Absolutely right. What makes the internet valuable is not that it's an alternative passive media source, like the radio or the TV. What makes it valuable is that passive readers and listeners become active writers and talkers!

Learning is an active process.

Kia ora Michele.

My heart agrees with your opinion about the learning worth of the blog post. When I consider the statistics, my head tends to disagree. Here's why:

The main difference between a blog post (Web2.0) and a web page (Web1.0) is the functionality of the comment for feedback from readers.

In that this provides a forum for discussion, then that too contributes to the difference. Opinion ceases to be conveyed by a one-way channel.

The practitioners tell us that in any community interaction, such as occurs on a blog post, the provision of content appears mainly from the blogger who posts.

The current and generally accepted ratio of commenters who feedback is according to the 90-9-1 rule. Interpretation of that is that of 100 people with log-on capability in the community there will be 90 who look (and presumably read) 9 who comment from time to time and 1 who adds to the content regularly in some way (either in agreement, disagreement or providing additional content).

I look around the blogosphere and see many blog posts with 0 comments, some months old. I also see some with up to 20 to 30 - these are very rare. Are we to assume that, of all the millions of people around the world, only those who contribute by posting or commenting gain some learning from the blog post?

I know. It's a matter of opinion. But I guess whether you accept the 90-9-1 rule is also a matter of opinion.

I have many colleagues who pour over the blogs and rave about what they've read (learnt?) but extremely few (practically none) actually comment on these blogs. Surely they cannot be mistaken that what they've read isn't worth learning.

As I say, my heart wants to agree with you Michele. My head cannot based on the accumulated evidence, both statistically and anecdotally.

Ka kite

Thanks everyone for your comments!

Ken, I hear what you're saying but I have a couple of thoughts on this.

First I know the stats on spectators vs. commenters vs. bloggers, but I personally believe that these stats represent exactly my point--people are stuck in a Web 1.0 paradigm and these stats reflect that. People passively view content on the web because that's been their experience to this point. I don't think that means that we should just accept that, though.

I'm also not saying that you can't learn a lot from reading blogs or that even bloggers don't end up doing a lot of reading without commenting or blogging themselves. My point is that reading ALONE is not going to really help people really learn. It's only by engaging with the content through comments and blogging themselves that people are actually going to experience the full power of blogging for learning. It's the difference between sitting in a classroom and passively listening to a lecture and actually engaging with the material to do something with it. I may "learn" something by listening to an instructor, but I'm going to learn even more (and likely do something with that learning) if I'm doing more than just listening.

I recognize that we have a long way to go in encouraging people to take a more active role in their own learning. That's what those stats represent. But I feel that it's my personal responsibility to help people see the need to be more actively engaged in their learning processes. I'm no longer comfortable saying "oh, it's OK if you only read blogs and never comment or start your own." That's OK for awhile, but at some point, to really get the full benefit, people have to move on from being passive recipients of information. As Barry pointed out in his great comment above, the process of commenting and producing posts is really what creates learning. I firmly believe this and feel like we need to do more to help other people get this idea, too.

Tēnā koe Michele!

Thanks for that.

It is interesting what you say. The statistics (90-9-1) we're discussing have been gathered over a number of years and some citations go back to the beginning of the century. Much of it is based on studies done with young participants, the so-called 'digital natives', a term that, though I am somewhat uncomfortable with, I use for its relevance.

It would appear that the ratios you mention don't vary significantly with age groups.

Ka kite
from Middle-earth

Thank you Michele for sharing a not too severe rant about blogging. I believe your comments get at that grey area space between reading (lurking) blogs and creating content. The majority of people who read blogs, myself included are primarily lurking but many of these people will take that leap and eventually start producing their own content.

Your blog and the course work you have created at Work Literacy, along with the Connectivism Course offered by Stephen Downes and George Siemens at the University of Manitoba encourage people like me to take more command of their learning by sharing more of themselves on line and contributing to conversations that result in ongoing learning.

Brent

I completely agree that the most learning value comes from taking an interactive part rather than lurking. However, I believe that alot of people get concerned about their privacy on the internet. Me personally, I avoid putting any personally identifiable information up where it is going to be visible. Call me paranoid, or a fear monger, but I see and hear too many horror stories about identity theft because someone left a trail that some deviant followed. It is what I do for a living (keeping companies/people protected, not steal indentities!)

My solution to this?
1 - Get comfortable with a blog by reading it for a while before leaving a comment, you get a feel for the types of people who read it and the person writing it.
2 - Use an alias, dont identify yourself unless your 100% comforatable to do so.
3 - As far as getting maximum learning, I have a notepad by my computer, I take notes about points of interest, write questions that come to me and investigate myself.

Call me old fashioned (I am a gen-yer though) but I really like to be able to physically pick up my notes, flick through them, actually hear the page turn and the paper crinkle, that is part of my learning style because I'm bibliophile, all while sitting in my big comfy reading chair with soft light rather than the glare of the monitor

Hear! Hear!

I read this post a few days ago and knew I needed to come back to comment. By waiting, I got to see all of the other comments, which provide additional insight... and isn't that your point?

It is unfortunate that we don't often comment online, but it is my experience, as a blog reader, that I am frequently pulling bloggers' commentaries into my everyday conversation. Perhaps I agree with the post and want to share, or I disagree with the post and want to engage in a live conversation about it as I mull it over.

But I think the more important point you made is about how much the BLOGGER learns from blogging. If you don't blog, or write a journal, you may not realize how much learning goes into actually writing a post. I sit down and think to myself - I'd like to comment on that article I read... and two hours later, by trying to compose my thoughts in writing, I've finally figured out what I really think about that article I've read. It is the most amazing thing - and something I did not anticipate when I started blogging. Responses to my thoughts have often moved my thinking forward, but these have been just as frequently off-line discussions as online ones. I commented myself on this subject of learning from blogs in this post: http://learningjournal.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/learning-from-blogging/

Thanks for sharing this gentle rant... and thanks, too, to everyone who commented, who enriched my thoughts on this subject.