Thoughts on teaching, technology, learning and life in an era of change.
 
Christopher D. Sessums on Social Networks
March 22nd, 2008

Christopher D. Sessums has written on social networks and he has used the agora of the ancient Greeks as an analogy. He writes that the “various social and participatory applications available to us can serve… as a place where people can freely examine a wide range of ideas and ideals.”

I will not attempt to paraphrase all of Christopher’s post yet he asked a couple of questions that resonated with me. He writes:

“But the next step requires us to be reflective. The Internet and Web have afforded us an opportunity to re-examine and re-define our morals, our communities, our nations, and the globe. But will these conversations be limited to only a few? What mechanisms are in place to encourage and support a wide range of thought and activity?”

I have wondered about the conversations of late and the diversity of thought within the edublogosphere and at least within the blogs that I read there seems to be a sameness creeping into the environment. I articulated these thoughts a little further on Christopher’s blog. Something along these lines…

I feel that his two questions, as quoted above, are timely and they need to be asked. I have sensed of late that segments of the “edublogosphere” are dominated by a small coterie of seasoned bloggers who are followed by a dedicated core of disciples that hang off their every word. I think this is stifling original thought and creating a sameness in some edublogging arenas. The conversations are limited to a few yet cloned by many.

I have observed a number of new edubloggers join the networks of late and they soon become mirror images of the more seasoned or ‘vocal’ edubloggers. It is a pity. I feel that the twitter networks play a role in the establishment of this sameness.

“What sort of mechanisms can we set up to encourage creativity and diversity among edubloggers?” I agree that the world of education bloggers should be more like an agora with a highly varied range of discussions, debates, marketing of ideas and the ‘playing of games’ (as per an agora). The agora of ancient Athens was largely responsible for the creation of democracy, philosophy and western thought.

At the moment I fear that the edublogosphere is evolving into a collection of shopping malls populated with overly dominant voices that are differentatiated only in the way that they are branded. We do need more voices. Different voices.

Looking at Christopher’s blogroll I also think it is time I explored a few new voices and joined a few new networks.

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