Putting yourself out there in a nice way Thingy #7

My difficulty with writing responses to blog posts in the pasts is the lack of response. Unfortunately for me I am one of those people who is a conversation addict. You know who we are. We're the guy you drive by on the freeway who's shouting at his radio. The invention of the bluetooth has made us a little less obvious but we're out there. We're that person in the doctor's office who can't not talk to you. We have to fill the void. We'll ask you about the weather, your kids, your dog, what embarrassing procedure you are having done, the meaningless drivel written on your t-shirt, we can't let it rest. We just can't stand the silence. We take it as a personal affront to human dignity that you are not helping us fill the conversational void. Don't try to avoid us, we'll follow you. My experience with blogs has been maddeningly hit and miss. Sometimes you will hit the incredibly dedicated blogger who answers anyone. Harry Shearer on Huffington post is one of those. Post how you love New Orleans and hate what happened during Hurricane Katrina and he is your friend for life. He'll email you his favorite gumbo recipe and invite you to spend Mardi Gras week at his house. We love them.

The flip side of that is the drive by blogger, they post it and forget it. Most likely it was a late night venting experience for them that they have long since forgotten. It is a good possibility that they've forgotten they have a blog and will never even read your post. They drive us crazy. Unless you write something really snarky ( along the lines of "Dear Moron, did you write this post in crayon before transferring it to your pitiful excuse for a blog?") the author tends to just read and go on. You aren't that important to them and your comment is even less so. We hate them. They are the bane of our existence. I am convinced that this is the foundation for 95% of the incivility on the internet. Do not ignore us. We become quite pithy and have online access to all the best thesauruses ( or is it thesauri?). We will post comments so full of bile and anger it will melt your hard drive. When I say we I, of course, mean all of those other people. I am not snarky. Heaven forbid, this gets you banned from sites and that simply will not do.

Fortunately for all of us most blogs hit the middle ground. I haven't found many blogs where the authors have the time to respond meaningfully to all of the posted responses. It is very time consuming. If you write something thoughtful and well crafted you will generally get a response. Be civil and that ups your chances. I think you have to be especially dedicated when using blogging in the classroom in order to make sure no one feels left out of the conversation. I posted on articles that haven't gotten much in the way of response and I wonder what the response to my posts will be. Ah well, just have to wait and see if I'm deemed worthy. Not that I'm waiting by the computer or anything, that would be pitiful.