aside
some favorite linksread the blog
posted on 09/24/07
What's a comment worth?
I’m in the mood to write, rant, just put something out in the world, not really sure why, but it seems to be the case at the moment. I was looking through the comments on this blog, and thinking about why some posts get more feedback than others, even when some might call for feedback, and get very little response at all, while some are just a few words, and get four of five voices with a response.
I’ve decided it comes down to: Why bother? I comment on blogs I enjoy from time to time. What comes of it? Pretty much nothing. Often times I’m not even sure the author of the post reads it. I like commenting though. I have it on this site for a reason. I post to other sites where it’s not even an option.
Now I do read pretty much every comment I get on here, assuming it doesn’t contain the word Cialis (watch the Google ads pick up on that keyword…), but I rarely react. Even when I do reply, I get the feeling that whoever wrote it isn’t coming back to check.
So how about a change? As time goes on, this site gets more and more personal, and I leak more and more of my life out into world. I’d like to let it start conversations. So leave me something interesting as a reply. Get me started on another topic, or dig deeper into what you’re reading right now. This is chapter one of this idea, but let’s start into chapter two. It could turn out that commenting is pretty much useless as people like John Gruber have decided, and if that’s the case, I guess I’ll find out. But I’d like to think it’s not. I’d like to think of the few hundred subscribers I have, someone has something interesting to say.
Chris Thomson
posted on Sep 24, 07:10 PM
I also like commenting on blogs I enjoy. In fact, there are a lot of tumblelogs that i’d like to comment on, but the author hasn’t added comments into the theme. Not to mention any names though ;-)
If you think replying to a comment is pointless because the person won’t come back to see your reply, I agree, it is kinda pointless. I’d recommend adding in some sort of “Get notified of future comments” plugin, that is auto-checked, so that people will get follow up comments by default. <a href=“http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe-to-comments/#post-293”>Here is an example</a> of one of them to check out.
P.S. Haloscan is a great tumblr commenting “addon” :P
PPS. I will be back to see if their is a response or not :)
Brad Purchase
posted on Sep 24, 07:35 PM
I do like to comment on things I find interesting in your blog. Other times I might not have anything to say.
Dustin
posted on Sep 24, 07:37 PM
Maybe I’m weird but I like commenting on blogs and I check back for a few days after to see if anyone replied. But maybe thats just me…
Montoya
posted on Sep 24, 09:34 PM
If you don’t think comments are valuable, then you’ve never read a valuable comment! They are out there and unless you offer the option, you’ll never know! I have a perfect example of valuable blog comments if you click my name ^
When I started blogging I worked really hard for a long time to get myself out there and reach a point where I was getting comments on my blog, and I’m very glad that I put the effort, because the comments I get on my blog are very important to me. I would not like to run a blog that didn’t have comments.
EricaJoy
posted on Sep 24, 10:39 PM
Quick thoughts because Heroes is on: vanilla integration for comments? Morph that into one vanilla installation handling comments for many sites that share some common thread (the writers know each other, they share a similar topic, etc). Comments become conversations that spin off into their own world.
shadowfirebird
posted on Sep 25, 05:42 AM
Well, I think you’ve answered your own question by the very fact you posted a question and would like to hear an answer.
Sure, comments can go bad: digg, youtube. But there are sites out there where the comments are insightful and even useful: 43folders, lifehacker. What makes the difference? Damned if I know. But it proves that comments are worth saving, IMO.
My blog has Haloscan commenting plugged in, and I guess I get 2 comments a month tops. But I don’t think that that means turning comments on was a waste of time. (BTW Haloscan has an option that the commenter can ask for an email alert, which is nice).
Marco seems to think that Tmblggrs should be responding to each other’s posts in their blogs. Sorry, mate, there is nothing so boring — if I wanted that I’d be with LiveJournal. So, I’m cool if Tmblggrs don’t want comments. But Tumblr should have them.
1389
posted on Oct 2, 11:43 PM
Allowing comments makes your readers feel that you are interested in what they have to say, and it lets you network with other bloggers.
That said, if you have any amount of traffic at all, you’ll need to run a spam filter and moderate or review your incoming comments. If you neglect to do that, your blog will be treated as the electronic equivalent of a bathroom wall.
What?
Pixelspread is the webblog and portfolio of Matt McInerney. If you'd like to learn a little more, check out the about section.
©2008 pixelspread - powered by txp
XHTML CSSOld Blog
- Blog and Portfolio Nov 11
- Tumblr Updates Oct 09
- Summer's Over Sep 16
- Summer Jun 02
- A Brief Update Apr 30
- The Freebies Section Apr 16
- Serifs on the Web Apr 15
- More Alphabets Apr 04
Elsewhere
- matt.cc
the new home of my blog
- cameron.io
a great tumblelog by cameron hunt
- sam brown
of massive blue
- shaun inman
creator of mint
- simplebits
by dan cederholm
- the big noob
by ryan, brad, and keegan
Brad
posted on Sep 24, 07:07 PMHey Matt,
I’d love to hear some tips on how you promoted your site Gleamd.com. I’m launching a new site soon and am doing research on the best ways to get the word out there. It seems like you got a lot of viral press, which is the best kind in my opinion, so how can others do it so well?