Today, while surfing the internet and reading blogs on other interesting sites, it occured to me that our team has a blog, and that I had not visited our blogspot in a while. I located the link from my Google history, but had difficultly logging in-- user names and passwords are easily forgotten when you don't stop by often, you know.
I quickly skimmed the list of bloggers on the home page, and my heart sank as I noted the various time frames since last visits. 4 months, 3 months, 2 months, 6 weeks. The pdscni blogspot felt like a ghost town or some devastated country after a horrendous nuclear catastrophe. The place that was once filled with vibrant chatter and links to videos and articles was basically quiet. Still. A mere shadow of its former self. An aging artifact to remind others of what once was or might nevermore be. It made me wonder, "what happened here?"
My heart skipped a beat when I discovered a sign of life-- four entries had been posted within the past four weeks! One-by-one, I read each entry-- fighting back feelings of nostalgia...wanting to respond but, for most, it was too late. I read a few more entries and was refreshed by the aging thoughts and comments, and by the memories of what had been.
Has the busyness of the day to day grind taken us away from something that has added so much value to our work and team? We MUST rebuild this place. But how? Please share your ideas and help us start the process.
16 years ago
i think the conversation regarding purpose has been a good one, because as soon as we realize there isn't one for something we do, it tends to mark the end of doing it. however, i believe the converse to be true as well - as soon as we are working on something purposefully, nothing can hold us back from diving in and investing ourselves. perhaps it's time to look at the purpose and right tool to implement it. if blogger isn't what we want to use, then what? i know there is a webtool out there that will suit our needs and work as an organizing force for our professional blogs...but where is it?
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's a matter of purpose but also of time. I think Palooza consumed us, but now that it is over, we can start blogging again!
ReplyDeletehtate - you echo the concerns of many team members but aren't we always going to busy? is there ever enough time? i don't say this as a sort of indictment, but i'm sure it sounds that way. i remember hearing that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but my guess is that during those 21 days whatever you are trying to make a habit feels like anything but. i guess it comes down to what you feel like making a commitment to and invest that type of time.
ReplyDeleteWow. I must admit after PALOOZA time seemed to move at warp speed and I neglected reading anyone's blog. I agree we must invest the committment and time really should not be a factor. OK. I pledge to form a new habit Today is day 1 of the 21 day change-over.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Dan. I certainly have not put tecnology on the back burner, however. For my upcoming Marzano presentation at the Leadership Institute - I've incoporated a video clip on Metaphors, and also tapped into an existing voicethread on Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition by adding my own comments to the collection. Like you MTB, I've been surfing for info on other blog sites. Lately it seemed there has not been a driving need to go to our own C & I Blog. Perhaps we should make bumper stickers to hang in our cubbies that say "Beef up the Blog"!
ReplyDeletecheryl - looking forward to seeing that, i hope we are all making plans to take big digital steps this fall. when we have a chance to catch our breath in november i hope we can reflect, as a team, and look at how we are indeed doing things differently. i suppose if people aren't willing to find time to talk about it, the old adage "actions speak louder than words" is going to be the true test. if we're not talking/blogging about it, will we still do it? can a blog post serve as a commitment of some sort to light a fire for action?
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