Monday, 24 January 2005 - 8:28 AM PST

You have to be a blog consumer before you can be a blogger. I always start by getting workshop attendees to sign up for a Bloglines account so they can get a picture of the whole blogosphere. I have them subscribe to some blogs that have nothing to do with school and everything to do with some passion of theirs like quilting, music, or a favorite sports team.

Administrators might be more inclined to stick with blogging if it became a component of their larger school-community communications strategy. It has to be part of their routine (another reason to hook them on RSS and aggregators). I would love to see a school leader really embrace blogging as a tool to communicate his or her vision for teaching and learning in a school or district.

The truth is that most people won't keep blogging. I had to get past my feeling that every time I blog something it has to be a revolutionary idea. I'm trying to discipline myself to write something, however mundane, every day. I'm not there yet, but it's getting easier.

Monday, 24 January 2005 - 4:56 PM PST

Thanks for the suggestion, Tim. I may have to back peddle a bit with this group, but this is a strategy I'll use in the future. Fortunately, as I mentioned in my first post, this group specifically asked about blogging after I used a blog with them to gather group responses to a couple of questions posed during a previous workshop.

I also appreciated your comment about feeling the need to have something profound to say in every posting. I've been struggling with that as well. I did a good job at first (posting regularly, not being profound), but when the holidays came along, it was too easy to let the blog slide and then not pick up on it again. I guess part of that stems from my continuing question about who this blog is really for? Am I my own primary audience, or am I trying to create some kind of online community where people react to what I've said- or answer questions I've posted. I'm thankful that you took the time to respond!

Wednesday, 26 January 2005 - 7:08 PM PST

Maybe blogging is a little like golf. I only need to hit one good shot each round to make it enjoyable enough to come back. (Playing well isn't even on my radar screen at this point.) With my blog, I only need to get an occasional comment or link to reaffirm that someone somewhere is reading what I'm writing. I'm sure it will take me less time to be a good blogger than a good golfer!

Wednesday, 2 February 2005 - 8:50 AM PST

That's a great analogy, Tim! I also struggle with the audience question with my personal blog. When I was living overseas, it was a great way to tell about my adventures and keep in touch with family and friends. Now that I am back in the US, I struggle with finding interesting things to post about. I'll keep your comment in mind and just keep swinging!

Wednesday, 2 February 2005 - 12:03 PM PST

I think that the difficulty in coming up with items of interest for other readers is one reason why I'm thinking it's probably important to introduce blogs to administrators as, at least initially, specific purpose tools. Without that hook, I don't know that many will come out to play.

For example, it's looking as though the group of principals I recently wrote about may use a blog to discuss and refine a vision statement drafted during the last workshop. This particular blog will probably have a very short shelf life. Once the statement is finalized, it's doubtful they'll return to it.

I think other blogs (e.g., a staff bulletin blog) would have a reason to continue to exist because it would be serving a defined purpose for a specific audience. The principal wouldn't need to struggle with what to post because that would be defined in the reason for the existence of that blog.

I doubt that open-ended write-what-you're-feeling type blogs would hold much professional allure for these folks. Does that thinking make sense?