After reading "
Do We Value People, or Just The Content They Share" by
+Bill Ferriter I found myself pondering the human side of learning networks. Bill's post has me vacillating both ways. On one hand I say
who cares if people just skim information from others and on the other hand, I understand that the vitality and sustainability of robust networks will be lost if members don't put in more than they take out.
Create Content
The best way, in my opinion, to replenish the stores of information is to be a content creator yourself. Don't just rely on others to find and share the good stuff- make it yourself. Better yet work on something with someone else and create content together! It is obvious to me why many don't create content themselves, it is because it is hard and can be very time consuming. Take writing a blog post for example. Could take an hour or a week, same goes for a comment on someone's blog. Thinking can be difficult and that is why less people create than consume. But learning is why most of us have cultivated a personal network to begin with, so make sure to give back by creating value that others will find useful and might inspire them to pay it forward and create their own content.
Digital Citizenship
My big take away from Bill's post is that this situation is only a small part of a larger context on internet citizenship. Twenty years later we are still in a frontier where users are still determining how to use this vast and very flexible network. We live in a "like for like" culture now and it is up to us as the inhabitants of the net to enrich the experience- now is not the time to shy away and commit to the "
who cares if people just skim information" mindset. I applaud people like
+William Chamberlain who day in and day out shares his passion about student blogging, challenging people to not only blog but comment regularly thus breaking the "like for like" cycle. Educators like
+barry saide regularly collaborate with others in their learning network by co-writing articles for national educational journals. I wish more educators were like them- ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and do the heavy lifting of learning and growing together.
What Will You Give?
I want you to read Bill's post linked at the beginning of this post and think long and hard about what you will do to enrich your network. If you are like me, you rely on those in your circles not only to read interesting post and get great links, but to have conversations, share frustrations and just find companionship. Our networks are intricate webs, which as Bill points out, are built by people. So do everyone a favor and give back more than you take.
