CoP’s and BloggersBlogHui March 2006Derek Chirnside

A vision for Community

First, some background

Community . . .

Identity . . . Belonging . . .

Destiny . . .

Comrades – networks – buddies

Learning . . . .

Community . . .

CommunityShi-moon-nity

Reflection

!@#$%^&* !!

Identity

Who am I?

What is my destiny??

Destiny.Where do I want to go??

Who do I want to go with?

Context.

knowledge

Learning . . .

Knowledge

skills

nous

Pause: what resonated for you?Pause: what resonated for you?

Can you identify a time you have Can you identify a time you have been part of or are part of a been part of or are part of a community?community?

What’s it like?What’s it like?

Blogs RSS feeds, aggregators, – implications for communities.

CoPs and Bloggers

Not too worried about what type of community: Inquiry, practice, learning . . .

People getting together in some way with a common purpose or cause,with some level of mutual commitment,providing mutual support and help, working on projects, or just ‘chewing the fat’.

Usually Distributed: distance, flexible, multimodal, blended

A few random perspectives (CoP + Blog)A few random perspectives (CoP + Blog)Blogs: “Containers for conversations” (Nancy White)Blogs: “Containers for conversations” (Nancy White)A “hindrance for knowledge management” (a manager)A “hindrance for knowledge management” (a manager)Blogs: provide a voice, a platform an identityBlogs: provide a voice, a platform an identityHelp attenuate inputs - people build reputationsHelp attenuate inputs - people build reputationsCommunity: “Constellations of blogs” (quote from??)Community: “Constellations of blogs” (quote from??)

Members/BelongingInitiation; Identity – voice . . . Value . . . Destiny . . . (purpose)Comrades – networks – buddiesLearning/knowledge . . . . (boundaries)Leadership . . .

The community questionsThere are some things we have to take care of . . .

Wenger, Lave, Snyder, Figallio, Stuckey, McDermott (etc)

Some of these are blogosphere questions. Some are not.

Infantisation!!

What can web 2.0 offer???

From web 2.0: Let’s just choose blogs, aggregators and RSS . .

Preliminary Finding:Blogs are NOT the same as a threaded discussion forum-in that their psychic effect is different-and seems different for different people.

Sample: four classes, all formal taught courses and a few community like entities in teacher professional development

Forums vs (classic) Blogs

Weblogs Threaded forumsIndividual locus of controlPersonal ownership

Centralised/group

Personal reflection is paramount Reflection: has a corporate element (can be broader)

Comments: may be switched on – not central

Email notifications on replies/dialogue

Tools: RSS, categories

[permalinks, trackbacks etc]

Subjects, post classification

Containers: posts – grouped in categories, reverse chronological

Grouped into threads, usually reverse chronological

Del.icio.us - tagging ?? - evolution is occurring

Ideas classified into categories - but can be lost, fragmented . .

Ideas can be scattered over multiple forums . . .

adapted from Common Craft

“I never felt comfortable posting in the blog” (Compared to forum) –

taught course member

Surmise:There is a perception of it being too public in a blog.The Poster is the focus in a blog.Liked the relative anonymity of the forum. Ownership is there, but LESS than on a blog.Group is more the focus in a blog

Myth:Blogging is easy

“I just find it so hard to blog”(Insert any of a range of responses . .)

community member (opt in)

Technology is a barrier. Still.“It’s still to tough getting started out of the box” *

* Mark Bernstein talk* Mark Bernstein talk

“I just don’t like the way the blog is always there – like it’s whispering to me come and do something”

IT course member 2004 where blogging was a part of the course

Someone else from the same course: “That’s what I like about it”

Surmise: personality is a factor - maybe along with other factors such as confidence, motivation

Example: Macromedia community described by Kai Koening

Communities based around blogs

“Membership”Managing problems

Knowledge management

Knowledge creation

Stewardship of the practice

“It’s all about the tools”Purpose, people & processes 2nd

Perception/realityLocus of controlIdentityVoiceTags/categoriesOwnership

Community software: design issues . . .

metaphors

scaleable: catering for growth

welcoming newcomers

identity/belonging - finding other

managing the practice - boundaries

Blogs tend NOT to worry about KM or community

So: Blogs and CoPs

*Individual*Individualistic?*Personal*Owned*Locus of responsibility is where?*”Disinterested passion” (from ?)*

What in blogging DIS-enhances community? - list in process

Bloggers can help keep a community on it’s toes, outward looking

So: Blogs and CoPs

*creation of an individual voice*identity enhanced (reputation)*boundaries pushed*new ideas*depth of engagement with ideas*challenging of boundaries**

What in blogging ENhances community? - a list in process

Where to now??

???

?

Derek Chirnside

Comments?