Maren Deepwell

Category: Blogging

  • Podcast chat reclaimed!

    Podcast chat reclaimed!

    For the past two months my podcast has been enjoying a well deserved summer break! It’s been good to take a step back from the busy grind of producing the episodes. It’s work I love, but with so much else already going on this summer, it was necessary to pause. Regular listeners look out for the summer special, the first new episode since June, which is out next week!

    Fortunately for me, edtech’s extraordinary (and original) godfather Jim Groom was travelling rather more than usual this month, which left the studio door open for me to sit in the host chair of his prolific “On Writing” series for not one, but two joyful conversations.

    Most people struggle to set up a new podcast, but since the start of this year Jim has been rocking interviews about blogging and writing with a truly stellar line up of voices including Audrey Watters, Kine Lane, Mike Caulfield, Amy Collier, Tom Woodward, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Adam Croom, Bryan Alexander, Chris Long, Kate Bowles, Lee Skallerup Bessette, Tim Klapdor and Martin Weller.

    Catch up with “On Writing”

    When it came to my very special guests, I couldn’t have picked a better line up and I was thrilled to jump into these two conversations:

    Bonnie Stewart “On Writing”: Blogging, Belonging and Bowie

    Ahead of August’s Blogging Community of Practice session, I interviewed Dr. Bonnie Stewart of University of Windsor, Canada, about the belonging project, “a 2024-25 open research project exploring digital and socio-material practices of belonging at the University of Highlands and Islands in Scotland.”

    As a long time fan of Bonnie’s work, I was SO excited to talk about blogging for her sabbatical project, how to find your voice and inevitably we also ended up chatting about David Bowie.

    Bonnie has a way of articulating things that I deeply appreciate and connect with. I always learn something new, and after our conversations anything that may have been muddled in my brain feels clear and straight forward when she explains it. I salute her grace and joy, and her fierceness.

    Tune in: “On Writing” with Alan Levine on Reclaim TV

    The second conversation was with Alan Levine, AKA CogDog, and it will premier this Friday, August 29th. Watch the stream over at Reclaim TV, or catch the recording later on archive.reclaim.tv or on Reclaim’s YouTube channel! Usually Jim broadcasts these live, but thanks to living in very different timezones, my guests graciously agreed to pre-record our chats for these shows.

    Alan and I had awesome fun chatting across all sorts of topics, and he had prepared meticulously, sending me links and notes which provided much inspiration. Alan produces the OE Global Voices podcast, a masterclass in the richness of sharing knowledge and open practice that Alan excels at.

    Both conversations were very different, but what I found common to both was that open practice matters. How we do things and how we honour and reflect the values we hold in how we communicate and connect.

    There’re some fantastic guests lined up for the next few weeks and months and as Jim returns to the hosting chair, I’m excited to tune in for more blogging and open edtech goodness.

  • More gold dust.

    More gold dust.

    In sweltering heat the sun shone through the longest day of the year, and I used the mid year point of the year to reflect on the past six months. Here on my blog the posts and podcasts have been stacking up, whilst over on my work domain coaching, consultancy and courses have been in full swing.

    This post brings it all together, gathering all the gold dust ready for summer and the next six months.

    On the blog

    Over 30 blog posts so far this year, so blogging is going STRONG 🙂

    On the podcast

    I have published 23 podcast episodes so far this year with more special guests, including:

    Talks, articles & events

    Executive coaching and training

    A big thank you to all my coaching clients! I celebrated a milestone earlier this year when I passed 200 professional coaching hours, and I continue to be active in the UK Chapter of the International Coaching Federation. I also had a chance to continue my group coaching and training, including:

    Consultancy

    I’ve updated and exampled the list of projects completed which now has its own page and that has been both fun and really satisfying to accomplish.

  • Long time reader…

    Long time reader…

    I often talk about blogging, but this post is different. This is a thank you to two writers whom I have been following for a long while, and whose work continues to inspire me.

    Julia Harrison

    First up, is Julia Harrison, a North Carolina-based artist, anthropologist, and educator, whom I met when I was studying Anthropology at UCL.

    Julia’s work is all round awesome, and I am a regular reader of her blog, and a great admirer of her creations. From wooden paper bags and jewellery to awe-inspiring public art and furnishings, her domain is a treasure trove of inspiration. You can even join her for a virtual studio visit!

    What I appreciate the most, however, is Julia’s newsletter. It’s semi-regular, and whenever a new edition lands in my inbox I happily read the whole thing. I love the tone and voice, I am always interested to learn about what’s been happening and it balances a great mix of work/art and life.

    Nick Tabone

    Around the same time as I was at UCL, I also worked at Foyles, and London’s melting pot delivered a wonderful group of co-workers including Nick Tabone. Already full to the brim with book and music recommendations then, many of which I still have on my bookshelf and in my record collection today, Nick’s writing has evolved over the years as his life has taken him to become a writer, a sailor, a runner, and a skateboarder.

    I mostly follow his non-fiction, usually written from aboard ship, always compelling and beautiful. And there is a huge amount of poetry and fiction to explore as well, which I strongly recommend you do.

    One day, I hope that copies of Nick’s published books will sit alongside all the volumes he inspired me to read on the shelf next to my desk.

    May the blogging continue 🙂

    Image:  Hat tip by Maren Deepwell is licenced CC-BY-SA 4.0

  • Blogging on the Open Web.

    Blogging on the Open Web.

    Since its launch, the new Blogging Community of Practice, AKA Bloggers Anonymous, has begun to grow. Community building is an art that takes time and patience and most of all presence. You have to walk the walk… you have to start spending time where you want to grow connections. Which is not all that simple in times like these.

    Many professionals in my networks are leaving social media and the toxic news cycle behind all together, and being less connected via open networks makes it hard to get the word out about things like this. Which brings me to my motivation for being involved in this project in the first place: it feels more important now than ever before to have your own domain on the web and to keep it alive. My own blog is my space, space for my voice and for my views to be heard. Crucially, it’s my data to keep, to move, to take away, instead of being in the hands of someone else.

    So yes, blogging on the open web. It’s a habit worth keeping up.

    This week’s session: Finding your Blogging Mojo

    I am running a session for the community this week, all about finding (or re-kindling) your blogging mojo. Inspiration for the session originally came from this blog post, in which I shared ideas and practical strategies for getting into the habit of blogging as a practice.

    Recently I have had lots of conversations with folk who would like to blog more, but don’t. Or who feel they *should* be blogging more often, but they haven’t actually managed to do so.

    If that’s you and you are looking for ways to get your blogging mojo back, this post is for you. There’s no judgment here. Just some practical approaches you can try to get (back) to blogging regularly.

    But, first… ask yourself this question: do you want to HAVE A BLOG or do you WANT TO BLOG? These two things, to my mind at least, don’t necessarily mean the same thing. Lots of people, organisations and companies have blogs. Blogs that might function a bit like newsletters, or communicate community updates. A blog can be a really effective tool for communications and marketing, and as such, you might be obliged to blog as part of your job. That’s not the kind of blogging I am talking about in this post.

    This is not about having a blog, but about the practice of blogging itself. The process of getting whatever you want to say in a post and press publish. It’s about the joy of blogging, the sheer exuberance of having a space, a domain, to make your own.

    Next I share how to… start small, thinking about blogging as a practice rather than a “to do” list, building a habit of blogging regularly and share examples of how I keep blogging.

    If you’d like to join the session, come along on Wednesday. Just sign up and you’ll get the joining instructions the day before. We’ll start at midday (ET) or 4pm GMT.

    Curious? Check out what’s happening

    • Join us on Discord
    • #blogging4life is the hashtag social media
    • Subscribe to our blog to keep up to date with what’s happening
    • Come along to our events – which are free and everyone is welcome

    EdTech Bloggers ‘Starter Pack’

    One of the things I am feeling inspired by is seeing folk join a growing collection of edtech bloggers on Bluesky. I love finding out about others’ work, read more posts by folk I don’t usually follow (yet) and also find a sense of fellowship with other bloggers out there. So if you are on Bluesky and you want to join, just ping us and we’ll get you added.

    Listen to the Blogging Special podcast

  • Fresh blogging inspiration

    Fresh blogging inspiration

    It’s an exciting time for blogging as Reclaim’s newly established Blogging Community of Practice, AKA Bloggers Anonymous, is gathering momentum. If you are interested in learning more and maybe getting involved, check out the details at the bottom of this post.

    EdTech Bloggers ‘Starter Pack’

    One of the things I am feeling inspired by is seeing folk join a growing collection of edtech bloggers on Bluesky. I love finding out about others’ work, read more posts by folk I don’t usually follow (yet) and also find a sense of fellowship with other bloggers out there.

    Blogging about blogging

    Alongside this I am super grateful to Lorna Campbell for putting together this very useful post “For those about to blog”. I always appreciate reading Lorna’s posts, and this one is especially timely as it brings together some useful advice and resources for anyone looking for practical advice or straightforward inspiration for blogging.

    Lorna puts it so well:

    As the social media landscape has become increasingly toxic and fragmented, people are increasingly seeking other channels to share their ideas and practice, connect with their peers, and build community.  As a result, there’s been a welcome resurgence in blogging, newsletters and small-scale podcasting over the last year or so.  These forms of communication are less tied to specific social media platforms, giving creators more control over work and who they share it with.  At times like these it’s been really encouraging to see familiar communities and independent voices reemerging across the web.  So if you’re new to blogging, or if you need a boost to get started again, here’s some resources that might help.

    Definitely a recommended read!

    Join Reclaim’s Blogging Community of Practice

    There is a dedicated channel set up in Reclaim’s Discord Community Space. This is a friendly social space where everyone is welcome and which is free to join.

    Get started

  • (Blogging) Challenge accepted.

    (Blogging) Challenge accepted.

    I’m really enjoying being part of the recently launched Blogging Community of Practice, AKA Bloggers Anonymous. As well as working with the Reclaim team behind the scenes, I love being part of a group of bloggers, and it’s been fun to see more posts appearing in my timeline.

    This one from Brian Lamb caught my eye. It reminded me of just how HARD it can be to keep blogging when you are in a senior leadership role, representing an institution (more on that soon)… and at the same time it introduced me to this little blogging challenge: you answer the questions below, and then tag/ping others to take up the mantle.

    I am pinging Debbie and Pilot to invite them to take part, and here are my answers:

    Why did you start blogging in the first place?

    I believe that blogging is a very rewarding habit to cultivate and given that I have blogged for two decades, it must be working for me. And it does. I get a lot out of the process, other than ‘having a blog’. Here is why I blog:

    • I’m excited about something I want to share
    • I need some space to think through or reflect on something
    • I want to document something for future use
    • I want to keep a record of things I have done
    • I want to journal (in a public way)
    • I want to have things to put into my newsletter
    • I want to share an image I love and talk about it
    • I want to celebrate something
    • I want to contribute to a conversation or discourse
    • I want to show my solidarity
    • I want to amplify the voices of others
    • I want to do something helpful

    All of these motivations ultimately mean that blogging makes me feel good. I write plenty of posts that no one reads and no one comments on, and it doesn’t make a difference to my process. Of course I want people to read what I blog about, but I don’t focus on that as I blog and its not my main motivation.

    I would, and often do, blog, where no one can read my thoughts.

    What platform are you using to manage your blog and why do you use it?

    I recently started to review my tech stack, and here is what I wrote about my blog:

    My primary domain, https://marendeepwell.com/ , is where my WordPress blog lives, and it’s been safely and happily looked after by Reclaim Hosting for over a decade. I am a big fan of this independent hosting company for many reasons, including their excellent service, personable support and fair pricing.

    I have been a Shared Hosting client for a long time and was also converted to Reclaim Cloud as my needs grew. I also have several domains which I manage here. My blog and domain on Reclaim include my newsletter and mapping of my domain to my Google Workspace email account.

    Have you blogged on other platforms before?

    Yes! Blogger (or its predecessors) was my first one, and I still have several of them. I also “blog” privately in docs and sites, and I have tried out Ghost, Substack and so on.

    How do you write your posts?

    Practice, practice, practice. I keep blogging and that helps the words flow. Sometimes I feel super inspired, other times its more about documenting a piece of work, spreading the word about an event or sharing a piece of work.

    Some days I spend a lot of time thinking about my post, other times it’s more quick. It’s much more about the process, not the output for me.

    When do you feel most inspired to write?

    Early in the morning.

    Do you normally publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit?

    Usually I press publish as soon as I am ready (and then I proof read it again).

    What’s your favorite post on your blog?

    Last year, I had three: Post that I enjoyed writing the most: The joy of not working. Post with my favourite cover image: Christmas Jumper Day. A story. Post that made me smile: … we did it again.

    Any future plans for the blog?

    Keep blogging #4life (and… fix/figure out newsletter properly).