Twitter’s benefits aren’t obvious unless you dig down. Twitter, indeed, is much like gardening, say Lisa Chamberlin and Kay Lehmann in eLearn Magazine.

They cite Joanna C. Dunlap and Patrick R. Lowenthal’s article, “Horton Hears a Tweet.”

College faculty use Twitter more than the general public; the ratio is three to one, according to one study.

Say Chamberlin/Lehmann: “A shovel and vegetable seeds are simple objects, but growing a vegetable garden is much more complex. As gardeners study horticultural techniques, read what the experts have to say, and chat with knowledgeable neighbors, they begin to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Those who don’t put in the energy waste time, get weeds, and have little to show for their effort. Instead of the no-to-low cost of the salad grown at home, the weekend gardener ends up paying a much higher cost to get the same beneficial nutrients at the store.”

I found these thoughts through a Tweet. But did I share them through Twitter? No. I’ll let you figure out why.