There was an interesting discussion on Studio Thirty Plus the other day on blog comments. The question posed was about whether or not you, as a blogger, respond to comments and if so, how? Do you reply back in the comment thread? Email back? Something else?
I found it interesting that some people said they respond to comments within the actual comment thread itself. I've never thought to do this. I guess it's because of how I visit and comment on blogs. I leave comments but don't actually go back to check and see if they were responded to. I suppose I automatically assumed others operated this same way. Now I'm wondering if I've been doing it wrong.
Once upon a time, I had a different blog for two plus years, and received my fair share of comments on it. At the time, I read a lot of blogs and commented on a few fairly regularly. This was before blogging became hugely ridiculously popular, so there really wasn't a Comment Code of Ethics. Also, I was probably just a selfish whorebag who thought everything I had to say was beyond interesting, so of course the masses would read and respond.
These days, if someone is kind enough to visit and leave a comment here, I return the favor by visiting and commenting on their blog. I actually like this method, because I find a lot of great blogs this way. Of course, I also comment on other blogs too, if I have something to say. If I read a blog and don't comment, most likely I have nothing interesting to say that day. But if it's a blog I read regularly, I'll most likely comment at some point.
Others still said they reply to comments directly via email. I've actually experienced this recently. I've read Cecily at Uppercase Woman for years, but also hadn't commented in many years. Cecily has what I consider to be a huge audience and yet, I've commented on her blog twice in the last couple of weeks and both times, she responded back to me directly, via email. It was almost like getting an email from the President. Or maybe the First Lady. Or Whitney Houston. Oh wait, that bitch never writes anyone back (Check out my 100 things list if you are dying to figure out what I mean by that, #79 to be exact).
Anyway, I thought it was pretty classy for someone with such a wide readership to take the time to respond individually. Nonetheless, I'll probably keep on keeping on just as I have been, but I'm interested in the thoughts of others on this subject (all 9 of you who read this thing, anyway).
So, if you have a blog, how do you handle comments? Do you appreciate reciprocal comments or individual responses to the comments you leave? Along the same lines, if you read blogs and don't comment, why is that?
Monday, January 25, 2010
5 comments:
Like every blogger in the universe, I love me some comments. I promise I read and appreciate every single one. I swear! And, if you have a blog, I visit and leave comments in return...I'm good at the reciprocal comments. I'm not, however, good at replying directly back or responding back within the same comment thread. But I will reciprocate your comments, I swear!
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I used to always reply to every comment with an email back...at least the ones that left a way to email back, and I always go and leave a comment on the blog that leaves on on mine. But, now, if someone leaves a great comment that I want to answer, I do, and if not, I just comment back, or they are commenting back...after all, which came first, the commentor or the commentee??
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought this up, because I really don't know what the proper way of handling comments is. :( Great post!!
ReplyDeleteI like to reply via email it feels more personable to me(as personable as you can get in the cyber world) if the commenter has the no-reply selected on their profile I probably won't go back and respond, not because I am rude, but because I don't think they would go back to see if I said something back.
ReplyDeleteI think it helps with readership if you do your best to respond. I don't always know what to say back. Sometimes the comment has simply made me laugh. Is it silly to send an LOL? I don't know. But there is my 2 cents. Not worth much, but there it is.
Interesting thoughts on this subject...and look at me responding back in the comments section, like I just said I never do. Am shifty like that. It's interesting though that everyone has a different method for handling it. I guess that just means there's not "right" way to do it.
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that until recently I would approve a comment and then not see it to respond?? Yeah... so Now that I figured that out. I try to respond. But, I prefer just going to see their blog and commenting. I think to each their own. I do not think that there is a right or wrong to it.
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