Some Follow-Ups

1)  Facebook –  link to Facebook entry

In my first entry about Facebook, I mentioned that I chose not to be friends with my students or former students and I was challenged about this decision in class.  Afterwards, I really thought about this decision and I stand by it an by my explanation for it.  One of the major reasons for refusing students is the fact that they are minors.  I am responsible for reporting any inappropriate or suspect behavior that I see on Facebook and that is not something I want to do in my private time.  I do care about my students, but I do not feel that policing them should extend into my personal and private life.  Some space is a good thing.  If and when I decide to use Facebook with my classes I would have an alternate account strictly for that purpose. 

I also indicated that I wanted to pay more attention to the “drama” that can occur in the comments make about what other users post.  I found that I could not really accomplish this goal.  I am simply turned off by judgmental comments and found myself shying away from any kind of controversy.  The possibility of being misunderstood is too high to make it worth the risk.  I did notice that that as a result of these misunderstandings, the people who do engage in drama, tend to have to respond multiple to try and make their point.  Often, they do not succeed in being heard despite multiple attempts.

2)Enjoying the Small Things - link to original entry

Over the course of this semester I have made a concerted effort to read beyond Kelle’s blog entry and examine the hundreds of comments she receives on each of her posts to try to understand why her blog is so successful.  Many of the comments are readers saying thank-you for the uplifting content of the blog, other people indicate that they can relate to the challenges she posts about, and lots of people offer well-wishes to Kelle and her family.  However, the majority of the comments have to do with the photos that Kelle includes in her posts.  In my opinion, people seem hooked to the blog because they feel like they know Kelle and her family.  Her writing style she is very candid and many of the entries feel raw and honest.  In addition, the entries are packed full of the most beautiful and revealing photos of her family.  You can’t help but feel like you were even there.  I have never met Kelle, or her family (and probably never will) but I feel like I know them and always am excited when I check Google Reader and see that there is a new post.  Kelle has been successful at infusing her blog with social presence by revealing quite a lot about her and her family.

3) Weddingbells - link to original entry

This journal entry turned out to be a very important one for me.  Without even knowing it, it was the start of my tech-stewarding project.

One thing I investigated on Weddingbells was how threads get responded to.  Some people post threads that get hundreds of views and responses, while others can barely get any at all.  There seem to have been two factors at play to explain this.  The first has to do with the popularity and visibility of the original poster.  If the poster is known and “popular” then usually there are many responses to what they post.  The second main factor is the title of the thread.  People will view the post if the title is clear and interesting.  If it the purpose of the thread is unclear less people tend to view it and as a result there are fewer responses.