The Bamboo Project Blog

Comment Challenge Day 16: Go Back and Catch Up on Something

We're here at a little over the halfway point in our 31 Day Comment Challenge and from what I can see, a lot of you are feeling a little behind. Worse, you're totally stressing about it, too! Don't put so much pressure on yourselves, people--this should be fun!

Today's challenge should make the perfectionists feel a little better. Your task is to go back through the previous 15 days, find an activity you didn't do yet, and go do it. That's all. Very simple. If you blog about it, remember to tag your post with "comment08."

If you're an overachiever who's managed to keep up with every day's activity, then consider today a day of rest. We're heading into the second half of the Challenge, so now may be a good time to take a little break.

Shouldn't We All Be Learning Digital Literacy Skills?

A few weeks back, I was doing some thinking about 21st century workplace literacy and wondering why edubloggers and workplace learning bloggers weren't having more conversations about what constitutes "literacy" in a radically changed workplace. I would argue that by anyone's definition, digital literacy should be part of what we mean when we talk about the skills that all workers need to be successful. I'd go so far as to say that these are skills that would benefit all citizens, whether they're working or not.

Now I see that Vicki Davis has embarked on a project to build the digital skills of her young students through  "Digiteen," which she's set up to teach the skills identified in Digital Citizenship in Schools by Mike Ribble and Gerald Baily. They are:

1. Student Learning and Academic Performance

1A: Digital Access-- full electronic participation in society
1B: Digital Communication--the electronic exchange of information  
1C:  Digital Literacy-- the capability to use digital technology and knowing when and how to use it.

2. Student Environment and Student Behaviour

2A:  Digital Security and Safety-- the precautions that all technology users must take to guarantee their personal safety and the security of their network
2B:  Digital Etiquette--the standards of conduct expected by other digital technology users
2C: Digital Rights and Responsibilities--the privileges and freedoms extended to all digital technology users, and the behavioural expectations that come with them.

3. Student Life Outside the School Environment

3A: Digital Law-- the legal rights and restrictions governing technology use
3B: Digital Health and Wellnessthe elements of physical and psychological well-being related to digital technology use
3C:  Digital Commerce--the buying and selling of goods online

Looking at this list I have three questions:

• Shouldn't "adults" have these skills too?
• Do they?
• If we think that these skills are important, what are we doing to make sure that people actually have them?

What do you think?

Comment Challenge Day 15: Give a Comment Award

At Scott McLeod's suggestion, for today's task, you're going to give out a "Comment Award" to your favorite commenter (or commenters), recognizing them for their contributions to conversation in the blogosphere. You decide the parameters for your award--is it the quality of their comments? Or the questions they ask? Sometimes we value commenters because they challenge us to think or because they can be counted on to create community with other commenters. Whatever your reasons for making the award, today's your day to recognize the commenters you love the most. Check out Scott's blog for a Fantastic Commenter badge. Be sure to tag your post with "comment08." If you're not currently blogging, consider emailing a commenter you enjoy on someone else's blog. We all like some recognition!

Comment Challenge Day 14: Turn Your Blog Over to Your Readers

Yesterday you wrote a post reflecting on comments you received on your own blog or that you read elsewhere. Today you're going to turn your blog over to your readers and ask them to write a post through the comment section. This is something that Chris Brogan does frequently. He'll ask a question in a post and then have his readers respond in comments. Take a look at this post to see what I mean. According to Chris, this usually results in a better post than he could have written himself.

The best way to do this is to come up with a compelling question that people want to respond to. It might be to ask for people's ideas on how to handle a particular situation. Or you could ask about their favorite tools or their favorite blogs related to a particular topic. Just come up with something that people tend to have an opinion on and then put it out there. Be sure to tag it with "comment08."

THEN. . . go find a few other Comment Challenge Participants and comment on their blogs to help them build their posts. Remember, this is all about community.

Comment Challenge Day 13: Write a Blog Post Using Comments

From what I've seen so far, during the past two weeks, most of us have expanded our commenting awareness in some amazing ways. We've discovered new blogs and are interacting more than we might have in the past, which is one of the great things that happens when we become more intentional about building community through commenting.

One thing I've noticed in reviewing people's blogs is that many of us use our blogs for reflection and learning. Often we do this by responding to a blog post written by another blogger. But we can also do this based on comments.

For today's task, we're going to write a blog post that responds to comments. This can be a post that summarizes or reflects on comments we've received on our own blogs. I did a version of that here where I wrote a post that summarized reader suggestions for starting a career in a nonprofit. And here's an example of a post I wrote responding to several comments I received related to a series I wrote on scarcity and abundance thinking. You could also write a post responding to a comment or comments you read at another blog.

This is a great way to keep conversations going because often people's thoughts can get lost in the comments, but by you elevating them to a blog post, they get more attention and discussion. They also encourage you to reflect more deeply on the comments you receive--maybe allowing you to identify some trends in comments or to challenge something in your thought patterns.

After you write your post, be sure to tag it with "comment08."

Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants

It's my turn to host the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, which was an open call this time. So without further ado, here are this week's posts:

• Another High Impact Mother's Day Promotion from Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention.

• Innovative Nonprofit Matches Retirees with Public Service from Joanne Fritz.

• Does Having a Celebrity Onboard Really Help Your Cause? from Amy Kincaid of Fundraising Breakthroughs.

• You Need to Write Like a Human Being from Jeff Brooks of Donor Power Blog.

• Has Facebook Jumped the Shark as a Political Tool? from Colin Delaney of e.politics.

• Louis Vuitton Wants You to Stop Talking About Them from Beth Dunn of Small Dots.

• IBM CEO Survey: Large Increase of Investment in Social Responsibility Likely Over Next Three Years form Paul Jones of Cause-Related Marketing

If you want automatic notification each time the Carnival is posted, sign up here for the feed.  Next week's Carnival will be hosted by Rosetta Thurman of Perspectives from the Pipeline.

Comment Challenge Day 12: Make Sure Your Blog Technology is "Comment Friendly"

For the past few days, we've been looking at how to make your blog more "comment-friendly" by doing an audit of your blog for how it invites comments and by developing a comment policy.

In today's activity, you'll be looking at how the technology on your blog may or may not be inviting comments. Check out this post about some of the difficulties Silvia has seen in trying to leave comments at other blogs and make sure that your blog isn't having these problems. Also review Sue Waters' post on the matter. Then see what you can do to address any of these issues on your own blog. If you'd like, blog about what you discover, being sure to tag with "comment08."

Comment Challenge Day 11: Write a Blog Comment Policy

As a blogger, you're responsible for the overall tone of your blog and the comments that are left there. Like a party host, you create a particular kind of atmosphere on your blog and when it comes to commenting, having a comment policy is the best way for you to establish commenting ground rules.

In this activity, you're going to write a comment policy for your blog. If you have one already, you're going to review it and make any revisions you think are necessary after reviewing some of the following articles and thinking through what you've learned from your own experiences as a commenter.

• Does Your Blog Have a Comment Policy?
• Comments on Comments
• Sample Terms of Use
• A Newbie Guide to the Bamboo Project --this includes my comment policy and instructions on how to comment. You'll see that I'm pretty loose and have had no problems.

Blog about your experience in developing a comment policy, along with a link to your policy so we can see samples. If you find policies on other blogs that you like, share those, too. Be sure to tag your post with "comment08."

Comment Challenge Day 10: Do a Comment Audit on Your Own Blog

So far in the challenge, we've been focusing on making comments. But most of us are also bloggers and we need to consider what we're doing to invite conversations on our own blogs. Are we doing all that we can to build a sense of community that invites people to leave us comments?

For today's task, review this post on 6 Reasons People Aren't Commenting on Your Blog. Then audit your blog to see if you're falling into any of these traps. If you're feeling particularly brave, ask a fellow blogger or even your readers to give you feedback on how well you're doing at making people feel welcome to leave comments on your blog. Then reflect on what you've learned and try to address any of the issues you identify. Be sure to tag your post with "comment08."

Comment Challenge Day Nine: Should We Be Commenting on Blogs?

Now that we've spent several days trying to build up conversations through blog comments, I'm going to challenge you a little with a question--should we be using the commenting capacity to generate conversations between bloggers, or should we be interacting through our blog posts?

Check out this article and the many references to bloggers who think that comments should be disabled on blogs. Read through those posts and consider whether or not you think it's better to build community through comments or through conversations occurring across blogs--or maybe a combination of both. What, to your mind, is the purpose of comments on blogs and are we better served by encouraging people to respond to ideas on our blogs or over on their own blogs? Then write a post on your reflections. Be sure to tag it with "comment08."