It shouldn't come as a surprise that someone in this class has a pretty high opinion of the thoughts of Dean Shareski, after his Skype presentation to the class. I found some of the content in his blog to be even more illuminating, however.
I'd particularly like to point readers to this post: http://ideasandthoughts.org/2014/02/01/2690/
The fact is, that it isn't particularly valuable, except to one's own ego to get comments that simply express agreement with one's ideas. Sometimes of course, that's simply true, but it's far preferable to engage with someone on a more serious level. There is something to be said for the art of constructive criticism.
This is not to suggest of course, that one needs to be recklessly contrarian. Certainly, the Internet is filled with all manner of bile (examine the average YouTube comment page for proof). The idea is to encourage actual engagement and debate. There is an unfortunate tendency amongst Internet users to create a 'bubble' of websites that largely support and affirm their points of view.
I have to admit, I'm not innocent of it. Where do I get online news? The Guardian, the Independent, BBC World Service and sometimes the Huffington Post. I'm not suggesting that one has to equally value all content services of course, but it couldn't hurt to occasionally look at a source of information presented from a view different from, even contrary to, your own.
As Dean makes a note of, it's about your own learning as well as that of the people making the comments.
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