Prompt for Wednesday, March 7, 2012:
Would you rather have more blog readers or more blog comments?
The theme for NaBloPoMo this month is "Whether," and most of the writing prompts so far have posed either-or questions. Such questions are not among my favorite things--I've always preferred multiple-choice to true-or-false (or the equivalent). Some people take a more black-and-white perspective on life, but I'm more into the shades of gray.
Having said that, I'm taking today's either-or question under careful consideration, and I'm going to come down on the side of...more readers.
Yeah, I'm a little surprised too. Aren't bloggers supposed to crave comments? Aren't comments what keep us doing this? Don't we lament the toll that Facebook and Twitter and feed readers have taken on comment-section interaction? On that note, were you aware of Blogger Comment Club, a new site dedicated to bringing back the lost art of "visit and comment"?
I also consider sharing links on Twitter and Facebook--and, increasingly, discussing the linked posts on those sites--a form of "indirect commenting," which offers the additional benefit of potentially exposing those posts to readers who might not see them otherwise. It takes less time than commenting, but to me, it's an equally thoughtful response--I'm glad to do it, and just as glad to be on the receiving end of it!
My goal here has always been to post consistently interesting content that people want to read often, and I'm far more driven to attract subscribers than random "hits" from search traffic. I don't think anyone whose blog isn't kept private is truly blogging just for him- or herself--if we didn't want to have our words be seen by other people, we wouldn't be doing this, would we? I love comments as a way to get to know some of my readers, but I know the majority will rarely or never leave comments. That's OK, as long as they keep reading--and maybe, they'll like what they read enough to share some links every now and then with other readers!
Having said that, I'm taking today's either-or question under careful consideration, and I'm going to come down on the side of...more readers.
Yeah, I'm a little surprised too. Aren't bloggers supposed to crave comments? Aren't comments what keep us doing this? Don't we lament the toll that Facebook and Twitter and feed readers have taken on comment-section interaction? On that note, were you aware of Blogger Comment Club, a new site dedicated to bringing back the lost art of "visit and comment"?
We realized there was a need and desire for blogging to get back to the basics. Once upon a time, blogging was about supporting each other through comments. That’s how we bloggers got to know each other and build friendships. Now, we have a tendency to do the shortcut, we Tweet and Facebook “like” to show our appreciation because it’s quick and easy.I like the idea behind Blogger Comment Club, but I don't know if it's a commitment I can make right now. Some days I feel like I'm barely keeping up my commitment to responding to comments here on my own blog, and when it comes to other people's blogs, I don't tend to comment unless I actually have something to say in response to a post--a question, an observation, an expression of thanks. I rarely leave comments of the "hey, I was here" variety; I find them less than satisfying.
Us bloggers, we aren’t loving that. We are longing for the good old days of comments and friendship...We have a firm belief that blogging is missing something. And that something is comments.
I also consider sharing links on Twitter and Facebook--and, increasingly, discussing the linked posts on those sites--a form of "indirect commenting," which offers the additional benefit of potentially exposing those posts to readers who might not see them otherwise. It takes less time than commenting, but to me, it's an equally thoughtful response--I'm glad to do it, and just as glad to be on the receiving end of it!
My goal here has always been to post consistently interesting content that people want to read often, and I'm far more driven to attract subscribers than random "hits" from search traffic. I don't think anyone whose blog isn't kept private is truly blogging just for him- or herself--if we didn't want to have our words be seen by other people, we wouldn't be doing this, would we? I love comments as a way to get to know some of my readers, but I know the majority will rarely or never leave comments. That's OK, as long as they keep reading--and maybe, they'll like what they read enough to share some links every now and then with other readers!
Is it ironic if I ask for your answer in the comments: Which would you rather--readers or comments?
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