We set up something called “Radars” in the BIT320 Distributed Learning Blogosphere. Radars are robots that query google and produce summary information on a given topic, say “social networks”. This information may be displayed as a web page or rendered as an RSS feed within the blogosphere. Each radar is updated daily to reflect the top 30 search results. How does this add value?
In the case of the BIT320 blogosphere, value comes from opening the blogosphere to outside influences, in some sense forcing these influences in. In many groups, it is frequently the leader that introduces new topics, and then the group digests. When group members introduce new topics, it is frequently in response to the leader's general direction. To be sure, BIT320 Radars are set up by the blogosphere leader (me), but the people who are contributing knowledge (i.e., the Internet at large) are not responding to me. They're producing on their own, pretty much without my influence.
As a group leader, this type of dynamic pushes me somewhat into more of a create-synthesize cycle. I create the framework (the blogosphere), and that part is pretty much guided by my own personal vision. However, what comes into the blogosphere is created by others. Now, my experience is that there is value to be gained by providing an interpretation for these things that swim in across the transom. There is also value to be gained by observing others' interpretations and interpreting further. Let's see what happens.
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