Comments make the difference indeed!
I’ve just read a thought-provoking entry by Anne Davis on the relevance of comments in blogging, and immediately thought I wanted to record that here… Basically, her point is that it is comments which encourage newborn bloggers to keep going… That made an impact on me for I related it to many issues I’ve been reflecting upon recently:
1) When starting a blog, determining its target audience should be a first step. In the case of class blogs, this seems crucial to me. Unlike most people appear to believe, blogging’s not about what I have to say, but about who I expect to listen to me… It makes sense then to start by defining our intended readers and the best way to contact them.
(BTW, have you already listened to “I Started a Blog that Nobody Read“, by the Catbirdseat? Don’t miss it if you’ve ever started a blog!)
2) Networking blogs is essential. Each new blogger has to find blogs he’s keen on reading and acquire the habit of regular commenting on them…. Helping new bloggers master tools such as Bloglines or Feedblitz should be a teacher’s first priority… Apart from providing new bloggers with models, this will help them start getting “noticed” by bloggers who will in turn come back to comment on their entries… For the teacher themselves, finding out about sites such as Dekita or online communities such as Webheads in Action could make a whale of difference!
3) In my case, each blog entry is “inspired” by so many other cyber-friends that naming them would be overwhelming… and each time I post I feel the excitement of possible comments from unexpected readers! However, this also means a tremendous responsibility: learning to reply to comments… or do you want to become a blogsnob? 
Enough blogging about blogging for a day, right?
Gladys
Online communities, Teachers and technology | Comments (3)
3 Responses to “Comments make the difference indeed!”
Leave a Reply
Dear Gladys,
Comments do make a difference and it is highly rewarding to exchange our ideas, beliefs and experiences with others, especially likeminded peers.
Point 3 made me remember Denis Oliver´s blog on the poeple who have inspired him. Quite a wonderful tribute. He is so amazingly sweet!
Again, your week 3 threads are amazing and I can´t believe all the hours you dedicated to them for the common good (I do believe, actually) … I am afraid to ask … do you still need someone for B4B week 6 threads?
BTW, how do you manage to find such fine online materials as this song on blogs? I really enjoyed it to the max.
Cariños y saludos, Berta
Berta, what a pleasure to read you again!
I honestly don’t remember who pointed me to the song on blog audiences, I believe it was mentioned at WIA or LwCs… But I blinklisted it immediately, for I knew I’d love to go back to it!
As for the B4B weekly threads, yes, we are still looking for someone who can give a hand with that… If you happened to know of someone who might volunteer for adding the messages, I could add the pictures once the workshop is over, or perhaps one of the other moderators might do that during the same week…
Thanks for asking! Email me if you meet that brave volunteer (perhaps lookingin your mirror???)
LOL,
Gladys
Gadys,
Great tips for me at this stage of the blogging process! Reminds me I do have to fine-tune my blogging skills if I want my puppets´ voices to be heard in cyberspace.
Cheers,
Monika