Twitter can be handy for announcing links to other material, following breaking news and unfolding events, or for humor. But for policy discussion, Twitter has to be just about the dumbest thing on the planet. Watching people attempt to have meaningful exchanges on Twitter is just ridiculous (and I should know because I have occasionally attempted it with miserable results).
Some education policy analysts, however, are undeterred by the stupidity of Twitter and are determined to attempt to change the world through thousands of 140 character messages. Quite often they are communicating thousands of profound 140 character messages to a relatively small number of followers. As is too typical in education policy debates, everyone is on the stage and almost no one is in the audience.
So, I’ve developed the Narcissus Index, which is the ratio of the number of Tweets people have issued to the number of their followers. Essentially it is the ratio of how much we love hearing ourselves talk to how many people actually want to listen to us. I identified 80 education policy analysts from Mike Petrilli’s ranking of the most influential education policy Tweeters as well as the list of Tweeters followed by the Fordham Institute. I excluded the Twitter accounts of organizations, focusing only on individuals. I also excluded office-holders and reporters who may Tweet or be followed by virtue of their position rather than as a means of influencing education policy. I then recorded the number of Tweets and followers for each of these analysts as of today.
I’m sure that I’ve missed some people who I should have included and vice versa, but hey… this is a blog post, not a dissertation. And it’s true that people have been on Twitter for different lengths of time, but more time should allow people to accumulate more followers as well as send more Tweets, so I think that mostly balances out. Lastly, this list is also probably distorted by age, since younger people are more likely to Tweet about everything, including how delicious dinner was, in addition to their thoughts about education policy.
As you can see in the table below, 47 of the 80 education policy analysts I examined had more Tweets than followers. That is, they had more things to say to the world than there were people who wanted to hear them. Some people have quite a lot that they need to tell the world in 140 characters. Teacher and blogger, Larry Ferlazzo has the most Tweets, with 55,215, followed by Diane Ravitch (41,798), and RiShawn Biddle (37,514). Ravitch has even more followers than she has Tweets, for a ratio of .87 Tweets to followers, but Ferlazzo and Biddle don’t have the followers to match their prolific Tweeting, with ratios of 2.21 and 6.89, respectively.
USC professor, Morgan Polikoff, wins the prize for the highest ratio, with 15.19 times more Tweets than followers. I think he is relatively new to Twitter, so perhaps his followers will catch up to his Tweeting. The Frustrated Teacher, Dave Russell, may be frustrated by having 12.64 times more Tweets than followers. Wisconsin professor, Sara Goldrick-Rab has 9.93 times more Tweets than followers. And South Florida professor, Sherman Dorn, has 8.82 times as many Tweets as followers.
At the opposite end of the list we see some education policy analysts with very large numbers of followers relative to Tweets. A lot of people want to hear the relatively few things they have to say. Jeb Bush has 79,312 followers compared to only 582 Tweets for a Narcissus Index score of only .01. When Michelle Rhee talks, people want to listen, giving her a a ratio of only .03. Alfie Kohn has nearly 20 times more followers than his 1,243 Tweets. And Linda Perlstein has nearly 10 times as many followers as Tweets.
Now while you guys search for your own names and argue about the results, I’ll just go ahead and Google myself to read more about me. I clearly need to invest more in my Narcissism.
| Name | Handle | Tweets | Followers | Ratio |
| Morgan Polikoff | @mpolikoff | 6,576 | 433 | 15.19 |
| The Frustrated Teacher | @tfteacher | 25,742 | 2,036 | 12.64 |
| Sara Goldrick-Rab | @saragoldrickrab | 32,516 | 3,276 | 9.93 |
| Sherman Dorn | @shermandorn | 9,558 | 1,084 | 8.82 |
| RiShawn Biddle | @dropoutnation | 37,514 | 5,442 | 6.89 |
| Neal McCluskey | @NealMcCluskey | 7,266 | 1,112 | 6.53 |
| Ben Boychuk | @benboychuk | 10,384 | 1,627 | 6.38 |
| Nancy Flanagan | @nancyflanagan | 16,354 | 2,914 | 5.61 |
| Matt Williams | @mattawilliams | 2,572 | 464 | 5.54 |
| Mike Klonsky | @mikeklonsky | 20,575 | 3,777 | 5.45 |
| Ashley Inman | @ahsleyemilia | 819 | 151 | 5.42 |
| Allie Kimmel | @allie_kimmel | 5,409 | 1,019 | 5.31 |
| Rachel Young | @msrachelyoung | 2,230 | 445 | 5.01 |
| Laura Bornfreund | @laurabornfreund | 2,819 | 565 | 4.99 |
| Deborah M. McGriff | @dmmcgriff | 2,660 | 548 | 4.85 |
| John Bailey | @john_bailey | 12,545 | 2,901 | 4.32 |
| Jamie Davies O’Leary | @jamieoleary | 870 | 236 | 3.69 |
| Terry Stoops | @terrystoops | 1,795 | 546 | 3.29 |
| Eric Lerum | @ericlerum | 1,614 | 491 | 3.29 |
| Marc Porter Magee | @marcportermagee | 4,284 | 1,414 | 3.03 |
| Jenna Schuette Talbot | @jennastalbot | 5,165 | 1,708 | 3.02 |
| Kathleen Porter Magee | @kportermagee | 2,997 | 1,229 | 2.44 |
| Larry Ferlazzo | @larryferlazzo | 55,215 | 25,016 | 2.21 |
| Sam Chaltain | @samchaltain | 7,742 | 3,540 | 2.19 |
| Erik Syring | @eriksyring | 2,825 | 1,325 | 2.13 |
| John Nash | @jnash | 2,945 | 1,383 | 2.13 |
| Matthew K. Tabor | @matthewktabor | 10,081 | 4,811 | 2.10 |
| David DeSchryver | @ddeschryver | 1,546 | 747 | 2.07 |
| Lindsey Burke | @lindseymburke | 2,943 | 1,593 | 1.85 |
| Mike McShane | @MQ_McShane | 658 | 358 | 1.84 |
| Matthew Ladner | @matthewladner | 660 | 360 | 1.83 |
| Alexander Russo | @alexanderrusso | 17,254 | 9,665 | 1.79 |
| Bruce Baker | @schlFinance101 | 6,049 | 3,768 | 1.61 |
| Joanne Jacobs | @joanneleejacobs | 5,182 | 3,303 | 1.57 |
| Howard Fuller | @howardlfuller | 4,163 | 2,673 | 1.56 |
| Robert Pondiscio | @rpondiscio | 3,013 | 1,999 | 1.51 |
| Adam Emerson | @adamjemerson | 787 | 532 | 1.48 |
| Chad Alderman | @chadalderman | 1,984 | 1,458 | 1.36 |
| Anthony Cody | @anthonycody | 5,759 | 4,289 | 1.34 |
| Andrew P. Kelly | @andrewpkelly | 693 | 532 | 1.30 |
| Irvin Scott | @iscott4 | 1,565 | 1,221 | 1.28 |
| Matt Chingos | @chingos | 878 | 710 | 1.24 |
| Neerav Kingsland | @neeravkingsland | 956 | 824 | 1.16 |
| Andy Smarick | @smarick | 4,840 | 4,267 | 1.13 |
| Doug Levin | @douglevin | 4,671 | 4,286 | 1.09 |
| Charles Barone | @charlesbarone | 2,311 | 2,163 | 1.07 |
| Kevin P. Chavous | @kevinpchavous | 1,340 | 1,339 | 1.00 |
| Michael Petrilli | @michaelpetrilli | 5,967 | 6,196 | 0.96 |
| Gary Rubinstein | @garyrubinstein | 1,219 | 1,344 | 0.91 |
| Patrick Riccards | @Eduflack | 11,356 | 12,671 | 0.90 |
| Diane Ravitch | @DianeRavitch | 41,798 | 47,956 | 0.87 |
| Greg Richmond | @GregRichmond | 366 | 455 | 0.80 |
| Randi Weingarten | @rweingarten | 16,353 | 21,071 | 0.78 |
| Paul Queary | @paulqueary | 1,117 | 1,496 | 0.75 |
| Heather Higgins | @TheHRH | 383 | 530 | 0.72 |
| Ulrich Boser | @ulrichboser | 1,332 | 1,923 | 0.69 |
| Vicki Davis | @coolcatteacher | 34,109 | 50,600 | 0.67 |
| Mickey Kaus | @kausmickey | 8,813 | 14,362 | 0.61 |
| Justin Cohen | @juscohen | 895 | 1,470 | 0.61 |
| Tom Vander Ark | @tvanderark | 8,044 | 13,805 | 0.58 |
| Andrew Rotherham | @arotherham | 5,396 | 9,425 | 0.57 |
| Jeanne Allen | @jeanneallen | 1,998 | 3,538 | 0.56 |
| Roxanna Elden | @roxannaElden | 644 | 1,159 | 0.56 |
| Lisa Duty | @lisaduty1 | 1,801 | 3,359 | 0.54 |
| Sara Mead | @saramead | 2,268 | 4,597 | 0.49 |
| Dana Goldstein | @DanaGoldstein | 5,826 | 12,820 | 0.45 |
| Richard Lee Colvin | @R_Colvin | 1,472 | 3,336 | 0.44 |
| Not Diane Ravtich | @NOTDianeRavitch | 270 | 616 | 0.44 |
| Ben Wildavsky | @wildavsky | 577 | 1,327 | 0.43 |
| Brian Backstrom | @nyedreform | 824 | 1,948 | 0.42 |
| Kevin Carey | @kevincarey1 | 1,444 | 3,601 | 0.40 |
| Jay P. Greene | @jaypgreene | 454 | 1,416 | 0.32 |
| Matt Kramer | @kramer_matt | 204 | 978 | 0.21 |
| Michael Barber | @michaelbarber9 | 935 | 4,719 | 0.20 |
| Wendy Kopp | @wendykopp | 906 | 6,015 | 0.15 |
| Vicki Phillips | @drvickip | 476 | 3,842 | 0.12 |
| Linda Perlstein | @lindaperlstein | 364 | 3,202 | 0.11 |
| Alfie Kohn | @alfiekohn | 1,243 | 27,489 | 0.05 |
| Michelle Rhee | @m_rhee | 1,353 | 48,945 | 0.03 |
| Jeb Bush | @jebbush | 582 | 79,312 | 0.01 |
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
Jay– In your usual inimitable way you reduce the complexity of social life to something utterly useless. My numbers are high because in an effort to democratize access to knowledge, I frequently tweet conference sessions, lectures, and other events that only a small number of people would otherwise have access to. Moreover, I engage in regular twitter chats with practitioners that few fellow academics bother with (financial aid chat, student affairs chat, etc). Finally, I ask and answer questions of students this way. These are excellent uses of twitter that have nothing to do with narcissism and everything to do with a strong desire to help people (an evidence-based approach to increasing productivity). Your analysis suffers from omitted variables bias. But then again, you’re very used to that.
I’m so narcissistic I don’t even tweet – my opinions are too good for y’all.
I’m disappointed that someone who values a “business approach” to problem-solving would get the business of social media so far off the mark. No one serious about social media marketing uses the ratio of tweets to followers as an accurate metric of effectiveness. Kind of like no one serious about education would take high-stakes scores on standardized tests as valid measurements of “teacher effectiveness.” And BTW, I’m a marketing consultant with a 20+ year track record of generating $millions in sales for my clients.
Wow. This might be one of the most ridiculous blog posts I have ever read. What a stunning display of a person’s complete lack of understanding of a medium.
Twitter may indeed be a waste of time for many, and there certainly are quite a few Narcissists using the platform, but the idea of combining follower counts with number of Tweets posted to measure one’s level of self-absorbtion is so far off base it really doesn’t deserve to be dignified with an argument.
I haven’t had a chance yet to read about your contributions to the world of academia, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are making a mark in an area you actually understand. I am sure there must be some reason for your disdain of educators who use Twitter, but I think your energies would probably be better spent on other things.
Wow, some people have zero sense of humor!
Sara Goldrick-Rab: nice job composing and posting a response in under 53 minutes. Hopefully this didn’t put too much of a dent in your tweet count for today (you’re at 60 tweets right now, so this was still a fairly productive day).
Chris Cornell! Not sure I agree with you on Twitter narcissism, but great to see Soundgarden coming back strong. (Psst: that album with Timbaland was a stinker; not your style at all.)
WT,
That Soundgarden reference was great! You are the first person who has ever made that connection! Jay is so fortunate to have found such a funny intern.
Best,
Chris
The first person to recognize you? How sad! Kids today are too narcissistic to realize that they’re in the presence of one of the great rock vocalists . . . .
WT:
What about this post indicates that it’s intended to be funny? Jay’s just trying to find some way to come out on top. Only he and his friends would think that the hard work of public engagement is something to be sniffed at. It’s not time-consuming whatsoever to tweet; only a novice would think it does. As for my productivity, feel free to check out my vita and/or my blog. I’d love your thoughts on how I spend my 80 hour work week at a public university while parenting two small kids.
Finally–the rest of us sign our real names– how about you?
26 minutes to respond! Is there a Chrome plug-in that automatically refreshes a webpage every 10 seconds and then notifies you of anything new?
Anyway, everything about the post is obviously intended to be funny but also to get a rise out of people who take themselves a bit too seriously. Did it ever work . . .
Wow man –Amazing how little you understand about technology (blog goes up and is tweeted at her; followup comments are auto-emailed). Are you sure you’re not a robot?
The comments suggest that Jay is being taken to task for a blog attempt at humor. Or perhaps readers believe the Greene-defined ratio of tweets to followers measures an actual concept?
Ah, well, I’m sure Randy Newman has had similar comments directed at him because of his lyrics. That Randy must really hate short people!
Just saw I almost hit the top of the list! Can’t wait to tweet my near victory!
Wait a minute…
Is this really something to be joking about? Twitaholics have a disease and they need treatment. Until we can get the government to do something about the relatively free access these addicts have to their precious twitahol on a daily basis, these numbers are only going to continue to rise.
[…] My thinking is pretty basic at this point, but informed by Simmel’s writing about the relation of motivation to social form. I think the kind of tweeter you are has something to do with why you’re there. Are you a consumer, a producer, a conversationalist, a prosumer? Basic tweeter-types might be measured crudely with the metrics of tweets, followers, and following. There are subtypes of consumers. Some consumers are just there to watch; that’s like tv, maybe. Their following to tweet ratio will be high. Some are there to consume so they can then produce something else; this type is exemplified by Ezra Klein and he says a little bit about the experience of this type here. They probably have high follower to following ratios, and lots of tweets. Producers aren’t there to see what others are doing. Their tweets to following ratio would be high. If they are successful, they’ll also have high follower to following ratios. Obviously one has to be careful with measures like these, because not all tweets are the same. Some are original thoughts, some are links, some are retweets, some are replies. If you do this in a thin way you end up with something not very persuasive, like this. […]
Reblogged this on This Got My Attention and commented:
Interesting. One of Madison’s own ranks #3 on the Narcissus Index. As the article properly points out, Twitter is essentially worthless except for making quick announcements. How true.
[…] folks, like Jay Greene, think Twitter is mostly “about the dumbest thing on the planet,” at least when it […]
[…] my own work because it should speak for itself. One senior professor at another institution wrote a whole blog post about how I and folks like me were just narcissists in love with our own reflections. Others told […]