Thinking Out Loud

Some of my best writing is in response to other people's blogs. I must get in the habit of turning my comments on other people's blogs into articles of my own. Here is an attempt at doing so...

A recent Will Richardson blog hipped me to a teacher named Dan Meyer who videoblogs.

Does this guy have a crew? I can't find the time or bandwidth to point a tripod at my keynotes. If I do, I can't find the time to edit the video and put it online. People ask me if every one of my sessions will be uStreamed. I use my computer for presentations and unless I want to publish a surveillance video, I can't control the camera while I'm presenting either.

Keeping my content current, amusing and maintaining a sense of narrative is difficult enough. I'm not Al Franken reporting for Weekend Update from his One Man Mobile Uplink.



I marvel at the output of people like Meyer, but am not sure that I find the content particularly compelling. Questions such as the following pop into mind:

• Who is HIS audience?
• Why should we care about his day?
• Is the content interesting or the production values enviable? etc...

I'm grappling with another problem that may be related, but is causing me mental paralysis. I have too much I want to say, write and blog. This leaves me obsessing about what to do first and I don't get around to doing any of it.

I also face the questions of:

• Who is MY audience?

• Why should people care what I think?

• Shouldn't I spend my time writing my book or magazine articles?
Isn't writing a book a lousy return on investment?

• Why won't magazine editors leave my jokes and personal "voice" in my articles?

• Will I be "the mean guy" because I don't follow the herd?

• Why don't people understand that just because I debunk the shoulder-deep BS in edtech that I am an unapologetic advocate for its (largely unrealized) potential and that I get up every day to make the world a better place for kids?