Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Blogging Strategies

The third week of Web 2.0 for Learning Professionals Free Online Course (you can jump in at any time) is all about Blogs for Learning. Interestingly, when I prepared the notes for this week, I was able to leverage what the course members had produced during the previous week on Social Bookmarks: You can read in the link Blogs for Learning about my perspective on using Blogs for Learning and Networking. There's a bit in there on blogging strategies, but the reality is that when I go back and look at my previous posts on what your personal strategy should be around blogging, I'm not finding that much. And one of the course members raised a really interesting question in the Forum around blogging strategies:
Matthew, how has blogging changed the way you think? I myself have not had that experience and I'm interested in understanding how it has such an effect on yours. My own experience is that blogging is not very social (even when I have asked for feedback). I have people that follow my blog; I know this from both statcounter and google analytics. However, I have yet to really have "conversations" and feedback except from a few core people.

For me, reading and commenting on blogs (not writing them) gives me the opportunity to learn from others. My own blogging has switched from being an invitation for discussion (which was unsuccessful) to more of a journal of my thoughts as they pop into my head. Before blogging, those thoughts were fleeting. Now they allow me to record the thoughts and expand on them as I experience and learn new things.
The discussion that is following it is quite interesting and I think gets into the heart of what blogging as an experience and as a learning tool is all about. The reality is that as you blog, your blogging strategies are bound to shift.

I recommend looking at Top Ten Reasons To Blog and Top Ten Not to Blog and also:
Love to get comments in the Forum around this.