I recently responded to Tim Holt’s entry on Rethinking Blogging. The conversation continues in the comments, and I thought I’d do a “Comment Hoist” and share them as blog entries:

Tim writes:

Miguel,

You make my point exactly! Thanks!

It should not be a e-paper chase to follow anyone.

A new teacher, or someone new to the whole world of edublogging, would have no idea about all of these things that you mention, unless they a) read your article, or b) read a mention of them somewhere, or c) knew a friend, or D) …you get the idea.

If I am a newbie, and I start following you on say, Twitter, or Will, or David, or anyone, there is probably NO WAY to figure out about all of the things you mention above.

If I start following you on Facebook, there is no way to know about them based on the messages that show up there. None. You have to stumble upon them, or have a friend set you up. Both of which are iffy propositions.

“Consider your most recent post on my homepage on Facebook: Miguel Guhlin Tools of the Trade http://ff.im/-cwZXi 58 minutes ago · Comment · Like”

Google? RSS? Miguel is on You know about these things because you do these things.

You know about these things because you have been involved in the conversation for years.

In order to use Friendfeed, you have to know about Friendfeed.

(BTW, when I posted about you posting to Twitter, that is exactly what you do when a Tweet appears, whether you posted somewhere else or not. If it shows up on Twitter, it is posting to Twitter.)

You yourself called the setup you have as “elaborate.” I agree, And following is just as elaborate.

The point of the article I wrote, was that it is not easy to follow a single person, and it is even harder to follow multiple people. Miguel has Miguel’s set up, David has his, Will has his, and so on.

And while you don’t see it yourself as complicated, teachers with limited time, whom we are trying to “convert” would indeed see it as too complicated.

(If you don’t believe it, just look at the ways you could sign this entry: I count at least 8.)

To which I respond:

@Tim – Social networking tool use evolves over time…I didn’t know all this when I started, and who knows, tomorrow, the tools might be different.

I choose to learn them because I present on these topics and want to simplify my life. Whether others choose to is entirely up to them…however, if folks start blogging, they are embracing constant learning experiences.

If a teacher isn’t willing to be a constant learner in communication/collaboration tools of the age, are they going to remain worthy of students who are?

Dan McGuire points out:

“If a teacher isn’t willing to be a constant learner in communication/collaboration tools of the age, are they going to remain worthy of students who are?”

The answer to that question is very clearly, ‘NO.’

To which Tim Holt continues:

“If a teacher isn’t willing to be a constant learner in communication/collaboration tools of the age, are they going to remain worthy of students who are?”

I think you overestimate the time and willpower of most educators. 

Most teachers are “constant learners.” I would say a much smaller percentage are “constant implementers” that actually practice what they learn.

From my own experience, it is one thing to teach, it is another to implement.

I stand by my original blog post: Following you, or me, or Wes or anyone takes a great deal of effort and it is not intuitively obvious.

Because there is such difficulty, the opportunity to learn, to be a “constant learner” is often lost.

I appreciate you keeping the conversation going.

Essentially, the desire to be a constant learner is “overestimated” in Tim’s opinion…it has always taken focused effort/work…to be a continuous learner at any time in history. What I’m challenging isn’t that learning is time-consuming, tough, requires determination and will power, but rather, that as a collection of experiences that run the gamut from failure to success that EDUCATORS LACK THE TIME AND WILLPOWER.


Since social networking skills evolve over time–in my own experience–it is foolish to think any one person will acquire elaborate skills Tim refers to.


However, Tim makes an assertion I disagree with–in addition to the one that educators lack time and willpower. And, that assertion is that educators have to learn how I publish my information to be successful followers. The reason my chart is detailed and complex is because by following ONE RSS feed, educators can get access to EVERYTHING I share online.


How hard is that? Go watch RSS in Plain English….

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure