I've read several guides recently on how academics -- especially law professors -- ought to use Twitter, such as this law review essay by Carissa Hessick, this set of thoughtful self-imposed rules by Josh Blackman, and these dour posts by Eric Posner proclaiming Twitter a "a black hole of value-destroying technology for all concerned" and "a planetary-scale hate machine."

As Eric points out, the structure and incentives of Twitter make it hard to have thoughtful or persuasive exchanges, and easy to validate one's own beliefs or get a thrill out of being mean to others. As Carissa's and Josh's principles wrestle with, that can make it a difficult medium for those of us committed to academic ideals.

But I still use Twitter, and while I don't have anything nearly as thoughtful to say as Carissa and Josh, I do have three basic thoughts on how law professors can do so without getting sucked into the black hole:

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