My Posts are too Long

Earlier this week, I shared a post that generated a lot of views. The title, "I Love my Job, but maybe it's because I am doing it Wrong", probably had something to do with it. I also tagged some colleagues who generously commented and retweeted it. As a result, it had over 100 interactions in the first day.

That's a great feeling.

Creating something, sharing it, and then seeing it gain traction. One of the great joys you can experience in life (and an essential key to happiness) is being creative. That euphoria is magnified immeasurably when your creation finds an audience. In a few weeks, I am going to be working with some Grade 7s & 8's on Blogging - and I want them to experience that pleasure.

One of the most popular educator blogs out there belongs to Seth Godin @ThisIsSethsBlog. There are a few things he does well and I plan on sharing them with students.

• His posts are frequent - He puts one up nearly every day.
• His titles are catchy - On January 22, he posted The Thing about Chickens - how can I not click on that?
• His posts are short - Some say that you shouldn't have to scroll more than twice when you explore a blog. He has some that are entirely scroll-free.

Not every post is a game changer - I don't think that approach is sustainable. Not every post is specific to education - I think that gives him some flexibility. Some of the posts generate questions rather than offering answers.

So, I am going to try his approach and then share it with my students. 

• I am going to try to post something every day for 7 straight days. 
• I'll try to include a catchy title...but, most importantly...
• I'll be frugal with my words.
• I'm also trying this new, bigger font. Is it better?

As an M.C. at a wedding I attended said (in a warm, Glasweigian brogue) 

"Speeches should be like a skirt...or a kilt...long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep your attention."

And, no, I'm not sharing that advice with my students. ;-)