Or at least that's what I thought when I first started blogging, if I may be honest. I'd never been a blogger and only followed a very small handful of blogs. Typically these ranged a narrow span of my nearly-obsessive running passion and my love of dogs. Don't get me wrong- I love to read! But I categorized blogs as the editorials of electronic media, and as someone who historically skipped over the editorials in newspapers, when I transitioned my media intake to on-line versions, I conveniently skipped over blogs.
Then I was charged with blogging professionally a few years ago. "Neat-o" was my less-than-enthusiastic inner-monologue. That was followed up with, "I better do some research here!" And thus my blogging journey began...
image from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nightthree/300232474/
Finding #1: Blogs can be research-based.
Well, this kind of blew my mind! So much for my blog-bashing based on my unfounded opinion that blogs were simply a stream of consciousness for anyone with Internet access. Some of my favorite postings include commentary on well-researched concepts and pedagogy. Whether or not I necessarily agree with the commentary is beside the point- these blogs make me think!
Finding #2: There is a blog for everyone.
Admittedly, I had a poor attitude at the get-go. It was short-lived, I assure you. As part of my research, I wanted to read different blogs to find a style that was comfortable, get ideas, and seek inspiration. For a week or so I searched and read, searched and read, searched and read. And then I realized at one point I was kidding myself. I wasn't researching anymore. I was reading because I wanted to.
Finding #3: Blogging starts conversations.
Once upon a time, I erroneously thought that blogs were a one-way purge of thoughts. Nope. Sometimes blogs stand alone, but often, through the comment sections, conversations are started that provide rich discussions of issues addressed in the blog. Points, counterpoints, new research, respectful debates, and even blogs inspired by the original blog all happen through these comments.
Finding #4: Blogs connect people.
The power of posting a public blog are immeasurable. People from all over the world (especially with the translation tools available at the click of a button) can find, read and, interact with these blogs. Discovering new viewpoints, networking outside of one's immediate community, and becoming a part of a global association all happen through blogs.
Finding #5: Blogs don't have to run on forever.
In my naive mind, I thought that blogs were kind of ramble-ish, lengthy, scroll-down-nine-times, and somewhat never-ending. I found that some of the best blogs (in my opinion) were concise, yet thought-provoking or lengthy out of necessity. The beauty of blogs is that there is no pre-determined word count.
Finding #6: Blogs can be inspired from anything.
Albeit I still admit running into writers' block occasionally, the truth is there is so much to ponder, opine, and share, a more common problem is focusing on one topic. Blogs can be commissioned, out-of-the-blue, themed, etc. My own range from life lessons learned from my kids to power-outages to my love of educational technology tools (in particular, My Big Campus). Having a venue to share, connect, and reach other educators has been a unique experience for me- and one tempered by my own postings about whatever topics I broach in a new post. Speaking of, I am already feeling inspired for a sequel to this post...something along the lines of "Students Speak! No Ifs or Ands...Just Blogs!"
