I realized that I am a bit behind with the 31 Day Comment Challenge and like many others, I am going to consolidate and condense some of the daily activities here into one single post as a way to bring myself a bit closer into the project.
Five in Five: The other day, I did the Five in Five task, which involved speeding through at least five blogs and leaving comments on those five blogs. I went back to the Comment Challenge participant list and tried to move into new blogs. It took longer than five minutes, of course, and I did not really like the feeling of rushing. I know the attempt here is to generate writing but it seems as if I short-changed not only the bloggers but also myself. I can’t even remember now which blogs I visited (although I am sure they are popping up in my CoComment page). I was not a big fan of the Five in Five.
Analyze Comments: We are asked to look at our posts from the last few weeks and think about what kind of posts generate the most comments and the most traffic. It seems to me that our Day in a Sentence (you are invited!) is a great activity for pulling people into a blog, and then, when I took all of those submissions and recast them into a video found poem, that generated even more comments. I think it comes down to being creative with what we are doing, and people will be inspired to join in, if you give them the option. I guess we need to make sure we are going out of our way to be inclusive and welcoming, and make people feel as if they belong here and not just some interloper into the conversation. I know controversy drives comments, too, but that is not the only impetus for interaction, it seems to me.
Responding to a Commenter: We are asked to bring a commenter from behind the scenes (the comment bin) to the front page. In this particular case, I was thinking about the comments from my post yesterday on my virtual mentoring program. My friend, Blink, reminded me that sharing out what we are learning is so important.
She wrote: “Your “virtual mentoring” experience could be a very interesting concept for a future professional article.”
Now, I have a lot going on right now (including the co-editing of a collection on technology and writing and assessment, and some work for Pearson on claymation) but it is clear that we really do want to learn from each other. I’ll keep that topic in the back of my mind (and it makes me think of Al Upton and his mini-legend issues, too)
Three Links Out: It is suggested that we not only explore new blogs, but like the old Will Smith-inspired Six-Degrees-of-Separation, we follow at least two links from the blogs in a sort of daisy-chain maneuver. I began with Carla’s blog. Her post about the meme (that I did last week) was very cool, as it showed a world view. Since Carla’s friend, Mary, tagged her for that meme, I figured I would follow the trail to Mary’s place. From Mary, I ventured into the terrain of Cris and lo and behold, I find a familiar name in one the post there (my friend in six words, Illya). I left a video message for Cris and then posted a comment for Illya, too. I found it interesting that as you move outward, some familiar names can still be found. It’s both a large place and a small place, isn’t it?
Make a Recommendation: We are asked to recommend some resource that might be beneficial to our visitors. Can I just point folks over to Ruth and Stacy at Two Writing Teachers? This is a place where writing is at the center of so much — from classroom practice to personal exploration. Another resource is at the National Writing Project’s page for its technology work. There are many articles and links about using writing and technology, and other areas on the NWP site connect writing in many ways.
Well, that is it for me for today. I invite you to reflect on what you have been doing, too.
Peace (in comments),
Kevin
Moral of story: watch where you are walking and keep an eye to the sky when you hear the pounding.
