Once a Blogger…

…always a Blogger?

I got started thinking about this after a query from Alfred Thompson.

Why do people list themselves as a blogger if the blog hasn’t been updated in several years?

It’s an interesting question.  For a few years now, we share with each other those “Top 10 Blogs You Should Follow” lists.  We get a kick from this because some of the regular recommendations haven’t been updated in a long time.  You know that the author was told to write that post and they did a very cursory bit of research – maybe even repurposing someone else’s list…

When people ask, I do refer them to Alfred’s Blog – it’s one of the better K-12 blogs with a bent towards Computer Science.  Of particular interest is his collection of “Interesting Links” that he posts on Monday mornings where he has curated some of the best Computer Science related stories from the past week.  While I always look forward to new posts on his blog, this one weekly post can keep me busy for a while!

So, back to people that list themselves as a blogger…

It seems like a good addition to a social media profile.  After all, everyone wants to follow a blogger.  They should be good for sharing thoughts and ideas.  It’s probably a truthful statement when they create the profile.  They do have a blog.  But, not all blogs survive the test of time.  This is an old story but “Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest” is a reminder that this is not a new phenomenon.  The statistics for success aren’t all that good – “Why Do 95% Of Bloggers Give Up?”

It’s a good title to have on your resume, I guess.  “I gots a blog”. 

Perhaps the statement should be “I have a blog and it was last updated on XXXX/XX.XX.

Is there a shelf life to good ideas?  I know there was a time when I could call myself a writer since I had written for computer magazines or a programmer with the software that I used to flog.  (Does anyone remember Bay Street Bulls?)  To be honest, I wouldn’t feel right using those terms now.

The world is changing so quickly.  To tack on to Alfred’s logic should be the qualifier – “It’s not what you can do; it’s what you’ve done lately”.  That’s what differs Alfred as a regular blogger versus the others.

I struggled with the concept of maintaining the Ontario Edublogger list.  There’s some incredible writing there and blogs are updated all the time.  Unfortunately, there are a few that haven’t been updated.  What do you do?  It could be a result of a sickness or change in jobs or maybe they even have moved their blog to a different location and forgot to notify me.  <grin>  I’ve adopted the Google blogger logic.  There was good content there at one time and, hopefully, it will get revived.  You’d like to think that the original pride of ownership might inspire one to revive their thinking.  There are just so many good reasons for educators to be blogging.

And, if you want, I’ll even make you this shiny badge for your blog.

Having researched and rambled on this topic for a while, Alfred, I don’t have an answer for you.  I guess because digital content is persistent, it differs from traditional publishing.  Let’s just hope that the good stuff remains and inspires into the future.