As we near the end of Week 2, I have indulged in a lot of material. One of the articles that really stood out to me was Vanessa's "Becoming a blogger: Trajectories, norms, and activities in a community of practice" (Dennin 2014). I have begun to seek support in my online communities and the article touches on different factors of that. Having a place to go to interact with similar people and share my experiences is something I never thought I would do online. It is a neat experience though!
The article mentions that newcomers might have trouble getting started or gaining an audience. Some bloggers choose to observe, comment and then blog as shown in Case 2 in the article. That could better help them develop a plan and follow through with it.
As far as my communities go, I did not experience any resistance getting started. I was welcomed by multiple members and jumped right into discussion. My blog, on the other hand, I worry about gaining an audience still. I have tried to use tips from class to ask people for their opinions and provide questions so they can answer but I have not seen much activity yet. It is only week 2, so hoping with my increased comments on other peoples blogs I will soon see some reciprocity!
I am starting to think a pseudonym would have encouraged me to share my blog posts through Web 2.0 tools. Does anyone else feel that way?
A pseud can be simultaneously freeing (It's not me!) and confining (uh oh, it's another version of me!). But definitely worth experimenting with.
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