That Time I Downloaded my Twitter Archive

After preparing for a presentation about our eportfolio program at Mount Holyoke College at CLAC, I found myself deleting some old tweets after finding some with dead links devoid of context (I will own my memory work). I deleted a few tweets here and a few tweets there until I could not refresh my web view anymore.  I downloaded my archive and began to read through my life as posted on Twitter since joining the service in April 2009. Times have changed.

In April 2009, I was living in Somerville, Massachusetts where I was finishing my library degree at Simmons College. I had a flip phone that did not count my steps.

Today, I live in Northampton, Massachusetts where I am gearing up for my eighth fall as an academic librarian. I have an iPhone that tracks my steps AND pays for coffee.

It was instructive to look back at my life through tweets since 2009 to remember milestones and miscellany. It was also a nice lens to reflect on how I've changed since then. Here are some icons and tweets to consider Caro Pinto, a life lived in tweets.

icon-clock-o The time when...

icon-flash I learned about Emoji in December 2011

icon-apple Bought my first iPhone in 2010

icon-foursquare Foursquare was a thing in 2010 (I miss my afternoon walks to Blue State Coffee in New Haven)

icon-twitter Third Party Twitter apps were a thing (HEYYY Brizzly)

icon-magic I still...

icon-heart-o Love The New York Times

icon-heart Love the Red Sox and the Patriots.

icon-clock-o Travel Regularly for conferences. NB: the number of tweets I send spikes when I am at a library conference.

icon-archive I used to:

icon-beer Drink and Enjoy Beer (too bad I can't tolerate it any more icon-frown-o )

icon-frown-o Mock Myself and Frequently Make Jokes at my own Expense

icon-fire Use so many different tools to read content that I no longer use (HEYYY Feedly & Google Reader)

icon-reply Regularly achieve inboxzero

icon-instagram Connect Instagram and Twitter for a very integrated if repetitive social media presence

I've grown a lot personally and professionally since 2009. It was reassuring to reflect on that growth while realizing the road towards self-actualization and maturity is long. I'll share this exercise with my students this fall as they undertake deep reflection as they build spaces on the internet to connect with others; lucky are those who have communities of practice and camaraderie to reflect on the long and recent past alike.

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