You should totes follow me!

Have you ever just been so overwhelmed with stuff? Like it's literally everywhere and won't stop piling up?

That's how I initially felt when I entered my first Twitter chat today. I was just there to observe and see how it works but my goodness!! I felt like I needed to have my phone updating the feed, then have two or three desktop windows open to click on other hashtags, look at profiles, post, and another window to find GIFS because apparently that's a thing on Twitter chats... who knew?

But with all things in life, I just went with the flow. I stopped worrying about EVERY post and started reading the repetitive tweeters, I'd stop at random spots to slowly scroll when the feed became too much, and of course anything that the host posted I took notice of. 

While this may not be the best tactic as a chat host, because you really should be paying attention to more than a few people, it worked for me as an observer with zero experience. Eventually, I took my time and didn't take on too much at once. I started to recognized trends and this not only improved my experience, but then I realized what I was experiencing was very similar to my development as an instructional designer.

When I first started designing about a year ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I had background knowledge of curriculum and teaching, but my skills and application were basic at best. But practice makes perfect right?

Eventually, I realized that it's OK to take things slow sometimes, unless you're under a strict deadline and then you better get it done. I accepted the fact that my first attempts at design would be messy, but I knew my second, third, fourth, or fifteenth attempt would look better than the one before. 

I reached out to experienced designer and stepped out of my comfort zone. I submerge myself within the ID world in order to get better.

And that's what I will continue to do on my journey with Twitter. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that even though I had no idea was what going on today from a operational stand point, I will continue to immerse myself into other Twitter chats and connect within my communities to eventually become proficient and possibly even host a chat in the future?

I want to hear from you: If you were to attend a Twitter chat, what topics would you want to learn about? What things would you be able to teach others about? Leave a comment or tweet me @rksimms.