As I moved around on the new Edublogs upgrade this morning, I enjoyed viewing all the comments left for me and this challenge gave me time to reread them and consider what I find interesting about comments.

It was hard to select just one, but Ken Allan’s popped right off the page

I selected Ken’s comment because it points up the connections we are all making from the challenges being offered: Kevin’s Boil Down Your Week, Stacey’s Slice of Life, etc. Initially you might leave your response and that’s that, then you can start checking out new blogs and finally you leave a comment. And with this challenge I clicked to Ken, left a comment Ken found his way here and left something for me. (I would be using links and color, but I don’t see them yet on my toolbar.)

I’m excited about connections building from these great networks.

Tena koe Bonnie!

You seem to be having a lot of fun here too!

Well I finally made it to your blog-site. I was working on Kevin’s Day in a Sentence (with colour) tonight travelling home on the bus from work – I’m still working on it! But y’know I had deja vu! I must have come across your blog some time before, perhaps a week or so ago. I was very new to all this – still am.

Anyway, before your page scrolled down I suddenly knew who I was going to see. Now that I’ve thought about it, I think I must have looked at your site while inspecting Kevin’s – dunno.

Whatever! Nice to be here a while Bonnie.

Ka kite
from Middle-earth

From Day 18: Analyze the Comments on Your Own Blog

Here’s some of my ingredients for creating a great comment:

1. The Comment should be positive and thoughtful.

2. The Commenter should feel comfortable sharing on your blog

3. The Commenter should leave something behind that might surprise the blog host.

4. And for the next layer of commenting, the commenter should move the conversation along with a question to the host and visitors.

What am I missing?? Hope this moves to a conversation…

Bonnie

For the last few days I’ve left the daily prompts and moved out into the blogosphere on my own, embracing the mission to visit new and familiar cyber homes, read conversations, especially comment challenge conversations and add something from me before I leave.

That’s a true contrast with my early blogging/commenting days, when I first created my blog lines, added interesting blogs and began clicking them open, skimming a bit and promising myself I’d return to read more deeply and leave a comment. I never returned to those posts. I think I was just getting my feet wet, slowly.

That was a long time ago, probably more than a year ago. Instead, I spent time working on specific collaborations, writing my own posts and getting connected to a small group of friends. The key seems to be SLOWLY. I marveled at the speed with which my buddy Kevin seemed to jump in and move so quickly.

Boiling Down my Week Challenge began the sharing with a group and commenting generally to host of the week.

The Slice of Life Challenge brought me to a larger group of bloggers to get to know. To read their slices, to be read, to get comments, to leave comments.

For the Comment Challenge I have been really thinking deeply about commenting, exploring new blogs, returning for more, and looking in my backyard into blogs on the other side of the fence: twitterers and boilers.

Slowly I have been getting familiar with new blogs and  more comfortable  with blogs I know, leaving longer comments and finding opportunities to join conversations. On my blog I’ve responding more, asking questions to build on the conversation and just being more considerate of  visitors.

It’s been a great month. What’s the next challenge???

Bonnie

I have been going strong with this challenge but I did take a break to put some of my writing energy into my other challenges: 6 words to Kevin, A memoir for Stacey’s new Memoir Monday on my new blog and of course a Slice of Life today.

But as the last two remaining contenders battled it out for the American Idol title last night, I was poised to return to the Comment Challenge.

I have been extending myself, using the the Participants List to plunge deeper into blogging communities and adding more great sites into my Google Reader.

Before I began writing this prompt I clicked into Kate Foy’s blog, to pick her brain virtually. I found her prompt response candid and one I could relate to as she shared her early blogging and commenting experiences and how they’ve grown. A rich discussion followed in the comments section and I found it easy to leave something of myself behind.

Returning to my blog, scrolling through my comments, I realized that the posts with the great number of responses came from the Slices of Life I have shared during that monthly challenge. Stacey facilitated the birth of a new online community and it didn’t take long to get into the habit of adding my slice and then opening each slice that appeared before me, reading it and leaving a supportive comment. Throughout the day I would often return to read and comment on more slices as they arrived and in turn I got comments back.

As I focus on comments in this challenge I realize that there’s more to it than than thrill of getting a comment; there’s the rich discussion that can develop. So I’ve been returning to conversations, adding a second comment, a third.

I remember a time, not so long ago when I would read comments only in my email box and reply there. Clicking back to my blog, to other blogs is a real ahhah for me.

I have also taken more time to extend a comment and work on leaving something that might add to the conversation. It’s exciting to be here.

I’m not a big fan of awards, (with the exception of the Oscars). As a high school teacher it was always hard to pick one and exclude all the others. And once again, as much as I’m grateful to every commenter who visits my blog and leaves something behind for me I have to take some time here to give it up to

KEVIN HODGSON 

for his Web 2.0 passion and his patience as he brought me along with him on this blogosphere journey. I was never resistant or reluctant, but I needed that hand, that instant response to keep writing away here.

As I returned to my comments page, there were very few posts since the fall of 2006 that didn’t  include at least one comment from Kevin.

Our digital storytelling collaboration came out of that daily reading of my posts as I reflected on a frustrating ds workshop experience. He kept asking questions and I kept thinking and writing. I returned home and we continued to use our blogs to work into something unexpected, the ABC Movie Project and our blog: Using Technology to Tell Stories.  And in November, he accepted my invitation to join us at the Hudson Valley Writing Project’s first tech conference as the conferences keynote, documented on the National Writing Project.

Kevin came to our table rich in computer skills and  in online resources and he shared everything and never made me feel that I was anything but his equal.

And we continue to share.  I continue to learn from him as he remains at least one step ahead, reaching back to move me along with him.

I am SURE that I am not the only one who feels Kevin’s warm aura circling them in this new learning environment.  He revels in the communal nature of the web as a place to share and grow with teachers and students.

I am so grateful to be out here with him.

Recently, my favorite public radio station, WFUV put out a call for membership donations.  I am a member and renew in the fall but when I heard this call, I wondered how I might add to my contribution.  A suggestion from a DJ: Gift Membership for a friend.  I thought about it.  KEVIN:  a musician (sax and guitar), a composer, and music lover. Perfect, two birds with one stone.  Amazing, isn’t it, how much we are willing to share here.

Kevin, thanks so much for your comments and your friendship.

Bonnie

Now this is an intimidating prompt, because I just read the model from Chris Brogan’s blog and yes he laid out a very reflective question(How does your blog relate to your business? Does it? What does your blog do for you?).

He left it there on the top of his post and then, the flood gates opened and the comments appeared, paragraph after paragraph.

So yes, I can lay out a question, and then I’ll wonder, who will respond?

So here it is:

You read blog posts, how often do you leave a comment and what motivates you to leave one?

Please feel free to take over my blog.

Bonnie

I am very intrigued with this prompt. I read through Michele’s models and she seems to have found a clear focus and purpose to include the comments.

I wonder what I will be able to do as I look back.

It’s a cool opportunity to walk down blog-comment-memory -lane.

So here I go: What will attract me?

I read through most of my comments and began to copy and paste the longer, more reflective responses. Many of them came from our March month of Sharing Slices of the Day Challenge and and this most recent challenge.

Stacie, Lynn and Christy share their early memories of blogging, responding to a post I wrote for our Slice of Life Challenge on Tuesdays. There is something so wonderfully honest and open about this sharing; this sense of online community.

GirlGriot | 

The thing I’ve really liked about all the blog writing I’ve done since I started in the winter is that it’s forcing me to acknowledge that I really do have time for writing. I’m always complaining about not being able to ‘find’ time for my writing because I’m so busy with my work and everything else. And, ok, it’s true that I do have a lot of work, but I have time for writing, too. The slice of life challenge really pushed me, made me see that I could squeeze in bits of writing time all over the place.

I’m a writer, and I’m always happiest when I write every day, but it’s so easy not to write every day. I bring myself to my blog every day, though, and really make an effort to post regularly. So it makes me think I’ve just been making excuses when I say I don’t have time to work on my stories, makes me wonder what’s the real reason for not working on my writing … The daily practice of writing here is good for my brain, though, keeps my writer-mind limber.

Lynnjake | 

I can so relate to your early blogging experiences, Bonnie. In January I started a new blog, having decided that I wanted to go public with some issues I had been thinking about for a while. Somehow I thought that just making the decision to make my thoughts available online would open the door to the hordes of people who were waiting to read what I’d written and comment on it. Silly me! My big day so far was maybe six reads. It also took me a while to have the nerve to begin commenting on others’ blogs when I read something that I feel a response to. Like those writers were grown-ups and I”m just a kid and shouldn’t intervene until I’m more mature. Recently I’m getting braver about commenting.
Onward and Upward!
Lynn

Christy Tucker |

I’ve had some of those moments of fear before publishing, although for me it usually prevents me from even writing and getting my thoughts out. Several times when blogging, I’ve felt “stuck” and unable to come up with anything I felt I could write about adequately. I definitely have some perfectionist tendencies, and perfectionism and blogging don’t mix well! I am getting better about not worrying so much, but this may always be a challenge for me.

During my last blogging slump, what got me out of it was commenting on other people’s blogs. I did stay active in the conversations, I just did it on other sites. Eventually something got me interested enough that I wanted to write something more than just a comment, and suddenly I was out of my slump. I wonder if I would have been able to get past that if I hadn’t been out commenting and interacting though.

Nancy, Charlene and Pati . Jane, and Ashley, Slicers, have been regulars, sharing and commenting with me and the rest of the daily and weekly community and time has allowed us to find our connections. We share writing, we share images.

Nancy Cavillones |
Well, don’t they say we become more aware of our mortality as we grow older? Even at my young age, there are things now that give me pause that wouldn’t have bothered me when 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago!Anyway, when I used to stay with my grandparents in Kerhonkson, Ellenville was the “big town” where we went grocery shopping and for Italian food. It’s all relative, I guess!

blink |

bet we all have a little artificial spring in our lives ala NCavillones wearing her burks when 55+, or Tuvia’s sitting on the porch because it’s April. I used to wear shorts if it was over 52 (I know… pretty arbitrary)in Cleveland hoping to nudge Spring.It was April…maybe May for gosh sakes! I had a turtleneck and sweatshirt on but it was my still a bit of spring fantasy!

pati | patimac87@aol.com | peaceeveryday.blogspot.com | IP: 172.191.131.92Bonnie, It appears that we have been traveling a similar path this past month, with the death of a loved one. I have not been able to read all your posts, due to travel and time. Each one is a wonderfully written “Slice of Life.” Thank you for sharing your trip to Israel and your personal thoughts and feelings.

Jane Swanson

Bonnie,
I really can’t find the words to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed your slices. I have loved reading your words and looking at your photos. You asked about my photos and yes, there are a few at Flicker, but not many. I am motivated to get a few more “out there” because you asked. I have loved this sense of community that I’ve found through SOL and I will be visiting here often.
Thanks for all your warm comments for me and my daughters.
~jane

ashley | 

I am that univeristy student right now who is writing to make the assignment disapear! Some assignments this year were terrible drafts but I just did not have the time or energy to make them better.

I started slicing as a challenge to myself to write consistently for 30 days. I was inspired by my friends 30 day yoga challenge and decided to find my own challenge. So I found Two Writing Teachers site while searching for a challenge to write. My goal is to make writing a habit, a need because I love it I am just scared sometimes.

I do not feel like I have a voice or identity, I’m still looking for it but I hope to find it soon. I would love to start writing short stories and eventually a novel but there again I’m stalling because I don’t know how.

I have loved slicing. It is the highlight of my writing day among all the papers I am writing. I love the community of people who are involved and I hope it can continue.

Melba is not comfortable as a blogger but loves sharing her writing and staying connected to our writing project and she responds when I host for Kevin’s Boil Down your Day…

Melba |

Querida amiga, Bonnie
Thanks for inspiring me with your spunk and familia fotos. I needed lifting today. It is always uplifting to see how others live and how alike we are. From a distance we are all the same. So many of those pictures reminded me of the interior of Mexico eventhough you are half way around the world. Thanks for reminding me of our human bond to live life to the fullest every day. Mil gracias amiga querida, Melba

Karen & Kevin pushed me into this world of blogging and commenting. As I traveled through my comment-lane, there they were on every page.

Karen McComas | mccomas@marshall.edu | klmccomas.net/klm | IP: 76.26.83.126

I love seeing my name in your poetry! That’s probably about as close to poetry as I’ll get for a while – just don’t seem to have that “poetry gene

Kevin Hodgson

dogtrax |

I think your story of exploration is inspiration for the folks at your Summer Institute, and you should be sure to keep sharing your journey.
I love how you tied all the various projects in the last few months together (remember how you and I were wondering what kind of collaborative project we could get into next? Well, I guess we found them, eh?)

Lisa raises the point of writing for strangers, and that brings up the idea of digital identity. Who are we in this blogging world and how is that persona different (is it?) from the person we are in the real world (meat world?)

Just a thought

And I like Stacey’s thinking of a mosaic of Slicers, but I will leave it to her to figure out a platform (I can guess that it won’t be VoiceThread)

Kevin

I wonder what I will find in my comment lane a year from now?
Did you take a look through your comments? What did you find?

Bonnie

My life on the Web

On Saturday night I was up for hours writing one post then the next for the Comment Challenge Tuvia was sound asleep and it was peaceful to be clicking away even though I knew I’d have to pay for the my missed sleep opportunity and yes, it was a tough ride home but we got back in one piece, unpacked and refreshed I can say sure, it was all for the best.

Just remembering that late-night flow of words, I thought about how much of my time I spend writing. Sure, I write lots of emails to friends and colleagues, I IM with Nancy and Karen and Marla regularly, I read a few blogs religiously and leave comments, I Twitter a bit, but my real passion and time on the web is spent writing and working on projects that include my images. The words and the images.

I teach a few courses at SUNY , I supervise student teachers, I present workshops at conferences, I work on HVWP projects and prepare for our SI’s, especially around technology But in the last few months the majority of my clicking, is pure writing, first writing into the day each day with my Word Count Journal and then moving over to my blog: movie reviews, reflections, creative pieces, slices, a moment in a sentence, just pure writing. It does eat into guitar practice, reading and exercise, but it’s a lovely passion. I would never have figured I’d be writing every day for hours.

I remember watching writers in awe. I can’t say I’m in their league but I feel good about being in my league growing, flexing my writing muscle. Pure pleasure and I can’t forget that there is some incentive, there’s a public out there who reads and comments or just reads and moves on, or maybe clicks, looks and closes.

I am so happy to be out in the open and letting my old journals gather dust. I went public one day and never looked back.

And I don’t think I’d be participating in this Comment Challenge if I hadn’t first become a member of Boil Down Your Day/Week and then Sharing a Slice.
What’s really eye-opening as I read new blogs, is to read how many other bloggers have had similar experiences, moving slowly and steadily, deeper and deeper into the blogosphere.

How about you slicer buddies, how have you gotten to where you are now?

Welcome!

I have been writing here for almost two years, enjoying the opportunity to write publicly about what I feel passionate about and since you’ve found your way here, and spent some time reading, I’m wondering if you might like to share a comment, throw out a question or maybe join a discussion.

As teachers and writers, we know that these experiences can be both exciting and isolating and virtual conversations can sow the seeds for new communities and networks.

If you are ready to dive in, you can search for the comment link at the bottom of each post. If you are the first, you will see the words: “no comments.” If others have posted comments, the link will indicate how many comments are there.

This comment link will bring you to a comment box, where you will be asked to fill out some basic information (unless you are logged in as part of the Edublog Community and, therefore, are already known by my blog).

I will know if you leave a comment, I check often and you can rest assured I will respond. Other bloggers might join us and who knows where we might go from there.

You can click below your comment to be notified as well if there’s a response.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will leave a thought behind.

http://technorati.com/tag/comment08

Here’s Michele’s 6 Reasons People Aren’t Commenting on Your Blog

Time for my self-assessment:
1. You sound like a press release.

Okay, I don’t think this applies to me. I write about things I am passionate about. I’m not a company, or a business. I do write a lot about our writing project but I think my tone is very informal and hopefully open to comments and conversation by the HVWP community and beyond.

2. You sound like an infomercial.

I don’t think my blog sounds like an infomercial either. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m selling anything. No products here.

3. You sound like a know-it-all.

I hope not.

Frustration seemed to create an amazing collaboration last year. I wondered about digital storytelling, about its process after returning unsuccessfully to the place I learned the basics.

Kevin Hodgson read my blog reflections and wondered about working to create a site for digital storytellers who were thinking and wondering as well.

How could we explore digital storytelling on the web, collaborating as a community?

Frustration, questions, reflections took us a long way….all the way to the ABC movie collaboration.

I hope the questions are continuing….

4. You haven’t showed them how.

This could be an important one. I remember when I saw Larry F.’s blog remodel and loved his small friendly photo on his sidebar and thanking his readers for stopping by. I borrowed the idea and added a request for a comment but I didn’t explain how to do that.

Whoops…

5. You haven’t created the right atmosphere.

I hope I am creating a comfortable home to visit often, spend time and maybe even leave something behind. I hope I am getting better at this.

I know a comfortable blog when I read one. I love leaving comments on those blogs.

6. You just don’t seem that into it.

I hope my passion comes across here. I love my blog.

So, I am I right here? Can anyone offer me some suggestions?

Bonnie

I confess, I haven’t completed all the comment challenge prompts but I love this challenge! I still need to:

1. comment on a blog outside my niche

2. comment on a blog post I don’t agree with

and maybe something else, but…

I have been thinking deeply about blogging and how I can get even more out of the experience and this post is inspired by Chris Brogan is exploring the power of blog commenting.

Already, it has done wonders for my writing. I blog daily, that means I write daily. At first I was just writing my blog. I wrote about my passion for movies, about my work with the Hudson Valley Writing Project. I shared my digital stories, I created posts that included images and text, I shared posts from blogs I found powerful. I used my blog for collaborations with other bloggers. I fell in love with writing.

Slowly, as I began to read blogs from the NWP Tech Matters community, and got some comments I started reciprocating and the process began. It was slow. I grew impatient and didn’t always consider that to get comments you had to leave comments.

The invitation to participate in the Slice of Life Challenge for the month of March was eye-opening and logical. Usually I was one of 12 or more bloggers writing a life slice on my blog and linking to Stacey’s homepage. I returned often during each day and read other slices appearing. I got to know these writers and they got to know me. We continued after the month ended, with a week of poems and now we write together every Tuesday.

I read their slices and then I read more. And I get comments to my slices and I get more as well. Simple.

Of course there’s other experiences and other communities but regular comments seem to come from those bloggers I have connected with regularly and that takes time.

Beyond the comment there’s the discussion and that’s what I have come to consider during this challenge.

I have been thinking a lot about questions and conversations. I think that’s the next layer to develop, especially as I get ready for another Hudson Valley Writing Project Summer Institute and I’m hoping that edublogs will support me with a way I can create threaded conversations without moving to another network ie.ning.

Feels like I’ve written a lot about all this, but I’m still thinking about this. It’s exciting.