Is Commenting Old Fashioned?
I read a post a few weeks back on the Friday Traffic Report about the evolution of blog commenting, and it has really got me to thinking.
With all the social media coming out, and the ease of a quick twitter RT, are we losing the need for leaving personal comments on blogs?
Sharing a good blog post or article of interest through many of the social bookmarking sites, and even more, sharing it with your Twitter following is a great way to help the blogger by re-directing traffic to the post. When done correctly, many of your friends and followers appreciate and are interested in looking at things that you find of interest.
As a reader, does sharing these items of interest negate you from leaving a comment on the blog? A quick tweet about a post or an article, and your job is done?
I think not… and I’ll tell you why.
Old Fashion Pen and Ink...
From the Bloggers perspective:
- Getting an old fashion comment is just plain motivating!
- Getting questions and comments about an article that you have put time and thought into is like a confirmation that someone is really out there.
- Comments can add content to your blog.
- Getting good comments can actually invoke a discussion about the topic, and continue to bring more and more readers into it.
- It adds a sense of community to your blog.
- May even give you ideas for future articles or topics that you would like to research and discuss.
From the Readers perspective:
- Adding a well thought out comment, question or suggestion to a blog can be very helpful in creating a brand or name for yourself.
- If it’s a blog that you follow regularly commenting and showing support leads to that sense of community for the reader.
- Most often you will get a link back to a post, or to your blog in general (depending on what you leave as the link).
- Many readers “cruise” comments, and you will get additional guests to your site from a good comment.
I spent much of this past weekend cruising around, reading blogs, commenting and checking out folks on my GFC and I had a really great time doing it. I met some new people who have like interests, and whom I have added to my reader. I had some new people come and check out my site and even thought of some ideas for future posts.
So the question was — “Is commenting OLD FASHIONED?”
If it is – then I guess you can consider me old fashioned as well. Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for the new techie stuff…. please tweet me, digg me, share, stumble or mixx me. Do all of that, and keep it coming! BUT – in the process… don’t forget the humanness and interactiveness of a blog. It is part of what makes community. It is human nature to be sociable, people come to your blog because they are interested in interacting with like minded individuals.
What is YOUR answer to the question – and, what is your commenting practice?
To OUR Success,
Heather
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Tags:blog comments,commenting,Social bookmarking,social media,TwitterRelated posts
Tags: blog comments, commenting, Social bookmarking, social media, Twitter
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Hi Heather,
The question of commenting on blogs has been discussed at length recently on Twitter, with many bloggers/writers saying that the increase in social media interaction has definitely affected commenting.
If you look at Facebook and the NetworkedBlogs (where I just now found your post), many people will choose to leave a comment on FB instead of going directly to the blog to leave a comment.
Other bloggers say, and I agree wholeheartedly, that people will give a SU thumbs up, a RT on Twitter, a Digg or whatever…, but not take the time to actually leave a comment themselves.
The social media interaction is great, don’t get me wrong, but it makes me wonder sometimes…where are all the subscribed readers that make up those sometimes high numbers on Feedburner when a post goes live?
Lin´s last blog ..Childhood Obesity: Overweight Children Weight Loss Plan for Kids and Teens
Hi Lin, and Welcome
Yes I agree with you completely. I love all the stumbles and tweets and all of the things that help advance a post or site higher in the engines, but I don’t want to get away from just the daily comments and interaction that a blog brings.
Yep – I totally forget to go around commenting on blogs that I love. I have been, in the last few weeks, trying to do more of that. And like you, I’m completely enjoying it! Who knew? LOL!
The thing that gets me is when I tweet a link to a new post of mine – and the responses to the post (not the tweet itself, but the post) come back to me on Twitter.
I do love a good back and forth on Twitter, but, I really love the community that happens on my blog!
Lisa Marie Mary´s last blog ..Learn How To Soothe An Earache On Twitter
So much fun isn’t it Lisa?
I’ve really been trying to do more of that myself! And it looks like I need to get at it again. My reader this morning showed another huge amount of new posts for me to check out
[...] a blogger, I LOVE getting great comments. And I love to return the favor. It is a very key part in helping me get to know my readers, and helping me provide information to [...]
I hope to comment more! Normally, have a child in my lap though so it is hard to type.
Hi Barbi – And Welcome!!
Babies on knees are soo helpful
I know when my niece (who just turned one) comes to play I have to guard all keyboards, cellphones and remote controls, or she’s got them.
Personally I love giving and receiving comments. I definitely notice that my Facebook friends comment on my “wall” but almost never on my blog.
I also enjoy being stumbled though as well!
Nice post!
Charlene´s last blog ..Rise and Shine
Hi Charlene, and Welcome
I love giving comments too! In fact, it’s Friday night, and that is fast becoming my “community” night where I can stop what I’ve been working on, and spend time getting to know other bloggers.
I’m sure the comments on facebook are great, but I get even more of a smile when someone leaves the comment directly on my blog. What about you?