Thing 11 - Connecting to a Learning Community

Web 2.0 is all about community. The tools provide a function -- Flickr for sharing photos, YouTube for sharing video, etc -- but they also create a place for users to interact, exchange ideas, and connect. These communities bring people together regardless of geographical location, age, race, gender, physical ability, or any of the other ways that we might differ or separate. Formed around common interests, online communities often establish their own characteristics, norms, expectations, and terminology.

One way that connections are made is through comments. Commenting is a very important feature of many Web 2.0 applications, including blogs. Comments are often textual, but depending upon the software, commenting through other media may be possible. For new bloggers, it can be thrilling to receive that first comment from some random, unknown reader. It may suddenly change the way we feel about blogs and writing online. We become more invested, more careful of what and how we write, because now we know someone is reading; an audience exists.

Important notes ~
Comments can be postive, neutral, negative or a combination of all three. They can have powerful impacts on readers. Always think before you post: Would you make the same comment to someone in a face to face situation? Who else might read a comment?

While you may be doing this 23 Things project independently, you are a member of this online community who have come together to learn about Web 2.0. What are your fellow learners doing? How do they feel about this project? What new things have they discovered? For this Thing, you will reach out to other members of your community and make connections.

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To complete Thing 11 you must:

A. Comment on participant blogs

B. Reflect on Thing 11 on your blog

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A. Comment

Read these two articles for some tips on how to make good comments:


Lifehacker's Guide to Weblog Comments

How to Write Intelligent Comments on Blogs

Then, take some time to explore a few of your fellow participants' blogs (listed in the right-hand column of this blog). Leave a comment on 3-5 different blogs.


B. Reflect - Blog Prompts for Thing 11

What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?