Twitter for the Wireless LAN Professional
You’ve heard people talk about this “Twitter” thing, and your thinking to yourself, why should I care? Do I want to get involved with something that sounds like “Twitter”?
The answer is a resounding YES! – Twitter just isn’t about folks posting what they had for lunch, or where they are going after work. (OK, there are still some who post like that…) But for the most part Twitter is a tool that Wireless LAN Professionals can use to help you in your career, help in your educational pursuits, and even with your Wireless Network Troubleshooting issues.
Like many other things in life, what you receive from Twitter is directly related to how much effort you put into it. You can make Twitter be as helpful, or as useless as you want.
I’ve been using Twitter for years, and it has been a fantastic place to learn more about Wi-Fi, more about all sorts of technical aspects of 802.11, as well as a great place to find friends and colleagues who share the same passions as you do.
First Steps – Getting Started
The first thing you need to do is setup an account at http://www.twitter.com – click on SignUp. You’ll be prompted for a Username. You can use a ‘handle’, or I chose to just use a unique version of my name. My username is KeithRParsons. In the Twitter-World you’d find me at @KeithRParsons.
Note: To say this out loud, you’d say “At Keith R. Parsons” – and the link on the Twitter site would be http://twitter.com/#!/KeithRParsons.
You can also add a ‘TagLine’ to your account so people can learn a bit about you. Including any links you might want to add to your personal or business web address. Be descriptive, yet concise. People will also learn about your likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests through your on-going tweets.
Next Up – Stop Using the Twitter Webpage
There are many Twitter clients – even the worst of them is better than the Twitter website. There are Twitter clients available for any OS, Windows, Mac OS X, iOS or Android. Even official Twitter apps on most platforms. I personally use the Twitter app on Mac OS X, and one called Osfoora on my iOS devices. Find one you are comfortable with, but in the beginning you could just go with the free Twitter apps.
Start Following People
Your “Twitter Stream” will be pretty much vacant until you start to follow people. Who to follow you might ask? Well many great people in the Wireless LAN industry are already active in posting.
If you want to follow people involved in the Wireless Networking or WLAN fields, you can check out this list with descriptions of each at http://wlanpros.com/follow.
You could also use the ‘Search’ feature in your Twitter client, looking for the Hash Tag of #WirelessWednesday – you’ll find lots more like-minded folks to start interacting with. Feel free to branch out and start following others, family members, friends, etc. And share your Twitter handle with your own community.
Get Involved
Now that you’ve started following some folks in our industry, it’s time to get involved. Engage in conversations. Don’t just listen – but actively ask people questions or ask for help in a given situation. Remember, you only have 140 characters. You you’ll have to work on your editing skills. When you engage with others, people will notice, and start following you back.
Don’t just listen – but actively HELP others online. In this Twitter community, nothing is valued more than received prompt and timely help. If you read a question, and even think you know the answer. Get involved and take that chance and post your answer.
If you’re watching someone’s posts, and you like them. Respond with comments. (OK, if you don’t like their posts you can respond as well, just be careful as its easy to mis-construe comments that are only 140 characters)
Learn the Lingo
Twitter has some terms and techniques that might take a bit to understand. Lets go over some of the basics here.
Using URL Shorteners
Some longer URL’s would easily use up all 140 characters. You can use your own URL shorteners like bit.ly or the like. Or if you just put the HTML Link at the end of your message, Twitter will automatically shorten the link for you.
Using the @ Sign
If you start your message with an @ sign, the message will only go to the intended recipient, AND all those folks who follow both of you. But it won’t be sent to those who only follow one or the other in the conversation. Remember, if you lead with the @ sign, remember it will not be going to your entire following. You might want to edit the message to move the @ sign out of the first position if you want all to see the message.
This is a great way to start a conversation with someone. Just sent a message with their handle in the front.
What about that funny # character?
If you put a # in front of a word, Twitter will turn it into a link. This is called a “HashTag”. Please don’t over-use hashtags – a little is fine, but too much is just too much.
Direct Messages
If someone follows you, you can send them a Direct Message that no one else should see. This is more like an IM message. Most Twitter apps have a single button or drop down choice to DM someone. Using DM is a way to carry on a more private conversation.
What are all these RT’s for?
Using a “ReTweet” is a way to take someone else’s Twitter message and “Re-Tweet” it to your followers. There is a built-in Twitter version that doesn’t allow editing – it merely forwards this message on with a tag showing that you sent it.
If you want to ReTweet and edit, be sure to give credit where you received it. Then add any comments of your own below.
Final Thoughts
Of all the tips and techniques listed below there are only two that really matter. First – get your own Twitter account setup. This should take mere minutes. Second – Get Engaged! Follow those with the same passions, and engage in conversations and responses. You’ll soon be Tweeting with the best of them!
I look forward to seeing your engagement on twitter!
Metageek’s Eye P.A. – 802.11 Frame Visualization
I wrote up a review of the just launched Eye P.A. tool from Metageek… but it is full of graphics and a bit of formatting that doesn’t easily port to an HTML blogpost. So I saved it here as a PDF instead.
Enjoy!
WLAN Professionals need to be a Three-Legged Stool
OK, that just sounds a bit weird to me… But I’m trying to find a catchy title for the blog that brings up three supports for all Wireless LAN Professionals.
In my career focusing on Wireless LAN’s for the last decade, I’ve found three fundamental differences between folks working in this industry.
Experience, Understanding of 802.11, and a background in non-Wi-Fi networking.
Let’s look at each of these.
First – I’ve met lots of folks who have an incredible amount of experience doing Wireless LANs… but were missing the other two facets. These are folks who perhaps started in this industry as a WISP or a builder of Hot Spots. They have installed hundreds of Access Points. Their first reaction when there might be a problem is to add more power, add more access points, or upgrade the CPE (Customer Premise Equipment). For these type, it’s all about the doing – they seem to move fast, and always have tools ready to go in the back of their truck.
This first type reminds me of the medical community of 100 years ago. The doctors at the time learned through experience what techniques worked. And for the folks at the time, they were the only alternative.
The second group are those who really understand 802.11. The experienced folks might look upon these as merely academics. These folks might have passed their CWTS, CWNA, CWSP, etc. and really have an understanding of how the 802.11 protocol works. They might also have learned about Spectrum Analysis, and can describe exactly how the SpecAn chipset works. In the ‘old days’ we might have called these folks “Paper-CWNAs” – because they had the certificate, and knowledge, but not an understanding of how things really work in the real world.
To stick with the medical analogy – these are MRI Techs – they can use tests and measurements to know EXACTLY what is going on inside the body – but don’t really know how to solve it.
The third group are those who come to WiFi via the Routing & Switching world. They have a great deal of knowledge and experience with TCP/IP, IP Subnetting, routing protocols, and can explain how Spanning Tree helps in their networks. These folks are mostly from the Cisco camp.
The downside is they come at the Wireless world with ONLY networking experience. They see Wi-Fi as just an extension to their Cisco network. When asked about their workflow, you hear things like, “I followed the design WLC told me to”, or “WLC this”, or “WLC that” – their entire understanding of Wi-Fi comes from their Cisco portal to Wi-Fi, NOT from actually understanding the 802.11 protocol.
These Cisco folks are like the guy with a Hammer, who seems to think all the world is a Nail.
The best solution would be to have parts of all these people rolled into one. The experience from the guy who’s been in the trenches, coupled with the understanding of the rest of the network from the routing and switching perspective, all wrapped up with a deep-level understanding of how the 802.11 protocol works.
It’s only when all three of these come together that you get a true Wireless LAN Professional who can design, install, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks efficiently and accurately.
We want to see a doctor that understands the WHY of the human body, as well has WHAT to do to fix the problem. (and *not* use a hammer…)
Yes, I know this is only one man’s opinion… but I’ve had too many years of dealing with each of these one-sided personalities.
So if you have lots of experience and yet really don’t understand the 802.11 packet flows, then take a CWAP course and learn to get down and dirty with the packets.
If you come from a Cisco (or other vendor) background with a strong set of Routing and Switching fundamentals… you too need to get into the 802.11 protocol directly. Don’t only rely on merely what your controller is telling you.
If you just happen to be one who has the academic understanding of 802.11, but don’t have any experience… get some. And for heaven’s sake get out there in the R&S world by getting a Cisco CCNA so you can learn about the rest of the network.
By the way, EVERYONE in the Wireless LAN community needs to at a minimum have a CWNA. How can you work day-in and day-out with Wi-Fi and not be able to pass the CWNA? And if you can’t… they this is a reminder that you need to study and prepare so you can.
A CWNA from the CWNP program is the ante to play in this game!
Keith R. Parsons
