Something's not quite right
So I've been noticing something. I'm going to share my observation with you all. Maybe somebody will feel validated. Definitely somebody will throw an egg at me, think I'm out of line. That's okay. Maybe I am.
Often, I'll hit my Bloglines account and think, 'Sweet. Four posts from Classroom2.0.' Only two are not posts at all. They are advertisements for another blog. It goes something like, 'I'm swamped just keeping my own blog going. So check it out: here.'
I've got my own blog, too. I want a readership, too. I get it. But I think it's inappropriate to take advantage of a forum like this to advertise for oneself. I have no problem with folks cross-posting and mentioning it, even linking to it.
At the end of the day, this place -- as I understand it (and set me straight if I'm wrong) is about collaboration. It's about, 'Hey, help me figure this out.' or, 'What do you think of this?' It's about the thousands of miles that separate us actually acting as a bigger bridge.
And, please, check out my blog, if you get a chance ;)
Often, I'll hit my Bloglines account and think, 'Sweet. Four posts from Classroom2.0.' Only two are not posts at all. They are advertisements for another blog. It goes something like, 'I'm swamped just keeping my own blog going. So check it out: here.'
I've got my own blog, too. I want a readership, too. I get it. But I think it's inappropriate to take advantage of a forum like this to advertise for oneself. I have no problem with folks cross-posting and mentioning it, even linking to it.
At the end of the day, this place -- as I understand it (and set me straight if I'm wrong) is about collaboration. It's about, 'Hey, help me figure this out.' or, 'What do you think of this?' It's about the thousands of miles that separate us actually acting as a bigger bridge.
And, please, check out my blog, if you get a chance ;)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on -
:) Clever last line.
I took exception to this recently with one person's post, and it generated some heated discussion. I don't think that those who are doing this realize that they haven't caught the picture of Classroom 2.0--where the conversation can take place in one spot, and where you are more likely to get a response than you would starting a new blog.
Certainly, individual blogging has a lot of value, and is still something I really recommend. But if you want some real conversation, I say "come join us" instead of asking us to join your individual blog...
Steve
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Permalink Reply by Jeremiah Patterson on
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Steve,
Perhaps one would be better served to generate an audience here, and then, when it is clear one has a substantial blogging voice -- and the requisite audience to boot -- go it solo. Kind of like a band member.
I am finding my time spent here of at least as much value as on my own spot. This is much more likely to generate a conversation. Out on my own I maybe feel more comfortable taking on a tangential subject that might fall outside of this realm, but actually the lines here are nice and blurry.
I've also considered giving posting a week's break to simply read and comment. I think I'll try it this summer for a while.
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Permalink Reply by William Bishop on
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Interesting blog! You make some fine points in your blog. I will visit it again when I have more time. Thanks for sharing.
William Bishop (Bill)
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Permalink Reply by Sylvia Martinez on
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Agree with that! I don't think you will get any eggs, probably because if someone does a post like that and thinks it's going to work, they aren't sticking around here anyway.
I will say, if I post something on my blog, and then think, "hmm, that might be interesting to someone on Classroom 2.0", I'll cross post. But usually I find myself elaborating here, being more informal, and posting things here that I don't put on my blog.
It's also fun to get to "know" people, and when you see them out in the open blogosphere, it's nice!
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Permalink Reply by Lucy Gray on -
I think there's room for both individual blogs and collective efforts like this. I think this sort of community lends itself better to discussion. It's interesting to see how many people have joined Classroom 2.0 when I find it's like pulling teeth to get people to visit and contribute to individual blogs.. there's something about this format that's inviting, I think. And, like everyone else has said, I'm flattered if people read my personal blog, but I realize it's not all about me in the ed tech world and I think the collective efforts potentially can have more impact. Okay, I am rambling now...
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Permalink Reply by Kevin H. on
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No eggs being thrown from me, either. :)
I think that this community can begin to filter outward at times and that is a good thing. I also agree that it shouldn't just be a platform for traffic control for blogs but that CR 2.0 can be a place for good conversation and sharing of resources and sometimes, that might lead to sites outside of this community. That is part of the sharing.
But you make a a very valid point (in your response to Steve) about spending more time reading and commenting, too, Jeremiah, and I need that reminder at times. A good conversation comes from both sides and engages the participation of others.
Kevin
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Permalink Reply by Kelly Christopherson on -
I'm with you completely! This is not for advertising but for discussion, collaboration and exchange of ideas. I, too, have my own blog - a couple of them and a Ning network. If you have a great blog and a great post, then bring it on down, copy and paste it in. Forget the, check out my blog to drive my hits counter up stuff. If your stuff is what I want to read, I'll go to your blog!
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Permalink Reply by Laura Gibbs on
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My blogs are about stuff that is very discipline-specific (Latin language), so this ning plays a great role for me: it SAVES ME from feeling obligated to have an educational technology blog, too. What a relief!
So, this way I can blog about course content-related stuff in a blog (that would be of little or no interest to most folks here), but then I can use classroom2.0 as a place to contribute to educational technology discussions in a public forum. I am really grateful to be able to do that... sporadically I try to keep an educational technology blog, but it is pretty pathetic - I just don't really have the time for that. I love NOT having the responsibility to keep up a regular ed-tech blog and being able to participate in discussions here at the classroom2.0 ning instead!
:-)
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Permalink Reply by samccoy on -
LOL; OK I will check out your blog;
You hit the Networking Nail on the head. If you are going to collaborate, there will be give and take in the relationship. In science, we refer to that type of relationship as symbiotic, as opposed to parasitic. LOL
This "check out my blog" is related to the "add to my discussion" syndrome. Some people have discussions and groups where they want you to participate, but they don't want to friend or acknowledge you after you do participate. LORL! I always get the feeling that these people are working on a new book or article or blog posting. BUT, that is not always the case.
Having participated in forums since the early 1990's, I find that because of online predators or other unscrupulous and mean spirited people, a few new networkers in educational groups may not know what it is all about, to feel comfortable to share and friend.
How about thinking of friending reading blogs and joining in discussions, as if these people are your neighbors? It is not so much friending as "neighboring", I think.
In the some of the first social networks, like the Getty Museum's ArtsEdNet, now called Teacher ArtExchange, my colleagues, and I, did talk to everyone. Once during the past 13 years, I will tell you that I was on one social network where one, just one, person tried to do everything he could to make life miserable in an overbearing, indirect manner. What we did or said was no good....what he knew was the most important.....and we were a scientific network!!!, where most of us had masters and Phd's. I would imagine that is why the friend selection and the blocking functions developed, as we know them now, for today's social network system.
In terms of this network, Classroom2.0, we are all interested in educational technology and its viability in the classroom. It seems to me that is OK to be friends with someone you don't know, because you have lots in common with them. I think that is why friending here is different than friending in groups intended for all the people in the world.
I believe that some people may be acclimated to IRW relationships and virtual relationships, such as Facebook and MySpace. In those social networks, anyone can join in, so people have to be "en garde".
In social networks such as TappedIN and Classroom 2.0 people have been invited (or found us) because of a common interest, the nexus of education and technology. That is why I friend those who share with me and I participate in their contributions to the group.
By sharing with me, as a member of this social network, I am inferring that, you want to be my neighbor! ;D
Let's check out those blogs, OK?
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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Aldrich on
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This discussion makes me think about blog carnivals, which I have become interested in lately. Wikipedia compares a blog carnival to a magazine. The basic draw to submit a blog post to a particular carnival is to generate more traffic and interest in your blog, and hopefully elicit some regular readers. The main benefit of blog carnivals (and in a wider sense, blogs generally) is creating that magazine feeling - to touch on interesting topics, begin to dig into some of them, and to broaden your horizons.
Is it so bad to promote your blog when it relates to a given topic, in a blog carnival or here on Classroom2.0? We don't feel bad (or try to make others feel bad) about linking to YouTube videos, or summarizing research papers and linking to them rather than cross-posting the whole thing. We summarize news stories and provide links, too. That generates traffic, and for many of those linked sites it generates advertising revenue. Heck, even Ning here has ads (though refreshingly unobstrusive ones) so that whenever we visit Classroom2.0, money is going into someone's pocket. To me, the crazy thing is people who blog and DON'T promote - who the heck are they writing for? What good are they doing with their blogs?
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on
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As the only blogger in the world who hates to write, I'd only direct someone to my blog to read something directly on topic so I wouldn't have to retype it!
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Permalink Reply by Alice Mercer on -
I guess my question is, do you have reciprocity? Like I've linked to posts on my blog, but I've also linked to posts here in my outside blog posts and that has drawn some readers to this network. If I'm helping grow this network, as well as my blog, then I feel like I'm part of the solution.
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