It is easy to sit back and think that everyone should know about this stuff already. They don’t. Our education programs in universities are not teaching them these things (some do, I know, most don’t). It is a shame. I think it should be taught in late middle school or early high school to help build and create lifelong learners. That is the type of teacher I want to hire. That is the type of teacher I want teaching my son. Maybe we should add that to the resume:

Bloglines/Google Reader feed address: ____________________________

When they come and ask us what the heck it means, we know where the app will reside. Harsh, I know.

Twitter – I’ve not got into that, so even if I were to have an account, I’d be Billy-no-mates there!

I’ve had to move my blog, due to a server breakdown, and consequently the decision to move all staff websites to the same server (i.e. a new one).
While it’s been possible for them to set up a redirection from the old blog’s home page to the new one, people who just have the RSS feed & nothing else can’t get to find the new URL. They will just think I’ve gone silent unless they try to find me.

Had I known it was going to die, then I could have ensured that the last post in the old blog was the new URL, but I didn’t.

Unless anyone knows of a way of redirecting an RSS feed??

Great point…especially in regards to books. I think you’ve hit a key point here.

Yet, I rethink Naked Conversations and there’s still something there about marketing as well, what does it hurt to blog? It can’t be seen as a waste of time if you are one trying to get a message across…Write the book and blog!

Your exploration, however, is more open. To me, it’s just a matter of time, and RSS is still very early technology for most people. i’d say it’s far from a killer app. Even email is not mainstream, even in the US. You and I may obsessively check our email/blog reader/twitter every few minutes, but lots more people don’t. They win, because we have to meet them where they live, in the least common denominator of communication.

People write books because people read books. If one changes, the other will too. There may be a long tail, but it’s going to be long time before a long tail can wag a far away dog.

It’s also likely that a person who is not blogging is simply shrewdly judging their audience and prioritizing their time. The numbers just don’t support jumping on the blog bandwagon unless 1) it’s personally rewarding to you, or 2) your intended audience is a segment that’s already there. For example, blogging about using blogs is a slam dunk. Blogging about video games or video making or running a school may be less so.

To me there is also a big difference in the form and content of email vs. blogs. Even e-lists. Emails are generally for quick, let’s-get-things-done type content. List-servs perhaps do have a more conversational tone but the problem is no one owns it. That’s okay for some things but I prefer to follow an person and their journey of learning over time. There writing is in context not simply interspersed among others viewpoints. Agreed, some blogs are like staff room conversations but I l like many of those conversations and people. Not all but I choose the ones I prefer. But lest you think all are not thought out, try reading Konrad Glogowski. http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/ I have to read his stuff about 3 times before I get it all….very deep thinker. Add to that list: Clarence Fisher, Darren Kuropatwa, George Seimens and Ewan Mcintosh just to name a few.
The power of blogging is that ideas are often connected and expanded upon. That rarely happens in emails. And again in listserves it’s hard to break away from the discussion nicely.

I still see your point but it’s not the way for me anymore.

I appreciate your views and recognize their validity. Obviously in terms of day to day or localized learning, RSS and blogs may not be all that important (yet, IBM, Google, Microsot rely heavily on blogs for their workers to build culture and learning). My post is a bit more directed at folks who already are trying to reach a large or global audience. If they don’t blog, I will likely not find out about them. That’s fine but I think the numbers like me may be growing…maybe not, I don’t have any data just perception but admittedly my perception is fairly narrow.

Also, for me RSS and bloggers are certainly not my Sunday supplement but rather my daily news.

The personal research portal: web 2.0 driven individual commitment with open access for development

I’d like to add to your comment though – can we please STOP WITH THE LISTSERVS!!! The distribution of messages should occur through a discussion board with an RSS feed. mailbucket.org also allows email to rss – which I’ve started trying to use for a view listservs I’m on – but with tools like Ning.com that have community blog aggregator with an RSS feed and a discussion board with an RSS feed; the idea of using a listserv baffles me.

-Chris

I think the mass-usage of RSS is still a few years away, even though it is such a great application. 5 have tried to teach and persuade parents to use RSS, but most still don’t. I can’t even convince my wife! Why are people so resistant to this, especially now that most everyone has accepted email as an effective means of communication?
Dave