Thursday 23 June 2011

23 Things for Professional Development: Thing #2

Initially I found the thought of reading and commenting on other people's blogs quite daunting. This was mainly for two reasons:

1) I like reading blogs and learning about new people and things. However, I'm not great at commenting on those blogs, unless I have something really definite and specific to say. I find it hard to just say "hello". I can be a bit like that at conferences too, which is why I find networking tough!

2) I didn't really know where to start. Initially I looked for people working in similar libraries to me (university ones) in the UK, but there are a lot of them. And they are the people I'm most likely to meet in other places.

A couple of things spurred me on and gave me a bit more confidence. Firstly, people commenting on my blog (thanks younggeekylibrarian for being the first!). It gave me a reason to look at other people's blog and say hello - and thanks. Secondly, the thought that if I was going to comment on somebody's blog, it'd be good to say hi to people I'd be unlikely to meet in other circumstances. So I said hi to some bloggers in other countries, working in different types of libraries - as well as some more local bloggers of course.

So far I've said hello to, and begun to read blogs by, an administrator for a study skills support service at the University of Glamorgan, a young American librarian, a librarian in Brisbane and an HR practioner in a small public library. I've started to include these guys blogs on a blog roll, and as I find more I'll add them in. I'm hoping to follow these guys (and others!) as we work our way through the cpd23 course, and hopefully we'll get plenty of support from each other.

5 comments:

  1. Thank you, Anne for saying it is daunting to comment on others' blogs. I find it daunting too. I found it harder to start a blog, though!

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  2. Hi Karen,

    Well, at least you have made a start! I found it a lot less scary once I started commenting a bit more. And as I said in my post, it helps when you get comments back too. :) Good luck with the blog - I'm sure you'll do fine! I think the first step in something like this is usually the hardest...

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  3. I'm so pleased to have found your blog as I have been feeling just the same. Trying to get the wording right can be difficult just like with emails. Hopefully as Anna has said, it will less scary once I get going. Weel done you...and 'hello' is a great place to start!

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  4. nice reading your piece. You have really expressed my feelings. It's really a funny feeling visiting other's blogs (people you haven't really met physically) and writing on thier blogs and then more discouraging not having anybody following you and not been sure someone has read what you've written. Anyway i will continue writing as reading your blog has increased my confidence in knowing I am not the only one...

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  5. Hi guys, I'm glad you found something in my post to help you along! I figured I was probably not the only one feeling that way and thought "why not just say it?!". As I said in my post, I often read other people's blogs and DON'T comment/ become a follower (I tend to use Google Reader rather than become a follower, so you may not know I'm reading your blog). So I think it's best not to get too disheartened if nobody is commenting/ following you (easy to say when you are getting comments, I know). I see blogs as a great place for personal reflection even if nothing else though, so I figure they can always be useful!

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