Sometimes I wonder if the my Google Reader is a mistake. I see everything in the same format. I rush through posts, leaving few comments and yet getting more from all of it. I analyze the thoughts of various bloggers in light of one another, trying my best to figure out what I believe about education. And it works beautifully. The Google Reader is great for analyzing, synthesizing, summarizing and doing whatever else is necessary for consuming information.
The thing is, I'm not sure I want to be a consumer of information. I'm not sure I want my own words being consumed for that matter. I'm thinking maybe this whole blogging thing isn't about pedaling a product.
So, tonight I decided to read a few blogs. I didn't read a few blog posts. I read a few blogs. I saw their content within a context. I listened longer, within the visual aesthetic they had chosen for themselves. I read three of my favorite bloggers and began to see what I had been missing.
If Twitter is a crowded cocktail party and my Google Reader is a potluck, spending some time actually reading a few blogs felt a bit like hanging out by a campfire. Not the same, I realize. It's all ones and zeroes and whatnot. But really, it was nice to read a few blogs and really pay attention this time 'round.
I actually don't use Google reader very much. I tend to read my blogs the "old fashioned" way. I have folders in my Firefox bookmarks and within them are several blogs or websites divided by subject. Granted, I don't read them all on a daily basis, but I try to keep up.
Personally, I like the discovery of a new blog and the getting to know the person behind it, kind of in the manner you described. I was thinking about how long I've been writing and reading blogs online and at this point it's been a decade, which is kind of incredible. And I still love the fun of getting hooked into someone's blog with a recent post (often something someone linked to via Twitter or Facebook) and then going back and reading as much as I can, or pieces that I find interesting. I have followed podcasts the same way.
Btw, for the life of me, I can't remember how I found your stuff. I've read quite a bit of it, though.
I think our common link was Doyle, but I'm not sure. He had us both on his blog roll and I think we both commented on one of his posts. Not sure, but I think that might have been it. Crazy, because you are in my "people I want to have a pint with someday" list.
In my point of view an educational system is n0t worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but does not teach them how to make a life.