A Blogging Academy?
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Okay, I’ve just had either the best idea ever or the most stupid notion to date, so I’d better blog it out and see where it goes.
These last few months I’ve occasionally joked about having blogging students, people who ask me for advice regarding their blog and with whom I have some kind of mentor relationship. And from this I’ve started thinking about how this sort of thing could be formalised, preferably with the community helping itself with a little guidance. In more grandiose moments the concept of Pete’s Blogging Academy formed in my head, complete with gowns and certificates, but I usually came back to earth and brushed it aside.
That said, there is a need here. People who start blogging go through some pretty well defined stages as they find their voice, get over the realisation they have an audience, become part of a blog-wide conversation, get their first comment spam, and so on. Having some kind of safe harbour to discuss such things would be useful.
But that’s not the best/stupid idea. Here it comes.
A new blog (natch) where I lecture on blogging and set homework. Each week there’s a new lesson covering the bases. Seminars take place in the comments. Homework is to be done on your own blog. This will involve things practical stuff like tracking who’s writing about you (or someone else if you’re just starting), hacking the code of a video embed so it’ll play on your blog and sending your feed through Feedburner. But it’ll also involve creative stuff like going to a gig or event and blogging about it or turning a notion you had just before falling asleep into a blog post. I’ll hopefully come up with better ones at the time. And there could be visiting lecturers on specific subjects. Someone could write about podcasting, for example, or video streaming, or a crash course in PHP.
But the magic comes from the community. Everyone who signs up for the academy gets their blog listed on the sidebar and when they hand in their “homework” the rest of the members are encouraged to “mark” it in the respective comments. This serves not only to help get feedback but to generate a social aspect where people who wouldn’t normally read each other do so. I think this could be the killer aspect of the deal.
And what’s in it for me and any other “lecturers” who come on board? Well, if you want some real mentoring on your blog then we’ll do that for a fee. Want me to have a look over your last few months and write a report? Here’s my rate sheet. And believe me, there are business blogs that want this kind of feedback. And that’s on top of the consultancy / training stuff I’ve been getting recently.
Any thoughts? Has it been done before? Did it work?
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Great post about teh importance of mentoring.
As a serial entrepreneur, I love to spend time with folks who are getting their own company going in a mentor-relationship. I remember the days when I was getting started and I was searching for people who knew more than me that would take time to meet with me and impart some wisdom into my situation. I tell everyone who asks — get a mentor…get someone who will help you as you grow as an entrepreneur.
I recently came across a great post by Perry Noble about the “5 Rules with a Mentor”.
Yes Pete, I’m in.
metanvangementalist?
meta - evangelist/mentalist, or something else?
Stef and I were taking the piss out of the job titles on business cards at SXSW and came up with metavangementalist. I kinda liked it.
I’m in, if it means that I’ll finally have the term metadata explained to me.
Matt: it’s the data about the data. How many times someone visits a site, or who made it is meta data. The site itself is just data.
Pete: evangelist/mentalist of the metadata, maybe? ;)
Metadata is slightly simpler than that, though Brenda is right. It’s just data about data. So this comment is data and the author, date, post it’s about, etc, is metadata.
Metadata means objects on the internet have meaning associated with them so, for example, you can bunch together all photos on Flickr taken in Birmingham based on the metadata attached to them.
http://wefeelfine.org/ is a great example of playing with metadata about blog posts.
What?
(Scratches head)
Oh, right.
I think.
Yes. Gotcha.
Cheers.
(Still up for the Academy)
This is actually a really useful experiment. Sort of like a virtual classroom only less wanky.
I agree.
I suppose that the blog post is the ‘lecture’ and the comments are any and all post-lecture discussions, but recorded for posterity so that those discussions can be returned to and also shared widely. Discussions that would normally and in the real world have taken place in a post-lecture study group or the bar, say.
But then you already said all that in your post.
(Embarassed).
It would be interesting to see what kind of lecturers/guest speakers you get in, especially as there’s so many types of blogs. Would there be a specialist for art blogs, music blogs, community blogs and so on?
Also, would you speak about different blogging engines? Wordpress is probably the most popular, but is it the best and would your ’students’ have to research and test this?
As well as being teaching people to blog and whatnot I can see this being a great research opportunity.
…oh, and I’m unless (unless I’m too old for school :-P )
…that meant to say “oh, and I’m in”…
In terms of research there is a fair bit out there on distance learning and technology enhanced learning (and pedagogy), but this might make for a neat case study, especially as it applied and experiential rather than hypothetical (how did you say you were funding it?)and also kind of community driven.
Keep me posted too please.
Incidentally I probaly have 160 odd students who could probably benefit also….
Funding it??
I have about 50 students, too…. a batch 0f 31 photography students and another two groups of 10 NE artists. I wasn’t proposing even letting them know, not at this stage. Is that wrong?
http://wefeelfine.org is astounding. The interface is what absolutely makes it, for me.
(Hi Brenda)
Apologies I wasn’t suggesting involving students necessarily - although maybe just to observe? - just that they could benefit from figuring some of this stuff out and it not just be me telling them.
Yes sorry for mentioning funding I see the word research and start imagining a proposal.
Hmmm…not really sure I agree. Not that theres anything wrong with the central principles of education and a fair days work for a fair days pay.
In conversation I were drawn an analogy between blogging and creating zines. Thats a fair way of doing it, and with no set way of doing it. My own LJ is closer to a catch-all for the public face of all things Andy Luke. Maybe lower on site traffic for that reason, but I like as maybe. Though I don’t implement all the best blogging advice you have to give (due to my priorities), waching your blog over a period of time has been invaluable. You already mentor by example, and all thats needed are the basic set ‘em up rules (which again, you’ve already taught.)
I’ll be doing some blog tutoring myself actually, on the personal request of a tutor at Oxford Brookes. A ten minute slot in the next month. As you know this will easily cover whats needed for students to get on with it.
The longevity of blog archives does not require constantly renewable longevity in instruction, which is part of the beauty of it. Only as new applicable technologies come in, which I reckon is going to slow down as we enjoy what we have and notice what impoverished parts of the world don’t have.
Now, send me your address so I can send you my comic ! Oli Smith said it were the best comic of 2007 and Matt Badham seems to think it should win an award. Heh, reward ! Bwah-ha-ha ! Woof Woof !
I’m in too - in fact I suggested something similar on a recent blog post…
I consider myself to be quite good with most technology things but I have found it all a bit tricky since I started blogging…hence my blog looking a bit rubbish. Stef’s fairly recent post about setting up a workdpress site for his mum was great and something with that sort of info to help us novices would be fantastic.
Sounds like a great idea.
As a new blogger I’m still getting off the ground and mucking about with the various bits of technology somewhere in the background, mainly for the sake of it at the moment. Haven’t really worked out the true application (for my purposes) of the various tools and platforms out there yet.
Oh and like wechtie’s post I also picked up on Stef’s getting started on wordpress post which pointed out how easy it is to get started these days.
If you’re gonna do this Pete, then I’d like to participate.
Cheers,
Ian