Personal Learning Network X (Twitter) Cheat Sheet

Personal Learning Networks: Why (& How) to Use Twitter (Now X)

Building a personal learning network is one of the most valuable things you can do for your career, but it isn’t always obvious where to start. A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a group of people you learn from, collaborate with, and exchange resources with, as Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli define it in Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education (2011).

X, still widely known by its former name Twitter, happens to be one of the easiest places to build one. If you’ve only dipped into it without a guide, it can seem like a place where people talk about what they ate for breakfast. But once you learn the lingo and a few best practices, it becomes a valuable and continuously evolving library of information and ideas on every topic, and a way to meet experts you’d never otherwise encounter.

Below are the key steps, in text and in a graphic. And if you’re curious how I got started on X myself, here’s the interview I did with Pat Shelly at UBSSW’s InSocialWork’s podcast.

How to Build Your Personal Learning Network with X (Twitter)

• Create a Profile
  • Create your username -it is best to use your name, brand name or some combination of name + adjective or profession (the shorter, the better)
  • Add a professional/profile photo
  • Add a background header photo (if possible) related to your profession/brand
  • Add a bio – include a few words describing your work + links to website/LinkedIn URL(s)
• Follow People
  • Search for people and conversations of interest using the platform’s advanced search tool
  • See whom your friends and experts in your field follow
  • Use the platform’s native search to find active hashtags relevant to your field and see who’s using them well
• Observe Norms
  • Reciprocate (share, offer support in kind etc.)
  • Thank for reposts/retweets
  • Give credit where credit is due
• Participate (Employing Best Practices)
  • Share high quality articles and resources
  • Repost and like/bookmark others’ posts
  • Interact with colleagues
  • Join hashtag chats relevant to your field
  • Attend online conferences/webinars
• Reap Rewards and Renew
  • Curate and share resources
  • Create and share new solutions/ideas
  • Connect others
  • Organize/guest speak at hashtag chats
  • Post/blog learnings from conferences you attend

Excellent Resources

• Jacob Share’s Ultimate Twitter Job Search Guide
• Jonathan Singer’s Using Social Media to Expand the Reach of Academic Conferences
• Kristie Holmes’ Twitter for Social Workers, Beginner’s Edition
• Laurel Hitchcock’s Online Toolkit for Developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) with Twitter
• Nancy Smyth’s Twitter 101
• Sean Erreger’s  Connecting Twitter Communities…
• Social Work Career’s Online Toolkit for New Social Workers
• UBSSW’s Social Worker’s Guide to Social Media

Like this post? Please share it! 

References:

Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: Using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Twitter, Inc. (2015). The Twitter glossary. Retrieved from https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337

Last updated: September 22, 2026

SaveSave

SaveSave