The UEN Technical Summit is this week. There are over 130 participants. It's been fun to walk the EBC halls the past few days and run into many of the technical people that we usually deal with over the phone.

This morning I was anxious to attend the Blogging Panel discussion lead by Phil Windley Unfortunately Phil was not able to attend. That was disappointing. Barry read a statement sent by Phil. I invited Rich Finlinson to attend and listen. It was good that he was present.

After Barry's remarks I asked to take some time. I had the opportunity to give my perspective about Blogging. I began by asking if anyone in the audience was currently creating a weblog. Miles, USU, said that he used a weblog to document some elements of his network. He also expressed that he felt the only valid use for a weblog is if what you have to say is dynamic and unique. Everyone else in the audience seemed to hold the same opinion.

During the course of the next hour we had a lively discussion. I talked about my recent Report Card blog that caused some restlessness at UEN. Rich pointed out that because he had read all of my Scorecard posts that if asked his opinion he would not only know how I felt but he would also be an advocate for my viewpoint.

I realize after that fact that perhaps the most critical benefit to blogging is the relationships, the sense of community, that we develop by linking to each other and sharing our ideas. I also realize that some of the simple ideas carry the greatest impact.

Yes, it would be great if every insight I had was dynamic and unique. And yes, some of us are better than others at expressing our thoughts. But it is the collective ability to express that make this so much fun.

Afterward Rich and I walked out together. Rich said something like, "isn't it interesting how things turn out. You go to learn something and end up teaching."

That experience is somewhat the inverse of Blogging. It seems that I've set out to teach and found out that I've learned a few things...........
6:02:31 PM    comment []