Techlearning blog

Though I love twitter, I feel that that is where the conversation begins and the blog is where it goes into depth and continues.

Quoting from my favorite Hugh MacLeod...

"Blogging isn't dead. Far from it. It's just a subset of something much larger and more important."

"Blogging isn't for everybody, Web 2.0 is for everybody."

More context to Hugh's thoughts http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/004077.html. Warning...a few words in above link are a bit edgy.

Blogging is dead so why be concerned about it. I've read it by the leaders in the field that no longer see a value in it. Just look at Will Richardson who uses Twitter as his RSS and blog.

If Will Richardson no longer needs blogs, it is time we all take a hard look at blogs as well.

Blogging will live - it doesn't fit everyone all the time, but it provides a forum for personal thinking and conversations that other tools don't - more indepth and archiveable/searchable...Blogging is still the essence of our new democracy!

That said, right now, I'm paying less attention to my own blog posting, commenting, and reading - but see that as cyclical in determining priorities.

Ryan, Twitter is not easily searchable and discoverable via Google. Much of the benefit of blogs is the ability to put something out there to be found (and interacted with) and the ability to seek things out (and interact with them). I love twitter for what it is, but I'm sad it doesn't have an archive and a search feature.

Also, blogs allow a longer format. And BTW, I noticed that your post here is only 140 characters (the upper limit for twitter). Often, though, a longer format for expression is required... even these comments are longer.

Along with the longer format of posts and comments, this conversation is archived here... for others to discover and join asynchronously. Had you posted the same 140 characters on twitter they would be long dead and gone at this point.

A few analogies from the days of the SAT:

Blogging is to Twitter as...

NYTimes is to USAToday;
Documentary film is to a news clip;
An 8-course meal is to a snack;
An hour massage is to a shoulder rub;
A political speech is to a sound bite;
A lifetime of learning is to a staff-development session.

Blogging's not dead. As long as there are those who'll wish to think and consider deeply (which will be forever, contrary to the-sky-is-falling fears about our short-attention-span society), blogging will live on.

I agree with Mark, Twitter is great for immediate feedback, but what you miss is gone in a day. Blogging provides the opportunity for broader conversations with others you don't know yet. I would hate to think blogging is dead, I learn so much from my reader.

Blogs are new arrivals for many classrooms because of the aggressive bloggers some districts have put into place.

How do blogs fit?

They provide my students with a place to write their stories, articles, and journaling entries. The students are able to write to an audience. If nothing else, the students love knowing that their writings will be read by someone else. Blogs allow students to create freely and develop their own style. I don't think they are on there way out. If anything, they will be here to stay for a long while.

As someone who has done Twitter, podcasting, and vodcasting; blogging is my favorite. It gives me time to organize my thoughts whereas the other media are done and over quickly. You may prepare for pod/vodcasting but it is over and done too quickly.

I have always told students that a good command of writing skills will take them far in life. Blogging always confirms this statement for me.

Ryan, great comment prompt! Most comments are longer than your post, a great sign of a great prompt.
Not sure how I weigh in on this yet. Cheryl

Bloggers blog and blog readers read blogs for many different purposes. I think there are numerous purposes that are better fulfilled by blogs than in any other currently available forum. For example, the shared reflections prompted by your blog post probably wouldn't happen as effectively elsewhere. I value the ripples of reflection that flow outward in comments like these. --Paul