What Are They Waiting For?
+JMJ+
Since the main reason I blog is to find online friends to discuss books with, I'm always frustrated when I find an interesting blogger, leave lots of chatty comments on her blog, and then never see her show up on my own. And no, I don't mean one of the really busy ones who gets dozens of comments a week and can't realistically be expected to reply to all of them.
It has happened several times, and every time it does, I wonder: What are they waiting for? An invitation?
Not that it always works, either. There have been a couple of bloggers whom I did invite to visit my blog--even leaving a link--and nothing ever happened.
My own habit is to check out the blog of everyone who leaves me a comment. I guess this isn't a universal practice. I'm just surprised that so many people aren't more curious about new visitors, especially when they average only one or two comments per post.
A few weeks ago, someone said that Blogger's comments have been acting up, and that might be one factor when comments don't get returned. But I really don't think it's just a technical problem.
Another possibility I've considered is that my blog is just not as interesting to others as it is to me. (Ouch! LOL!) In that case, I guess this post is just to let everyone know that if you like having chatty commenters on your blogs (as I do), then it's really worth returning visits to get them to keep coming back to you. =)
Views: 15
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David King on -
I do nearly alway visit someone's blog if they post a comment to mine. I also try and respond to most on my blog as well although I always wonder how many people come back and check if I replied :-)
I have to admit though that I can be terrible at posting a comment myself on their blog. I will usually read a few posts and decide that there is nothing to really "add". I probably just need to get used to some etiquette of actually posting something letting them know I had even read it up and if I liked something etc etc.
David
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Permalink Reply by Enbrethiliel on -
+JMJ+
David, I know what you mean. There are times when I really do want to say something but can't think of anything. So I often fall back on "Nice review!" or "What a great haul!" (LOL!), which I try to avoid because I'm not keen on them myself.
In an ideal blogosphere, the bloggers we find interesting would find us interesting, too . . . but I guess that isn't always the case. ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Kayleigh Murphy on -
This is one of my issues. There are a few blogs I start to read (usually as a follow back after they leave a comment) where I don't have anything substantial to add for the first week or two I follow them and I hate leaving fallback comments, especially when It's a first time comment (it seems like a terrible first impression!) but I want to leave something. Do I wait till a book I'm interested in/have already read is reviewed so I have something constructive or interesting to add or do I leave an immediate but unsatisfactory comment?
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Permalink Reply by Enbrethiliel on
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+JMJ+
Oh, man! Honestly, I don't know! =/
I'm usually really good at saying something substantial, but I've been challenged in this area a couple of times, too.
I just hope it never gets to a really embarrassing ratio, like she has left me ten comments and I haven't left her any yet! =P
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Permalink Reply by Ron C. Nieto on -
I have to agree with that's said here: I like comments. I like to know if what I wrote was helpful or interesting, and I like it when a commenter leaves me a different opinion so that we can both learn some new stuff. I make a point of getting back to all commenters, even if they don't leave a link (even more so in those cases, actually!)
But I wanted to reply to this thread for an entirely different reason: I'm new to blogging and this thread is a perfect example of my inexperience with blogging protocol:
Is is okay to comment on your own posts? Even if you just want to say "thank you" - yep, I like to thank everyone, but since I felt it was a bit like... adding "cheating" comments to my blog. After all, they are my own! Still, what would we get out of the whole conversation (stress on conversation) if we don't reply?
What a conundrum...
Thoughts appreciated on this one!
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Permalink Reply by Enbrethiliel on
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+JMJ+
Hi, Ron! =)
I would say that yes, it is perfectly okay to comment on your own posts in order to respond to those who commented first! In fact, there's another thread on that elsewhere on the forum . . .
But I think most book bloggers prefer to reply through e-mail or by commenting on other people's blogs. One consensus we reached on that other thread was that any acknowledgment is better than no acknowledgement at all. Nobody likes being ignored when they were genuinely interested in what you had to say and just want to be friendly! =)
As for the idea of "cheating" on your own thread (LOL!), my own view is that quality tops quantity any time. Some of the longest comment threads on my blog have only three or four people (one of whom is me!) going back and forth on a topic because we like the discussion so much--and to me, that's great!
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Permalink Reply by Ron C. Nieto on
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Thanks so much!
I always do the hop-back and leave a comment, but was quite insecure about the other stuff. It's good to know what's the general consensus and what's done! I have to agree with you on quality over quantity, by the way. It's better to get a meaningful mention than three I-did-not-even-read-the-post comments. =)
Okay, item one figured out! (commenting)
I'll now move on to conquer element two (blog hops? uh?)
Thanks again
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Permalink Reply by Alex Verburg on -
Since I am new here I'm not really sure about proper etiquette when it comes to such matters. Whenever I get a comment I usually follow up with a comment and a visit to the posters blog. It's not difficult for me since, I have only a few followers! I think that it is great to get to know people by leaving comments. Usually I find it interesting and start following.
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Permalink Reply by Enbrethiliel on
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+JMJ+
That's what I do, too, Alex. Leaving comments is the main way I get to know other bloggers. I only hope I come across as interesting and that it's not a chore for them to leave me comments, too. It's not difficult for me, either, although I have over 100 Followers because only about twenty or so are also regular readers. =P
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BloggerPermalink Reply by Iben on -
Well first off, if you leave a comment, do you check up on that comment? If I get a comment I'll reply to it there, on my blog, so that my other readers can actually see that there is interactiveness. I know many bloggers/readers never follow up on their own comments though, which makes things difficult and dialogue scarce (oh I do wish Blogger would hurry up and get a "reply to" comment system).
It is my habit to also go have a look at the visitor's blog and leave a comment - if there's anything worth commenting on. That sounds really harsh, but we all have different taste and so on. I don't like lying and I'm not one of those people who can gush on about a banner or something like that so I find it difficult to leave a comment sometimes if there's genuinely nothing there for me to comment on other than - "thanks for visiting my blog."
~Iben
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Permalink Reply by Enbrethiliel on
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+JMJ+
Yes, I follow up on comments a lot. That's why I started that other thread about replying to comments. As you can see, I'm sort of obsessed with them. ;-)
What you said doesn't sound harsh to me. I've had similar experiences visiting the blogs of my top commenters. There's just nothing meaningful to say beyond "Thanks for visiting my blog"--and I don't like resorting to that, either.
Incidentally, the main "culprit" I had in mind when I started this thread is a blogger whose post I'd ordinarily never comment on. "Different tastes" is an understatement. ;-) She and I "met" on a forum, where she seemed like a really nice person, so I followed her back to her blog and let my interest in her become an interest in her posts. We have some great discussions on her blog, but since she never comes to mine, it's starting to feel too one-sided.
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