Friday, May 6, 2011

Why comments are sparse on a blog

This doesn't usually bother me, but it seems to bother others.
While I am always amazed when there are comments, others expect them perhaps?

Some basics:
1) Never expect anything from your blog, unless you plan on making your blog your main money maker or the companies front lines.
2) Try not to require people to register to comment. this blog does allow anonymous or registered or via some other oAuth options. Due to spam, try using a Captcha program.

3) Don't ask for comments on topics. You can ask for help for a project or slidedeck, but that is all.
4) Not everything of importance to you, will be important to everyone else.

Musicians will tell you their hit songs, to them, usually were junk. But the junk made them millions! And the ones they loved or thought would be great, get no respect. That about sums up blogging and writing sometimes as well.

Now, psychologically speaking, let us look at this based on an introvert and extrovert theory.
If you are blogging in a technical way or for a technical community you may find fewer comments on your posts. Why? Because the introverts, which tend to be developers and more thinking people have a different view of the world. They may agree or not with your post but may feel no obligation to comment. They like to have discussions about why and how or based on a line of thinking they are investigating.

Compare this to the extroverts. Usually found in Business lines, Sales or Marketing but can be in IT as well. They like to be seen and heard and offer opinions because they like discussion. It's not always about being an ASW.

Keep in mind it is not your writing that is the problem. Quite the contrary, the more you write the better you get and the more people that can experience you and join in your conversations.

If you enjoy what you blog about, then keep going. The road to awareness of your blog takes time and when you can branch out from your local blog list and find new ones to be a part of that community will help you as well. Do not try to write as someone else, be authentic and real.

7 comments:

  1. Well said, Keith, I blog to write down things that I might find to be of use later, or sometimes to help others, by drawing their attention to stuff that I find to be useful.

    To me, no comment simply means no comment.

    As our grandmothers used to say "If you've nothing (nice) to say, say nothing." :-)

    PS ASW == Anti-Submarine Warfare, according to Tom Clancy :-)

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  2. Good post (again and again) Keith...

    I were just thinking this issue lately. I noticed that there is no relation with hit count with number of comments you receive. Blogging towards a technical community changes the picture.

    On the other hand, I see blogging mothers :) Mother-child blogs receive great number of comments.

    People comment in my posts a)to contribute, b)to ask something.

    In more general blogs, you may see people commenting as 'just saying...' typo.

    Just saying :)))

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  3. Sure I write about comments and I get some :-)
    Seriously though, I agree with you Dave, my tech posts are definitely so I and others remember or can find something easier.
    Yes, if you have nothing nice, but then should people infer everyone hates their posts that have no comments? Nah, that advice doesn't work for these things in this age.

    But Serdar has a good point. Mother blogs have huge comments, but think about the numbers. How many mothers are there vs tech people :-)

    I do believe one should comment when reading someone's blog. Not every time, but every so often so they know someone is out there and thinking about what they said.

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  4. I feel inclined to comment! Just kidding, great post.

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  5. Bob, That made me laugh. Thanks.

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  6. I'm often guilty of reading a lot of blogs from Planet Lotus (including this one) and not commenting, and I agree that it's probably bad form in many ways. I'm feeling a little guilty now, especially when I'm thinking about starting up my own blog one of these days.

    I hereby promise to mend my ways and start littering the blogsphere with (admittedly, mostly useless) comments!

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  7. Brendan, Thanks for appearing :-) I do appreciate your comment and hope you do join in. A community only works when everyone has input.

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