Chris Brogan makes the suggestion on his blog today that we take next Monday, April 28th, to take time to visit some other blogs and then leave comments. This would be in lieu of - or in addition to - a blogger's regular posting activity that day.

I think it's a good idea. It's been awhile since I spent time searching for some new voices to listen to in the blogosphere, so count me in, Chris!

Not all conversations are friendly. Real life conversations can be confrontational, angry, and unpleasant. We often talk with someone who has an opinion different from ours. At the end of the conversation we may have changed each other's minds, or we may come away convinced we never want to talk to that person again.

Virtual conversations are no different, they're just a lot bigger. Anyone can read the conversation and add their own take on the topic by commenting, or they can explain their feelings in a post on their own blog. These conversations are worth having because they put ideas on the virtual table to discuss, and when ideas are being discussed, good things can happen.

An example from today: Mahalo CEO and founder Jason Calacanis wrote a post on his blog on Friday titled "How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips)." Duncan Riley posted a response on TechCrunch shortly thereafter titled "Calacanis fires people who have a life." I'm not going to go in the details of the conversation itself, you can do that by clicking on the links if you haven't already read them.

This real time "virtual conversation" between Calacanis and Riley, made up of their original blog posts, plus many comments on both writers' posts and many other blogs weighing in on the subject, wasn't possible a few years ago. The widespread development and acceptance of social media technology like blogs has created these large-scale conversations. The conversation - and conflict - between the two men was significant enough to make the top of Techmeme's headline list on Friday evening.

I believe it's a positive thing to be able to have a conversation discussing workplace expectations and environment. In the past, someone might have written an article for a magazine on the subject, then people would discuss it around the water cooler or perhaps write a letter to the editor for the next issue (do you read letters to the editor?). Now, however, we have a full-blown debate going on over the pros and cons of what Jason Calacanis believes is the ideal workplace versus what Duncan Riley thinks that workplace should be. It's a bit chaotic, but it does drive a topic to the front of our collective priority list, at least for a short time. In the end, maybe we end up changing each other's minds a little - or we may decide never to read anything either of them writes ever again.

It's an exciting time to be involved with the technologies that make this virtual conversation possible. Employees, customers and prospects are all looking for businesses and organizations that are participating in this upheaval of personal communications. It's time to ask: Am I part of the conversation?

Photo credit: Marcello eM, Poland, sxc.hu

Judith Hizer of the South Bend Tribune wants to know: Are blogs silly?

She's mostly talking about personal blogs. She describes the benefits of having more voices in the mix:

I think of blogs as sort of an extension of conversations with my friends. Only bloggers also are letting people they don’t know into their world. They’re striking up a virtual conversation with people who may connect with a subject, and give a little feedback — maybe even a different perspective. And I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing. We can get terribly insulated in our little bubbles — our family, friends, and those people who think like us. It’s nice reach beyond that comfort zone and “listen” to other “voices.”

I like that, and not just because she mentioned virtual conversations.

You have to log in to the paper's site to leave a comment, but if you're motivated to, here's the link:

SouthBendTribune.com - Judith Hizer - Are Blogs Silly?