Reflections on Blogging in PADM 5322

This post is either early or late and I am pretty sure it is late.  I came to work an hour ago and have spent that hour reading your posts and comments, and commenting.  I have some experience with the use of discussion forums in "traditional" online courses.  This is a different experience, and potentially much better.

I have learned some things about blogging already.  Some blogs are highly commercial.  People are making money by selling advertising on their blog sites.  I think I will tend to shy away from those.  I will gravitate toward blogs that have heart and which reflect more nearly professional motivations.  Every modern organization needs a policy regarding employee (and executive) blogging.  And every employee should be mindful of the ramifications of blogging.  In public administration we value transparency.  I think we should generally have positive attitudes toward "telling it like it is" and being relatively open and transparent to the world.  That does not mean that "anything goes."  It does mean that we need to practice online reputation management.  Organiations who block the Internet do themselves a disservice.  In isolation they are likely to die.  Organizations who prohibit blogging are also doing themselves a disservice.  You can bet that many underemployed lawyers are scanning blogs looking for prospective cases. 

This is a new form of literacy and we need to get on board.  I have noticed that the bloggers who attract a following do several things.  First, they blog frequently.  Second, they write well and in a "friendly voice."  Third, they have a sense of art.  In other words, they use images and colors and fonts well.  (Plus, hopefully they don't "rip off" images illegally, for all the world to see.)

Right now we are still learning the "mechanics" of blogging.  But I think someday you will look back on these experiences and realize how important this is.  This whole social networking thing is huge.  Texting is huge.  I don't want to become a "dinosaur."  On the other hand, as a professional person with a career to think about (and an employer affiliation) I want to understand the implications of these things.