Thursday, May 21, 2009

A Comment About Comments

In a [previous post] I raved about just how much I loved the Akismet spam filter, and now I would like to rant about what happens far too often when a comment of mine is published. For after taking the time to actually read a particular post and submit an incredibly well-crafted comment that is meant to greatly enhance the reading experience of all concerned, it gets ignored.

Yes, it could be thought that it may have been something I said. In fact, some might even be wanting to go so far as to think that they now understand why Akismet routinely dumps my comments in the trash, but any who would want to think in such a way as this are obvious just not right in the head.

No, it doesn’t have to be much, and I give you [Crotchety] as a prime example of not doing much. For he always makes an effort to at least grunt something in the direction of each individual comment.

Another example would be [Joel], who is Canadian, which means that he doesn’t even have as much of a life as Crotchety, but he is paving the way to get a life by seeking actually engage his commenters most of the time. For this adds all the more to the subject matter of each particular post, and it keeps ‘em coming back—even if only to chunk another rock in his direction.

Yes, I have also encountered some who like to reply to their commenters via personal email, which is certainly a nice touch. On the other hand, that does nothing to extend the life of a particular post for those who are not privy to those private conversations.

I suppose it all depends upon what you want to accomplish with your blog. For if you are only interested in publishing what you want to say and could not care less about what others think about it, there is obviously no need to reply to comments, but if you want to grow a strong following, responding to comments is almost as important as the quality of your content.

Yes, there are those who are not looking for a response. For they consider their comment as being like a letter to the editor of a newspaper, and they are more concerned with just being published themselves than anything else. So, if you already have more readers than you know what to do with, just do as the newspapers generally do.

Of course, there are also the spammers, and you would do well to respond to even them. For in some cases, they really don’t have any idea that what they are doing is very uncool, and a politely worded explanation of why that is so just might convince them to stop it. Hey, if it doesn’t work, you can always move your blog over to WordPress and install Akismet.

13 comments:

  1. Sometimes I respond to comments, but this year it really hasn't been very often, but I do try and go to their blog and comment on one of their posts. I very seldom check to see if anyone has responded to any comment I make.

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  2. I try to respond nearly every time because I'm just a polite guy.

    If someone takes the time to comment, it is important to at least pretend to ackowledge them.

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  3. You bring up a point that I forgot to mention, my dear Jude. For leaving a comment on a post by one of your own commenters is a good way to foster a relationship, but it still fails to extend the life of your own post, which is as much for the benefit of those who would read it later on as anyone else. In other words, engaging commenters is about seeking to make each particular post be even more than it may have been originally intended, which should attract a much larger following, and if close personal relationships can also be formed--all the better.

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  4. Very well said for you, my dear Crotchety.

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  5. I try to follow up on my posts. Enjoyed reading your blog. Keep up the good work! Clicked some ads for you.
    Kas

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  6. I am really torn by your comment, my dear Sagar. For it sure appears to be what spam is made of, but since I am not quite sure, I will let it stand. If I am deceived about this, please let me know. Anyway, I hope you get rid of that really annoying pop-up ad soon.

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  7. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Kassie!!!

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  8. Great post and good idea for commeting on comments, which is something I should do more of. However, I do not have internet at home, other than dial-up, which is about only useful for checking e-mail if that - I do not do much for blogging from home as dial-up dies while in my blog or while I read other blogs, etc. When I get to an Internet Cafe, I write my blog posts days in advance and I queue them to load each day. So, I have limited time to spend for commenting on comments when I am busy researching posts - and trying to visit my favorite blogs to see what folks are up to and what they have written. Thanks.

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  9. Please don't get me started on the Internet connection dying at home, my dear Mike. For it is now right at 6 PM my time, and I just finished posting the Sites To See for this week because of our cable going down around 8 hours ago. I still have to do my Adgitize and Entrecard chores, too!

    Of course, considering what you have to endure each day, I suppose I have nothing to complain about. It is still so enjoyable to do so, however.

    Anyway, I certainly understand why you do not reply to comments as much I would like for you to. Hopefully, you will be able to do more of it when your blogging circumstances get more sorted out.

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  10. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Anonymous!

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  11. What? Thanks for stopping by (again?), my dear Anonymous.

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Since the Blogger spam filter has been found sorely lacking lately, I will start moderating comments. Be assured that I am only interested in deleting spam. So, if you feel a need to take me to task over something—even anonymously, go ahead and let 'er rip, and I will publish it as soon as I can.