apcampbell

We spent most of the time in class today discussing the difficulties of
posting to our websites.  Much of the recent inactivity on learner
sites seemed to have stemmed from an uncertainty as to what was
appropriate.  One learner felt intimidated and confused about what
to post.  Another thought it was necessary to keep her posts
academic and was spending ‘three days editing’ before
posting.   This led back to a discussion of what blogging was
all about: process, not finished products and artifacts.  The
importance of
engagement with the medium and what that entailed followed.  It
was
postulated that consistent (meaning daily or every other day) reading,
reflecting, posting, and commenting was important for generating the
kind of cognitive momentum and conversational flow necessary for the
greatest benefits to arise.  The analogy of starting a fire by
rubbing a wooden stick back and forth between the hands was used. 
If you operate in a stop and start mode, you’ll never generate the
friction needed to bring flames into being.  This is similar to
the practice of vicara (a Pali/Sanskrit word) for sharpening concentration.  As with what we’re
trying to do, only by consistent and focused effort can one
successfully incorporate blogging into our daily habits so that it
becomes a part of the conscious mind and the benefits can
follow.   It only seems natural that in order for dialogue,
conversation, online interaction, or ‘wierd debate’ (as James put it)
to flourish, it needs consistent attention, energy, food.  So it
was recommended that these learners attempt to create a habit of
posting daily or every other day, even if it be a just a sentence, an
off-hand thought, or a link to another site.  Eventually thoughts
will flow and a greater level of comfort and ease with the new meduim
should come about.

Another issue raised was that of public exposure.  One learner
stated that he was uncomfortable with how much to reveal about
himself.  The future consequences being ‘too exposed’ could be
detrimental to his employement or releationships down the line. 
He found himself struggling with ’self-censorship’, as he described
it.  This is really a dilemma, for what we think and say when
we’re twenty-one-years old might differ significantly from what we will
be ten years later.  Yet to worry too much about the image we are
creating when we publish online, stiffles our creativity and
voice.  There are no answers, other than to be as honest and
sincere as we can.  Each person has to find her balance with that.
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