was all about the coffee was a better article…

Ah well.

One of the things that does annoy me about Twitter is the way in which people like to dictate to you how it should be used and how you should use it.

Um no.

This is the top ten things you should never do with Twitter

10.    Never create a list of people you recommend others follow

One of the the things that goes around the internet on various blogs are lists of people to follow on Twitter. For example ten mobile learning experts to follow on Twitter. Sometimes a top ten, becomes a top one hundred, or even just a directory…

I am guessing that the idea is that you follow these people because someone told you that they would be good to follow.

But why are they good to follow? Do they really make lots of useful tweets about mobile learning all the time… Or are they just interesting people to follow whom just happen to all have an expertise in mobile learning… People follow people on Twitter for a range of reasons, people use Twitter for lots of different reasons. Creating lists of people and recommend others follow them is flawed as it assumes that everyone follows people on Twitter for the same reason that you do, which we know not to be true.

I am less interested in lists of people to follow on Twitter, but much more in why people follow other people, which is why I blogged about this.

9.    Never complain about the noise

The key question you have to ask before you complain about the noise, is define what noise is. Most people would guess define noise as tweets they’re not interested in, that’s fair enough.

However can you define and categorise noise?

Some tools and sites do and I am not sure if they actually understand the point of Twitter. They argue that links are not noise, and @replies are also not noise, nor are #hashtags. Anything else is noise. Some people have said that noise is a ratio between updates and followers.

@jamesclay replies to me are not noise, but as they’re not relevant to other people they would probably refer to them as noise.

So ask yourself if this Tweet from @stephenfry is noise or not noise?

For some people (or tools) it would be counted as noise for these reasons:

• it isn’t a reply
• it doesn’t contain a link
• it’s not a RT
• doesn’t mention other Twitter users through the @

For me it is not noise. I have a lot of respect for Mr Fry and I follow him on Twitter as I am interested in what he is doing and enjoy reading his Tweets.

Personally I find someone who posts links all the time is in my opinion posting noise, it’s noise to me, but maybe not noise to you, which is why you should never complain about the noise.

Some people argue that they’re not interested in whether I am having a coffee, or drinking tea, what I am doing or who I am with. Personally I always thought that was the point of Twitter!

I have written about Twitter before notably why I think Twitter is an important tool and that the informal chat side is as equally as important as the formal chat. A few people have “complained” about irrelevant tweets and I am aware of some who have stopped following others because of their so called shallow and lightweight tweets. These people in my opinion are missing the point about the real value of Twitter. I am sure that they get something from Twitter, but you have to ask the question is Twitter about following people and reading informative Tweets or is it about communication and community?

Twitter is not just about the “good stuff” it is also about the irrelevance, it is about the non-useful stuff. If all you ever post is what blog entries you have written, why would I follow you on Twitter, I might as well subscribe to your blog’s  RSS feed.

I want to find out what you’re doing, but I also want to find out the mundane things as well. This makes for a more rounded conversation and community.

The problem with complaining about the noise is that one person’s noise is another person’s signal. What is noise to me, is maybe not noise to you, which is why you should never complain about the noise.

8.    Never ask people not to Re-Tweet (RT)

Re-Tweeting has become a bit of an issue on Twitter recently. To RT is to basically copy what someone has said and re-broadcast it to Twitter. So why do people do it?

Well I do it and I do it for a variety of reasons.

Here’s one…

RT @JISC JISC Digital Content Conference 2009 registration now open: http://tinyurl.com/d63zl2 #jdcc09 <– sensible tag IMHO #letsusethisone

I RT’d this Tweet for two reasons, firstly I thought my followers would be interested in the fact that registration for the conference was open (and this is demonstrated in this Tweet reply) and secondly I thought that the #jdcc09 tag was a very sensible tag; though talking about tags will be the topic of another blog post.

In the main I know from Tweetwheel that though a lot of people who follow me on Twitter don’t necessarily follow each other. So if someone posts something which I think is useful (or more usually funny) I will RT it so those who follow me, but don’t necessarily follow everyone who also follows me can see the Tweet.

I also RT stuff I have posted, as a way of re-broadcasting a Tweet. For example I recently set up The Pelican Fringe , a fringe event for the Plymouth e-Learning Conference. I have posted and RT’d about it a few times now, because though people follow me, I know (as I do) don’t read every Tweet I post all the time.

The problem with RTs is that yes you may see the same thing a few times, but remember the one time you see something once and then you will value the RT. Don’t ask people not to RT, if you don’t like what they’re doing, don’t follow them, others may value their RTs.

7.    Never state how many times you should post on Twitter per day

Some blogs out there have written guides on using Twitter and some of these state a number of Tweets you should post per day or per hour. What about those quiet days when I am not doing much, should I post pointless tweets just to make up the numbers? I think not.

Only post once an hour otherwise you will flood the Twitter stream…

This is pointless, as everyone has different followers and different numbers of followers.

If you only follow me, of course I am going to “spam” your Twitter feed compared to if you follow three hundred people, regardless of the number of Twitter posts I make.

If you follow me and I post too often for you (and there are days when I will) then stop following me, stop following me for that day, or stop following me full stop! At the end of the day you are in control of who and how many people you follow. Telling people how many posts they should post

6.    Never tell people what is the optimum number of followers

What a pointless exercise!

Some websites state that it is not possible and you can’t deal with more than a hundred followers…

What is the difference between the number of tweets if a hundred people post one tweet and one person posts a hundred tweets? Or ten people post ten tweets?

You’re right there is no difference.

People post on Twitter for diffferent reasons and I follow them for different reasons. For example I follow M5updates which I find invaluable as I drive up and down the M5. It’s an easier way to find out the problems on the M5 as BBC Local Travel is too localised sometimes, as BBC Bristol for example only really covers Junctions 20 – 14 whereas M5updates covers all the M5 junctions from Birmingham to Exeter. However I am never going to have a conversation with M5updates, partly because I am not really interested in discussing the state of the M5 (I just need the information) and mainly as M5updates is not a person and automatically posts their tweets. If I travel elsewhere in the UK I might then follow M6updates or M4updates for a temp

Likewise I follow various e-learning people and the main reasons for this are seeing what they are doing, having discussions and conversations.

One piece of advice I would offer is that it is not only not necessary often it is not possible to read every tweet that has been posted by your followers. Twitter is not like e-mail, it is an ongoing conversation, one you can drop into, join and then leave. One of the best ways of describing Twitter is the conversations you have at a conference during the coffee break, you see some colleagues talking, drop by, converse and then move on. Rarely will you ask your fellow delegates for a recording or video of the conversation you missed.

5.    Never tell people to follow (or not to follow) celebrities

At one point the only celebrities on Twitter were the geeky techy internet gliterati, people like Leo Laporte and Kevin Rose. They along came Stephen Fry and the whole world of Twitter was turned upside down. Before the end of the week we had Jonathan Ross, and within months Ashton Kutcher (who?) had a million followers and every US TV Host was “doing the Twitter”.

As I said I follow Stephen Fry, but I don’t follow Jonathan Ross.

Does it matter that I do this?

Why would you care?

4.    Never just post links to your blog

Some people seem to spend their entire time on Twitter posting links to their blog on Twitter.

Hello, hello, have you not heard of RSS?

Twitter is not an RSS feed, to use Twitter in this way devalues not only Twitter but also your blog.

Now and again if you are proud of a particular blog post, when it is relevant to the conversation, it won’t be a problem but if all you ever do is post blog links and nothing else then sorry you don’t get Twitter and I am surprised you even have a blog.

3.    Never post the same message to multiple places all at the same time

Some services out there allow you to post the same status update to Twitter, Facebook, Jaiku, etc…  Personally this really annoys me, especially if I follow you on Twitter, are your friend on Facebook and know you on Jaiku. Do I really need to see your same update on all three sites at the same time?

It is one thing that really annoys me, well use to annoy me.

The reason (some) people do this is they have different groups of friends on each social network. Personally I think the time saved is marginal and you would be better off posting different things to different networks less often, rather than use a tool to send the same thing to all your networks more often, but that’s me.

Well the key here is that the power to stop this is in my court (as well as yours). I can unfollow people, I can stop being their friend, I can ignore them.

I can choose what I see, therefore I should make that choice, and not tell you how to post to Twitter.

What I actually do is no longer use Facebook, easiest solution.

2.    Never tell people what they should post on Twitter

I really find it amusing that people feel that they know how Twitter should be used and have written guidelines on what you should post on Twitter.

Some of these guidelines indicate that you should post only important stuff and avoid the mundane. You should only post stuff that other people find interesting.

Again we have the issue of what I find interesting you may find boring and mundane. We are all different and as a result you can not say what is the right thing or the wrong thing to post on Twitter.

1.    Never write a blog post telling people how they should use Twitter

Oops!