The State Of The Blogosphere According To Me

So I'm headed down to this newfangled bloggers summit thing in DC and pondering the state of the blogosphere, by which I mean the education blogs that I know about and/or read. 

Mostly, I think that things are going well. There are more education blogs out there all the time (DISD Blog, Will Okun for example), which makes things like doing a daily roundup fun and easy and means I'm learning and hearing new things all the time.  And there are more "grownups" blogging now (Sherman and Debbie and Diane and Roy Romer and others), which makes me feel less than I used to like I'm an overgrown 10th grader. More folks to beat up on the annoying and/or ridiculous, too.

Of course, it's great getting paid (not that much) to blog after years of doing it for fun (thanks, Scholastic and Catalyst!).  It's a nice bit of recognition.  I still haven't launched that third blog I keep talking about, the beginnings of my blogging empire, but it will happen someday soon, I still think.

I'm incredibly grateful that it's gotten a ton easier to blog than it used to be, what with RSS feeds and web-based blogging software and all the rest.  (Easier for readers, too -- you can get daily or weekly emails of this blog now, or get it on your cell phone.)  My latest toy is a wireless broadband card for my laptop, which means I don't have to search for open WiFi all the time anymore. If only there was a gizmo that would make me smarter, or nicer.

Most of all, I'd say that blogging has created a nice sense of collegiality for me even though I'm not in DC anymore (and even though sometimes the collegiality comes in the form of being called an asshole by one or another of the Klonsky brothers).  I've gotten to know a bunch of new people who care about education like I do, and have shared my ideas and read lots of interesting responses over the years.

Things I wish for from my own blogs and others':  More real news and investigative journalism from education blogs -- even if it's just a copy of a juicy letter the superintendent sent to her board.  Let's give the papers a real run for their (advertisers') money.  More candor and vividness, discussing first-hand experiences and doubts and changes of mind. Talk about your own educational experiences, or late-night wonderings about vouchers, or whatever.  I'll try and do the same. 

Comments

[Matthew K. Tabor]

"Things I wish for from my own blogs and others': More real news and investigative journalism from education blogs -- even if it's just a copy of a juicy letter the superintendent sent to her board."

Excellent point - this is the best suggestion for the education blogosphere that I've read in at least a year.

[Robert Pondiscio]

Those of us who spent time in mainstream media know that real news and investigative journalism requires...reporters. We few, we happy few, we band of bloggers tend to note and comment, not "report." Prediction (not a suggestion): eventually, bloggers will get tired of being one man (or woman) bands and start to work together in groups -- a form of DIY syndication -- pool resources and add reporting to the menu.

[Robert Pondiscio]

Those of us who spent time in mainstream media know that real news and investigative journalism requires...reporters. We few, we happy few, we band of bloggers tend to note and comment, not "report." Prediction (not a suggestion): eventually, bloggers will get tired of being one man (or woman) bands and start to work together in groups -- a form of DIY syndication -- pool resources and add reporting to the menu.

[KDeRosa]

If only there was a gizmo that would make me smarter, or nicer.

You forgot -- " or better looking."

[Taylor]

It often takes an outsider to get the truth. That "juicy letter" isn't easy to get your hands on if you're holding onto your job with both of them.

[John Holland]

Those of us who spent time in mainstream media know that real news and investigative journalism requires...reporters. We few, we happy few, we band of bloggers tend to note and comment, not "report." Prediction (not a suggestion): eventually, bloggers will get tired of being one man (or woman) bands and start to work together in groups -- a form of DIY syndication -- pool resources and add reporting to the menu.

THis is a great suggestion. It is already being done by small bands of dedicated bloggers like local community boggers here in Richmond, VA, considered the highest density of community blogs in the nation. It is changing the way the community works.
http://rvanews.com/
and the group of TLN community bloggers who sometimes seem to play web based version of volley ball with posts building on each other. Check out Susan Graham's series on Checker Finn on the Teacher Magazine blog page for example.

[Lisa Nielsen]

Recommending that bloggers get "More real news and investigative journalism from education blogs -- even if it's just a copy of a juicy letter the superintendent sent to her board" is a great suggestion. It makes a lot of sense and is not as hard to do since we have most everything captured digitally anyhow. I have been doing this and just removing the names of those who want to be kept anonymous. I think bloggers can do this successfully if we keep in mind to always work in the interest of education and keep those anonymous who request it. Including authentic artifacts will definitely make blogs a lot better. In my recent post about cell phones (inspired by this blog after it cited that as another bad NYC DOE mandate) I include two actual emails from colleagues. They make the story more interesting indeed and I informed my colleagues I'd be posting their emails. They both asked to have their names removed, but the emails are just as, if not more, juicy when names are replaced with [name removed due to author request].

Lisa Nielsen - The Innovative Educator
Read my blog on educating innovatively at http://TheInnovativeEducator.blogspot.com