Of Slow Blogging and Active Participation

Recently, I took up another of Lorelle’s Blog Challenge on my personal blog. This time around, the challenge was to write about favorite blog post failures (the parameters were primarily about attention and statistics). In my analysis, of a post that I believe failed, I wrote that my post failed because:

1. A high-level of abstraction,

2. A lack of direct (or any) context for the reader,

3. An assumption of what starts a conversation,

4. A dense word-smithery, and

5. While I didn’t mention it explicitly, the length of the post.

In a personal blog, one might think that these factors are permitted, given the nature of the content and the purpose of the blog. However, I insist that if a blog exists, readers are expected and therefore there needs to be (at least some) regard for the audience.

And some rules will apply, irrespective of the genre of the blog. I am grateful to Lorelle for putting these rules in a structured way. A better analysis than mine.

I have further come to believe that very few people read long posts (see #5 above). We have a fast shrinking attention span. We read only that which relevant to us, for that specific moment, and usually forget it after that data point has served its purpose. We seem to be seeking data rather than access knowledge. Byte size is over-hyped (is that a tautology or excessive exaggeration?)

Google search, for example, has caused a certain behavioral change in some of us, where we choose not to remember things (all things can be stored for future access). Anything can be Googled, even from a mobile. Doesn’t matter where you are.

And while I was almost succumbing to this notion of progress and change in lifestyle, of living life byte-sized, I read:

“[...] I do slow-blogging or meditative blogging. At least that’s what I’d like to work towards. It takes time for the many loose strands of thought to converge into a unified post; it takes a lot of effort, a lot of energy, and a lot ( I know, I know sometimes too much) writing. And some posts never quite find their footing; they remain awkward and tangled when I don’t have enough time or courage or energy or ability to go deep.” Slow Blogging: Context, Transitions and Traditions « (the new) bgblogging:

(Via George Seimens @ elearnspace > Chris Lott @ Ruminate.)

Along comes Michele Martin’s post on Learning through Blogging, where she summarizes responses from bloggers and learners, of how participation helps the learning process, and within that, possibly, how the level of active participation affects the level of learning:

“I don’t disagree that learners can get a lot from reading and ‘lurking’ online. Certainly I learn a ton from reading and I know that many others do, too.

[...] what I take issue with is the level of learning that takes place when you are only reading and not actively engaging with the content.

Looking at Bloom’s Taxonomy, for example, we can see that passive reading might be effective for lower-order cognitive skill development, but when we start to move into higher order thinking, we really need to start actively engaging with information. How can I apply, analyze, evaluate and create without in some way interacting with this information? And even if I can, is my learning going to be as deep?” The Bamboo Project Blog: More on Learning Through Blogging: What Readers Think

Seeing the analysis of my failed post, I do realize now that it is not so much the length or the abstraction of the post that caused it to fail, it is perhaps that I wrote it fast and have not bothered to spend time (even after it was published) to check if I said exactly what I wanted to say, if I was coherent, complete and precise. And if the post was capable of transmitting the same message to my readers.

Slow blogging starts making sense now. In a way that, with enough and relevant thought, it enables slow, thoughtful and active participation, which further allows you to refine and build upon your ideas.

Power of Free

Interesting article in The Guardian today, found, not surprisingly via PersonaNonData. Michael’s article of course, talks of Author As Brand. My interest, however, was in the power of free.

“Coelho discovered the power of free when a fan posted a Russian translation of one of his novels online and book sales there climbed from 3,000 to 100,000 to 1m in three years. ‘This happened in English, in Norwegian, in Japanese and Serbian,’ he said. ‘Now when the book is released in hard copy, the sales are spectacular.’”: Coelho finds the perfect alchemy of print and digital | Media | The Guardian

The Harper-Collins ‘compromise’ strategy is interesting — putting out a Coelho novel out for free, every month.

Is free a driver for all things e?

I believe there is definite potential there. Whether as a teaser for premium online services or a related purchase in the real world. In reading the entire Guardian article, you will notice, there is continuous effort (from Coelho) to engage the reader, which I think is a perfect strategy (for sales and “adoption”). And the effort doesn’t cost money — to either the publisher or the consumer. Which makes it more interesting as a strategy!

The power of free on Social Networks.

As a subscriber on GoodReads, I have seen how Coelho engages with his reader, so the contents of this article do not come as a huge surprise. What does come as a surprise is the low level (or lack of) engagement by the publishers on most social websites; it is very easy to engage with sites like GoodReads (am sure they would be mighty pleased). Simple promotions that cost a fraction of conventional promotions can be held at such places and reach more than ten times (wild-guessing, here) the audience that they would have, More so, depending on their privacy policies and such, publishers can reach a very targeted audience.

While Facebook, MySpace and Orkut have been labelled as the playground for college students, the demographics of these sites is definitely changing. Consider this:

Facebook visitors are “maturing”: In June of 2007, nearly over 35% of Facebook traffic came the 18-24 year old segment, compared to around 22% in June 2008. With the bulk of this traffic shifting towards the 25-35 year old group, this movement could be a result of the site’s original base of college students. (Via Facebook vs. Linkedin - Network, Socialize, Be Professional?)

There is more than just photos of college antics and on Facebook. And Facebook, is just an example; like GoodReads, there are other such social networks that publishers may find worthwhile participating. In fact, anyone who wants to promote content, cannot ignore the reach and focus of using social networks.

Facebook Pages, then, is something else that comes to mind. And much more.

ePortfolio: Epsilen

“Epsilen places social networking and ePortfolios at the center of global eLearning, creating a new environment for the next generation of learners and professionals. Epsilen goes beyond other popular networking sites, connecting peers and enabling meaningful knowledge and object exchanges.”: Epsilen Environment

Reading @ Work

“And while the purpose and format of the Read at Work site is ostensibly just to fool bosses or co-workers, it actually proves a point that I, and many others, have been making in the future of the book debate: that words can flourish in any environment or format.”: The Powerpoint and the Glory: Reading great works at work

(Via Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age.)

I couldn’t agree more, with Jeff, whose work I have been following for some time.

Link: How to Write for E-Learning

Once in a while, you come across information that says the things so clearly that you always knew, but did not. This is one good example of that. It is a must, if you ask me, for any instructional designer, even if you go through all of it and say to yourself, “I knew it all along.”

In fact, I recommend that this be made mandatory reading on the first working day of every month. I know how easy it is to fall in the trap. And keeping your own creative juices flowing — especially if you work on an eLearning project for months, not weeks.

I got this from Cathy Moore’s site — See the Slide Show for starters:

“Dump the Drone slideshow [...]

* What makes online courses boring
* How to create compelling characters and stories
* Ideas for adding ’safe’ humor
* How to tighten flabby text
* The best uses for readability analysis

See the slides (HTML): Lots of fun pictures! Not much text.
Download the slides (5.8 MB PDF)
Download the handout (8-page PDF): Few pictures. Lots of fun text! “

(Via Making Change: Ideas for Lively Learning.)

No, please don’t miss it. However, busy you are.

Mandatory eLearning

An interesting article at Inside Higher-ed.

“Starting this fall, all students at Northwest State Community College, in Archbold, Ohio, will be required to take at least one online course to graduate.

More than 60 percent of last year’s graduates already took one or more online courses, but administrators and college trustees want all students to be well versed in independent research and discovery — skills that employers demand, they say — and feel that online education is one way to accomplish that.”: Making Online Learning Mandatory :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education’s Source for News, and Views and Jobs

What I found interesting is that instead of citing the usual worn-out and done-to-death-cliched reasons for implementing eLearning, the next paragraph says:

“Businesses are moving toward online training, and students have to learn to be self-motivated,” said Linda Carr, chief learning officer at the college. “In the workplace, you are responsible for doing what you need to do on your own time.”

The case for eLearning is refreshing. Moving a course to an online format for the benefit of saving money or accessing a larger market, the case becomes more business-specific. Which is interesting because the college recognises that eLearning is more than just another mode of learning. It is almost a life-skill required in the world of work and business.

Will this affect the way courses will be designed? Will interfaces have to evolve to include means and methods of enhancing study-skills for eLearning?

e-LearningNow : - Learning 2.0 eBook

e-LearningNow : - Learning 2.0 eBook:

“This report considers how approaches to learning have evolved and what impact the new technologies dubbed ‘Web 2.0’ are having.”

(Via e-LearningNow.)

E-learning can save 40% overall cost

To address the problem of trained IT professionals in India, QAI has launched a series of education, testing and certification initiatives under the Edista brand.

CXOtoday.com > Interview > “E-learning can save 40% overall cost “

Tags: eLearning, India, QAI, interview,

£1.9m digital e-learning project launched

Interesting News in the Computer Weekly today.

A £1.9m government-supported digital e-learning initiative has been launched.

The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute, Bridgeman Education and Lexara have joined forces to deliver the Project Silver initiative.

Project Silver will deliver next generation Web 2.0 and artificial intelligence technologies to schools, universities and businesses as part of an interactive learning experience.

£1.9m digital e-learning project launched

The interesting part isn’t so much about the funding, but more about how this system is expected to work.

Together, the organisations will develop a software learning system that builds on Web 2.0 and artificial intelligence technologies to allow teachers and trainers to collect, organise, experiment and interact with multimedia.

This is beginning to become really really interesting.

At one level we have Connexions, who are probably the first to bring open-source learning to the web. An 18-minute video presentation about about Connexions is presented by Richard Baraniuk. It makes for interesting viewing, especially the last part, where review and validation comes into play.

Wikipedia has (and is) trying hard to overcome this reliability issue for some time.

Along comes knol, from Google.

George Seimens suggests a good reason for the launch of knol:

[...] with the rise of Wikipedia, Google serves little value to its users by simply linking to the site (though as one reader commented, it’s not only the first link, but the many different search results that are of value). Why not just go directly to Wikipedia and skip Google? Well, it appears Google realizes its vulnerability.

It is obvious that content still rules and everybody who can, wants to “own” content - in some form or the other. This is probably a very interesting development for publishers - who always will remain “true” owners of content. The question , however, will always be about quality control and review. And as a colleague pointed out, that is what publishers take responsibility for (and charge you for).

Question remains, why are publishers staying away from similar initiatives? It is, I believe a question of identifying an appropriate revenue model. A related article by Scott Karp, about Why Online Advertising Economics Are So Messed Up

TechCrunch White Label Social Networking Platforms Chart

TechCrunch White Label Social Networking Platforms Chart

Excellent resource from TechCrunch, if you are planning to create your own Social Network.