About
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Who is Andy Roberts?
I am a blogger and wiki-er, an explainer, researcher, musician, online community professional with both a technical and creative background. I work from home in London, UK and hope to move pemanently onto a narrow boat in a couple of years. I’ve been fascinated by online groups for ten years, joined hundreds, started many, facilitate a few, but I don’t always fit in easily with norms and expectations so I’m active on my own spaces as much as others. I love WordPress and MediaWiki.
What is this DARnet blog all about?
DARnet blog is a vehicle for tracking my journey through internet life, as well as a shop window into my work and learning. It adapts and changes as do I, so the content can be somewhat random or clearly focussed, depending on the period. My main theme is the process of change, particularly in the context of distributed communities of practice, using the method of action research and applying the theory of social objects. I’m trying to tell the world that these amazing ‘new’ phenomena are governed by universal laws of change, although complex, can be understood and guided to some extent, and are every bit as real and human as offline communities. Because I am situated in the UK, you will also find posts related to some topical news and events and my participation in the vibrant London internet startup and social media scene. Homeworking and changing the nature of work is at the forefront through my work with pajamanation, and there’s a separate page for my acoustic music making.
Why Does Your Blog Exist?
I published a post about this in response to a challenge to write myblog story
How Does Your Blog Work?
Sometimes I don’t post for a week, sometimes twice or more in a day. Comments are open and encouraged with no registration required. Upon commenting, you get a chance to subscribe by email to future comments on that post, so a that a conversation may ensue.
Who Is Your Audience?
I hope the blog is of interest to anybody who knows me through the various social networking events and sites, to facilitators and moderators, geeks and homeworkers, newbies and net veterans, at home and abroad. I read three hundred RSS feeds daily but my blogroll only contains links which have some relevence to the DARnet blog, mainly individuals. As far as I know I’m the only blogger writing about communities of practice combined with action research, object orientated sociality and a dash of marxist dialectics. I’m passionate that good theory is important, and try to communicate my ideas in a clearly understandable manner with an informal yet grammatically correct style.
Why Should I Subscribe to Your Blog?
If you subscribe for a long enough period, you will receive unique insights and discoveries, technology tips and developments as well as an unfolding story about the new web entrepreneur lifestyle. All written in an accessible style with illustrative but not gratuitous graphics, and occasional podcast or video.
A few significant posts from the archive
- Google Analytics for Action Research
- Song review process
- Social Objects applied to pajamanation
- The Art of Threading
- Instant Karma for comments and trackbacks
- Emergent Coding Analysis facilitated by MediaWiki
- Theatre Breaks midweek
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is an online professional who initiated DARnet 
I stumbled across your blog when I was studying the stats for my own blog. Someone had found my blog from a Google search about Jansen’s Strandbeests, and your blog came up in the same search results, so I figured I’d have a look. My blog is called GigantiCo. I think you may find it of interest.
cheers,
Chris
Hi - I was wondering if you could tell me how I can get the “share this” little green widget. I’ve seen this on many blogs and I like it.
Thanks,
Rob
PS - check out http://blog-rush-can-kiss-my-ass.blogspot.com for grins
I saw your post over at BR 2.0
Rob, it’s a wordpress plugin called “share this” by Alex King
http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress
Andy -
Heard through the grapevine you’re doing the 31 day challenge with Sarah, Jess, and I. True? If so, glad to be doing this with great people! If not, sorry for the mistake
Hi Kate,
I read Sarah’s comment at the “better blog ning group” and decided I’d like to join in at this time if that’s OK.
Well yes, it’s true
Actually I already started a little project on my own but the opportunity to work through the 31daychallenge with others has got to be more fun than “First Person Research”.
( Have I completed day one by replying to you here?
)
No suggestions. I’m just trawling your brilliant About page for ideas for my own new webpage. Feeling a bit daunted.
Thanks for dropping by Bev, let me know if you’d like a quick appraisal when your new site is ready for testing.
Thanks. Will do.