Blogging

"The blogosphere is the greatest vector for new voices ever created. The convention of linking to ideas and information of merit, wherever they come from, be it professional or amateur, is a powerful force of diversity. The main risk with blogs is the distraction o too many leads to pursue, not too few" (The Long Tail p. 190). 

I would agree with this quote. However, I would note searching the internet, and getting blog posts can be difficult--which was my aha for this week. Web browsers often do not show blog entries in their top results. While getting ready for my textpert presentation, I knew that I had recently read a blog post great school librarians to follow on Pinterest. If memory serves correctly, I had linked to this entry for another blog article that I was reading. Unfortunately, I read it on my phone--and through Flipboard, so I did not bookmark/pin/star in any way. While trying to recover this information I spent much time searching on the web and reading my RSS feed--to no avail. 

This risk of distraction can be powerful, or a total time suck (Yes I have spent an entire evening reading a woman's story from Utah that was in a car fire--Yes this was a random link from a quilting blog--) Did I enjoy my reading, obviously I did. Was I fulfilling my purpose--not really. Sometimes those detours are wonderful--and at other times, there is just too much out there to know where to begin. I love seeing who other bloggers follow, and giving credit to great ideas so that we can create professional learning communities.

Is blogging the end all to the internet--no it isn't. But it is a real and authentic way that many people have their voices heard. And many of those voices are worth hearing.