Been reading reviews about Charles Leadbetter’s book We Think all over the place. Got to get my hands on a copy sooon (come on Rosie, hand it over).

If anyone is trying to get their heads around Web 2.0, social media, new paradigm thinking and all that claptrap – get a look at this. Lovely simple animation. I’m going to use it at the beginning of all my courses. Free event coming up soon to give people a taste of it all. Watch this space.

Guardian review here (including Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky) which also looks reeal good.

Shame The Big Issue review isn’t available online. A different and very valid take on things.

No wonder most journalist’s I meet are annoyed with blogging and What’s Going On with we-think.

No wonder I am compelled to work in and support this space.

So glad Rosie Sherry is in it with me (thanks for the video).

Nice simple, practical guide to getting you blogging right from Dustin Wax at the very useful lifehack.org. Mainly for individuals but the principles are the same for enterprises and others.

Follow the links to explore your own context and see the list at the end to extend your learning.

Highly recommended!

Check it out. 

Here is a helpful take by a PR agency on the 25 main styles of blog. Each style has a case study to check out too.

What they don’t say is that, you can of course use a combination of styles and there are many new forms emerging all the time. Take it to the edge. Be you. That’s all I want to say right now. And as Shel Israel dropped into say on a previous post:

“In Naked Conversations, as I recall, we emphasized that short blogs were more popular and that bloggers who posted brief articles and then posted often, would score well in rankings. We certainly did not intend to say what blogs were MEANT to be. They are meant to be whatever the author chooses them to be.”

Every blog has it’s upside and downside, it’s pros and cons. Each one is unique, hopefully, as it’s creator/s. There’s no magic formula, despite the way these PR folk are trying to package it.

You’ve just got to blog, surf, listen and engage with the blogosphere – and let it all emerge. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. You’ve got to listen to yourself. Hmm, I think I’ve said that before somewhere…

Here’s a living document I prepared for our first three groups of budding bloggers. I feel a collaborative book coming on.

Not sure I see myself in the same light as the company I am keeping in this collection, but some wonderful people to be gaining inspiration from all the same. David Bohm, Carl Rogers, Carl Jung, Natalie Goldberg, Julia Cameron, The Cluetrain folk, Scoble, Meerman Scott (in some order of importance).

We see this as essential reading for anyone on a quest for personal and professional growth through blogging, but it is a very first draft. Stay tuned for more…

Have a read and let me know which quotes resonate most for you…

FREE E-BOOK on the Essence of Authentic Blogging
More posts on writing to help get your words flowing…

Beautiful resources for learning more, much more about communication at New Conversations.

In about 1997 we started working on Global Friends Websites. Way before it’s time. Will post more about that as an anecdote soon. For now, just know that one of the markets for the £10 websites was new parents wanting to share baby photos etc. In so many ways we were anticipating what has since happening. But it’s so often about timing isn’t it. Anyway, here we have the latest addition in our family. Kirby James Gargett… growing up live, in Perth and online. We can share his adventures here. Very interesting to see where things have gone. There are a zillion different examples of baby blogs out there, so we’ll just keep it close to home for now…

A quick note about this very special lady (95 years old and going strong) and the grandson that empowered her. What a team!  We would love to see older people blogging, capturing and sharing their wisdom for the ages, for the world, combating isolation, making new connections, feeling valued.

The same things apply at any age don’t they?

Let’s get back to the root philosophy of blogging.

So David Bohm’s the one. Well one of them. “On Dialogue” takes me back to the core of the work I was doing as an undergrad at Murdoch with Structure, Thought and Reality.

The whole discipline and practice of communication theory never ceases to underpin my thinking and excite me. Guess I chose the right course age 17, no matter how meandering it has been. Or it chose me…

And one day soon I will get focussed on bringing all this deep, rich content into the blogging course more specifically. Want to get much more visual here too. But the wikipedia entry for communication theory is a good place to start.

Now there I am showing Tom Nixon the book at this networking thingy tonight (he’s a bit lovely btw). I’ve been thinking for years how important the Dalai Lama’s words on our need for genuine dialogue were. Something small and inconsequential passing comment like… the only thing that will save humanity from the endless cycle of pain and suffering is… yep, dialogue, or something like that.

Then there HHDL is in the front blurb saying good old Dave Bohm is one of his “scientific gurus”. So I guess we’re on the right path here dear people.

“During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, television, air travel and satellites has woven a network of communications which puts each part of the world into almost instant contact with all the other parts. Yet, in spite of this world-wide system of linkages, there is, at every moment, a general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale.”

The question of how we can communicate better is at the heart of On Dialogue. This revised and expanded edition is the most comprehensive documentation to date of best-selling author David Bohm’s dialogical world view.

I’m going to reflect and share more from it as I go on. For now, here’s the link for those that just know they have to get into it now.

I’m delighted that his name hides “ohm” (mani padme hum) in something Oppenheimer, David and friends helped blow the world up with, before they saw they light… He became a real peacenik after all.

All seems rather spooky and perfect from where I’m sitting <grin>.

Some great tips here for all budding bloggers by net guru and writer Cory Doctorow. Well worth viewing to get the real meaning, but here’s the top three tips:

1. write headines like a newswire writer, ie. be specific, short and sweet
2. open with a traditional news style lead paragraph with who, where, what, why, when – or at least the key information right up front.
3. respect your readers.

Or so Cory says. Click through to also consider what Jakob Nielsen has to say about making web pages user-friendly.

Name of course: Blog Your World (“Blogging”)
Tutor: Libby Davy
Enquiries: 01273 540 023 or 07968 687 107 (Mon-Fri 8am – 7pm)

NEW CLASS TIMES & START DATE

Eight weeks in a row (not including half-term school holiday)

Monday mornings 10-12 noon
8 October – 3 December
or
Tuesday evening 7-9pm
2 October – 27 November

Feel free to phone and discuss your personal, group or organisational blogging goals or clarify any element of the course. I will be working with you to deliver a personalised learning programme that meets the goals you set after further research and reflection.

Content of course

• Learning a new way to make the most of the internet
• Developing a writing practice
• Enhancing your own ability for life-long learning
• Promoting yourself, your organisation or a project you are working on
• Taking control of your ability to publish what you want, when you want online
• Looking for a feedback mechanism for research, communications, marketing.
• Finding a new way to collect, organise, reflect on and share you interests and work.

Blogs are websites you add to regularly and easily, and are like private/public journals, but a whole lot more. Blogs (or web logs) can include words, images, sound and links as well as comments back from your new-found audience. This is your chance to find out what blogging is all about and get your very own (or a group) blog working for you. Blogging is an effective, profound new way for you or a group to communicate, connect, learn and be heard via the power of the internet.

Get your own blog hosted free on the internet within just a few weeks. It can include words, images, sound, links and comments back from your new-found audience. Publish instantly and easily – in your own way, in your own time. Develop greater confidence in expressing yourself, in a supportive and friendly environment. Share ideas and inspiration with a like-minded local or global community. Enhance your public profile.

Your teacher Libby Davy has over a decade’s experience working professionally and teaching communications. Libby is an awarded short-story writer and has had her work broadcast on national radio. For many years, Libby worked in strategic communications, marketing, organizational development, photograhy and business coaching. She has experience in planning and executing communications campaigns across most industry and community sectors. Libby is now doing an MA in Person Centred Education at Sussex University to extend her thinking around education.

By the end of the course, you will have found your voice and be confidently blogging.

Who is it for: (who, what level, what previous experience)

The course is suitable for absolute beginners and those new to blogging. Experienced bloggers should attend the follow-on course.

For anyone interested in blogging for personal, community, academic, creative, business or organisational growth.

You do not need to:
• have set-up a blog before
• be an experienced writer (as you will be developing your own style in a safe, expansive way).

You do need to:
• be willing to learn with yourself, your co-learner, your teacher, your extended community.
• have used computers before for internet searching and word processing.

If in doubt, contact your teacher direct at authenticblogging.com

What will I learn?

• How to create a blog (or weblog) from beginning to end.
• How to modify templates to suit your project.
• What a blog is, and is not.
• How to express yourself more confidently using a range of media (words, images, sound files, links).
• How develop and maintain a regular blogging practice.
• How to inspire, collect and organize your material and reflect on your area of interest with private or public posts.
• How to connect with like-minded people and learn within a community – in the classroom, online and around the world.
• How to be published.
• How to increase interest in your work, research, project or organisation.
• How to optimize your blog to increase the attention it gets, eg. Google ranking.

The course will involve group discussion, analysis of example blogs, self managed learning, individual support, some homework, online help for technical aspects, review sessions and an ongoing community to draw from and continue the learning journey in safe, appropriate, fulfilling and expansive ways.

Check out what our new friends at NixonMcInnes have got to say about blogging and social media in general. We love those guys, even though we’ve only just met (some of) them. (Hi Tom! Congratulations Will.)