Andy Powell, the head of development at Eduserv Foundation, thought he would just dip a toe into the blogosphere, but fell head over heels for virtual worlds and e-debates
Q Where is your blog?
A http://efoundations.typepad.com It's a joint blog, written by me and my Eduserv colleague Pete Johnston.
Q What's it like?
A The blog's strapline is "metadata, middleware, elearning", which is what we thought we were going to write about when we started blogging. In practice, we also cover Web 2.0, the semantic web, open access, digital libraries, metadata, middleware, e-learning, online identity, virtual worlds and anything else that takes our fancy. It's 99.99% work-related. If we want to write about personal stuff we tend to do so elsewhere.
Q How long have you been blogging?
A We started in September 2006. Since then we have tried to keep up a steady stream of about two postings per week, preferably more. Any less and a blog starts to feel unloved.
Q What started you blogging?
A It's so long ago I don't recall the details but I'm pretty sure there was a certain amount of keeping up with the Joneses about it, coupled with a sense of frustration at the demise of any real debate on mailing lists at the time (partly because the more prolific thinkers and writers were beginning to concentrate on their blogs).
Q Do you comment on other blogs?
A In an ideal world, blogging is part of a conversation with the reader. But it doesn't always work out like that and often it's the more contentious posts that get most comments even though they aren't necessarily the most thought through. Real conversation leads to new thinking and I think an important feature of a good blogger is the ability to admit mistakes or acknowledge when a new position has emerged.
Q How does your organisation benefit from your blog?
A Blogging (and other forms of new media) provides a point of contact between an organisation and its 'customers' that tends to be less formal, less rigid and more peer-to-peer than channels offered by traditional marketing. It enables real debate around products and services that simply wouldn't happen in other ways. The personal level of contact also helps to build up external trust in the organisation.
Q Does it help your career?
A I hope there is a synergistic relationship between the blog, the organisation, our community and me. The blog significantly raises my personal profile, as well as giving me a forum for debate and interaction that no longer seems to exist elsewhere. It's also a useful place to vent frustration and let off steam.
Q Which blogs do you read for fun?
A Sadly, I read a lot of work blogs for fun, but, putting those to one side, I try to catch up on both XKCD http://xkcd.com and PostSecret http://postsecret.blogspot.com as often as I can. I also read a lot of Second Life blogs, of which I'll pick out two from the UK: the Adventures of Yoshikawa adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.com and TidalBlog http://tidalblog.blogspot.com which has a more technical focus.
Q Do you have a personal blog?
A My personal blog is, well, personal! I don't write much on it and what I do write is targeted at myself, my family and friends. I do write a Second Life blog, under the pseudonym of my Second Life avatar, Art Fossett, known as ArtsPlace SL http://artfossett.blogspot.com It isn't as popular as the eFoundations blog, but it is well read enough to make it worthwhile continuing to write.
Q Which bloggers do you read and link to?
A Way too many! For libraryrelated discussion, I read Lorcan Dempsey
http://orweblog.oclc.org
Stu Weibel
http://weibel-lines.typepad.com
and the various Talis blogs.
For e-learning, I read Stephen Downes (who doesn't?)
http://www.downes.ca
Grainne Conole
www.e4innovation.com
and Alan Levine
http://cogdogblog.com
In the middleware/identityspace, I read Kim Cameron
www.identityblog.com
David Recordon
http://daveman692.livejournal.com
and Drummond Reed
www.equalsdrummond.name
For general discussion around the web and Web 2.0 in education and the cultural heritage sector, I read Brian Kelly
http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com
and Mike Ellis
http://electronicmuseum.org.uk
All of these bloggers provide a great way of staying up to date and offer some challenging viewpoints.
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