I blogged last week about the insights Secretary Leavitt shared at the Kaiser Family Foundation forum on the health blogosphere. I noted some of what he had learned from his year of blogging.

I noted to other colleagues that—although there was nothing groundbreaking in his remarks—there were insights gained that are probably similar to what most of us who have been blogging would have picked up. In other words, the learning process transpires through the action itself.

I thought it amusing when I was reading the Week in Review section of today’s New York Times, in which Mark Leibovich has a piece titled, “Hail to the Twitterer.” Leibovich discusses McCain’s and Obama’s use of technologies and whether differences are important for leading the country in the 21^st century.

Leibovich relays the following anecdote:

“You don’t actually have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country,” said Mark Soohoo, a McCain aide for online matters, at a conference on politics and technology. “You actually do,” interrupted Tracy Russo, a former blogger for John Edwards.

Secretary Leavitt’s experience and lessons learned suggest that Russo is correct. We gain a lot by actively trying and doing things. The third-hand learning experience has less of an impact and shapes the way we envision the world differently.