The Manifesto

As it turns out, the phrase slow bogging has been in existence since 2006 and seems to originate from a writing experiment started by Todd Sieling, a software product designer and amateur photographer from Vancouver, British Columbia (Sieling, 2008).

Sieling’s notion of slow blogging (Sieling, 2006) has been discussed by a range of different sources; most notably the New York Times (2008), in an article in that also chronicles the work of Barbara Ganley and others.  Sieling offers perhaps the most concise explanation of slow blogging in his manifesto of 6 tenets, with the first two being the most compelling – at least to me personally:

1. …[Slow blogging] is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly, and that many thoughts are best served after being fully baked and worded in an even temperament.
2. Slow Blogging is speaking like it matters, like the pixels that give your words form are precious and rare.

Slow blogging, Sieling continues, is about giving your thoughts time to solidify and mature, and is a direct rejection of the attitude that “blog early, blog often, and Google will reward you.”

Barbara Ganely (2006) refers to slow blogging as a reflective practice that is “both a return to thinker-to-thinker letter-writing and a move forward into hypertext and multimedia expression” and echoes Sieling’s emphasis on concept maturation and exposition:

“It takes time for the many loose strands of thought to converge into a unified post; it takes a lot of effort, a lot of energy, and a lot ( I know, I know sometimes too much) writing.”

For Chris Lott (2008), slow blogging amounts to a meditative experience that he likens to mindful wandering:

“What is the process of creating a slow blog entry (or a content-centric web meander) if not an opportunity for reflection and practice and, ultimately, mindful wandering? If we listen to our thinking, following the connections as they come and searching for the inclusions that feel right- and craft our words with intent- we are engaged in the best kind of creative activity.”

What each of these posts has in common is a clear sense of care for the message, a deep contemplation of and respect for language and its subtle connotations, and a demonstrated interest in writing as a craft.

My Take on Slow Blogging

To me, slow blogging is about making your words count; being deliberate in language and tone, thorough in exposition and clear in meaning.  It’s about taking the time to clarify your thoughts in your own mind by any means necessary – contemplation, meditation, brainstorm, discussion, research – and then ensuring your writing effectively conveys your message and achieves the desired impact.

Importantly it’s also about the ecstasy and enjoyment of the creative process; and the exploring of a concept or idea from the initial spark at its inception through development to ultimate realisation and completion.  It’s about recognising writing as a living, breathing, growing and changing process, rather than simply the output of an end product

When we write, we fuse aspects of ourselves in text for the purposes of conveying our perspectives on the world – and everyone and everything within it – to others, that they might come to understand a little bit of who we are and what we believe.  It stands to reason then that we take as much time as is required to ensure we do our message – and thus ourselves – justice.

References:

Ganley, Barbara (2006). “Slow Blogging: Context, Transitions and Traditions (Back from Illinois, Part Two: Setting Up The Classroom Community)”, The New BGBlogging, 14 November 2006.  Accessed on 3 January 2009 from http://bgblogging.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/slow-blogging-context-transitions-and-traditions-back-from-illinois-part-two-setting-up-the-classroom-community/

Lott, Chris (2008). “I Am a Slow Blog”,  Ruminate, 8 October 2008.  Accessed on 3 January from http://www.chrislott.org/2008/10/08/i-am-a-slow-blog/

Otterman, Sharon (2008). “Haste, Scorned: Blogging at a Snail’s Pace” New York Times, 23 November 2008; accessed on 3 January 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/fashion/23slowblog.html

Sieling, Todd (2006). “Manifesto”. Slow Blog.  Accessed on 3 January 2009 from http://toddsieling.com/slowblog/?page_id=10

Sieling, Todd (2008). “About”. Slow Blog.  Accessed on 3 January 2009 from http://toddsieling.com/slowblog/?page_id=2

“I read an article in a daily paper…about slow blogging. The article said that slow blogging had been a very popular idea, but that the person who had originally raised the whole idea of slow blogging now no longer blogged, presumably (according to the article) because people got fed up of waiting for the next blog post. This is an interesting dilemma – don’t you think? On the one hand we need time to be reflective, or simply to spend time away from the computer and on the other, if we don’t post on a fairly regular basis then no-one will read our posts anyhow!”

I’ve seen this train of thought expressed before but haven’t ever jumped into a discussion on the matter, but I think it’s an important one to consider – especially in the realm of educational blogging – so I responded with a fairly long comment.

In the interests of inspiring more widespread discussion on the matter I’m including the bulk of my comment below, but I’d encourage you to comment on Jenny’s post since she get’s credit for starting the thread.  Alternatively, be sure to send us both a trackback if you write about this so we can read your thoughts.

…In my view the core readers will stay with a blog no matter how long the period between posts. When I find a blogger I identify with – or better still, connect with – I’m happy to wait for the next post, so long as there is a next post.

I think this is particularly true in edu-blogging, since a core and critical aspect of the dialogue is to ensure the content is as accurate and well-considered as possible. Sometimes building conceptual connections takes time, and I think we owe it to ourselves as learners to leave as much time as is necessary to maximise the learning experiences.

In terms of Connectivism I find too that bloggers can connect with one another through other means than just blogging – Twitter, forums, YouTube, commenting, and others – and these can do a great deal to maintain dialogue and interaction when not posting.

In fact I think it’s critical to diversify the nature of ways we maintain connections with others, because I think this can lead to more in-depth, quality connections and learning opportunities. In my case my blog is a critical component to my connections, but it’s not the only way I learn. YouTube, the blogs of others, news articles, face to face chats, Twitter, whitepapers and journals, etc – all contribute to my learning experiences.

This is why it’s so important, I think, that we look past the tools themselves and to recognise where they fit in our own personal learning networks or personal learning environments. The tools and tech help us do a lot, certainly, but ultimately they’re facilitating mechanisms. In the case of my blog, it is just a vehicle to a wider purpose – in this case reflective writing, discussion, documentation, research and experimentation. So posts come as often as they need to.

I think that’s a sign of a good blog too in a way – the content is kept topical, relevant, and as in-depth as it needs to be to convey a point or concept at that moment.