Category Archives: Commenting

Left Out Again

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I also left this comment, albeit it was the 83rd one, at The Strength of Weak Ties:

Wow! This discussion is at the same time intense and depressing. Once again, I feel like the kid who doesn’t know the right things to say to be considered cool. I am fairly new to the “echo-chamber,” and as a new member I found it at first very exciting, but I am starting to learn what the author means about the tragedy of commons and not just in regards to Twitter.

Even as a newbie, one can feel that there are certain names that always turn up. There are the experts that everyone follows. There are the names that carry clout, and then there are the little guys like me, simply trying to make sense of this all.

Perhaps it is still the novelty of Twitter that makes it worthwhile for me, or perhaps it is my naivety of the Edublog “in” crowd that keeps me out of discussions like this, and for that I am grateful.

I am a Middle School English teacher obsessed with learning and making connections. So it is a natural link for me to use Web 2.0, both for my own learning, but also to try and figure out what can make my own teaching more productive for my students and their rapidly changing world. Which is ironic because as of now, I don’t even have students, but I haven’t let this stop me from trying to use this network of people help me make the connections I find valuable.

I have met some great people on Twitter and made some great connections. My followers are slowly growing and I periodically check to see who they are, not to see if the “popular” kids are watching me, but to see if there is someone out there operating on my wavelength that could prove to be an alley in the war against ignorance. I blogged and shared my ideas when no one was reading, and I will continue to do so when a few kindred souls might chime in.

Let me finished with a quick story: When I was young I wanted to be the next Jack Kerouac, like every wide-eyed idealist, I was going to write prose that would change the world. I quickly realized that I am not that good of a writer, but that has never stopped me from writing. I don’t want to be famous anymore, I simply must write. The same thing is true for blogging. When I started I thought I could get huge numbers of people to read my work and leave 100’s of comments a week, but now I see that I simply need to write and perhaps, I will meet a few people who like what I have to say.

In closing, Twitter may be old hat for the early crowd, but some of us are still getting good mileage out of it. So come follow that…@intrepidteacher

Comment Challenge: Day Three and Four

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Day three was pretty simple. I signed up with coComment, and while I think I have it working smoothly, I still feel it is not very easy to use. I am always unsure if things are working as they should. I suppose this is the element of Web learning I love the most. The secret is to figure things out. Sometimes that means a quick Tweet, which leads to a Skype call with Sue Waters, and sometimes it means a few hours of Google research, whatever the case the answers are out there, and it is the job of the learner to figure them out.

When dealing with technology I often found my students, although they are supposed to be digital natives were very squeamish about experimenting. I often had to hold their hands through the most basic steps of a procedure, when really I feel that experimentation and “figuring” it out is vital to web learning. In short, I am figuring out coComment, and I am excited about the potential it has to make me a much more effective commenter long after this challenge is over.

Day four I was meant to ask a question in one of my comments. I liked this idea of volleying the conversation back to the writer or other commentors, and now with a commenter tracker this action makes much more sense. Here is a question I left on Sarah Hanawald’s:

How can we slowly encourage people to understand that the future is hear with a sense of urgency, but at the same time not allow them to become defensive?

Not the most profound question, but it will do.

I will be using my new tool, coComment along side my new habit of raising questions when I comment well into the future. Once again, thank you comment challenge.

Comment Challenge: Day Two

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I run three blogs and have been doing so for some time now. But until tonight, I have always felt blogging was a very lonely act. Perhaps it is because my readership is quite low, and I seldom get comments, and when I do they are usually from the same small group of people who comment regularly. It is true that I write and blog for the sake of writing and reflecting, but as every writer knows I want and need an audience. Sometimes this need to connect has made me a bit crazy, but usually I write and wait optimistically that my posts will somehow connect to someone out in the blogsphere.

Well, tonight something felt different, because I finally stopped being a lurker and became a commenter. (If you are lurking on this post, leave a comment! It feels good trust me.) I visited several blogs I had never read before and left my two-cents. This inconsequential act made me feel more a part of a communty than all of my writing combined.

I finally realized that like everything in life you have to give in order to recieve. How selfish I had been, sitting in my lonely room writing away, thinking that everything I say is the most important new idea, expecting others to flock to my blog and tell me how brilliant I am, when I never take the time to do the same for others.

This challenge is teaching me that commenting is one of the most important aspects of blogging. So a quick shout out to the organizers of this challenge. (Yes, I know hyper-linking is a good blogging karmic tool as well, but it is late and I am tired. Next time I promise.)

Comment Challenge: Day One

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The following post is for the 31-day commenting challenge:

How often do you comment on other blogs during a typical week?

I am a horrible commenter. Even though I know that commenting is one of the most important aspects of blogging, I am often either too lazy or intimidated to leave a comment. I am always awed by the depth and length of some comments, so I feel silly just say, “Yeah, I agree.” Often times I will leave the site having said nothing at all. If there is a post that makes me think, I swear that I will mull over the content and come later, but I seldom do. I will leave several blog that I want to comment on later as unread in my reader, but when the next batch of 50 come through, I mark them read and say I will do it next time.

The irony is I am always disappointed, when I write what I think is an emotional charged or powerful post and get no comments. I really hope this challenge will get me into the habit of commenting more. Tonight I comment on two new blogs, and I feel great about it. I hope to hear back from both of these great bloggers. After all this is the spirit of blogging. I am through with screaming into the darkness waiting to be heard and acknowledged, I want to sit in the darkness and listen and reassure.

Do you track your blog comments? How? What do you do with your tracking?

I never even knew this was possible. I have signed up for CoComment for this challenge, so I hope I will learn how to better keep track of my comments. I am still a bit fuzzy on how it works, but like everything else I will figure it out, or use my network to teach me. As of now it seems a bit “buggy.” Any advice or tips?

Do you tend to comment at the same blogs or do you try to comment on at least one new blog per week?

I comment so rarely, that I will not answer that question, but I will try to comment on new blogs from now on.

Are there any specific areas where you think you need to do some work? What do you want to do to address these issues?

When I do comment, I think I do well. Although I sometimes may come off as confrontational or a know it all, because I find it easier to comment on posts I disagree with, especially when it is something I am passionate about, so it may be a good idea for me to try and be a bit more cordial.

I am sure no one want to read this post, so I will stop. Although it felt good to get it down. Great first day of the challenge.