Reflections on blogging
8 September, 2009 § 4 Comments
I started this blog in November of 2008 and have grown as a learner and a writer over this time period. I remember reading a post a while back by Dare Obasanjo where he talks about how blogging affects his learning.
When I write a blog post, I feel implicitly forced to explain my reasoning and do a little deeper digging. From doing this, I’ve come to the conclusion that what separates most people from being considered “knowledgeable” is the amount of investigation that a person is willing to spend.
The same can be applied to researching fixes for a software bug. If a bug is considered a must-fix high-severity bug, the bug is much more likely to get found and fixed by a developer willing to do the research and investigation necessary to find and fix the bug. Further, this developer is likely to gain a “knowledgeable” reputation.
Agree or disagree, let me know in the comments.
JAWS 
I agree with your statement.
But I also believe that sometimes it also depends on the person’s current ‘status’, be it income group, education level etc that will sway people’s opinion.
Also knowledge of facts instead of actual application of the facts can also be misleading. Like when I talk to someone who can remember concepts but doesn’t really know how to apply them.
And then there’s the ‘showing’ of this knowledge. Most people don’t reveal all their ‘abilities’ to people they don’t care to impress.
Hi Clara,
You bring up some interesting points. A first impression can go a long way, and if a person gives off a perception that they are not capable of being knowledgeable (maybe they don’t fit a predetermined stereotype) then they would have a much harder time becoming the ‘go-to’ person.
Also good point with the whole ‘not-caring to show off their knowledge’.
Thanks for the input,
jared
Hi Jared, that seems like a good observation.
To deepen it a little, I’ve read of a study (perhaps it was referenced in “Neuro Web Design” by Weinschenk, but I’m not certain at the moment) in which a class was polled on a similar question (who was the smartest/most knowledgeable) in the class. The response of the survey actually pointed to the people who spoke most vigorously for their position (e.g., the answer they had to the math problem was right!). Test scores, which are probably a more accurate evaluation of this, often showed that the people who were actually the most knowledgeable were not perceived as such by the others, perhaps because they didn’t speak up as much.
If only the people who had the best answers would always speak up…
Hrm, strike that reference. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t NWD, but still can’t place where it was. (Though I remember when I read it: in the back seat of a car on the way to South Carolina. Weird.)