My Answers to this Year's Edublogosphere Survey: Please take it yourself!

Please participate in this year's Edublogosphere Survey with Dr. Scott McLeod.

"The second annual Education Blogosphere Survey is now open for business! 4 screens. 25 questions."

It really didn't take me that long and it was kind of cool to take a look at the stats.

Some of my thoughts.

It asked which blog I wish more people read. I was only able to put one so I selected Bob Sprankle's Bit by Bit, however, I also think that Julie Lindsay's blog is a very important one to read. There so many great ones out there!

Bob is just rock solid in what he does and has a great way of thinking. This blog includes his podcast with Cheryl Oakes and Alice Barr and is really a blog that has both a great podcast and a great blog.

Julie has it all, a global perspective along with real classroom understanding and an administrative understanding, plus she can be trusted and is of the highest character (as is Bob.) But, my goodness, I really could name at least 100 blogs that I feel this way about... but I had to pick!

Some other interesting things that Scott MADE me look at:

• Percentage in my organization who actively read/ write blogs -- 10% now, at the end of the month it will grow -- actually our private Ning is doing that all on its own.

• Technorati Authority: 529
  
  (it was almost 700 before Christmas, but that is what happens when you don't blog for two weeks -- be careful if you focus too much on these numbers, you'll not have a life!)
  
  
• Technorati Rank - 7725 (before christmas in the 4,000 -- again, ditto)
  
  
• Number of technorati Blog Reactions: 2522
  
  
• Subscribers: 2142 (that I know of -- I have 6 feeds and 5 of them only show me numbers for bloglines.)
  
  
• How many feeds in my aggregator: 131
  
  
• My favorite post on my own blog: The frontier of education: Web 3D
  
  
• Favorite post on someone else's blog: I guess it's Time to Blog --
  
  Darren Draper's first blog post because it is the first time I realized that I could really make a difference. Darren has brought so much to the blogosphere and there are thousands of Vicki Davises and Darren Drapers out there just waiting for some encouragement. I'm not the only one who encouraged him to come on board, mind you, but I was part of it.
  
  
• Favorite education website: http://edtechtalk.com
  
  
• Favorite Technology tool (besides your blog) http://wikispaces.com

Questions I wish were on the survey
(and how I would have answered them):

• Who do you primarily credit with encouraging you to blog? David Warlick, who answered my "dumb" first question like a gentlemen and treated me with respect when it was obvious I was ignorant about Web 2.0. Without him, I wouldn't be blogging.
  
  
• What is your favorite podcast? Women of Web 2 (of course) but if I had to pick another it would be This Week in Technology with Leo LaPorte -- he has been someone I've learned from since he started on TechTV.
  
  
• What is your Blog Birthday? December 1, 2005 with the first post dated December 8, 2005.
  
  
• How long did it take you after you heard about blogs to start blogging? 3 days
  
  
• What RSS reader do you use? Google Reader
  
  
• What other Web 2.0 technologies do you use DAILY? twitter, wikis, Technorati, Google Docs, Skype, Delicious
  
  
• If you could change one thing about the edublogosphere, what would it be?
  
  I would wish that those people who READ but don't blog feel like a part of things and know that they have a voice.
  
  
• What do you wish you could tell everyone about the edublogosphere?
  
  My favorite thing about blogging is the COMMENTS. I live for them, breathe for them, hope for them. Comments tell me what to change and how I should think differently. I love it when someone makes me say, "Hey, I need to rethink that" or has a well thought out contrast. I trust people who see different perspectives and are willing to tell me what they think.
  
  I also think that sometimes there is a need to e-mail someone privately instead of humiliating them publicly. If I misspell a word, I would rather someone send me an e-mail or do a comment (and say don't publish this) so I can fix it, because when we blog often it is done quickly and sometimes things slip through. Those are the times I feel like quitting b/c I am a perfectionist and it hurts when I screw up. But hey, I'm human and I'm a blogger.
  
  
• What do you wish you could eradicate in the blogosphere?
  
  Death threats and profanity. Small minds think that they can intimidate voices into being quiet. I am still missing Kathy Sierra terribly and wish she'd give us all a present and come back during 2008.
  
  As recently as last December I received a death threat as well as some comments akin to those sent to Kathy calling me derogatory names and filled with sexual perversion. I wish there was a prefilter before it got to my premoderation or a "spam capture" or "smut capture" with automatic e-mail sent to the person who does it as well as a log of their IP address done automatically. These are a distraction and when they get back to my family, it makes them want me to quit.
  
  
• What is one thing you would say to bloggers?
  
  It is hard to keep blogging. Know WHY you do it. Know WHAT it is you are trying to accomplish. BELIEVE in your own voice.
  
  DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON THE NUMBERS. Numbers come and go, but dependable, honest, people will always have a place in the edublogosphere.
  
  If you have some enemies it means you're doing something worth doing... you're not a THREAT if you're doing NOTHING... a slug is a threat to nooone.
  
  Remember it is about CONVERSATION -- none of us is a lone voice in the wilderness... be a part of it... comment on blogs with meaningful comments, welcome newcomers, help newbies. Comment on your own blog to converse back. (I'm behind on my own comments.)
  
  Be careful about ADVERTISING, context sensitive advertising seems attractive but often doesn't pay like you might think. Some ads might come up that will hurt your message. A good name is worth more than great riches and you may find that the freelance work is far great than any advertising $ you may get. People need to know if it appears on your site that it passes muster with YOU.
  
  Have FUN. If it isn't fun, QUIT!
  
  If you're a teacher, don't blog because it will get you out of the classroom... you may find that you turned your back on the only SHANGRI LA you've ever known.
  
  Be a professional. Don't call NAMES don't be unkind. There is a right way to disagree and a wrong way. Model what we want our future to be.
  
  

OK, that is all I can think of for now... let me ask you... how would you answer the survey? What would you say? What questions do you wish were on there? Reflect a little edublogosphere.

tag: edublogosphere, Scott McLeod, education, blogging
tag: edublogosphere, Scott McLeod