Monday, April 13, 2009

Musing Mondays-- Blog Comments

How do you respond to the comments on your blog? Do you try to email individually or comment on post yourself answering the comments above? What do you think is the best way to respond to comments and do you respond to all of them? Do you feel slighted if you don't receive a response back from the blog owner?


One thing that I've gotten much, much better about is responding to comments on my blog. Whether or not my method is preferred by the commenters themselves is another story, and I intend to pay close attention to the responses to this question!

When you've got a brand-new blog, it usually takes a while before someone stumbles across it, and then even longer before one of the stumblers actually leaves a comment. I remember being stunned and thrilled when I found my first comment.

I respond to all the comments in the comment box at the bottom of each post. What I must become better at is commenting on the posts that I read on other blogs. Normally I go through all the new posts on my Google Reader twice a day. I will leave comments on posts where I feel that I have something worthwhile to add to the conversation. I balk at leaving comments like "what she said", or "I really liked this book, too" because they just don't seem to add anything. But on the other hand, if I say nothing at all then the blogger doesn't know that I've been there and liked what he/she had to say. A bit of a Catch-22!

I have a realistic outlook as far as having the blog owner respond to the comments I leave. Certainly, it would be nice to always have my comments answered, but real life does get in the way of blogging, so if the blog owner does not respond to my comment, I don't feel slighted in the least.

Personally, I think Kathy of Bermudaonion's Weblog is one of the absolute best commenters around. Maybe if I gave her the Sad Puppy Dog Eye Look, she'd give me a few lessons on how to be her caliber of commenter?

Thanks to Rebecca for hosting this weekly meme. If you'd like to join or take a look at the other responses, just click on the graphic at the top of this post.



10 comments:

  1. Nice answers -- commenting and responding to comments is something we all use help with.

    LOL about buttering up Kathy of Bermudaonion to give us hints.

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  2. Thanks for this post. I need to work (a lot) on commenting. I have the opposite problem. I comment on other blogs but don't comment much on mine. I need to work on that.

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  3. I think I know Kathy's secret...I mentioned it in my comments in my response on my post...lol
    I love getting comments, I won't lie..and I appreciate even short one. I have had people I know say they read something on my blog they liked..and do not comment because they didn't think they could express what they thought well enough.
    hey, that never stopped me!

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  4. Like you - I try to leave comments when I have something worthwhile to add - but I do have a problem with not commenting on my own blog.

    If someone comments on my blog then I usually click the link and go check their blog out and leave a comment - however, I don't answer comments on my blog unless there is a specific question asked. I need to be more open on my blog and post a reply to everyone that comments.

    Do people really go back and see if there has been a response from the blog owner??

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  5. As commenting is the theme of my Blog Improvement Project this week, I am trying to write better comments on my own blog as well as on others´. I am not always successful, however, as I put my work first, writing my blog posts second, and commenting third so it is usually something I do too late in the night. Not good for one´s creativity, I am afraid.

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  6. I answer every comment on my blog with a comment of my own. I figure it's my chance to get a dialogue going, plus, it just seems good manners to me. Because of the way my comment system is (JSKits combined with CommentLuv), any commenter on my blog gets a link to their own last post. So I also always go to the commenter's own blog and visit, and try to leave a comment if I can think of something useful to say.

    Because I am time-crunched and assume everyone else is too, I don't feel slighted by anyone not commenting or visiting my blog. It's just the rhythm of the blogiverse.

    I make an effort to leave a comment when I visit any blog, because I know how much I appreciate them, and because it's a chance to bring new people to my blog. Sometimes, I have difficulty actually thinking of something meaningful to say. I do resort to "bland" comments at times, especially if I'm pressured for time, because at least it lets the blog owner know there IS an audience out there.

    However, I do give myself permission not to comment on some of the BIG blogs, like problogger, because I somehow see that as not so personal, almost not like a blog and more like a database. Kind of like the difference between a mom and pop store, and a strip mall, or Amazon and The Poisoned Pen!

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  7. I feel this is an area in which I have truly floundered - but I LOVE this meme! I am learning so much by reading the posts of more experienced bloggers - and I hope to greatly improve my comment responses in the near future.

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  8. When I first started blogging, I'd reply to comments via email sometimes but now I just do it in the actual comment section and unless it's all pretty much the same comment (like Happy Easter!), I reply individually to each one.

    Bermudaonion is one of my favorite commenters too :)

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  9. I looove getting comments, but I'm sad to say I don't always respond to them. I'll try to be better. I never feel slighted, though, when I leave a comment and there's no response.

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  10. Kara--It's been my experience that people do come back to see if the blog owner has responded to their comments, particularly if they've asked a question.

    Beth--I don't see how she does it!

    Margot--I only began to see an increase in comments on my own blog when I began to respond to them all faithfully. Responding to the comments left on your own blog lets readers know that you are interested in what they have to say, so they'll be more likely to say something. :)

    Caite--I'm going to have to head over to take a look at your post. I'm just so behind in so many things because of all the guests roaming around the house! Too much of the time when I'm checking out everyone's responses to a weekly meme, I find myself saying the same thing over and over again, and I always think that anyone who reads my comments will think that I've never had an original thought! LOL

    Dorte--I often find myself responding or making comments during rushed moments or moments when I should be in bed. I think that happens to many of us.

    Susan--You've made some very good points, especially the last one. Thanks!

    Molly--I think that's how most of us learn...by seeing what others do on their own blogs. I know that's how I've gained a lot of my knowledge!

    Jen--I agree. Kathy is a gem amongst us!

    Erin--I love your comments because you either have something very informative to say, or you make my Diet Pepsi shoot out my nose. You have a great sense of humor!

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!