Reflections of a new-ish blogger
Ed. Tech., blogging April 10th, 2008
The graph below plots a small sample of data from this blog, but the blip has me pondering/reflecting…
This blog is ONLY just over 3.5 months, but I find myself obsessed with figuring out if I am contributing to any networked learning. Scott McLeod has written about “measuring” the impact of a blog and I commented that I’d like to consider some combination of comments/post/reader and number of pingbacks. In other words, I will feel like my blog is useful/valuable if it is generating discussion. People may come and learn by simply observing, but I don’t feel like that’s enough.
So, three months of posting and never more than a handful of comments on any one post and a Technorati authority of a whopping 22. That’s not at all bad for a baby blog, especially considering I’ve done NO marketing of my blog other than claiming my blog on Technorati and including the URL in my digital e-mail signature (this despite being a regular reader of Seth Godin’s blog). Oh, and my arrival on the Twitter scene probably gives me some small amount of exposure.
Yet, yesterday, I wrote about “technological doping” and linked to a CNN article about technologically advanced…bathing suits. That post, in one day, has been viewed 4x as much as any other one post ever on this blog and generated about 4x as many comments. Why is this? Is it something about the post or am I somehow just generating more traffic as a natural maturation process?
I don’t have answers yet, but I have a couple of hypotheses. First, perhaps linking to something as grand as CNNbrings traffic? Second, I don’t “know” the commenters and they don’t appear to from the ed. tech. or ed. leadership arena. So, did I tap into some niche where there’s more (or less) conversation?
I think where I’m going with this is that I worry that the ed. tech. blogosphere is reasonably saturated. Related to Darren Draper’s post on Twitter Set Theory, I feel like there are some central figures whose spheres overlap considerably and a whole lot of us outsiders trying to penetrate that inner circle. It’s as if folks like Will Richardson, David Warlick, Wes Fryer, Vicki Davis, Dean Shareski, Stephen Downes, Chris Lehmann…(and, yes, you Scott) are having an awesome cocktail party conversation and I’m standing on the outside staring over their shoulders and listening in, trying to get a word in, but not penetrating that conversation at all. I know there are LOTS of us on the outside looking in.
I don’t even want to imply blame at all; those folks are not doing anything wrong. I just wonder if there’s a saturation point for social/professional networks. For those interested in collaborative, networked, Twitter/blogosphere/Ustream-driven learning specifically about ed. tech. matters, is there a need to listen/read much more than what they can get from the occupants of that inner circle?
Or, maybe I’m just taking this all too personally (I just want to be loved; is that so wrong?)…
Anyway, Scott asked me today if I’m enjoying this blogging thing. The answer is a definitve “yes.” There’s something cathartic about it and validating when I do get even a few comments or a pingback (did I mention that Eduwonkette linked to me recently?). My academic article in an open access, peer reviewed journal has been viewed 1,257 times since Feb. 2007. My post yesterday was viewed by almost 400 people in one day. That’s exciting and I’m looking forward to more and more of this (especially after I get tenure).
Tags: blogging, education, technology
I’m positive that your feelings about being on the outside looking in echo those of many educators out there. Keep your chin up and keep trudging forward.
While I think it’s good to know what’s happening in terms of your readership, don’t blog for stats. Blog for the conversation. It will happen if your ideas are compelling, if you offer genuine comments, and if you keep engaging. I don’t think there is a saturation point for good ideas.
I absolutely do blog for the conversation, but conversations are inherently two-way. The only way for me to know if there’s anyone on the other end is to pay attention to things like page views, comments and/or pingbacks. That’s what I was trying to say.
And, I couldn’t agree more that there’s no saturation point for good ideas. But, I also think it’s very possible that one could throw out good ideas that nobody really hears or pays attention to or…I have a colleague who, for about a decade, was saying that ed. leadership professors needed to evaluate what they were doing. We needed to know if we were preparing effective leaders. Finally, a couple of years ago, the profession heard him and evaluations are under way. Now, outsiders are challenging the efficacy of and need for university-based ed. leadership programs; there are no data (yet) to refute those challenges.
I’m not mad or frustrated or upset in any way (jealous, maybe). I’m just reflecting…
Jon, what interesting timing. I just had a conversation with a couple high power bloggers about practically the same thing: something I wrote ended up being discussed on other people’s blogs instead of mine. I agree that generating discussion is a real motivator for working harder on the blog and for thinking harder about the topic being discussed. The problem is that we start thinking of that traffic as validation.
I’ve blogged for quite a while, but my numbers and technorati ranking have always been low (maybe I’ll try the swimwear thing). My pace is way slower than almost all the blogs I read. Still, I really try to do a good job with each post, and overall I’m satisfied with the outcome. There’s some good stuff there if someone wants it.
I noticed Darren Draper left a diigo highlight on your post, supposing that there are lots of us out there (out here). I’d say yes, but maybe we need to go the way of microbreweries and local bands, and focus on the local market and a unique niche.
My guess is that CNN links to your article, and that is how you were able to pick up so many hits. I know that is true for the Washington Post (there is a section lableled people blogging about this article, at the end).
So, you have a great blog. Any you are still learning how to get exposure for it. I think you’ll be amazed at the tricks there are out there. But the old Wa Po and plain old leaving comments in prominent places seem to work best for blogs like yours.
Also, have you submitted to a blog carnival or posted a link on a prominent message board, like the Teacher Leaders Network?
I know the goal here is not to drive traffic but to drive discussion and the right kind of traffic.
Did you get my comment from yesterday? Did it go through? I blogged it today also. Thank you for being so transparent.
The “perception” of some sort of “cocktail party conversation” is just that a perception. I rarely even chat with those guys and although they are awesome, only a few of them make my weekly MUST READ list.
I FEEL out of it ALL THE TIME. I feel like an outsider ALL OF THE TIME. I don’t feel in the know. I feel left out a lot. And supposedly everyone THINKS — I’m in.
The fact is that NO ONE is in. This is a big, massive microcosm that no one controls and few of us even understand. We struggle with having time to do it all and coming to grips on all of this blogging and global audience thing.
So, how would you take this personally? I went for a week with no comments — did that mean no one was reading? I left and didn’t blog for a week — does that mean I’m suddenly irrelevant.
We are all relevant but the emotions you’re feeling with all of this are something I very often feel and I believe most people struggle with. I LOVE it when I get links and I Live for comments.
It is never enough, though, and I find that I have to focus on my real life in order to achieve satisfaction. Most people here don’t know cool cat teacher exists.
Keep perspective and know why you blog… if you blog to make a difference and inspire… you will. If you blog for some sort of validation… you’re not going to get it on an Internet that likes this person today and moves on to another tomorrow. If you want to be loved, pet the cat, hug the spouse, enjoy the kids. And you might want to take a read at the poem I shared today.
You are an excellent blogger. Just remember, people post most often on emotional issues, not on the technology issues that they actually use.
Scott’s post on comment intensity was a real downer for me — I mean I must be worthless if I have a low comment intensity!? But hey, we can talk all day about who is important and who isn’t. But if one person reads our blog and get something out of it.. it is important.
I’m to the point that I could care less about my technorati rating, my comment intensity or link count — I might check them every two weeks. I care more now (hopefully it is maturity) about connecting with people and doing things that make a difference.
But, I’m not perfect, the comment intensity post really got me down and made me want to quit blogging. And remember this, Jon — AFTER 3.5 months — I HAD 7 READERS!
7 READERS!
It takes time. Time and doing it for the right reasons. If I had a blog that looks like yours after 3.5 months, I’d count myself very proud… but I didn’t. I didn’t know what I was doing and was completely lost!
You’ve come a long way… don’t be so hard on yourself!
I can’t speak to anyone else’s experiences, but I’m still a fragile, egotistical little boy that obsesses over metrics, traffic and comments. Yes, it still bums me out when I write what I think is a brilliant post that should generate hundreds of comments and nobody ever leaves a single comment. And I’m always happily surprised with a quick, offhand post generates far more traffic that I’d ever thought it could have.
And that’s despite the fact that I’ve got what I consider to be impressive circulation and traffic numbers. You’d think I’d get over the inferiority complex, but that’s just a part of me I guess.
The reason I mention this is because I know how it feels to be on the outside looking in, and I think most bloggers do too. For several months I had next to zero readers, and felt like I was basically talking to myself, and let’s face it, I was. However, I still feel that way in some respect. I talk to myself, and hopefully if it strikes a chord with someone else, it’ll generate a few responses, make people think a little bit. If not, well, I still get a sense of satisfaction in something that I took the time to write and write well. And so long as there’s still a few people who are interested in what I have to say, it’s still worth doing. Heck, even if there weren’t, so long as I still got something out of it, it’d still be worth doing.
Well it looks like you found one way to draw some attention to you blog.
And honestly the best way to get in the “cocktail conversation” is to link to other blogs. That works for everyone. Leaving comments is good as but commenting on your own blog and linking works so much better. It grows the conversation on many levels.
I don’t believe that the edublogsphere is saturated yet BTW. Yes we have some big names who “everyone reads” but I think there is room for more. I think that the number of educators who are reading blogs is still very small as a percentage of the total population. They are discovering blogging slowly but surely. There is going to be room for more people to share more ideas and more ways of looking at things.
I also see a growing need for teachers who specialize in specific subjects and age groups. As someone who blogs for computer science teachers and who sees an amazingly small number of those teachers blogging or reading blogs I sure hope so anyway.
Yeah, Jon, it is the “swimwear” which got you the hits. Anytime I post anything even remotely related to sex I get a bump in hits. Plus, the drug reference probably helped you too. Since I blog on the law, you should see the bump I get when I talk about a sex-ed issue. I have 250 some posts but the 2-3 sex-ed related posts I have are always at the top of my stats chart. For a while that bothered me, but the Net is like anything else I guess in that sex, drugs, violence … they sell.
I have not stopped paying attention to my hits, I check them 2-3 times a week, but they matter much less to me now than when I started. At the beginning I had this notion that I was blogging for “myself” but I was still needing the validation of others. But, after a while I think you lose that need for validation. I like what I do on the blog because 1) it helps me learn, and 2) it creates a mental archive for myself. It is like an academic diary. I don’t just produce my blog, but I am probably also its biggest consumer. Once I changed the orientation of the blog from oriented toward others to oriented toward myself, I started to enjoy it a lot more and started to care a lot less if I ever match Scott’s Technorati ratings.
You are doing a good job Jon and you are part of my conversation, so I encourage you to keep it up.
Well, this is obviously a topic that strikes a chord with many of us. I read Vicki’s post and the comments there but decided to leave a comment on your post instead.
Yes, there are the early adopters, the leaders that we have learned a great deal from and who have encouraged us to develop our own voices. I have learned a great deal from them and am grateful for their work.
For me, I know that I am blogging to share information. When educators, especially special educators, who are in the trenches read my blog and learn something, I am elated. When they get excited about something I have blogged about, I know a student will benefit. For me, it is all about doing whatever it takes to help struggling students succeed. That’s what I blog about.
(I honestly don’t even know how to check my technorati rating. Let’s leave it at that! And I’ve been blogging for almost three years.)
Hi Jon,
If you call yourself new-ish, then I am yet to be born!
Good write and you do capture the feelings I have been having looking at my blog stats.
There is nothing wrong about craving for fans or readership. This I feel gives you confidence to write and share what you might have thought is just your opinion and others might differ.
More than for other reasons, I look for comments to see if my opinions are justified.
TV and paper media today is very lopsided and localized. Its up to us to share information so that with the medium of internet, people across the globe can connect. Internet has data and loads of it, its we bloggers who can change it to information. Starting conversations is one way of doing it.
I found this blog via Stephen Downes’ blog. I tend to agree with Will saying that you shouldn’t be blogging for stats; but perhaps that’s related to the fact that my blog never has that many comments. (Currently it’s showing 669 posts, and, I think, 224 comments - quite a few of which are me)
However, that’s not to say no-one’s reading it. At least one person is … Jennifer Harding from Australia (I’m in the UK) contacted me (via Email) saying she’d read my blog, was coming to the UK, could she come & visit me…
I think that a lot of people don’t really like commenting; maybe they’d prefer to write on their own blog & link to others.
I tend to try to do a mix. So, today I’m in a commenting mood. Tomorrow, who knows.
Wow, two similar conversations about the same topic in one day that have me commenting (a very rare thing for this classroom teacher and sideline observer). Well, here goes round two, probably not as polite as round one on Will’s blog.
My disillusion with the cocktail party began in Atlanta at NECC. During a long session (can’t remember what it was about) I introduced myself to one of the distinguished Technorati, a frequent flyer, award winner, sage. I expressed how much I had learned via their blog and how it had inspired me to take risks in my classroom. In a moment of extreme generosity the blogger offered, and gave, me their autograph. Stunned, feeling like a teenage groupie (even though I have passed the mid century mark) I left and tossed the business card in the nearest circular file. Wish I had kept it! I should have framed it. For it would have served as a reminder that the quest for name recognition and stature is not what teaching and learning is all about.
I love working in my classroom with kids and sharing what I do with my small circle of teacher friends. Do I learn from edubloggers and appreciate what they have to share? Absolutely. I am thankful for their willingness to share what they learn and will continue to read and learn from those on the leading edge. I will also continue to implement what I learn in my classroom and continue to share with my peers.
However, the edublogosphere needs to go back to its purpose and roots; a wide open conversation about changing education for the students in our classrooms. It doesn’t even have to be a conversation. No comments? Perfectly O.K. Write because you have something to say and share that will benefit teachers and students. Really, at the beginning and end of the day it should be all about the kids. Not about the tool or the stats or rankings or who is presenting where. Not about projects driven by tech specialists that are out of the reach of even tech savvy teachers. I can’t tell you how to accomplish this but you sure as heck don’t accomplish it by hobnobbing at small cocktail parties or, heaven forbid, by offering teachers your autograph!
O.K., I’ll step down from my soapbox. Good luck to you Jon. And keep looking back, back to the classroom that you once called home.
@Elise, I’m ROFL at the thought of EVER offering someone my autograph, they’d just stare at me blankly and say, “WHO are you again?”
@Jon - as you can see from the comments here, there are MANY bloggers on the outside looking in, although whether there is an “inside” seems to be disputed. Sad as it may be, i found your post after seeing a tweet from Ryan Bretag about people not wanting to be famous, which led me (I’m ashamed to admit) to look for a tweet relating to his tweet, which led me to Vicki Davis tweeting about the “Dear Jon” letter, and also led me to a tweet about Vicki Davis’ post responding to this one. What does that tell us? I’m not actually sure, but whether we like it or not, getting the big dogs talking about you gets you readers! I’ve only been blogging 3.5 months and it’s been an amazing journey. I’m thinking that the 3 reasons I’ve had ANY readers are because of 1)Twitter 2) Vicki Davis blogging about me back in January and 3) I comment on a LOT of blogs. I don’t get worked up about number of readers or technorati ranking - no idea how a blog gets authority, actually! I just moved my blog and people asked what I’m going to do about my old blog’s spot on Alltop and my technorati authority and I thought, “huh?” I moved my blog anyway and figured people would find me - and they have! I’m happy that I found your blog, regardless of why it happened and I plan to read more of your work in the future. You’re now in my Google Reader - nice to meet you
[...] Becker wrote Reflections of a new-ish blogger which got many other bloggers talking and writing - here’s a quote from his [...]
It’s funny that even as adults, most of us still feel like outsiders and pretenders. It’s just like we were all back in high school. Human nature, I guess.
Anyway, if your blog is anything like mine, Google drives most of your traffic through random searches. I get tons of hits on a post I did about the 40th birthday of the programming language LOGO. I wish this was because it was a great post or suddenly programing for students is going to explode. No - it’s because people are looking for birthday clip art and google “birthday logo”. Oh well…
I have Google Analytics on my blog and it really helps figure out what people are actually reading, how long they spend on a page, and where they come from. It’s very interesting.
Jon,
You’ve done it. You have your audience. I’ve just finished a post about your entry.
I wanted to comment here about the stats issue. As a coach for many years, I have found that players who focus on their stats, generally are not as good as their parents tell me they are. They focus on the wrong things. I’ve had basketball players tell me how many points they have at half-time. I’ve always wondered how they knew (or perhaps, why they knew).
The best scorer I ever worked with never had a clue how many points he had during a game…he averaged 26 points a game and went on to play Division 1 basketball at Vanderbilt and Charlotte. He simply worked as hard as he could to do the basics, to get where he knew he could score.
As Elise implies above, blogging shouldn’t be about the stats (for most of us in education), it should be about how we communicate to make everyone better for the sake of our classroom students. For Warlick, Richardson, and some others, their stats may be important because they might need that information for their livelihood. They chose to take the risk of supporting themselves instead of staying in the “safety” of the educational system. The para-educator might have a reason to want the numbers, but those of us who remain in the classroom probably do not.
So hang in there. Give us something we need to make our lives better, and the lives of our students better, and that will suffice.
I have also bemoaned some of the same things. But recently I decided the blog is reflective practice for me, and who cares about my technorati, statistics, or popularity. I wrote some about this too over on my blog.
http://technotuesday.edublogs.org/2008/04/11/whats-the-fascination/#comment-575
[...] as well as my limited twitter traffic, it seems that the edublogging community is up in arms about this post by Jon Becker. I suspected something was up when I read Clarence Fisher’s post about the Ed [...]
My theory is– don’t worry about getting your voice out there, or comments, or rankings, or even being invited to the right parties (inner circle) — rather focus intently on children, your vision, and leaving education better than you found it. Concentrate on helping those within your sphere of influence to make principled changes in education that is in the best interest of kids.
My time spent on blogging is directly proportional to the amount of time I am deeply engaged in change. When I am hard at work in classrooms, schools, and districts building community, developing their voices and trying to be transparent about what I have found that is working–I have less time to blog and certainly I have no time left over to think about if I am being noticed or what my rank is this week.
You will get noticed when what you are writing about reflects what you are doing that is impacting positive change and is starting to make an impact. Hard work pays off. All of the folks you mentioned have worked very hard and learned a thing or two along the way– that is counted as value added.
I was having a conversation recently with David Warlick at a conference where we were presenting together. He mentioned this concept of the inner circle asking if I had heard folks talking about it — and I remember thinking it was odd and that it represented the kind of thinking that was at odds with positive change. I had never considered whether I was in a circle or even if I wanted to be. Rather, I feel more like I am part of a mission– working in various communities and networks- both online and offline along side of folks like you- who are all working towards making the world a better place, one kid at a time. Some of us are using technology and talking about what is working in that realm, others are looking at other parts of the systemic approach to change and sharing about what is working there, but all of us are busy and engaged and growing and learning from each other and then sharing our ideas and projects and results.
When my husband died (many years ago), I remember someone saying to me, “Sherry, you have got to quit thinking about yourself and your own misery. Rather, start thinking of others and how you can change their life for the better and yours will get better too.” I followed that advice and it worked. I am not suggesting you are in crisis– just that you might be looking in the wrong place. There is no inner circle- only people who are focused on making education better for the kids we serve.
[...] Reflections of a new-ish blogger [...]
I completely agree with you about feeling like standing on the outside of a great conversation and I, too, have wondered if the edublogosphere has reached super-saturation point. However, the whole point really is - are you writing things that are meaningful to you? If so, it really doesn’t matter who or how many people are reading it. Keep it real, keep it true to your individual style, and you’ll find it all worth it in the end. (or so I keep telling myself, anyway *wink*)
I think everyone has pretty much said what I would say. I blog in a very small catchment area (midwifery education) and have a very small audience. I get a bit fed up about this some time because I am a great drama queen and would love to be noticed by thousands. However, when ever I start to have a tantrum about this, I remind myself that essentially my blog is for me - if someone reads it and learns something or engages with me, that is a bonus.
@Justin.b I had to laugh at your comment about sex. I put up a post once about some old sex education films I found that I thought might be of interest to midwives. This post is still my top post because people search the term ‘old sex’ - the mind boggles!
I have to second what so many others have said. Your blog should be what you want to write about. If you do that, the passion for your subject matter will come through, and comments will probably follow. On the other hand, I am frequently mystified by what people comment on. I often write posts that represent a great deal of thought, and I get crickets. I write something offhand, not really thinking it will generate conversation, and I get a ton of comments. I can’t remember the last time I checked any stats.
I know how you feel — I honestly don’t think the bloggers you mention see themselves as excluding anyone, but they have so many more people following what they say than they themselves probably follow, so it is natural to feel like you’re not “in” when you don’t get linked to or receive comments from them. That said, because of the disparity of influence their blogs tend to have when compared to other blogs, they don’t realize it can look like just what you described.
Autographs, well, sheesh, I have nothing to say about that, but I was recognized through my blog twice at conferences (once at EduBloggerCon and once at a GISA conference), and both times I was utterly shocked. For all the folks out there commenting, there are a lot more just reading what you say. You’d probably be surprised. Best of luck to you, though. It looks like you have made a great start to your blog.
I think the fact that you have some of the biggest names in the edublogosphere commenting on your article shows that you are not on the outside looking in. Say hi to all on the inside from us on the outside, still.
As someone in a Ed leadership program right now, I couldn’t agree more that it is a waste of time and hoop-jumping to get an administrative license. My professor lectured for two hours to a class of adults on the importance of collaboration in adult education. Lame-o.
Jon,
I think it is part of the stages of growth that every blogger goes through. I see it as learning to ride a bicycle.
Initially there are hands holding you up to keep you going until eventually you are less concerned about the support and start to enjoy the feeling of momentum and exhilaration of freedom. I hit the same point a few months ago. I blogged about it here http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/lbilak/2008/02/10/whos-in-your-five/
Guess what? It actually got read/comments.
Dear Jon
I started blogging last week, so I am greener than the greenest green on St Patrick’s day.
I haven’t even thought about audience, well not until I read your blog. I would not have posted, other than from reading your blog it appears that the more you post the more your blogs are read – but I can see how self defeating that would become – I’d have all the people turning up at mine for a party and I’d be off knocking on someone else’s door.
Of cause we want to feel validated and that what we are doing is helpful – it is perhaps more common characteristic in those attracted to education and social care than the general population (cite. on that one probably needed). But I think you are pushing your time frame a bit and I think that this very long thread here is proof that eventually a new ‘cocktail party’ will coalesce with you in the group in the centre of the room. It is likely that someone will then stand looking in at you feeling the same way.
You see ‘tight alpha group at a cocktail party’ I see another hub (all be it longer formed) in a huge network of growing, connected and differentiated hubs, populated by people who share common goals and experiences. You look like you well on your way to starting your own party and that’s what you should do.
You can party at my place http://elementbendingeducation.blogspot.com/ it is a big empty blog at the moment with no furniture to wreak and my parents are out for the weekend.
Gilbert
Thanks for the invite, Gilbert. You’re officially in my Bloglines reader now! I hope I don’t break too much in your space (-:
[...] a few days late getting to Jon Becker post’s “Reflections of a new-ish blogger,” but in our digital world of asynchronously empowered conversations, I don’t think that is a [...]
Jon: I am glad to see my trackback link to the post I just wrote showed up here, and hope you won’t hold it against me forever that I wrote a blog post in response to your ideas here first before I commented directly. Your ideas here inspired more thoughts than I felt I could include in a comment. I’m thinking the inspired discussion here on this post is pretty good evidence to the contrary that you can’t host your own cocktail party here?
Who do you blog for?…
Langwitches draws my attention to a number of blogs debating a clique of bloggers that are the big guys and no one else is invited to the cocktail party. langwitches post cool cat teacher postcool cat teacher againdangerously irrelevantclassroom 2.0 th…
[...] I was reading Jon Beckers post, Reflections of a new-ish blogger, I knew exactly how he felt. I’ve not been blogging as long as he has, nor have I been in [...]
I feel the same way and I’ve been blogging longer. But hey, you already have thirty some comments here so it looks like you’re golden. It’s hard to give advice when I feel I could have written the exact same post, but just keep writing, linking and commenting and they’ll come if you have something to say.
[...] Miguel’s post, I was reading a post from Wes Fryer’s blog, he mentioned a post from Jon Becker’s new blog about a similar [...]
What a party!
Not much to add, other than I liked what Sheryl said about everybody doing their own subjective thing, but being perceived due to name recognition as somehow hanging out a lot with The Other Big Names (a Rorshach concept if ever there was one).
I also like what Tom said about micro-breweries and local cultures. I’m currently experimenting with following everybody who follows me on Twitter, and even following many people in non-educational fields, in order to expand into smaller, more intimate cocktail parties.
Let’s face it: we’re all Big Kahuna’s riding the largest experimental wave in social history, and it’s - metaphor switch - quite a fun-house to be lost in. On our deathbeds, I hope a lot of us look back on these days with a bemused chuckle.
At the rate things are changing now, our deathbeds might be in some tenth dimension.
I think it’s very cool that so many people came in to weigh in.
There are, I was told, at least 80,000 edublogs among us now. The newer ones face quite a challenge. If they want readership, I’d think being other people’s active (commenting) readership, and social sharer on Twitter, would be a good way to find them.
80,000. This isn’t a cocktail party. It’s a sold out football game.
(Oh, and Sylvia, remind me never to use the term “Lolita” in a title again. Lots of contemporary Humberts finding me through Google.)
[...] Miguel’s post, I was reading a post from Wes Fryer’s blog, he mentioned a post from Jon Becker’s new blog about a similar notion. Wes Fryer’s post: “I hear you Jon. It can be lonely [...]
[...] by transmission inside an ‘enclosed’ space.” I’ve gotten myself in trouble in the past for suggesting that the edtechblogosphere is a closed space, so I have to be careful here. But, [...]
[...] or reinforced by transmission inside an ‘enclosed’ space.” I’ve gotten myself in trouble in the past for suggesting that the edtechblogosphere is a closed space, so I have to be careful here. But, [...]
[...] some people have been launched into the spotlight in a blaze of glory, most find themselves struggling to find their audience. I vividly remember what it was like blogging in a perceived vacuum. It’s rough to keep [...]