It's the beginning of January and that means everyone is talking about their goals for starting a new leaf which obviously means that you have to take a big step back and see where you're going wrong. Me? I'm a bad blogger. To be sure, I feel that I write quality posts, and I do write at least once a week. That's not the problem I'm talking about. My problem is that I don't comment on other blogs.
So why does this matter and why should I (or you) be better at commenting? It basically becomes a question of "what is a blog" and "when is it useful." One interpretation of a blog as expressed on Wikipedia is that a blog is a website that contains regular entries of "commentary, description of events, or other material such as graphics or video." This leads into the "when is it useful" question. To answer this question, I'm going to employ a few analogies (stick with me as I promise this has some relevance).
A blog can be used like a diary. You can write up your personal thoughts and lock it away where no one but you can use it. A blog can also be like a newspaper. You can broadcast your thoughts and make them available for anyone to read. The more people who read it the more valuable it becomes. In the former case, the utility of your blog is limited to how much you personally can get out of the blog.
In the latter case, the utility of your blog is limited by the number of people reached by your posts. This value of the network is described by Metcalfe's Law (if you're interested).
It's also intuitively understood when you think about how useful your phone is if you had the only phone in the world vs if there were two in the world vs if there were ten in the world etc. But I must correct myself. Above I said your blog is limited by the number of people reached by your posts, but I should have said can be.
Can be? I say this because we're living in the Web 2.0 world (guh, forgive the cliche). A blog can be a newspaper but it can also be a gathering place thanks to the ability to comment, rework, and discuss. As part of a social network, the blog reaches not only individuals but also groups (described by Reed's Law if you're interested).
Think of a group you're actively involved in and how each person brings a unique set of perspectives to that group. This person in many ways is acting as a link to other groups. But imagine how sad it would be if no one in your group ever talked. Imagine if the group never engaged each other. This is me. This is why I'm a bad blogger.
I am a follower of many blogs, but I'm a commenter on almost none of them. I do this because I feel a bit out of my league or that as a software developer and not a teacher/school administrator my experience and ideas are not welcome. Sometimes it's to avoid sounding ignorant or amateurish. All of these are bad reasons to withhold. By not engaging, I'm not only hurting myself but I'm decreasing the value of the blogs I follow. Plus, we're all learners regardless and chances are if they're freely sharing their blog posts with the world, they're there to help. So this year, I want to do a better job engaging and challenge you to do the same. There's a lot going on in technology, education, and in the DyKnow community and it's important we all do what we can to keep each other up to date and growing. If you have a question, ask. If you have a perspective, share. After all, the least we can do for students is to model the engaged classroom with our own learning.
So why does this matter and why should I (or you) be better at commenting? It basically becomes a question of "what is a blog" and "when is it useful." One interpretation of a blog as expressed on Wikipedia is that a blog is a website that contains regular entries of "commentary, description of events, or other material such as graphics or video." This leads into the "when is it useful" question. To answer this question, I'm going to employ a few analogies (stick with me as I promise this has some relevance).
A blog can be used like a diary. You can write up your personal thoughts and lock it away where no one but you can use it. A blog can also be like a newspaper. You can broadcast your thoughts and make them available for anyone to read. The more people who read it the more valuable it becomes. In the former case, the utility of your blog is limited to how much you personally can get out of the blog.
In the latter case, the utility of your blog is limited by the number of people reached by your posts. This value of the network is described by Metcalfe's Law (if you're interested).
It's also intuitively understood when you think about how useful your phone is if you had the only phone in the world vs if there were two in the world vs if there were ten in the world etc. But I must correct myself. Above I said your blog is limited by the number of people reached by your posts, but I should have said can be.
Can be? I say this because we're living in the Web 2.0 world (guh, forgive the cliche). A blog can be a newspaper but it can also be a gathering place thanks to the ability to comment, rework, and discuss. As part of a social network, the blog reaches not only individuals but also groups (described by Reed's Law if you're interested).
Think of a group you're actively involved in and how each person brings a unique set of perspectives to that group. This person in many ways is acting as a link to other groups. But imagine how sad it would be if no one in your group ever talked. Imagine if the group never engaged each other. This is me. This is why I'm a bad blogger.
I am a follower of many blogs, but I'm a commenter on almost none of them. I do this because I feel a bit out of my league or that as a software developer and not a teacher/school administrator my experience and ideas are not welcome. Sometimes it's to avoid sounding ignorant or amateurish. All of these are bad reasons to withhold. By not engaging, I'm not only hurting myself but I'm decreasing the value of the blogs I follow. Plus, we're all learners regardless and chances are if they're freely sharing their blog posts with the world, they're there to help. So this year, I want to do a better job engaging and challenge you to do the same. There's a lot going on in technology, education, and in the DyKnow community and it's important we all do what we can to keep each other up to date and growing. If you have a question, ask. If you have a perspective, share. After all, the least we can do for students is to model the engaged classroom with our own learning.
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