I sent the link to Art Mobs to one of the museum/tech lists I'm on because I wanted to see if there were other examples of blogging in a museum context. Julian from Pacific Asian Museum left a comment that pointed to a blog about Buddhist Art Happenings Around the World. (I got excited because I had been researching buddhism and art resources for Cambodia4kids and because the monk from the Wat in RI might do some culture classes for Harry and Sara and some other kids... ) Unfortunately, the blog postings stopped around a year ago, not sure if that's because the blogger left the organization, lost enthusiasm, or there haven't been any buddhist art happening around the world.
Aside from the great pointers to art exhibitions, I found a site that teaches zen meditation and a possible bar and bat mitvah gifts for Harry and Sara when they turn 13. But even better, was the digital prayer wheel, "Digital Prayer Wheels praying with electrons you already have around the house." Here's more about analog prayer wheels.
I got curious and emailed Julian asking him why postings haven't continued. His response: "We've been extremely swamped with work, which has made us realize that if you are going to do something like this, you have to be prepared to manage it. There are several options in discussion now on how we might use this blog to our advantage and increase it's userability. I'll keep you posted on our decision and our findings. "
I'm sure that out of the 10 million blogs counted by Sifrey, there are certainly some that aren't active. It is human after all. I stopped blogging for six months, although I don't think anyone noticed. The point is that the activity of blogging (not just the posting, but the discoverability) is a habit and creating a habit is about change or a transition. So, how do you keep motivated?
It's not easy to find the motivation to blog every day but Typepad makes it easier :-)
We're a nonprofit that is starting to blog on community development and civic renewal. The hope is to keep the blog going for long enough that we have a critical mass of those interested in community change. At that point maybe we can switch to a format that is less top-down (as blogs are) and towards something that is more community-minded and generates discussion (like forum software.)
Posted by: Pew Partnership for Civic Change | May 17, 2005 at 02:34 PM
Thanks for posting! Keep on blogging!
Yes, typepad does make it easier. However, for some really small nonprofits the fee can be barrier. So, there is always blogger.
Posted by: Beth | May 17, 2005 at 05:00 PM
I make it a part of my workflow. Blogging helps me in a couple of ways -- it provides a place for me to practice my ideas before I trot them out in meetings, articles, presentations or with clients. That's a lot of what I do on my blog. I practice.
It also serves as my own knowledge bank (especially when combined with del.icio.us). I link to reports that I know will be useful when grants come up, I like to people I want to read, whatever.
This makes my blog important to *me*. And that keeps me motivated to continue.
Posted by: marnie webb | May 24, 2005 at 09:49 AM
I started my blog for that same reason, but didn't really dive into what Ruby and Brian refer to as "conversation" component until recently. I finding this part very exciting - for the connections to people with similar interest, stimulus to thinking/reflection, and the cross polination of ideas.
Posted by: Beth | May 24, 2005 at 06:03 PM
Nice blog!! & post
Posted by: Buddha | September 20, 2007 at 01:33 PM