If there is one thing that Social Media in education has taught me it is: Never answer for someone else’s need to know! In a world of discussions using tweets and posts there is an audience for discussion on any level of experience on any given subject. The subjects that I deal with most often involve Education, Social Media, or Social Media in Education.
The Posts and Tweets I ponder the most are those that deal with the very basics of these subjects. I always worry if a basic explanation is just too basic for an audience of professionals. I too often make an assumption that what I am about to write in my post is too basic, and therefore no one will have any interest. To my surprise, almost every time, those are the posts that are more often, the most read on my Blog. Writing a blog is a subject that I have covered before, “What’s the big deal about Blogging?“
Doing that first post was the biggest hurdle for most bloggers. There are a number of ways to start that first post. I started by doing a guest post for Shelly Terrell Sanchez, @ShellTerrell. She encouraged me and took a chance that my post would not turn off those who followed her Blog. Step one then might be to find a Blogger and make a friend. There is another way to take a first step. Many Ning communities have a page for Blogpost contributions. Contributing a post to one such site enables one not only to see an idea published, but it may elicit responses from other community members as well.
However one gets there, the ultimate final step is to create a personal Blog. There are a number of Apps one can use to house the Blog. I use WordPress. Many friends use EduBlogger. Google now offers free Blogging space. All of these Apps walk a novice through the setup with easy to follow instructions, and prompts. It is far less complicated than creating a website.
Creating the Blog is the most work one will need to do. After that it is all Reflecting, Writing, Promoting, Rinsing and Repeating. It is amazing how with a little time the subjects keep popping into one’s head. I did not put myself on a schedule, but I attempted to think of something to write each week, sometimes two weeks.
Reflecting and writing should be reward enough, but any idea not shared is just a passing thought. The whole idea of the Blog is to publish one’s ideas for the purpose of sharing. With that in mind, promotion of one’s site becomes a part of the experience. Twitter for me is the tool that I use to drive people to my site. A quick description, title, link, and the range-expanding hashtag #Edchat combined go a long way in attracting readers.
Once I publish a post on my blog, I also return to those Ning communities of educators. I place my post on The Educator’s PLN, ASCDEdge, and School Leadership 2.0. at the very least. I sometimes go to other sites as well. There is no single path to the success of a Blogpost. I have offered the strategies that have worked for me. However one gets there, there will be benefits of learning along the way. Once the Blog is established however that is when a learning transformation can take place. The computer is the 21st Century publisher. Blogging has now become a large part of our culture as educators and citizens. Those who participate in the writing posts, benefit much more than those who only read posts.
Excellent guidance, direction, and inspiration, Tom. Your leadership in this area is recognized and appreciated. Thanks for sharing!
@thomascmurray
Thanks, Tom. How do you post on the ASCDEdge?
Sign on to the ASCDEdge site. Go to the Blog page. Click on Add Post. Paste in your post. Hit the publish post button. That is all it takes, once you have your post written.
Thanks!
Thanks for this, Tom…good advise for people like me who want to blog but are having trouble writing that first post! You’ve been a great source of inspiration with your tweets and posts.
Thank you for this post, Tom. You have inspired me. I also learned a few other avenues for sharing my blog posts.
Very useful indeed! Having my own blog has been a goal that I’ve had to put off too often (or shall I say, I’ve been put off by the challenge of having my own blog). Now I hope I can finally get started!
I love how you’ve integrated technology into your daily teaching methods. I just started a LinkedIn Group about using 21st Century Technologies to teach and would love if you wouldn’t mind contributing some of your posts on to the page.
Here’s the link below. I think you have a lot of great comments about how to integrate social media into education.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Teaching-Math-Science-21st-Century-4816728/about?trk=anet_ug_grppro
Hi Tom , another really useful post. The main thing that stops me from blogging however is that I feel that whatever I have to say is probably already out there in the blogosphere and probably better and more concisely expressed. I read and enjoy blogs and learn from them – maybe I’ll just have to wait to be inspired . Some see it as an obligatory part of creating an online presence but maybe thoughtful comments on other posts adds just as much to the conversation.
thanks though for the great tips on spreading the word about ones’ blog. Very useful to others I know.
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