Is there anybody out there? - first impressions of blogging and tweeting

After reading 'The Revolution will be Livestreamed by @tombennett71  I thought that I might share my first impressions of blogging and tweeting. My thoughts might be of interest to someone or maybe not. That's the problem with this way of communicating you never really seem to know. One man's like is another man's twitter litter.
I have owned/managed/been in possession of a twitter account for some time. I have followed some of the biggest hitters in education, borrowed some ideas and used my knowledge to develop lessons. I have been a magpie and a hoarder, but I haven't really given much in return. I hadn't even thought to retweet the ideas that have inspired me to improve.
This week I have challenged myself to start a blog and to engage with twitter and it has been a steep learning curve. As a mid-career teacher I thought that I might have some ideas that are worth sharing and if I am honest, I was hoping to achieve cyber meltdown by the end of the week!
Twitter is a tempting sweetshop of ideas and people worth following. The apparent proximity of some of the best minds in the business is both inspiring and intimidating. This week I have plucked up the courage to try to join in with some conversations. Most people have been welcoming and accepting and some people have simply ignored me. This is not their fault, it's mine. I have joined the swarm of people all following the crowd for fear of missing out on the next excellent idea. Their monopolistic twitter presence is perhaps too big to notice and respond to all comments and questions. I don't really know why I expected to be noticed at all. As in all hierarchical structures, you must earn your stripes and my ideas may not be good enough. I have been surprised by some who despite their hoards of followers have acknowledged me and have even offered advice, retweets and likes.
I am still working out the rules of twitter etiquette, do I thank people for follows, retweets and comments or is that a bit desperate? Should I wait to respond to comments to give the impression of actually having a life or will I miss the boat if I don't? Should I tell people that they have inspired me or is that too sycophantic and frankly a bit creepy? Why do I even care about what people think?Luckily I can turn to more experienced twitter using colleagues for guidance. This is quite important I think, and this week I have relied on a few trusted proof readers to check my blog posts before I risk making a cyber fool of myself.
Twitter fascinates me. I wonder why after a week I am still so excited to get a retweet, to know that someone has read my blog or chosen to follow me. The instant gratification that we get from this is certainly addictive, but why am I hoping for acknowledgement and even praise? Where has this need for validation of my teaching ideas come from? Am I knowingly creating a new and potentially destructive habit for myself? Only time will tell...one thing is for certain, I am enjoying this new challenge. It is very reassuring to know that in my (limited) experience most teachers are on twitter simply to learn more and to celebrate and learn from the small successes of others.
Thanks for reading Becky  BexK06