A-list edublogger

From OLDaily, Stephen Downes wrote:

[Jay] Cross writes about the A-List blogging set, "The A-list blogosphere is an immense echo chamber," and comments, "The training and development world sometimes suffers the same narrowmindedness." Well maybe. And I certainly agree with him when he says we should consult "non-traditional sources." But who is featured in the ADETA Newsletter? Jay Cross, George Siemens, Harold Jarche. Maybe these are non-traditional sources - but to me, they are at the heart of the education blogosphere.

I am sure I am not a A-list blogger, so my comment/view probably won't be picked up and never make to the mainstream and hence will not produce an echo. A-list bloggers are read by many people (like Stephen) and his view is discussed by people like me (and other A-list bloggers). That is why A-list bloggers are A-LIST bloggers. A-list bloggers move ideas in big way! The signal needs time to propagate. So, it looks like a big echo-chamber when the idea came back to them.

Many A-list bloggers are leading thinkers. Their views may be advance of the time. When the mainstream journalists pick it up, the views are new to the journalist and get reported. - another possible explanation of the echo.

Echos or not, it is ideas that are useful that count. Under different situation, different ideas work. Stephen is doing a great job by providing a lens (through his selection) to let us see the infosphere. That's another crucial role of a A-list blogger!