Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Crossing a line?

Online learning is WONDERFUL. In all it's different formats: Recallers;  Puppy Peaks; Agility U. ;Fenzi Dog Sport Academy;  Building Blocks Academy; Handling 360. You are a dog sport person who wants to learn from the comfort of home? There's a way to do it.My view for many of my recent classes:



That said there are times I shake my head. One example? Charging to read a blog.
I get it. I hope this blog is special. But. In reading a blog there is no interaction. No chance for meaningful dialogue.

Sure the model that has me shaking my head works out to 91 cents a day. Less than a buck. Less than coffee. But is there a blog posted daily? A meaningful educational blog? I doubt it. If they are able to post three times a week, which is a pretty rigorous schedule to maintain for six months that works out to about $2.50 a read. Sigh.

Will there be lots of cute puppy pictures? Doubtlessly. I loved the Clean Run series that tracked a puppy's maturity and training over a year . I found it fascinating and educational and fun. I knew it was coming every month and it was often the first thing I'd read.

Will there be value in the blog? I suspect so. Will I be signing up? Nope. No sir. My blog started as a way to goal set and record keep a little. It's evolved into a platform on occasion and a connection to a broader community (thanks Steve for our Blog Days). It's introduced people to me and me to people  some of who I don't even know know me. (Funny aside - a very big name trainer(bnt), world athlete told me the other day she has known me longer than I have known her. She found this blog ages ago. Made me laugh and also made me wonder about the hundreds of people who read Agility Addict. I always suspected they were computer robots of some sort but they are real! Cool! Thanks so much. )

I feel like quite the curmudgeon today.
at

4 comments:

  1. Helen17 March 2015 at 16:43

    I wouldn't pay to read a blog. I even think the costs of some of the online training is outrageous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown17 March 2015 at 17:11

    I think this is a very compelling topic. I agree with Helen, some of the online learning costs are outrageous for what you get. I guess it's buyer beware, but I feel for the newbies who get sucked into an online learning forum where they don't get the attention/feedback that they are paying for.

    And...to pay for a blog?? Er...no. Write a book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dz Dog Mom20 March 2015 at 14:36

    We just started reading your blog! It's fun. We're new to the agility world and are enjoying the training so far. :-) I love online reading but would never pay to read someone's blog - their is so much other free information available out there that their is really no reason to pay.
    ~DzDogs.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. andrea11 April 2015 at 09:53

    thanks for agreeing :D I felt so mean .. and yes Helen - depends on what online you do but some really does seem to be a cash grab for big bucks sometimes ... suppose real world classes sometimes are too :D

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting!
I really appreciate the comments and learn so much from the discussions we have here, so please comment with your thoughts, opinions and experiences!

Also feel free to like Agility Addict on facebook. I post more pictures, extra video, great quotations on that page as well as cool things people send me via FB. I'd love to "see" you there too! You can also LIKE Sally at https://www.facebook.com/oursally

Thanks again for commenting ...