Comments on: A Word on Comments

By: SOGSR

SOGSR — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:31:44 +0000

Another comment-your math skills have always been suspect-thus spake Bruce Dugan. SOGSR

By: stephen o'grady

stephen o'grady — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:57:01 +0000

you’re all blowing my average!

anyhow, Dan, i agree. it is difficult for some to be the first response – which is the exact reverse of the behavior you see at high comment volume sites where there’s an effort to be the first commenter.

Mike: thanks for the comment. my response to that would be – see from the web/feed metrics if people are actually reading you. if they are, then they care. if they’re not, then you might have a problem. i just don’t think comments are the way to determine that.

ric: two comments, even but i agree – i think ultimately it comes down to what you’re looking for from the blog. if i was an engadget or some such getting no comments, i’d be very worried. but i think for a lot of the “opinion” oriented blogs, commenting is less natural.

By: Ric

Ric — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:26:05 +0000

… and something else (trying hard to inflate your stats, Steve!) – I use a feed reader for most blogs, and I DO find that sometimes (particularly when I’m a bit behind) I am reluctant to leave the feed reader to visit the “real” blog to post a comment. I guess that makes feed readers a two-edged sword, and what makes knowing how many subscribers you have interesting.

By: Ric

Ric — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:23:34 +0000

This post has now officially exceeded the average number of comments (and not one of them is Steve’s)!

I think it’s always gratifying when you get “real” comments – it can get a bit lonely if you don’t think ANYBODY is reading your posts – I quite like David’s take on them! As for a measure of blogging success, I think that comes down to what YOU see as the reason for blogging, and determine for yourself what constitutes a successful acheivement of that.

Personally I probably spend more time and effort commenting on other people’s post than posting on my own blog – which is why I use coComment to put those comments on my own page. Commenting is what makes blogs a conversation rather than a broadcast (and one of the reasons I disagree with Seth Godin’s stance on comments).

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 02:12:00 +0000

Stephen, I came here off of Churbuck’s blog. I completely agree with your thoughts. For me, blogging is just about putting my words out there…it makes me feel good and I hope there are some people out there; friends, family or other, that enjoy reading it. But, when I lack comments for a long period of time, I can help but wonder … “Does anyone care?” So, as you say, having an average of a couple comments per post good.

thanks for the insights

By: Dan Davies Brackett

Dan Davies Brackett — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:13:06 +0000

There’s also first-mover disadvantage to a lot of commenters. I don’t suffer from it myself (witness this comment), but I’ve heard lots of people who are reluctant to leave the first comment. I wonder if there’s a way to make that less intimidating?