Why follow when you can connect?

The world-wide web  was once a static platform.  Interactivity was minimal.

Now, web 2.0  is for the prosumer, and is an active-oriented, creative and interactive platform where even the smallest voice gets heard.

So how did the concept of a Twitter "Follow" ever stick?

I'm surely not the first person to think or write about this. I haven't googled this to find the endless number of blogs about this topic, but for me, this has become an issue when I try to acknowledge people who are (choke)  following me.

My aversion to this word is in direct disproportion to how I feel about the platform itself, which exists on people following other people.

I am a twitter follower. I've been on twitter since March and have learned so much from so many well-respected and talented educators who constitute my PLN.  I've learned about resources, websites, tools and received ideas and encouragement.

Hashtags, chats, bitly, tweetdeck, hootsuite, twuffer, are tools that I could not do without. RT's, MT's, HT's are de-mystified as I go about my tweeting.

Why then, do I literally crunch up my shoulders and cringe when I check my account to see who my "Followers" are?

Here's my dilemma: I certainly 'Follow' people twitter.  Yet when I find out that someone has  'followed' me I just can't do what others have done.

I can't thank them for "following" me, it feels absurd and I just can't get the word out.  So, instead I thank them for connecting.

So much more comfortable. So much more web 2.0.