TMI worries? Chill.
By Janet Clarey | May 8, 2008
Ever had a stranger ask you about something you wrote about on your blog? At first I’m a bit ‘huh?’ but then I remember that um, hello…anyone can read this. My Mom. My next door neighbor. My boss. My former co-workers. My dog if he had thumbs (or if someone scrolled for him).
Sometimes I worry that the personal information I share here will tick someone off. The worry is usually an afterthought (too bad for some) and something I get over soon enough.
Don’t YOU worry though, I’m not losing sleep over it and inevitably, I just say screw it and write on.
I don’t seem to have a problem writing about anything that comes to mind - my kids, my husband, my own embarrassing moments, past jobs, friends, school, my extended family, moving house….you get the point. (In a f2f situation, I’d need you to buy me at least one beer to get this type of information).
However, I do try to limit my observations to the theme of this site - learning and the work I do at Brandon Hall Research. I don’t always succeed but I think mostly I do. Brandon Hall Research is a cool place to work. I probably couldn’t write like this at many other jobs. Which is good because I LEARN A TON.
I don’t think individuals set out to write a particular type of blog. It just happens based on their voice. So I got thinking about this ‘worry’ factor and it seems to me that it exists mostly for those that write the personal journal-type blogs.
There are several types of blogs I read in the e-learning space. Although people generally can cross categories in their style, here are some examples based on my own interpretation of the content and style but you may classify them differently:
filter blog - commentary of selected links by author/editor (Example: OLDaily, Stephen Downes).
short-form journal blog - personal record of thoughts, observations, events. (Example: Karyn’s erratic learning journey, Karyn Romeis) Mine is in this category too.
distributed conversation - a post is starting point for an ongoing series of posts, comments, reciprocal links. (Example: eLearning Technology, Tony Karrer)
educational - maintained by a teacher or for a teacher for use as part of a course or class. (Example: The Cool Cat Teacher Blog, Vickie Davis)
notebook - a mix between the filter and journal blog which is more reflective with less sharing personal information but not always a filter for other content. (Example: elearnspace, George Siemens)
corporate/marketing - serves a business purpose. (Example: Brandon Hall Research News)
My voice falls into the category of short-form journal. The “mom blogs” and “dad blogs” are overwhelmingly short-form journal-type too.
Heather Armstrong at dooce (dooced=fired for blogging), a hugely popular [ 4 million hits a month] Mom-Blogger-of-all-Mom-blogs wrote a futuristic-type post to her daughter about well, writing about her. Armstrong historically gets crap for writing about her kid…words like endangerment, violation of privacy, egotistical, and exploitation are used. But Armstrong doesn’t take that crap. She was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal recently (thanks for the link Tom) about how she deals with it.
Really, this too much information (TMI) dilemma is primarily limited to the journal-type blog. Dooce, et al makes me worry less. Armstrong, although talking about Mom bloggers, advances this movement, this community of people writing tirelessly about their experiences. I think everyone is richer for it and, like she thinks her daughter will, it makes me want to pump my fist in the air.
So journal bloggers, Cheers!
Reference/additional links:
Motive Glossary
rebecca’s pocket
dooce
Topics: Brandon Hall | 3 Comments »
May 6 - National Teacher Day
By Janet Clarey | May 6, 2008
It’s National Teacher Day in the US.
I was reminded of this via the Google Groups “Google Teacher Center” group newsletter I am subscribed to.
Some info they shared…
Google is introducing a new section of their Google for Educators site - dedicated to using their most popular Geo Products (Google Earth, Maps, Sky, and SketchUp). They also have classroom activities and starter kits which feature “cool and easy things you can do” with each product in your classroom.
They have also developed a Google docs “getting started” guide - with step-by-step instructions for creating accounts, sharing and collaborating, editing and organizing your work.
Although written for the K-12 educator, some of these resources can be adapted to any group.
——————–
Topics: Brandon Hall | No Comments »
Happy May Day
By Janet Clarey | May 1, 2008
After getting a bunch of “out of office” replies via email, I decided to try to find out what public holiday I was missing. Looks like it’s May Day! Not to be confused with mayday, May Day, is a holiday I haven’t celebrated in the past.
There’s no day off for May Day in the US (that I know of). I’ll have to go searching for garland, erect a May pole, find experienced May Day celebrators, and loosen up I guess because…
Apparently…
“It requires much art and experience to dance upon the May pole with the garland.”
-Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Frolicking around the office with garland is likely to get one sent home. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. What are you doing for May Day?
Topics: Brandon Hall | 10 Comments »
IiL08 September 25 and 26, 2008
By Janet Clarey | April 30, 2008
Registration is now open for the Brandon Hall Research Innovations in Learning Conference. Some highlights…
- San Jose, California!
- Keynotes by Lance Dublin, Lisa Johnson, Faith Legendre, and Peter Orton.
- Good wine and food!
- Full and half-day pre-conference workshops (24th) with Tom Crawford (Visualization for Learning), Don Jones (Context Trumps Content), Anya Wood and Gary Woodill (Emerging Learning Technologies in Healthcare Training), Emma King (Performance Support Benchmarking), Cathy Moore (Dump the Drone!), Dru Ryan (Using Games), Cheryl Johnson (Designing Training for Persons with Disabilities), Michele Martin and me (Social Media Jumpstart), Dave Goodman (Design and Delivery for an Intergenerational Workforce), Bryan Chapman (Keeping Interactivity at the Center of Rapid Development)
- Opening Jazz reception
- Group meetings - Brandon Hall Research Excellence in Learning Judges Summit, Women’s Blog Jam, International Delegates Reception, Research Library Members Meeting. And, we’ll accommodate your meeting too.
- Brandon Hall & the rest of the Brandon Hall Research staff
- Stephen Downes, Andrew Kimball, Chuck Hamilton, Curt Rogers, Jody Glidden, Tim Adams, Robin Ashmore, Max Herrell, Christine Martell, James Goldsmith, Reuben Tozman, Robert Gadd, Kenyatta Berry, Alex Heiphetz, Ben Katz, Jonathan Vinoskey, Anders Gronstedt, Michael Noble, Joe Biglin, Olavur Ellefsen, Wally Larsen, Peter Ryce, Kristina Schneider, Lori Schreiber, Ray Jiminez
- Excellence in Learning Awards Party
- Excellence in Learning Awards
- Tim Potter, Barbara Sealund, Robin Hoyle, Matt Kurtin, Matt Donaban, Jay Bowden, Steven Shaw, Dan Medakovic, Marjorie Pomper, Paula Colwell, Dana Koch, Allison Anderson, Peter Barrett, Sean Stearley
- Games Gym
- Awards Gallery
- Exhibits
- Innovations Showcase
- Wine Tasting
- Innovation Idol Competition
- Main Stage events
- Hands-on activities
- Geeks (the new black)
There are 8 conference tracks…Emerging Learning Technologies, Learning Games, Immersive Environments for Learning, Collaboration and Community, Mobile Learning, Designing Learning Experiences, Implementing Innovative Solutions, and New Training Practices.
See you there!
Note to speakers…if you see your name without a hyperlink or with an incorrect hyperlink which you would like included/changed, drop me a comment. I got linkcramp - a horrible disfiguring hand condition associated with too many links in a blog post…must.stop.
Note to self: Lose 10 lbs., get a 1970s shag haircut like Paul Abdul’s for the Innovations Idol session.
Topics: Brandon Hall | 5 Comments »
So it’s going to be like that today…
By Janet Clarey | April 30, 2008
- Email reminder for end of semester course evaluation…before grades are handed out. Absolutely ineffective and annoying.
- NY Rangers loss.
I’m sure glad I’m a virtual worker today. And so are my co-workers.
Topics: Brandon Hall | 4 Comments »