Are we an insular community?
One of the points that was raised in the Lotusphere blogger BOF was that our Notes/Domino blogging community seems to cross-link and comment on each other’s blogs to the point that our community feels very “insular.” Some people expressed concerns about not being able to break in and add their voice.
I can see how some people may get that impression. Our blogging community IS pretty tight-knit, and we DO spend a lot of time reading each other’s opinions and analysis. But I don’t believe it’s because we are trying to exclude anyone. In fact, I think our community is one of the most welcoming when it comes to adding new voices.
I base this on the fact that people are introducing new bloggers all the time on their blogs. Bruce and Chris Byrne are both very good at this, and I know many other people do this as well. And I even base this on my own experiences. When I starting blogging in Sept. of 2003, I got such a great reception. People introduced me on their blogs, and gave me some helpful tips and constructive criticism, and when I read and commented on other blogs, I started seeing people hitting mine based on what I said elsewhere.
The more I posted (on my blog and elsewhere) the more my hitcounts went up, and the more I started seeing my name in other blogrolls. The point is, if you want to join us, start a blog, start posting, and start commenting. That’s all you need to do.
Then at Lotusphere (or a usergroup meeting, or a DevCon etc.), come up and introduce yourself. You’ll find that blogging ends up being a common ground we can start from.
In the two and a half years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen an explosion in Domino bloggers. Just go check out the blogroll at thesickos.com to see how many there are now. And hell, I’m sure that list is missing some people too. The point I’m trying to make is if you want to contribute, you can, and we WANT you to.
Now, the other concern voiced was the problem of “group-think” amongst the community. It’s the thought that we are all going to agree on everything and post the same stuff. I don’t think this could be farther from the truth. The thing about our community is that we are all pretty strong-willed people who have very strong opinions that might not agree. I really like Chris Byrne as a person (and fellow karaoke companion) but I think he would agree that our viewpoints differ QUITE a bit on things. We still respect each other, and each other’s opinions, but there is definitely no group-think there. We are pretty diverse in our thinking too. Just read Rocky Oliver , jonvon , Devin Olson , Rob McDonagh , Domino Preacher , or Volker Weber to see just HOW diverse this group can be. We all have different interests, different opinions and different takes on things. And we aren’t afraid to say how we feel. I think that brings an honesty to our group that quite frankly I haven’t seen in any other community.
And don’t think that just because we like Notes/Domino that we are all drinking the kool-aid all the time. It’s not the case at all. We take IBM/Lotus to task when we need to. Just see my posts on Workplace Services Express if you want proof.
So, in general, I want you to know that we WANT to hear your voice. Start a blog, let us know about it, and you’ll see how welcoming we can be.
February 6, 2006 @ 1:03 pm
I have to say that you guys certainly welcomed me in and got me involved…even being relatively new…and as a result the hit counter has definitely had an upward trend during and since Lotusphere!
February 6, 2006 @ 2:19 pm
I echo Phil’s statements. It was great to meet you and everyone else.
Are we insular? I hardly think so. We let anyone “in”. I know I really felt welcomed.
I don’t know if I would say that a LOT of cross-linking goes on. I do it very rarely and often I will add my own commentary to the mix via my blog. And I have a few readers of my blog who don’t read a lot of the other blogs, but I may feel like something major needs to be shared with them.
I agree wholeheartedly with the “no group-think”. We are a very diverse group. I know that many don’t agree with me on most things. But we all respect each other and if you’ve ever seen some of the discussions at Rocky’s site, we all are very respectable and “tolerant” (for lack of a better word) towards the views of others. It’s a great community!
February 6, 2006 @ 2:51 pm
I’m glad both of you commented, because I think you are great examples of people that I know I at least hung out with this year, in large part due to us being part of the same blogging community. I’m glad you guys felt welcomed.
Now, pay it forward
We all need to KEEP welcoming people to the party…
-Grey
February 6, 2006 @ 6:38 pm
I think I’ve commented on this on other blogs (I’ve been commenting more on others’ blogs than posting on my own since Lotusphere) but it does bear repeating.
I started coming out as a blogger a month or so before Lotusphere happened. I was welcomed by the usual suspects when I was around and being sociable. I didn’t feel excluded in the least.
Being an introvert, it is difficult to spend the day in crowded hallways, crowded sessions, lines for food, crowds around the bar every day and then be interesting and sociable to a group of people that already know each other.
I don’t really have a lot of ‘content’ on my blog still, but when I’m thinking of posting something, I still find it hard to use someone else’s blog as a starting point for fear of contributing to that circular linking echo chamber effect. Eventually, I’ll get there.
February 7, 2006 @ 1:04 am
Manual trackback: http://smokey.rhs.com/web/blog/PowerOfTheSchwartz.nsf/d6plinks/RSCZ-6LS57B
February 7, 2006 @ 6:06 am
Richard, you have to break the habit of pimping your site.
February 7, 2006 @ 9:37 am
Why would I do that, Volker? If we wanted a centralized conversation, we’d all be in the LDD forum.
February 8, 2006 @ 3:52 pm
I don’t blog at all, and I don’t post on any terribly often, but at the same time, I’ve never felt like I couldn’t post. I enjoy reading the different blogs, almost 120 at present that I have in bloglines. (Ok, so a couple are now blocked at work so I can only see what bloglines actually pulls in which is sad but I digress.) At my skill level and skills necessity level, this is all I feel comfortable doing.
I enjoy that everyone feels comfortable commenting on the different blogs and that it sparks more ideas. I’ve seen several topics on one blog flow into another blog and good articles emerge from what is learned. Then others like me who just like to read benefit too no matter where the topic started.