What a great story. Blogs can be a powerful tool! I am excited to be involved in creating a blog for NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation. In a similar fashion, we hope to make this blog a go to blog for information on entrepreneurship and education. It’s still in development, but we hope to have it polished soon. I am also interested in emerging technologies, I’ll be sure to check back often for you thoughts on new tools.

Thanks,
Julie
http://youngentrepreneurfoundation.wordpress.com

I’m taking another section of 246 at SJSU this semester, and the focus of my own blog – this past week, anyway – has been on building a successful blog. I’ve posted three times about it over the last several days, the last one being a link to this post (with some commentary). Up until two weeks ago the subject had never occurred to me much.

I’m taking part of your advice immediately by sticking my neck out and submitting this comment. Here we go, huh?

I think what really set your blog apart (aside from your excellent writing style) is how much it changed once you got a job. Many of the blogs out there cry about why we should all be using 2.0 and, frankly, haven’t said much in many years. When you began at Norwich, it was fascinating to read about why some of your social software initiatives didn’t work, how things happened in real life and how your ideas changed due to feedback and experimentation. I think the same can held true for Jessamyn. Her earlier versions of Librarian.Net were funny, but then she got a job in rural Vermont, where it appears they had more trouble with electricity than trying the latest thing. Her later posts on the digital divide were great and really useful.

I like how you remained forward thinking and still a bit tempered with how the process works. THAT makes for good reading!

Best of luck with your LIS program! I think I’ll be teaching my class on social software again next Fall at SJSU, so maybe our paths will cross!

I’m new to LIS and am starting the MLIS program at SJSU this fall. I’ve been reading your blog for a few months and, although some of it is over my head, have picked up things that have been helpful in understanding the big picture. (Thanks.)

I was wondering: Did your blog play any part as you interviewed and subsequently landed your current job?

Trish

It’s not really consistent with my personality to blog anonymously or pseudonymously. However, it probably is a good way to start blogging if you’re nervous about the whole thing, though, if you build up a following and then start a blog under your real name, you’ll have to build your reputation from scratch.

I’m a long-time lurker and some-time commenter. Did you ever blog anonymously or under a pseudonym? I notice that your “Code Wants To Be Free” post at archive.org has your name in the header, but I wonder if ever you gave blogging a go under a different name?

I ask because one of my IS interests lies in the nature of identity and anonymity on the internet, and their effects on veracity and authority. I notice that many established bloggers spend some time writing under a pseudonym before gaining the confidence to “go live” with their real name, and I wonder what your thoughts might be on this subject.

-ms

I hadn’t heard of Website watcher, Phillip, thanks for mentioning it!