Over break, I was talking writing with two of my
brothers, both of whom are prolific tweeters and Facebook posters. I follow them both, and I’m regularly chagrined
by what they’re posting. From detailed
descriptions of their family happenings to vitriolic spouts about politicians
new and old. And then they get comments –
some love from the same folks, lots of hate from the same folks. It’s as if they’re putting out a point of
view and waiting for the slings and arrows.
“I’m not sure I want to write in that space,” I shared. “Doesn’t sound fun."
And so I haven’t written in that space and have had
difficulty finding a social media voice – most of my tweets are re-tweets or
responses in edchats, and I don’t feel confident enough to send my opinions
into people’s feeds lest I get hammered by the mouth breathers (phrase taken
from Stranger Things).
This has not always been the case for me. I’ve been writing for years – articles,
policy, reports, quips – and published some stuff locally and nationally. Typically,
my writing has been about the classroom, school house stories or edufield
policy. I write sometimes with an edge,
but always from a defined, results-centered, point of view with evidence to
back it up. And it’s generally been well
received.
But my concern is that something in the readership’s
expectations has changed. They seem more
ready to fight than to read, speak their minds rather than challenge them. So much of public writing seems to have
become about being right rather than real.
So that’s where I’m at with this blogging thing. I want to publish, I want feedback, and I’m
hoping there’s an audience out there who wants to read, grow, build ideas
rather than dismiss them. And can help
me do the same.