I feel like I have been cheating on this blog with my other one...it's like Middle School Dribbles is my new favorite child. I think it's the thrill of creating a new blog--I love that feeling! Getting to choose a new theme, and deciding what kind of "voice" to use for the new blog, and all that other fun stuff. I know after awhile the thrill will wear off, but until I get to that point, I am really enjoying the new site. It feels so great to have a place to record all of the little quotes and antics of my students.
I actually did announce the new blog on facebook, but I don't think that will have much of an effect as far as gaining an audience. Facebookers generally have short attention spans and don't want to read long monologues (who can blame them?). Plus I housecleaned my FB list awhile ago, so I don't have as many friends as I used to. What I need to do is find an audience with other bloggers. I've slowly been discovering that the business of blogging is very much a "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" industry, so I simply need to find some backs to scratch. Which is fine by me, because I actually find other people's blogs fascinating. The problem is I already have a full-time job, so I have to decide how much time I'm actually willing to commit to all of this. I'm going to give all of this some more thought and decide what I want to do.
If I do decide to get serious about professional blogging, an acquaintance of mine, Damien, sent me an eBook he created to help get me started. I'm really looking forward to reading it over spring break. He also e-mailed me a few tips and links that have already been very useful. I think it's awesome that he was willing to reach out to a novice blogger and offer his expertise.
I know my last few posts have been really boring...I promise the next post or two will have nothing to do with blogging. :)
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I've found that when searching out new information to gain a base of knowledge on a given topic or expanding an existing skill-set w/ new ideas that i frequently end up at forum boards, which in turn end up containing links from the board's members who have blogs relating to the information i'm trying to locate. for instance, when trying to learn more about the toaster on the forum boards for toaster owners i came across another forum for auto detailing. The auto detailing forum had quite a few blogs linked from it on more specilized information for those who needed it.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent who will in the comming year have to make some large decisions concerning pumpkin's education I have to look at a gambit of topics to make an educated choice. Finances, time, geographical location, having to move, private v. public, etc... I suppose its easy to look at finding the schools in the wealthier areas or the big name institutions but until i find a bag of money that fell of a truck, like most people I have to live the reality of econ 100. Unlimited want against limilted resources.
So what information will i look for? mainly I want to see what education system's and its members do with what they have? I want to know if i will spend hours on phone, emailing, or subimtting forms to have concerns addressed or find out why x,y,or z happened; mainly i want to see the shortcuts through administrational procedures. I could go on but just to have a last idea, I want to know that the teacher standing in front of pumpkin can converse w/ me not an employee of X school system, its policies, procedueres, and rules subduing their words but as human to human, parent to parent, neighbor to neighbor.
As for your excitement for the new blog, as w/ any venture into the creative world, take that energy and run w/ it, and run hard. Much like the Corps, art is an up or out way of life. =)
Ryan, I'm laughing right now because for the first few sentences I wasn't 100% sure it was you. Then you said "pumpkin," and that was a dead-giveaway. LOL. Followed by that last paragraph; that pretty much sealed the deal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight in all this! It's nice to hear you chime in fom time to time. ;-)
I just cant seem to get you blog thingy to accept a profile, plus i dont have a web presence for others to click. Until then my writing will have to be its own signature. ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry that you're having issues with it! You're writing is very distinguishable though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. =)
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan!
ReplyDeleteHi Shan, you're up late. BTW, I'm on to your jedi mind tricks =)
ReplyDeleteHa ha! What ARE my mind tricks, 'cause I would like to know! And I am STILL up--ugh!
ReplyDeleteJodi, don't you love how we jacked your comment feed?
Yeah, what's up with that? It's okay though...it's sort of nice to see "eight" comments on one post--granted those eight comments are just the same three people yacking about nothing useful. LOL
ReplyDeleteI wasnt sure if you'd start thinking "hey, this is my blog, not the 'i know julie forum.' =)
ReplyDelete@ Shan: It was the professional probing mixed into regular conversation, i didnt even realize it until i gave julie back her phone.
I do the same thing: I'll memorize someones license plate, park at the back of parking lots, and analyze people's handwriting/signature if its left out in the open.
Memorizing people's license plates and handwriting...interesting hobby! You're lucky you haven't had the cops called on you yet. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have nothing more to add to this conversation...I just wanted to make it an even ten comments.
No, no, not a hobby. Habits left after 10 years of security work/marines.
ReplyDeleteThe handwriting was just from being stuck in vancouver, getting bored, and checking out every book on graphography from the library.
For instance, from looking at everyone who adds to this blog, their handwriting suggest every one of them to be highly logical because all the letters come out perfectly =)
LOL Ryan! That's some deep analysis there! When we come up this summer, I'll have to bring you a REAL sample of my handwriting so you can psychoanalyze it. Although I'm afraid the results aren't going to be as flattering as they are with the handwriting I'm using right now on this comment feed. ;-)
ReplyDeleteOkay, i like a challenge. =)
ReplyDeleteYour signature has backwards slants, overall the words are medium to large and widely spaced, the j and p are bubbled out instead of slim, overall its uniform in size on the little letters, it may drift upwards, and it may have a curvy drawn out line at the end of each word or a curvy underlining.
Jojo, what he is trying to say is...you're a ditz! LOL
ReplyDeleteThank you 3PO
ReplyDeleteYou got it about 60% correct, Ryan. Signature actually slants forward, words are medium to large, j's and p's are not bubbly, it can drift upward and it can have curvy underlining. It's funny though, because I have two handwriting styles, my "natural" handwriting and my practiced, "forced" handwriting (this is the style I use in my classroom on the whiteboard). The two look so different from each other that most people would not even be able to tell that both styles came from the same person. The description you gave above describes my phony handwriting 100%. Sort of interesting.
ReplyDelete@ Shan, thank you for your very deep and technical translation, brat. ;-)